Melbourne: Citizen Vella

Melbourne: Citizen Vella

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Early December we took a side trip in Ranger to Melbourne. In addition to celebrating our god-daughter who graduated from Melbourne Uni Medical School (yeah Dr. Laura!!!), we had a few year-end appointments with doctors and dentists, a family Christmas barbie, a ceremony and a party.

Ceremony???  Well, yes, after nearly 5 years I have become an Australian citizen. It’s an honour to be able to live in this amazing country. And so now I too, like Joe, am an immigrant, as are 1/4 of the population here.

Spoiler Alert: I have no intention of giving up my USA citizenship and we will, at some point, split our time between these countries.

So here I am, in a rare moment, sharing photos of little ole me in one of my finer moments of utter delight.

With the Lord Mayor of Williamstown. Yes, even a female is called a “Lord” in this case.
Thanks to the brilliant forethought of my nephew Jack, I, and the guests at my ceremony, rallied round the flag afterward.
Is this one happy camper??? Certificate in one hand and a wattle tree in the other.
The next day the Mackie family feted me with an intimate gathering of close friends. The meat pies and sausage rolls are requisite fare at a party for a new Aussie.
I was informed this was Aussie roadkill, and even if this looks like something less appetizing my guess is it was a very tasty lamb sausage. Lamb isn’t just for New Zealanders, doncha know.
A few of the “made in Aus” items bestowed on me included a personalised jar of Vegemite, Tim Tam chocolate biscuits, koala ornaments, a personalized “usvellas” cushion cover. (Notice I can’t decide if I should use an “s” or a “z” in some words.)
The Australian national dessert is the pavlova, with its meringue base and fresh fruit galore.
The cast of revelers. A poem was written by Min and read by Al in her absence. A shockingly difficult series of questions about Australia was asked of me. I aced the geography part (and why not?!?) but bombed on the sports quiz.

There will still be a lot of learning about the customs like arriving exactly on time (instead of fashionably late) as a guest for dinner. And remembering that “pop” is champers/bubbly/champagne and not soda pop.

Suffice it to say, 2016 was an incredibly fantastic year for me and us and we feel a glow of goodwill from all our friends and family here and abroad. Thank you for your support of our travelogue and the amazing comments and emails and generosity of spirit as we embark on our next chapter.

 

 

9 thoughts on “Melbourne: Citizen Vella”

  1. Congrats, Ms. Aussie,
    I’m glad you put your travels to good use – beating the geography test! Now Joe needs to start taking you to rugby matches so you can learn the better side of Australia.
    Love y’all

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  3. Congratulations! What a fun event!! Love all the “new Aussie” presents and traditions. How I would love to have dual citizenship so I could go somewhere else for the next 4 years. Lucky you!

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  4. An amazing 2016 for you both. Lovely catching up recently. We wish you well in your new adventures in 2017. Love Irene and Alan xx

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  5. Congratulations on your new citizenship! You must be so delighted to have the wait over! And I notice the immediate inclusion of the Aussie accent – donchono??
    Keep enjoying yourselves – you are role models for a good life!!
    Love, Pat and Marion

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  7. What an event!
    What a celebration!
    What a woman!
    Congratulations, you done good!
    Love and Laughter,
    Robin and Richard

    Reply

  8. Congratulations on becoming Strayan. You will need to add either an “o” or an “y” to your last name now. 🙂

    Reply

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