The Final Post

So, this is the final post on john jenkins: notes from down under. I wanted to wrap up before we left Australia, but real life sometimes gets in the way of blogging. I recall somewhere around February or March of 2008 that I was making the case to David that we should do this (this being moving overseas).  At the time the opportunity presented itself, there were two choices, Sydney and Hong Kong. While I was excited about the possibility of either, my preference was for Hong Kong—I think because it seemed more exotic or more of a challenge (which is kind of ironic, since it was under British rule for over 150 years). As we explored the possibilities further, we came to realize that the best option I was ever going to have if we went to Hong Kong was a tourist visa. The Chinese government doesn’t allow same sex partners to have co-sponsorship of work visas; rather, even though David was getting sponsored to work, we couldn’t apply for me to have a second visa through his sponsorship so that I could. I don’t know if this is still the case, but I would assume it to be. For the record, the United States has only begun to open its restrictions on gay couples applying for visas (work/partner) within the past couple of years. In the end, I’m pretty sure Sydney would have won out regardless, because I think my other half was never that keen on moving to Hong Kong anyway. Looking back now, I can’t believe it has been almost four years ago since we first set foot on the island continent and I have no regrets. The experience changed us and the people we met will be part of our family for the rest of our lives. A friend, who has spent a fair amount of time in Australia, sent me a message before we moved home. He asked, “Other than the word cunt, what else has Australia taught you?” I said, “Alcohol…that’s a conversation we will need to have over alcohol.”