A Christmas Letter

Just in case I didn’t send this to you (it means I don’t have your email address), here is a copy of my Christmas Email.

Hello All,

Well as I write this it becomes very clear to me how horrible I was a keeping in touch over this last year and a bit. I feel like the last time I wrote was shortly after I arrived in Australia. Of course some of you are new to my E-Novel list so you won't have noticed my infrequent correspondence habits. Since then I have spent 12 months in Australia, a month in New Zealand and now I am back in Canada preparing for my next adventure. It has been a bit of a paperwork ordeal (you could accurately call in a nightmare) and this email has been sitting around for weeks waiting for the addition of final details. Now that I am one step closer to having them and with Christmas just around the corner I thought it was about time I sent it. Yes, this is my version of a Christmas letter.

It would be pretty impossible to summarize my year in Australia in one email but here's my attempt: I hugged a koala, I swam on the Great Barrier Reef, I saw an opera at the Sydney Opera House, I visited the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (missed cricket season but caught more than a few Aussie Rules football games), I visited Uluru (that's Ayers Rock and no I didn't climb it), I saw a Tasmanian devil and crocodiles and pythons (could have gone without the pythons), I ate kangaroo (saw more than enough of them hopping around in fields as well), I did some wine tasting and some hiking, I travelled along the Great Ocean Road and a whole lot of other things. Amongst all that I also found more than a few spare moments to spend some quality time with Debi and Scott (my sister and her partner), I worked a little and meet some amazing people. Of course details (and pictures) can be found at http://juliestyle-jnbodden.blogspot.com/ but all in all it was a pretty good year.

Once I left Australia I made a great (but quick) stop in New Zealand.......and what an amazing country it is. A lot of the time it felt like being at home (in Canada in case any of us have forgotten where I'm actually from) but a lot smaller. Managed to be there during the winter so I was able to do some skiing. On top of that I hiked a mountain and a glacier (not on the same day), went white water rafting, did some sea kayaking with some seals, became a huge fan of Maori warriors and the Maori culture in general and have found another place in the world that I could easily call home. Details and pictures can also be found at http://juliestyle-jnbodden.blogspot.com/ It was an amazing trip. Really wish I had spent more time there but I guess it really isn't going anywhere so I can always go back.

The next adventure will have me heading back overseas. My next destination, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.....Riyadh to be specific. A good friend of mine from Baltimore has been over there since last year and has convinced me to join her (not that it was that hard). I will be working and living on the grounds of King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity, to live in a totally different culture and experience it for myself. Will there be a bit of culture shock? I have no doubt that there will be but I am heading over with a totally open mind......plus my friend is more than immersed in the culture by now so should have no problem helping me make the adjustments. She is already helping out by providing me with a very detailed list of things I should, should not and absolutely must pack. After a very exhaustive and thorough paperwork process including more medical test than any healthy person should have done (thank goodness for Universal Health Care) I have my work VISA and am working on a final departure date (which should be the first week of January). This whole process started the end of August so I am very thankful that it is (almost) finally complete. The departure date will allow me to spend Christmas with family in Vernon and New Year's Eve with friends in Calgary before heading off again.

So what have I been doing since I got back? Not a whole lot. I had planned to work a bit but a paperwork delay out of Australia and a further delay once it arrived in Canada squashed that idea, although if I had known I was going to be here this long I would have just found myself some non-nursing related work to fill my time (life would be simpler if everyone worked on my time line). Instead I have mostly been visiting with friends and family, running up Mom and Dad's heating bill (pretty sure they won't be so happy I've been home once that arrives) and packing my bags (OK I've done a lot of shopping but I'm only buying things I need to take with me.) Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my relaxing days by the fireplace and I've managed to read more books in the last 3 months than I have in the last 3 years but I will be looking forward to getting back to work in the New Year.

Not really sure what the next year will bring but I promise I will try to do a better job of sharing the experience with you.

Hope this finds you well where ever you are in world. Merry Christmas and all the best to you and your families in the coming year.

Love Julie