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Its hard to believe that as of yesterday I've been in Australia for a month. In some ways it feels like I never left the last time I was here, but when I think about how long its been since i've seen my family and friends it feels like i've been here a year. According to the visa I came under I only have 11 months left here...but hopefully that will change and i'll be able to stay! I finally got my tax file number about a week ago, so now i'm able to work. Still working on the job search. I've been playing around with a few ideas, trying to decide if I want to go through the process to get qualified to teach here. It cost a lot of money to do that, so i'm looking into a few different options...casual teaching in the schools here or possibly an office job. I'm just praying for the right thing at the right time, and I know it will all work out.

I had a little homesick moment last week. I think it finally hit me that this is "home" now and i'm not going "home". Its not even that I want to go home, I had a moment when I though, oh I need to call so and so about this and I thought, aww I can't do that. And it just made me miss being around my family and friends. According to my cousin, i'm right on track with adjusting to life in a new country. I know i'll have other homesick days and thats ok. I do love it here though, and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I'm so thankful for my cousins, Zach and Elisha and Elisha's family. They have made this whole transition a million times easier!

The weather here is warming up and I'm loving it! Of course its weird to think that its almost October and warm outside. I do miss fall at home...the pumpkin candles, candy corn and peanuts, leaves changing colors, etc. But I did get to go to the beach the other day and i'm pretty sure that made up for it! I love the weekends, mostly because everyone is off work and we're busy! This past weekend was so much fun, Saturday the weather was perfect! I believe the temperature was 28 (celsius) which translate to 82 (fahrenheit)...I would tell you i'm learning all the conversions, but i'm not. I cheat, I have a converter on my computer. But I do know that if its going to be above 20, thats a good day! Since it was such a nice day my cousin and I headed to the beach to get some sun which was much needed because i'm pretty sure any tan I came with has faded. Saturday night we got dressed up in our country best to head to my cousin's friends engagement party which was a country western theme. It was a fun night, beautiful weather, good food and drinks, a massive bond fire and even some square dancing. Sunday after church we went to a nursery cafe for lunch with Elisha's family for her mums birthday. One thing I love about Australia, the food. Everything we eat is amazing and so fresh! So different than eating in the states. Of course with all this eating, I had to buy a scale last week. haha. My cousin said she didn't want one because she would be on it all the time, so i'm going to have to hide it! I will say the scale I bought is in kilos, which I knew it would be (which is fine because I have my handy converter on my computer) but it also had stones as a unit of measurement. I had no idea anyone still used stones?! Luckily my little bit of working out has canceled out all the eating, but I still need to get back into a better routine asap.

Here a few pictures from our weekend.

Day in Sydney

Yesterday I took a little day trip to Sydney. Mostly just to get out of the house, but I haven't really been back to Sydney since I flew in 3 weeks ago. Sydney is about 40 miles from where I live on the central coast, so its about an hour train ride. The public transportation here is so much better than in the states, between the trains, buses, and ferries its really easy to get pretty much anywhere. I headed to one of my favorite spots, Circular Quay. As soon as you step off the train you have a beautiful view of the Sydney Harbor bridge and the Opera House. I didn't do a whole lot, just walked around the harbor and the Rocks district, the Opera House. Had lunch, took lots of photos, and did some window shopping :-)

Here are a few photos of my little day trip.

the place to be

Apparently Australia is the place to be :-) I've been watching Sunrise the last few mornings with my cousin, its like the Aussie version of the Today show. Well yesterday, they showed Tim McGraw arriving in Oz and this morning Usain Bolt (sp?!) arrived. Also if you haven't heard apparently Oprah surprised her studio audience with a trip to Oz. She is coming in December and bring 300 people from her audience and 150 crew members with her to 4 different destinations and is going to film 2 shows at the Sydney Opera House which everyone here is calling the Oprah House now...all I can say is wow, thats just nuts! Talk about an expensive holiday!

It really is an exciting time to be here! The new prime minister, who just so happens to be a woman is being sworn in this week. And beautiful spring weather is in full force, I can't wait for a summer Christmas!

A few things i've come to learn about life in Oz...
1. Not only do they drive on the left side of the road, the trains are on the left, escalators are on the left and when passing people on the footpath (aka sidewalk) they generally stay to the left. I find that the hardest, I guess its just a habit I need to break.
2. Aussies LOVE their tea. They call it a 'cuppa', and I probably have at least 2-3 a day. Depends on where I am and who i'm with, sometimes its more like 4 or 5. Everyone has a kettle, which is my new favorite kitchen gadget.
3. There are no drive through banks, coffee shops, etc. But there are tons of cute coffee shops and cafes, which I love!
4. No, kangaroos do not just run around everywhere. I'm sure they do in the outback but I live in a city and the only time i've ever actually seen any was at the zoo.
5. I love, love the Aussie accent! I'm pretty sure I could sit and listen to them talk all day.
6. Some of the lingo... boot=trunk of the car, arvo=afternoon, bottle-o=liquor store, grog=alcohol, ring=call. They also use words like: heaps, no worries, cheers, etc. I just love it all :-) I could write a whole post just on the lingo.

I'm sure I could write a whole post about all the things i've learned about live here so far, but i'll spare you. Life certainly is different here but in a good way. I kept saying all along I was ready for a change and needed something different. Well I got it alright. I needed to be taken out of my comfort zone, some place I could relax, clear my head and get my priorities back on track. Not that things were out of control or anything but for a few years now my life had become consumed with my job which is silly for a 25 year old. I'm thankful to be where I am and for this time in my life. And I can honestly say that no matter what happens, I'll have no regrets.

Thankful

I'm thankful for emails from friends back home that make me laugh out loud until the point of tears and getting to skype at the dinner table with 2 of my favorite kiddos. I'm seriously grateful for our amazing means of communication now days. What did we do so many years ago? I couldn't live half way around the world, thats for sure. Its been an adjustment communicating with friends and family through skype, emails and facebook chat but I wouldn't change any of it. I'm so blessed to have so many people in my life that love, miss and care about me, even from 10,000 miles away.

Not a lot going on this week. My daily "routine" is pretty much the same. Up around 7am, tea with my cousin before she leaves for work, then I usually chat with people back home (since its night time there, during my morning time), go for a run, walk to the store to get groceries, wash dishes, pick up/clean, watch tv from the states, shower, then start working on dinner before everyone comes home. Yep, I kind of feel like a stay at home mom or housewife minus the husband and kids thing :-) I'm still waiting for my tax file number to come in, once I get that i'll be able to start working. Until then, just trying to enjoy this "in between" time.

photo update

I realize since i've been here I have been terrible at taking pictures (not that i've been doing a lot of exciting things to take pictures of...) but I played catch up a little this weekend. While everyone back home in the states was celebrating Labor Day, we in Australia were celebrating Fathers Day. Early Sunday morning we had a massive wind storm, who would have thought wind could keep you awake all night. I was sure it was going to start storming at any minute and tornado sirens would start going off, but nope...just wind. Sunday was a busy day. After church we went to Scott's soccer game, then over to Elisha's sisters house for Father's Day lunch with the Brown family. I love Elisha's family, they remind me a lot of mine, which of course make me miss everyone back home. They have been so helpful in making me feel at home. Here are a few photos from my new life in Oz.
Laundry day...good thing it was sunny out :-)

Scott's soccer game

My cousin, Elisha and I

My cousins house, where I'm living for a while

Culture Shock

I realize I have only been here for one week (today!) so maybe this post is a little premature but as far as the culture shock goes, I think i'm good. My cousins and I have talked about this some. When I first got here I was just so surprised that I was back already, it all happened so fast. My cousin in law, Elisha (who's from here) was telling me about the culture shock she experienced when she moved to the states a few years ago and even when she moved back home...I was getting a little nervous. But i've also talked some with my cousin Zach (who's from FL) he mentioned that living in Australia is similar to how it would have been like living in the US many years ago. I didn't really understand that at first but now i'm starting to.

I didn't think it would be hard moving here as far as the culture goes. I mean, honestly its a lot like home just maybe a little more laid back and the big thing, they speak English! I think it I would have moved somewhere I didn't speak the language it would have been completely different. The way i've described Australia to people from home is it reminds me a lot of a mix between Europe and the US. They have a lot of the architecture, diversity, old world charm of Europe but all of the modern things of the US like, internet, McDonald's...I know, maybe not the best examples but you get the idea.

Life in Australia, in my opinion is more laid back and simpler, which I happen to love! One of the biggest things I was wanting this year when I decided to move was just to somewhere different, I was wanting a change. I didn't know at the time it would be to the other side of the world and 15 hours away from my friends and family. But oh well, I wouldn't change any of it. Well, maybe the jet lag part which I would love to say i've overcome but i'm not sure since I was wide awake at 6am. Since its still early and the weather is decent i'm going to attempt a run this morning. Its been over 2 weeks since i've been in a gym so i'm a little nervous. More nervous because there is hardily any semi flat land nearby so this should be interesting.