About Me

I'm an Australian-Russian married to an American living in Texas, US... How the heck did that happen? 

Let's see... I was  I was 6 years old when my parents, brother and I left Kazakhstan (yes, the same one as Borat! But no that movie's not an accurate portrayal!) and moved to Brisbane, Australia - a city and country that swallowed us whole.  Since we were so young and both starting school at the primary level, I think it's safe to call my brother and I Australian but our parents did their best to ensure that we retained as much of our Russian heritage as possible.  Now that I'm older, bilingual and have been exposed to such different ideologies and cultures, I consider myself blessed beyond belief.  As challenging as it was sometimes to grow up feeling like an outsider; I now see that this adversity helped shape me into a stronger and more open-minded person. 

I blame my parents for the travel bug and unquenchable curiosity within me.  It's utterly their fault since from our first month in Australia they took my bro and I  somewhere different and interesting every chance they could.  Our weekends and vacations were spent on the many beaches, mountains or State parks that surround Brisbane; on road trips to other States or simply attending cultural landmarks such as museums, art galleries, theaters and concert halls... we were always going somewhere and learning something new!  The repercussion is that now, regardless of where I am permanently stationed, I become restless and need to experience something new as often as I can.

Luckily my husband, Will, suffers from the same disease.  

My husband.  The reason I'm in America.  I'll get to him in a moment.. a little back-story first: 

After high school I did what most Aussies do: I enrolled in a university close to my parents house (Griffith Uni) and continued living with them and working a part-time job (at a jewelry store - also close to their house).  This didn't work for me.  I very quickly became restless within the daily routine and felt almost claustrophobic.  Being the spontaneous type that always trusts my intuition, I woke up one morning in May 2006, decided that's it, packed my things, transferred universities (and majors) and moved to Central Queensland faster than anyone could ask if I was sure.  It's crazy to think now!  I knew only one person and I didn't have a job or a plan but desperately wanted independence and to experience all that I could, so off I went!  Luckily everything did work out.  I met some amazing people who are now family to me, had many great experiences, visited many amazing places and two years later, landed my dream job with Australia's largest bank.  

Around about this same time, I began dreaming the same dream of most Aussie girls: Europe.  I pictured myself eating macaroons in Paris, exploring castles in the UK, drinking an ouzo cocktail on a white cliff overlooking a sapphire ocean in Greece and dancing in the streets of Barcelona.  My job at the Commonwealth Bank was set and I was about to embark upon a career path that would allow me to vacation in Europe whenever I wanted.  I had just signed up for one of their in-house financial planner's courses and saved enough money for my first Euro-trip, that I'd planned to take before commencing the course, when everything changed very quickly again.  I met Will.  And BAM!  Over night (ok over about about a month) my dreams changed.  I went from not knowing much or thinking much about America - to not being able to picture my life without it when I fell in love with an American boy who was soon to be going back!    

The rest is self-explanatory but a fairy tale never-the-less.  We married ten months later on a Central Queensland beach, not far from where we'd met. Then we honeymooned in and saw as much of Australia as we could before September 2010 when Will's job moved us back to his home in Atlanta, GA.  We lived there for three years before his job moved us once more - this time to Austin Texas.   And there you have it.  Me in a nutshell.  

I will add that while moving internationally has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do (because of homesickness but also for reasons I wasn't at all expecting) and job wise (as you've undoubtedly read in the 'about unwavering me' blurb on the top right hand of my home page) it's been an adventure...  I'm very lucky to have found my passion and to have an amazing husband who lets me pursue it.  We have two dogs who sometimes make it tricky, but we travel every chance we get.  Looking back at the four years I've spent with this amazing American boy I honestly feel that my life has turned out even better than my dreams.  My intuition was right and while cities and faces continue to change all around us, he remains an unwavering part of me. 

Thank you for reading and sharing our journey with us!