I’d moved to Australia just before Christmas in 2001. Beyond the people I’d started working with, I knew nobody as I settled into life in Sydney.
Australians are a pretty friendly bunch, but Christmas was a difficult time period for me to arrive – people naturally tend to withdraw to their close family and friend groups during this time.
This left me as an outsider, which was very difficult to deal with. I did some volunteering work for a Christmas Day lunch which was great, but then I ended up back at home alone again.
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