Away From Home...
Aisha Khalaf
Several hours out from Melbourne, you can find me by the roaring ocean, sand between my toes and a snack in my hand most weekdays after 5 pm. I’ve been calling this little beach city, Warrnambool, located at the end of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria home for about 2 years now. The big move to regional Victoria has come with an abundance of highs and lows. Rest assured I won’t shy from sharing the good, the bad or the sprinkled racism.
Like most second-generation Harari Aussies, I know this kind of ‘bold’ move can be associated with unrelenting assumptions or interview-like questions about your personal life or family dynamic. Don’t waste your time getting caught up with the opinions of others. What I can do is tell you there is no foolproof formula to convince immigrant parents that moving 300kms away is the right choice for you to make. All I can say is I started small by accepting a 3-month locum role in a town called Colac to be able to prove I was capable of being self-sufficient. Once my parents could see how fulfilled and happy I was with my career choice they were more comfortable with my permanent move to Warrnambool.
So, I know you’re waiting for the catch. You can’t possibly enjoy the beach and 5-minute drive to work with no traffic. And I repeat, no traffic. Like most workplaces, unfortunately, there is always a sprinkle of racism in each hallway and some days (mostly Mondays) that sprinkle can turn into a roadblock. But what I refuse to do is not take up space, not be black, not be a Muslim woman in a hijab, not be confident, not be ME. That is how I made this place home. I made myself comfortable in a place where some would find my presence uncomfortable. I may even reach for the stars and say I’ve made a change in the way individuals around me perceive the life of a woman who looks like me, from helping design a faith space that is Muslim prayer friendly at Colac area health to running lunchtime talks on cultural sensitivity to making changes to my football jersey to be able to play local football.
Even through all the internal turmoil I experienced, the common enemy associated with moving away from home will always be... BILLS. The only worthy competitor would be the tax deduction on your payslip (it’s better if you don’t look). I would definitely recommend being financially literate and getting your expenses in order. Ask yourself, do you REALLY need a Netflix, Stan, Disney+ and Amazon Prime? Sacrifices need to be made and so do sandwiches for lunch.