Nomadic GP

Gratitude and pumpkin pie

A small confession: my third year in Canada and I haven’t yet developed a taste for turkey and pumkpin pie. Give me a lamb roast and a slice of pavlova any day! But if there’s one Canadian Thanksgiving tradition I can really sink my teeth into, it’s the whole, well, giving-of-thanks bit. No doubt, being … Continue reading →

2020: One foot in front of the other

The turning of a new year is always a funny time. The sun rises and sets just as profoundly on every other day, and yet, something about this particular day causes us to stop and naval gaze a little more deeply than usual. My 2019 has been a bit of a mixed bag. My health … Continue reading →

Between one year and forever

“Somewhere between one year and forever” It’s been my standard reponse whenever anyone has asked me how long I plan to stay in Canada. It’s typically accompanied by a non-committal shrug of the shoulders and a look that says don’t ask me hard questions. I recently celebrated that one year milestone with a steep hike … Continue reading →

How are you going?…Really?

I’d been living in Canada for about 4 months before I realised that “how are you going?” is a funny, Australian thing to ask. Further enquiry with colleagues and patients revealed that “how’s it going?” or “how are you doing?” are perfectly acceptable. But the hybrid “how are you going?”… Nope. That’s just weird, apparently. … Continue reading →

Getting my feminist FIX in New York

There was something distinctly different about #FIX18. Walking in to a conference with 95% women felt pretty odd. I was intimidated amongst so many high-heeled, urbanite, overwhelmingly American emergency physicians. This Aussie country GP felt somewhat out of place. It was quite the contrast from the laid back gatherings of my other recent conference experiences. Maybe … Continue reading →

The familiar faces of strangers

Have you ever noticed that thing, when you’re travelling, where you unexpectedly see someone you know out of the corner of your eye? Except you don’t. On second glance you realise you don’t know them at all. They are a complete stranger. This happened to me constantly when I first moved to Canada. My first … Continue reading →

The expat’s arrival checklist

I love a good checklist. I love the sense of order that comes with writing the list, and the feeling of achievement of ticking all those little boxes. Sometimes, I even list things that I’ve already done, just to feel the rush of ticking them off immediately. Since arriving in Canada, I’ve been diligently ticking … Continue reading →

Hello-bonjour, Canada!

It’s my own fault, really. I did say that I wanted a challenge. My Canadian adventure certainly began that way with a missed connection and re-route via Calgary; A four-flight 32 hour journey of epic proportions. To top it off, my luggage was lost in transit. I had arrived in my new country with just … Continue reading →

Farewell, Broome.

Dear Broome, It would feel unfinished, I think, to move on to one adventure without properly farewelling the last. And yeah yeah, I know…. My departure has had as many comebacks as a John Farnham farewell tour. But this time I’ve really gone for good. I remember when we first met. I was absolutely blown … Continue reading →