Hey family!
Australia is pretty good. Some things I’ve found are much better than home, others not so much. I’m really not fond of how people think meditation is a kooky thing for weird people, and their obsession with meat in every meal is very strange. Otherwise, I’m very happy here! The technology they have is amazing, and I was able to quite easily get a property to rent, provided I had all my papers in order. I suppose I should thank Uncle Scott and his printer for that one.
One thing that truly shocked and amazed me recently was the availability of hot water. You know how back there in in my home country, hot water is a privilege one must pay for? As it turns out, Australia is very different. Hot water is part of the package of a home! It’s true; efficient drain unblocking plumbers come to your home and make sure it’s working, provided it’s not already.
The landlord didn’t tell me this, probably because he thought I already knew and I didn’t say where I was from. But it really is true, and truly crazy. I’d been in this rental property for four months with no hot water coming out of the tap. Money is tight and I knew full-well how to deal with cold water for everything from growing up in the capital, so I thought everything was normal. Oh, there was a kettle provided with the house, so I basically used that like I used to. It wasn’t until I was at my support group when I was alerted to it being a problem at all. A Ukrainian lady looked at me in confusion when I mentioned my morning kettle bath, and asked why I didn’t have a plumbing contractor in to fix the hot water. I explained that I hadn’t paid for the privilege, and then everything came out.
Turns out it’s all part of my gas, which I DO pay. Can you imagine, hot water as part of gas? Crazy! Some Melbourne based boundary trap replacement company was called in and they fixed it in a jiff. Guess I’ll be living large with hot showers from now on! Tell my brother not to be too jealous. Give my regards to the whole family!
-Daan