One Year in Australia: What This Country Has Taught Me

This April marks one full year in Australia. A full cycle through all four seasons and my first Australian summer. A year of finding my feet in new soil, and in many ways, finding myself.

I didn't come here expecting transformation. I came here because I wanted to be closer to nature. But slowly, day by day, the cadence of this place - its seasons, people, and unhurried pace - has worked its way into me.

Here are some of the quiet lessons this year has offered.

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#1 - Living in harmony with the seasons

In Singapore and Thailand, the tropical seasons blur. You get hot, hotter, or wet. And to be honest, I never paid attention to the rhythm of the seasons or how to live with them.

But here in Australia, the land invites (sometimes demands) you to notice.

I've started to sense what my body craves as the weather shifts: hearty meal and ginger teas in winter, sweet berries in spring. I was taught how to align my self-care rituals with the season, like microneedling my face in the colder months because the body heals differently when it's cold. Even the way I sleep, move, and plan my week has shifted. I know when the sun rises and sets. I follow the new moon and the full moon.

I used to push through everything. Now, I tune in.

#2 - Making space for life

There's a spaciousness to time here I never knew I needed.

Weekends aren't booked weeks in advance. People leave room - for changing weather, for chats with neighbors, for rest. And slowly, I've started doing the same.

I've become less rigid with my plans. In returns, life feels richer. I catch more sunsets. I nap without guilt. I've learned that spontaneity isn't a lack of discipline. It's a willingness to surrender control.

The pace is slower. The answers are quieter, but they feel truer.

#3 - Redefining what success looks like

In stepping away from titles, urgency, and the speed of comparison, I've thought more deeply about what success means to me. It looks like time to think, moments of creativity, long walks, feeling connected. It looks like health - mental, physical, spiritual - and the freedom to shape my days with intention.

I still value ambition. But now, it's ambition with room to breathe.

#4 - Nature doesn't need fixing. And neither do I.

Walking eucalyptus trails and watching a kookaburra laugh by the Great Ocean Road, I've started to understand something more fully: nature isn't trying to optimize itself. It simply is. Messy. Balanced. Resilient.

And maybe I can be the same.

Australia has reminded me that not everything needs fixing or tweaking. Sometimes, things just need witnessing. That includes myself.

#5 - The generosity of strangers

It's not uncommon here for someone to wave you into traffic with a grin, or for neighbor to stop and chat. These moments are small, but they stack.

They've restored something in me. A quiet faith in human decency. They've reminded me that I, too, can offer those same small gestures. And that matters.

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The slower pace. The home-cooked meals. The proximity to nature. The absence of performative busyness. It has all softened my nervous system. I think more clearly. I’m less reactive. I sleep more deeply. My body no longer feels like it’s bracing for impact.

It’s not to say everything is perfect. But for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m living in sync with the land, with time, and with myself.