Life coach Celeste du Toit reflects on her personal journey during her years spent in Australia – and what she loves the most about them.
Whilst I first and foremost call myself South African, I am fortunate to be able to call two countries home. It is easy to jump on-line and research facts about Australia, so I shall attempt to give you a more personal, hands-on account of how I perceive life “down under”. When I am in South Africa, people ask me what Australia is like; and when I am in Australia, they ask me about South Africa. The answer is, it depends. Both countries probably have the most diverse, varied topography, climate, and scenery you can find. So let us rule out that question, and focus on how easy it is to switch from one to the other; the apparent similarities; and the not-so-obvious differences.
Even if on the surface Australia seems very similar to South Africa – they play similar sports, love the outdoors, love to ‘braai’ (or ‘barbie’) – being sensitive to subtle differences helps a great deal. The best advice I can give any visitor to Australia is to “watch and learn”. When in Australia, do as the Aussies do. I might get crucified for saying this, but I believe that when you set up communities where you isolate yourself from the local culture and don’t integrate, you miss out on rich and diverse experiences. How hard is it to do this? Again, it depends slightly.
The Cities
My experience is that…
Find out more about life in Australia in the digital edition, Issue 11, pages 26-27.
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