29 May 2015 - 21:00 hrs - Landing at Melboune Airport, I had a huge breath and sigh of relief. Our long journey of non stop flight for 13 hours came to an end. Vegan options on the flight were limited. But then, who cares about the details of the food, when the excitement and nervousness of leading a life in an unknown country surpasses all other emotions.
The landing was the smoothest I ever encountered in my entire life. The immigration was polite and nobody had any questions pertaining to our visit. As a planner, I envisaged many questions to prop up during the immigration. But we hardly had anyone asking us questions. The stamping was done and the immigration officer chanted "Welcome to Australia". Well, that sounded cool. A smile on both of our faces was evident to each other. Australia would be our next home. I am unsure if its forever, but am sure it will be for the next 5 years - until the time we have an Australian passport.
As an outsider perspective, I thought I will only view English advertisements in Australian. But I guess, such is the chinese influx and domination, that we found welcome boards and other advertisements in Chinese (Mandarin). Deep inside my heart, I felt we are not dominating this part of the world, as we do in middle east.
We found people of varied nationalities in Australia. Immigrants seem to be very welcome. I guess evryone except the aborigines (australian natives) are immigrants in one way or the other. But we had one feeling deep inside. Our skin colours and the way way we look, differentiated us inside. We were the odd men out. The slang (or lingo) was different. Our english was superior but the way we spoke sounded inferior. But then, we are sure, going down the time, we would be more australianised than the australians.
The above thoughts dispersed the moment we had our school friend - Sudarshan, visible to us. Comfort factor kicked in. Pleasantries exchanged and we were off in his car to our pre-booked accomodation. A 30-40 minute ride on near empty roads was a complete contrast to the high density roads back home or even the middle east. We were told many shops and restaurants don't work after 5pm or on weekends. All this in the name of work-life balance to all individuals. Wow, what a contrast to the part of world I come from. Certainly sounded interesting.
All along the road, Australia reminded me of India. The two main differences between India and Australia are - Cleanliness and Orderliness. The paintings or the writings on the walls are a commom sight in both countries. Australia calls this as 'Graffitti' and I wonder what India calls these as. I am sure if the 'Swatch Bharat Campaign' by PM Modi is a success, India and Australia will be alike in the way we see and feel the country.
The first day's thoughts hover around. I guess more to follow, observe and write. Until then, Australian dreams seem to undergo transition from the cold vibes; just like the bloody cold winter we are encountering in Melbourne.
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