cul·ture shock noun the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes. It’s 1am on a regular Wednesday in June in Granada. The neighbourhood dogs are barking in the usual incessant cacophony, the bars are bursting with people and the rooftop parties … More Culture Shocks and Wonderful Surprises
We wrote this guide to share our knowledge and love of this amazing city with others. It took us a year to find our local rhythm of life in Granada and we wanted to share all that we had learned. We have researched extensively and hope it will provide access to a different experience of Granada. … More Your Local Guide to Granada
There is nothing quite like a festival that you would usually celebrate with extended family to remind you that you are far from home. So what happens when you suddenly bump into Christmas while on a sabbatical year? So you have settled into your new home in a new country, found your feet, your daily … More A Christmas far from home
As the full moon rises in the east, hovering above the Pacific Ocean, I contemplate the year that has passed since we returned to Australia from Our Year in Spain. Each full moon signifies a moment of reflection since it was on a glorious, moonlit evening two years ago, that we arrived to our new home in Granada. Whilst we imbibed the new … More One year on…the legacy of our year in Spain
This was the mantra retold to me by my Granadino friends while we were living in Granada. “You’ll see” they followed in response to my quizzical look. As I contemplated the Herculean effort to transport our family of four across the oceans and continents from Australia to Spain, I wasn’t so convinced that we would be … More “Everyone returns to Granada…”
Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country. Anais Nin The desire to create a meaningful, cultural experience for our family inspired us to make a seemingly unusual plan: to pull up our roots … More Living your dream and inspiring others
It sounded like a grand and impossible idea: moving to Spain for a year. Strangely and luckily, it wasn’t as hard as we imagined it would be, and since pulling off our great dream, we’ve become evangelical in our enthusiasm to help others take the leap and live their own Spanish adventure. I have learned … More So you want to live in Spain! What next?
For years I have listened to stories of people displaced from their homelands for various reasons. I listened with interest without fully understanding what it would be like to constantly wonder about a life, land and culture elsewhere. Now I have finally come to understand, in my own ‘lite’ version, the concept of living between two … More Caught between two worlds – repatriation
Every journey has its requisite ebbs and flows, ups and downs and in-betweens. I think that is why travel makes me feel so alive. As one tests oneself against new and changing situations, drifting is not an option. Being permanently awake to the new, while exciting, can also be overwhelming at times. My family and … More Reflecting on 8 months in Spain
When we were researching where we would live in Spain for a year, climate played a large part in our decision which is why we chose to live in Southern Spain. And although coastal Spain would have been the most suitable climate befitting a ‘soft’ Australian, we couldn’t see ourselves amongst the sun-seekers and retirees who flock to … More Southern Spain Does Have a Winter
Our Year In Spain 