Traveling Back in Time

Though I may have lost my elegant Australian accent, believe it or not, I learned English in Australia! Having moved here straight from Korea and having lived here from age 4 to 9, a lot of my memories have blurred over the years. Having the opportunity to revisit the landmarks of my early childhood was such a treat. It was really wonderful to be able to solidify some of the images in my mind again and appreciate where our family's international journey began.

Mom/Dad/Hoek - It was so much fun for me. I will share with you more pictures and videos when I return so we can relive some of the memories together :)

Artarmon Primary School is where it all began...


Where Mom wrote "toilet" on the back of our hands, so that we could ask to go to the bathroom at school... Where the ESL teacher, Mr.KoSuYum (translation: mustache; we dont know his real name haha), made me cry and stay after class bc I insisted my grandmother's 'daughter' wasn't my aunt... Where my mom met with the teacher even with her broken English to ward off bullies... Where Mrs.Koschiutski took care of my brother...


Unfortunately, Dad and I couldn't remember the exact address of where we had lived. So, I brainstormed with Valerie, who I met on the sidewalk and has lived in Artarmon since 1983...


I walked around a while and was feeling a little hopeless... And then lo and behold... The park! The huge skateboarding half pipe wasn't there anymore, but I was sure this was the park!


And if that was the park... That meant out house was very close by! And then... There it was! The balcony in the kitchen from where we could hear birds (I think we could hear kookaburras!) and wave bye to dad when we left for work. It was unmistakable :)


Haha!


Our first pool!


And then I was off to Lindfield.


It wasn't called Lindfield "Demonstration" School anymore, but I learned on the internet that I guess we were the guinea pigs where the government had tested lots of interesting teaching methodologies - all of which I remember enjoying :) I really wanted a school playground Aussie meat pie for old sakes, but it wasn't lunch time. Shucks!


This is the pool where we had our first swimming lessons!


And our family's very first house! Nothing had changed except the front porch is gone now and they don't have Dad's yellow Mazda RX-7!


Haha! What fun that was! In having revisited where we had lived and gone to school as kids, I was filled with such a deep senses of appreciation and gratitude to Mom and Dad.

Mom/Dad - Thank you so much. Thank you for loving us so much that you worked so hard to find the right homes, always only 1 block away from school, in the best neighborhoods, so that oppa and I could always be safe and well educated. Thank you so much for all that you did for us and our family. Thank you for keeping us safe and loving us more than you loved even yourselves. I will be eternally grateful for your sacrifice and nurturing. I only hope to one day be half the parents you have been for oppa and me all these years. You have taught me all that I know and have allowed me to grow into all that I am today. Thank you for loving us unconditionally. Then and today. I love you so much!