TAG!

OK, Amanda (http://agignac.blogspot.com/) has tagged me along with 6 others, for a '7 Facts About Yourself' thing (for want of a better word!). And I rarely do these, but I thought I may as well indulge once in a while. And like Amanda, I'm going to have a theme about mine. My 7 facts will be about travel and countries I've been to and am about to visit, etc. Here goes:

1. AUSTRALIA: I was born in Melbourne, Australia on September 7. When my parents first came to Australia they had a choice of which state they would like to live in and raise kids: Melbourne or Sydney. They chose Melbs - and they chose wisely! I love Melbourne. It's very eclectic and multi-cultural. I see Melbourne as my 'security blanket'. I do see myself living and settling here for a really long time, but if that doesn't happen, I'm not phased by it!

2. ARGENTINA: Both of my parents were born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Family members from both sides still live in the same little neighbourhood of 'Isidro Casanova'. I've got aunties, uncles, cousins, both sets of grandparents and a whole lot of family friends who were brought up with my folks who still live there today. I lived in Argentina for a year as a kid back in 1992. I went back in 2004 and it changed my life. Before I went to Argentina I was a lost girl: no direction, no focus, didn't care how my life turned out: until I went to Arg for 4 months. Argentina was my turning point. Everything in my life has turned around for the better ever since those 4 months and I give full credit to Argentina, as well as my aunt, uncle and little cousin. I haven't looked back. I've been back to Argentina again in 2006 and I will make my return in December 2008!

3. JAPAN: Shortly after the 4 month turnaround, I got back to Melbourne, but I wasn't done with my big changes and felt like I needed to be on my own for a while longer. I applied for a job in Japan as an English instructor and got it straight away. A friend of mine had applied for this same job 3 times and didn't get it, so I felt truly blessed. 2 and a half months later I was living in Sendai, a city the same size as Melbourne in the northern part of Japan. I loved it. Met some fantastic people who I'm still very close to today. It's where I met my boyfriend! Although it took another 2 and a half years before we actually got together :)

4. CHILE: For some reason, Chile has played a big role in my life despite the fact that I've never been there (not yet anyway!). I will be there in March next year for 2 weeks. When my parents first came to Australia they befriended a Chilean couple whom they met on the flight over. They have been firm friends ever since - and it's been 32 years! My mum and Alicia have worked together, been through births, deaths and marriages of others together - everything you can think of I've always remembered having Alicia and her husband in my life - like family! In Chile I'll be staying with Alicia's sisters and brothers in Chile (She has 11 siblings, 9 of them live in Chile, 1 sister lives in Buenos Aires - whom I have met - and the other sister lives in Melbourne, whom we are also very close to). The siblings in Chile haven't met me - obviously - but they have already welcomed me with open arms to their homes, so it'll be like visiting family!

5. SPAIN: Again, I've never been to Spain, but I will be there next year. I do have some distant relations that do live in Spain: My grandfather's second wife was from Barcelona and all of her relatives still live there today. But I never met her, as she died around 4 years before I went to Argentina for the first time in 1992. It would be really nice to find out where they are (and who they are!)

6. ITALY: Like Chile, Italy has played another big role in my life. I went to a primary school in an Italian neighbourhood and the first language that we learnt was Italian. So I was exposed to Italian from the age of 5. I had been going to Spanish school as well at the same time. All my friend's parents were Italian and always spoke to me in Italian, so I got lots of practice with speaking. I studied the language at primary, secondary and tertiary level and got great marks. I was offered but declined a scholarship to study for a semester in a university in Rome. Don't ask me why! I think it clashed with something...or at the time I was afraid to travel. Just after 9/11. I don't regret it though. I'll be going to Italy for the first time next Easter (hopefully, if my boyfriend plans it all!)

7. CANADA: In my time in Japan (funnily enough), I met a whole lot of Canadians who were all cool. My roomies were Canadian and I picked up some of the lingo, but thankfully they picked up a lot of mine, despite the fact it was just the 3 of us living together and I was outnumbered by 2! In my travels, my first stop will be Canada to see my roomie Dawn and my final stop will be to visit my other Canadian roomie Olympia.

So there are my 7 things! Now I don't have 7 blogger friends, but I will send this out to 7 people. The rules: Write 7 things about yourself, link back to the person who tagged you, link to 7 others to pass the game along - and leave a comment to let them know that you have tagged them to participate. I haven't decided all of my victims, but I will edit this post once I do:

Cheers! Blog coming up soon!