EPILOGUE
One of the questions people have been asking since my arrival back in the States is whether I'll be continuing my blog. It started out as a means to communicate to a vast amount of people in several areas of my life as I traveled the globe. I didn't reckon it would in fact facilitate one of my greatest personal discoveries. I want to be a writer. I enjoy telling stories. I like making people laugh at life's messes and joys. I like inspiring our human spirits. Maybe what I write will hit it big, maybe it won't. But it's my art and I have been encouraged throughout this latest adventure to take the risk. My many greyhound hours led to brainstorming what I want to pen. I have a couple of brewing ideas....until my book signing here are a few last stories and reflections from my Down Under tramping...
~Due to washer machine winds, Andrew was unable to take us on our New Zealand scenic flight. Our disappointment was overcome by a healthy dose of laughter from the kiwi comedy delight "Eagle vs. Shark." Do you like "Flight of the Concords?" Then this little outrageous movie will be your new cinematic dessert.
~We said goodbye to Andrew and Toni, flew into Sydney on a very disappointing Jet Star flight (Emirates would have never asked us to pay for snacks!), checked into our hostel, and immediately set about saying goodbye to our peeps. We went out with style, indulging in all the joys of life. People. Food. Entertainment. Sites. Emotion. Our best friends from Australia, the fabulous Frenchies Caro and Vinci, had booked their flight to Singapore at the same time as our ticket to the U.S. We packed out a taxi with our luggage and had our last meal together at the airport. As Tara and I walked away from their embrace and cheeky kisses into the Customs queues, my heart fell. Shattered. With them, at least, I knew it was only a temporary absence. However, that goodbye was the naughty kid who pushed the porcelain vase off the table. Shattered.
~To be true "shattered" was the first word that popped into my head the morning of September 21st, 2009. I had created something whole and wondrous with Tara in Australia. It had people from eclectic backgrounds and lifestyles, people who spoke English as a second language, it had places that spoke of Sacred brilliance, risks, and self discoveries. This wholeness came from an anvil and hammer refined friendship with Tara and the blossoming of a new community for me. It holds my heart. Now this "wholiness" was ending. I felt shattered. Here's the thing, though. I'm ok with shattered. Before Australia, I finally was realizing the inexplicable joy of freely giving my heart away to people. It's so easily broken but I know me. I know I'll be ok. Love is worth the shattering. Perhaps, even, love is the shattering.
~This four month adventure abroad really made me contemplate my thoughts on "community." Community is built amongst people all the time. It is a support system that liberates and nourishes. Often, I've thought of truest community coming from relationships built intentionally over long periods of time. During the trip, I also have repeatedly witnessed community springing up instantly. I was taken care of by so many and cared in return. I have found kindred spirits. Solidarity of human spirit. That is community too. I've also realized the importance of relationships in understanding myself. With Abby coming, I was reaffirmed in some aspects of my core being that I had forgotten. I needed to be reminded and freed from my mind. Our friendship is essential to me knowing who I am, as are all of the relationships I have with my closest friends and family. Humans were created to exercise who they are in relationship, to themselves, to others, and to the Sacred. Life's greatest visual aide.
~My last important reflection. I am so happy. I have finally let go of needing to be a person who progresses throughout life in a logically building manner. For too long, I've been trying to mold into what I deemed I should want...a career, a home, a spouse, 2.5 children, a dog, etc. I should start saving more money. I should get a master's. But wait I should figure out what career I want first. Ugh. I didn't understand how people just knew. It's not that I don't want to do anything. Rather, I want to do so many things! I want to be a nurse, a chaplain, a counsleor, a physical therapist, a massage therapist, a social worker, an ambassador.... I want to see the world. I'm sure I'll want to put roots down somewhere with someone someday but until I know what that looks like, I'm forging on this risky no shoulder mountain road to continue finding out who is Joylynn. As a person who passionately loves people, it is hard to constantly be leaving the people I love. But here's the thing I've found upon my homecoming. Life evolves whether I'm on board or not. Kindred spirits dance through the change.
My plans now? Rest in the decisions of others (aka sponge off my parents...wonderful people). Pay off debt. Get some jobs. Save my money. Do it all again. Seize my life. Join it with others.
My last words must go to my traveling mate....
Tara, dearest, flexing my inner self, transforming, processing, and adventuring with you has been Sacred. Have courage, Sunshine, have courage.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Making "Her"story
Our trip is winding down. Tara and I are near tears most nights as we realize that this adventure is starting its last chapter...or perhaps even the closing lines. Epilogue please? New Zealand has been a balm for our souls. We spent heaps of time with each other in the car, trying not to fall off any of the treacherous mountain roads. We went through all of our playlists, often picking songs for each other that made us shout with road weary enthusiasm or bring us down to reflective debriefing moments. From Nelson Bay, we drove (stay left, stay left!) to the Abel Tasman Forest area. It was raining and we were quite disappointed since we wanted to put on our hiking boots for once (admittedly we are a bit too posh and had only our stylish city boots to climb in but that wasn't going to deter us). Our plan B was to just drive into the area until some sort of inspiration came along and that's where our next adventure begins...
I was driving along, trying to see between the raindrops, when we turned a bend in the road. Tara pointed dramatically at the ditch and I followed her finger to behold a male backpacker with his thumb stuck high and mighty. He had a goofy grin and seemed so content to be in the drizzly Kiwi weather. In the the matter of ten seconds Tara and I had this conversation...
"Joy. Pull over."
"Tara this is exactly what our dad's told us we should never do."
"Whatever you think."
(long pause)
"I can't believe we're doing this."
I slammed on my breaks and made it over to the non-existent shoulder (there never seems to be those in New Zealand...more sheep traffic than people traffic) about fifteen feet after the backpapcker. Tara and I shove all of our luggage to one side in the backseat. Besides, the quick stop that was the second amazing feat in the last 30 seconds. We soon welcomed Paul from Paris in our little white Toyota Corrolla (fondly named "her"story...because we're making "her"story in it). Paul turned out to have a remarkable story of being born in France, growing up in Boston, and living his adult life in Paris. He fell into fashion photographer assisting and entertianed us with stories of the rich and famous. One of the most vivid tidbits of his stories involved him meeting the main guy from Nine Inch Nails in a bar by happen chance and when Paul asked him how he stayed inspired over the years and so many musician changes in the band, he replied,"Love man. What else is there to make music about." Paul was escaping a series of unfortuante events and needed sometime away. He booked a flight a day before he took off and had been backpacking around New Zealand for about a week before he flashed his goofy grin at us. We found a lovely cafe called the Naked Possum in the middle of the New Zealand wilderness, pulled up to an outside fireplace, ate homemade soup and pies, and finished it off with some flat white coffee. All in all, a very risky decision. But apparantly this time the risk paid off with a beautiful new friend.
From Abel Tasman, we went south to Franz Josef....a very long trip that brought us into some of the most stunning moutain meet shoreline scenery. We found little tourists places along the way, including seal colonies and pancake rocks. We came into Franz Josef at about eight at night and everything had shut down. We could find no place to stay except a motel that had a cabin for way way too much. But we had learned our lesson about sleeping in the car at the "Cork and the Keg" so we gulped down our bitter loss of precious funds and did the only thing we could do.....use all the resources we paid for!!! We used all the blankets, all the pillows, all the towels, all the coffee, all the hot chocolate, all the tea, all the channels of on the TV until three in the morning, all of the hot water, all the time we wanted in the bathroom, and all the heat we could absorb from the cranked heater. Take that Franz Josef. In the morning we did a glacier walk. I would tell you it was a breathtaking two hour walk but all Tara and I did was phase out and talk about men. Don't worry we took heaps of photos once we realized that there was a very large block of ice swooping down toward us.
From Franz Josef we made it to the thrilling mountain city of Queenstown. This is where Tara benevolently agreed to go on a Lord of the Rings tour. We did it the only appropriate way...on horseback! Tara even had a movie star of her horse. Trevor the Brave was used in "Prince Caspian" in the scene where Caspian is running away from the bad guys through a river. Like most movie stars, Trevor was a bit of a dunce. He kept nearly falling but Tara told me one of the nicest things about how she came to roll with the punches. "Joy. When I realized how clumsy Trevor was I stayed calm because I realized through you that clumsiness doesn't mean something bad IS going to happen but rather it NEARLY happens. Everything is ok in the end."
Also in Queenstown we learned that no matter how many Kiwi's are parked on a broken yellow line that does not mean it's ok to park there as well. We had our first criminal offence in New Zealand. Sixty dollars later and we were cleared. There goes a few Starbucks coffees.....
Also, ran into our friend from Noosa Heads, Craig. Once again, we exist in the smallest of worlds.
From Queenstown, we zoomed over to the student riot capital of Dunedin. We arrived late and the hostel lady was absolutely not impressed with us. Our roomies were a little bit more pleased. We stayed up until one in the morning playing the tried and true childhood game winner...Guess Who. Really tore up the town....but we did find our Starbucks before heading on highway 1 to Oamaru, the home of penguins. We saw one...........thus our decision to move on.....
We stopped at a cheese factory. The nice man told us about a small French style village called Akaroa on Banks Peninsula. We had fueled up with plenty of gas to make it there but we didn't count in the fact we'd be climbing the most hair bending turns up into unknown heights (it was pitch black). The fuel light started blinking on and all of the five person towns along the way had dark petroel stations. As we started our descent from the hills, Tara and I were inspired to put the car into neutral and coast to save gas. This was a quite fun activity that made us burst into nerotic stressed out laughter (our food stores also were depleting...stress eating...) until I switched the car from drive to neurtal to reverse (the "you are a hazard" sound came on!!!). Don't worry I switched it so quickly back that "her"story didn't even flinch. Just like Trevor the Brave....NEARLY catastrophe. More stress eating.
From Akaroa we made our final journey home through Lyttleton to Christchurch, where our friends Andrew and Toni picked us up from Jucy Rentals. We are living in the lap of luxury (Internet access, chef prepared dinner, and a warm place to rest our heads). Tomorrow Andrew, the pilot chef, will be taking us for an all day scenic flight over the majestic mountians, sounds, and whale waters. I reckon it will be a very good day.
Saturday we're back to home...Sydney. Then our birth home, the States. And our epilogue begins....
I was driving along, trying to see between the raindrops, when we turned a bend in the road. Tara pointed dramatically at the ditch and I followed her finger to behold a male backpacker with his thumb stuck high and mighty. He had a goofy grin and seemed so content to be in the drizzly Kiwi weather. In the the matter of ten seconds Tara and I had this conversation...
"Joy. Pull over."
"Tara this is exactly what our dad's told us we should never do."
"Whatever you think."
(long pause)
"I can't believe we're doing this."
I slammed on my breaks and made it over to the non-existent shoulder (there never seems to be those in New Zealand...more sheep traffic than people traffic) about fifteen feet after the backpapcker. Tara and I shove all of our luggage to one side in the backseat. Besides, the quick stop that was the second amazing feat in the last 30 seconds. We soon welcomed Paul from Paris in our little white Toyota Corrolla (fondly named "her"story...because we're making "her"story in it). Paul turned out to have a remarkable story of being born in France, growing up in Boston, and living his adult life in Paris. He fell into fashion photographer assisting and entertianed us with stories of the rich and famous. One of the most vivid tidbits of his stories involved him meeting the main guy from Nine Inch Nails in a bar by happen chance and when Paul asked him how he stayed inspired over the years and so many musician changes in the band, he replied,"Love man. What else is there to make music about." Paul was escaping a series of unfortuante events and needed sometime away. He booked a flight a day before he took off and had been backpacking around New Zealand for about a week before he flashed his goofy grin at us. We found a lovely cafe called the Naked Possum in the middle of the New Zealand wilderness, pulled up to an outside fireplace, ate homemade soup and pies, and finished it off with some flat white coffee. All in all, a very risky decision. But apparantly this time the risk paid off with a beautiful new friend.
From Abel Tasman, we went south to Franz Josef....a very long trip that brought us into some of the most stunning moutain meet shoreline scenery. We found little tourists places along the way, including seal colonies and pancake rocks. We came into Franz Josef at about eight at night and everything had shut down. We could find no place to stay except a motel that had a cabin for way way too much. But we had learned our lesson about sleeping in the car at the "Cork and the Keg" so we gulped down our bitter loss of precious funds and did the only thing we could do.....use all the resources we paid for!!! We used all the blankets, all the pillows, all the towels, all the coffee, all the hot chocolate, all the tea, all the channels of on the TV until three in the morning, all of the hot water, all the time we wanted in the bathroom, and all the heat we could absorb from the cranked heater. Take that Franz Josef. In the morning we did a glacier walk. I would tell you it was a breathtaking two hour walk but all Tara and I did was phase out and talk about men. Don't worry we took heaps of photos once we realized that there was a very large block of ice swooping down toward us.
From Franz Josef we made it to the thrilling mountain city of Queenstown. This is where Tara benevolently agreed to go on a Lord of the Rings tour. We did it the only appropriate way...on horseback! Tara even had a movie star of her horse. Trevor the Brave was used in "Prince Caspian" in the scene where Caspian is running away from the bad guys through a river. Like most movie stars, Trevor was a bit of a dunce. He kept nearly falling but Tara told me one of the nicest things about how she came to roll with the punches. "Joy. When I realized how clumsy Trevor was I stayed calm because I realized through you that clumsiness doesn't mean something bad IS going to happen but rather it NEARLY happens. Everything is ok in the end."
Also in Queenstown we learned that no matter how many Kiwi's are parked on a broken yellow line that does not mean it's ok to park there as well. We had our first criminal offence in New Zealand. Sixty dollars later and we were cleared. There goes a few Starbucks coffees.....
Also, ran into our friend from Noosa Heads, Craig. Once again, we exist in the smallest of worlds.
From Queenstown, we zoomed over to the student riot capital of Dunedin. We arrived late and the hostel lady was absolutely not impressed with us. Our roomies were a little bit more pleased. We stayed up until one in the morning playing the tried and true childhood game winner...Guess Who. Really tore up the town....but we did find our Starbucks before heading on highway 1 to Oamaru, the home of penguins. We saw one...........thus our decision to move on.....
We stopped at a cheese factory. The nice man told us about a small French style village called Akaroa on Banks Peninsula. We had fueled up with plenty of gas to make it there but we didn't count in the fact we'd be climbing the most hair bending turns up into unknown heights (it was pitch black). The fuel light started blinking on and all of the five person towns along the way had dark petroel stations. As we started our descent from the hills, Tara and I were inspired to put the car into neutral and coast to save gas. This was a quite fun activity that made us burst into nerotic stressed out laughter (our food stores also were depleting...stress eating...) until I switched the car from drive to neurtal to reverse (the "you are a hazard" sound came on!!!). Don't worry I switched it so quickly back that "her"story didn't even flinch. Just like Trevor the Brave....NEARLY catastrophe. More stress eating.
From Akaroa we made our final journey home through Lyttleton to Christchurch, where our friends Andrew and Toni picked us up from Jucy Rentals. We are living in the lap of luxury (Internet access, chef prepared dinner, and a warm place to rest our heads). Tomorrow Andrew, the pilot chef, will be taking us for an all day scenic flight over the majestic mountians, sounds, and whale waters. I reckon it will be a very good day.
Saturday we're back to home...Sydney. Then our birth home, the States. And our epilogue begins....
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Kiwi Krazy
Tara and I took off for New Zealand on the eighth of September. It was a dream we both have had for so long and we decided to just go for it even though everything's getting a little tight here at the end of the trip. Well worth it...
1. In our typical haphazard manner, we had to go on a wild goose chase for a print off of our ticket out of New Zealand before we could board our plane to go there. We are flying out with a different airline and couldn't quite remember what we booked, thus our adventure began. At least we showed up 2 1/2 hours early because we knew something like this would happen.
2. We flew for the first time ever with Emirates airline. Absolutely the best airline I've ever been on. It even beat out Qantas with their ice cream treats. Get this. Before we board they have a whole range of magazines and newspapers you get to pick from to read on the airplane (and keep!...we asked). Tara and I naturally nabbed up some Vogues (I did consider getting a Sydney newspaper but knew that on holiday I would never take the time to read it). Then, we had hot towels given to us to wash our hands. Our seats reclined like true recliners, where your seat moved not just the back. We had our own individual TV screens with TV and movie options. I finally got to see the latest X-men movie! Our brunch consisted of an cheese and capsicum omelet, cheese and crackers, chocolate, roll with butter, fruit, oranged juice, coffee, and CHEESECAKE! The bathrooms were incredibly spacious (definitely enough room for two people...now I understand...hahaha). They had a full length mirror in them. I can't even fathom what first class would be like. This airline put every American line to shame. Hands down.
3. Immediately after arriving in Christchurch (one of the biggest cities on the South Island), Tara and I rented a white Toyota Corolla and took off on our Kiwi adventure. Yes that's right. I am currently driving on the left side of the road, navigating round abouts, nearly always remembering to yield to the right, and trying not to be too much of a hazard....at least when I back up their is this horrendous blaring backing up noise...Tara and I joke that it's like a neon sign "stay clear, we are a tourists." I think we're finally getting the hang of it...although there was one point where I had to shout "give way! give way! give way!" to Tara because she forgot to yield to the right as a car came spinning around the roundabout. Death look. Sorry. Hazard.
4. We ended up in the town of Kaikoura for the night. The next day we indulged in wonderful tourist fare such as a sheep sheering show, holding and feeding baby lambs, walking amongst a seal colony, and eating at a seafood BBQ shack along the road.
5. We left Kaikoura in the late afternoon for the wine country around Blenheim. We weren't too impressed with the small town, so we continued to the town of Renwick (like 20 minutes away). Tara had read about a small English style pub called the "Cork and Keg" with home brewed beer and cider. We stopped in and felt instant love for the little pub! After grabbing a New Zealand cider, we pulled up in front of the flaming fire, and a cat jumped up into our laps for a cuddle. Daisy started purring and I noticed some liquid falling on my sleeve. I told Tara, "look I'm making her drool!" Tara promptly put me straight, "Cats don't drool. That's snot." Which promptly made me deposit Daisy to the floor. We met the owners Diane and Larry. They treated us to warm company, cider, nachos, and blanket (kindnesses that bring backpackers nearly to tears...which we almost did a couple times that night). Tara and I had one of the best heart to hearts we had on the trip and soon Diane joined. She works with special needs and mentally ill patients and just had so much wisdom and encouragement to share with us. The blankets were most welcome as Tara and I decided to sleep in our car in their car park that night. It seemed like a good idea until we both were fidgeting so much and trying not to notice our bodies were numb with cold. At one point, I hit the hazard lights and in our half awake and slightly tipsy minds, we had no idea what was going on. I somewhat panicked before Tara realized it was merely that we were the hazard, as usual, and pushed them off. At 4:30 a.m. we gave up our car sleeping adventure, returned the blankets with a thank you note, and drove off to our next adventure....pumping petrol.
6. We stopped in a small sleepy town for coffee and brekky, as the sun rose and revealed the stunning landscape. Yes it is as beautiful as everyone says. Tara and I continue to drop our mouths in awe that such a place exists. It's green. It's full of hills and mountains and seemingly untouched streams and sheep and cows and incredible trees and the most impossibly windy roads that all the natives take at break neck speeds. The beautiful thing about having a car is we can make our own agenda at our own pace. At one point we decided we wanted to off road to see what the French Pass was about...about ten minutes in we realized it was a two hour drive out of our way...so we turned about...took another pic of the amazing scenery....and found a touristy "pioneer house" to visit. Mind you it is only seven in the morning at this point and we're creeping around on someone's property to see it. Didn't look too hard core. The guest book even said "better than my house!"
7. At about eight in the morning we came to our next destination, Nelson. It's one of the bigger town's at about 43, 000! We booked into the "Green Monkey" hostel and snuggled under our double bed to warm up and nap. The afternoon comprised of us walking the small mountain-esque town, window shopping, and finding a Starbucks! We're off tomorrow to do some national park hiking, perhaps even some sea kayaking. This is a gallop about the South Island trip and we have no time to really soak in any place long. Tara and I agree...this part of our adventure has been nothing but refreshing and exhilarating!
8. How are we taking pictures without our cameras??? Well we've reverted back to our childhoods. We have disposable cameras!!! We have no idea what's turning out but we're having heaps of fun capturing our New Zealand adventure.
9. I look forward to Lord of the Rings scenery and a flight with my friend Andrew from the Outback over the mountains!
A reflection:
In my final days in Sydney before leaving for New Zealand, I had begun to fill as though it was time to go back to the States. I had seen so much, created community with so many. Nothing turned out to be as expected, a mantra of our trip. It's almost humorous that just as I was gearing up to leave, visit New Zealand, and come home to figure out my next adventure abroad, I find something new. It is unexplainable and completely unexpected. It is beautiful how the actions of others perfectly combined to bring on a chance encounter, a new risk to be taken up. It would happen this way. The mantra still holds true, even in our last days. My life has been building toward a moment like this. I've been refined. It's kindred. It's instant. It's raw. It's grace. It's sacred. It gives hope. In the end it is about seizing the day, dancing joyfully in the moment, and perhaps taking the risk to not let go.....
1. In our typical haphazard manner, we had to go on a wild goose chase for a print off of our ticket out of New Zealand before we could board our plane to go there. We are flying out with a different airline and couldn't quite remember what we booked, thus our adventure began. At least we showed up 2 1/2 hours early because we knew something like this would happen.
2. We flew for the first time ever with Emirates airline. Absolutely the best airline I've ever been on. It even beat out Qantas with their ice cream treats. Get this. Before we board they have a whole range of magazines and newspapers you get to pick from to read on the airplane (and keep!...we asked). Tara and I naturally nabbed up some Vogues (I did consider getting a Sydney newspaper but knew that on holiday I would never take the time to read it). Then, we had hot towels given to us to wash our hands. Our seats reclined like true recliners, where your seat moved not just the back. We had our own individual TV screens with TV and movie options. I finally got to see the latest X-men movie! Our brunch consisted of an cheese and capsicum omelet, cheese and crackers, chocolate, roll with butter, fruit, oranged juice, coffee, and CHEESECAKE! The bathrooms were incredibly spacious (definitely enough room for two people...now I understand...hahaha). They had a full length mirror in them. I can't even fathom what first class would be like. This airline put every American line to shame. Hands down.
3. Immediately after arriving in Christchurch (one of the biggest cities on the South Island), Tara and I rented a white Toyota Corolla and took off on our Kiwi adventure. Yes that's right. I am currently driving on the left side of the road, navigating round abouts, nearly always remembering to yield to the right, and trying not to be too much of a hazard....at least when I back up their is this horrendous blaring backing up noise...Tara and I joke that it's like a neon sign "stay clear, we are a tourists." I think we're finally getting the hang of it...although there was one point where I had to shout "give way! give way! give way!" to Tara because she forgot to yield to the right as a car came spinning around the roundabout. Death look. Sorry. Hazard.
4. We ended up in the town of Kaikoura for the night. The next day we indulged in wonderful tourist fare such as a sheep sheering show, holding and feeding baby lambs, walking amongst a seal colony, and eating at a seafood BBQ shack along the road.
5. We left Kaikoura in the late afternoon for the wine country around Blenheim. We weren't too impressed with the small town, so we continued to the town of Renwick (like 20 minutes away). Tara had read about a small English style pub called the "Cork and Keg" with home brewed beer and cider. We stopped in and felt instant love for the little pub! After grabbing a New Zealand cider, we pulled up in front of the flaming fire, and a cat jumped up into our laps for a cuddle. Daisy started purring and I noticed some liquid falling on my sleeve. I told Tara, "look I'm making her drool!" Tara promptly put me straight, "Cats don't drool. That's snot." Which promptly made me deposit Daisy to the floor. We met the owners Diane and Larry. They treated us to warm company, cider, nachos, and blanket (kindnesses that bring backpackers nearly to tears...which we almost did a couple times that night). Tara and I had one of the best heart to hearts we had on the trip and soon Diane joined. She works with special needs and mentally ill patients and just had so much wisdom and encouragement to share with us. The blankets were most welcome as Tara and I decided to sleep in our car in their car park that night. It seemed like a good idea until we both were fidgeting so much and trying not to notice our bodies were numb with cold. At one point, I hit the hazard lights and in our half awake and slightly tipsy minds, we had no idea what was going on. I somewhat panicked before Tara realized it was merely that we were the hazard, as usual, and pushed them off. At 4:30 a.m. we gave up our car sleeping adventure, returned the blankets with a thank you note, and drove off to our next adventure....pumping petrol.
6. We stopped in a small sleepy town for coffee and brekky, as the sun rose and revealed the stunning landscape. Yes it is as beautiful as everyone says. Tara and I continue to drop our mouths in awe that such a place exists. It's green. It's full of hills and mountains and seemingly untouched streams and sheep and cows and incredible trees and the most impossibly windy roads that all the natives take at break neck speeds. The beautiful thing about having a car is we can make our own agenda at our own pace. At one point we decided we wanted to off road to see what the French Pass was about...about ten minutes in we realized it was a two hour drive out of our way...so we turned about...took another pic of the amazing scenery....and found a touristy "pioneer house" to visit. Mind you it is only seven in the morning at this point and we're creeping around on someone's property to see it. Didn't look too hard core. The guest book even said "better than my house!"
7. At about eight in the morning we came to our next destination, Nelson. It's one of the bigger town's at about 43, 000! We booked into the "Green Monkey" hostel and snuggled under our double bed to warm up and nap. The afternoon comprised of us walking the small mountain-esque town, window shopping, and finding a Starbucks! We're off tomorrow to do some national park hiking, perhaps even some sea kayaking. This is a gallop about the South Island trip and we have no time to really soak in any place long. Tara and I agree...this part of our adventure has been nothing but refreshing and exhilarating!
8. How are we taking pictures without our cameras??? Well we've reverted back to our childhoods. We have disposable cameras!!! We have no idea what's turning out but we're having heaps of fun capturing our New Zealand adventure.
9. I look forward to Lord of the Rings scenery and a flight with my friend Andrew from the Outback over the mountains!
A reflection:
In my final days in Sydney before leaving for New Zealand, I had begun to fill as though it was time to go back to the States. I had seen so much, created community with so many. Nothing turned out to be as expected, a mantra of our trip. It's almost humorous that just as I was gearing up to leave, visit New Zealand, and come home to figure out my next adventure abroad, I find something new. It is unexplainable and completely unexpected. It is beautiful how the actions of others perfectly combined to bring on a chance encounter, a new risk to be taken up. It would happen this way. The mantra still holds true, even in our last days. My life has been building toward a moment like this. I've been refined. It's kindred. It's instant. It's raw. It's grace. It's sacred. It gives hope. In the end it is about seizing the day, dancing joyfully in the moment, and perhaps taking the risk to not let go.....
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Look out for crazy
One of the best things about traveling is creating an international community. Australia is a HUGE country, yet we are always running into people we've met again and again. Just two days ago, we were walking through the Sydney central business district and literally crossed paths with our friend Rachel from our Whitsunday trip! The night before, we ran into our friend Craig from our stay in Noosa Heads on the steps of a bar. We saw a french couple in three different cities after we said goodbye in Airlie Beach. On Fraser Island we came upon our friend Jill laying out in the sun. We saw a woman who seemed perhaps to have schizophrenia and was our roommate in Brisbane and then again in Noosa. We met up with Vinci and Caro in Townsville and will see them again tomorrow in Sydney. And the list goes on...we text our friends from the Outback and from all the places in between...we share our lives with so many. I am so blessed with this community.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) we also run across "crazy" people. Here's a couple unbelievable stories...
1. In Noosa, we met a woman who had fusia hair and was clearly chugging whiskey (she showed me her Jack Daniels bottle in her purse). She sat with us and proceeded to spin this tale that she had met a man in an Irish pub down the road and went back to his place for a "root." He had stolen her money (yet her purse was with her?), so she got him back by breaking into his hotel room and stolen his Jack bottle. She said she had climbed up a pipe and went in through the window, all while not waking his roommate. We had quite the colorful conversation about all things inappropriate before she started hitting on me. About that time (thankfully), she was kicked out by the hostel authorities. The whole way down the hill she screamed at the hostel workers. Our friend Craig had told us about how this crazy fuscia hair woman was talking to herself in the 7/11 earlier in the day. She had approached him and said she couldn't believe that a guy had stood her up! Then she showed up at our hostel! Later, we all went out dancing. Yvonne came running up to find me as I was paying to get in and she pulled me to the stage. There was the fuscia hair woman doing a drunk dance as a challenge! Eventually, she was kicked out of there too. Just not her night...
On our way to Newcastle from Sydney about a week ago, we had just arranged all of sprawling luggage on the train seats, when a guy approached us and asked us if we were ok. We said we were and then he asked again. Again, we're ok. I kind of gave him a bewildered look because he kept asking Tara if she was ok. When he turned around and saw me, he proceeded to flip me off, then laugh crazily, then said he was only kidding. He walked away. Then he walked back through the car. He introduced himself. We ignored him. He stationed himself near the door and began asking other passengers if they were ok, then freak out on them, etc. He introduced himself as "cannabis" to one guy. Explains that one. He was all over the place until he left the train a few stops down but didn't bother us after more passengers were around.
Tara and I joke about watching out for "crazy" and are fascinated by social dynamics wherever we go. We often mutter "social experiment" under our breaths. As a lover and studier of people, there is nothing like traveling.
P.S. I was just about to publish this when my friend Amelia from William Creek stuck her head in front of my computer screen and gave me a big hug!!!! The last I heard she was in Alice Springs and now we just had an extremely girly moment of hugging and chatting! Unbelievable.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) we also run across "crazy" people. Here's a couple unbelievable stories...
1. In Noosa, we met a woman who had fusia hair and was clearly chugging whiskey (she showed me her Jack Daniels bottle in her purse). She sat with us and proceeded to spin this tale that she had met a man in an Irish pub down the road and went back to his place for a "root." He had stolen her money (yet her purse was with her?), so she got him back by breaking into his hotel room and stolen his Jack bottle. She said she had climbed up a pipe and went in through the window, all while not waking his roommate. We had quite the colorful conversation about all things inappropriate before she started hitting on me. About that time (thankfully), she was kicked out by the hostel authorities. The whole way down the hill she screamed at the hostel workers. Our friend Craig had told us about how this crazy fuscia hair woman was talking to herself in the 7/11 earlier in the day. She had approached him and said she couldn't believe that a guy had stood her up! Then she showed up at our hostel! Later, we all went out dancing. Yvonne came running up to find me as I was paying to get in and she pulled me to the stage. There was the fuscia hair woman doing a drunk dance as a challenge! Eventually, she was kicked out of there too. Just not her night...
On our way to Newcastle from Sydney about a week ago, we had just arranged all of sprawling luggage on the train seats, when a guy approached us and asked us if we were ok. We said we were and then he asked again. Again, we're ok. I kind of gave him a bewildered look because he kept asking Tara if she was ok. When he turned around and saw me, he proceeded to flip me off, then laugh crazily, then said he was only kidding. He walked away. Then he walked back through the car. He introduced himself. We ignored him. He stationed himself near the door and began asking other passengers if they were ok, then freak out on them, etc. He introduced himself as "cannabis" to one guy. Explains that one. He was all over the place until he left the train a few stops down but didn't bother us after more passengers were around.
Tara and I joke about watching out for "crazy" and are fascinated by social dynamics wherever we go. We often mutter "social experiment" under our breaths. As a lover and studier of people, there is nothing like traveling.
P.S. I was just about to publish this when my friend Amelia from William Creek stuck her head in front of my computer screen and gave me a big hug!!!! The last I heard she was in Alice Springs and now we just had an extremely girly moment of hugging and chatting! Unbelievable.
Home
Everytime I come back to Sydney it feels a bit like a homecoming. We stay at the same hostel. We eat at the same kebab stand. We socialize at the same venues. This time around, I played hostess to Abby. It was a delight to see her take in the Opera House, Bridge, Darling Harbour, parks, and people. No moment went unphotographed, for which I'm so grateful, as a fellow photo freak! Abby and I went to the zoo. Two top moments...
1. Abby and I saw a sign for the kangaroo exhibit. We walked through two sets of doors (which I fatefully always pulled when it said push...Abby mercilessly makes fun of me as I did it about eight times that day). We stepped right into their "pad." I mean, at one point a Roo just bounded inches from our toes!!! I was a little jumpy myself! Abby wins the prize, though. She actually screamed when a bird came swooping by us. She saw it out of her perpherial vision and thought the mob master kangaroo was about to take us down. The crowd of cute guys down the way thought we were even more interesting to look at then the animals. At least I had something to make fun of her about after the door incidents!
2. There was a baby elephant born on July 4th in the elephant exhibit. Luk Chai (it means boy in Thai) was all over the place, curiously poking his trunk into all sorts of places, like water, chains, logs, and even poo! He is the first elephant to be born in Australia. We viewed all of the elephants during their play time. They played a soccer game and little Luk Chai followed the ball around, trying to steal it!
It was a tearful goodbye to Abby on Tuesday. She was so helpful in giving me perspective to my future and a faithful listening friend. I think we infected her with the travelling bug too. Perhaps Ireland this summer, Abby? =0)
My next stop before my triumphant return to the States will be New Zealand. My friend Andrew from the Outback has promised to fly us over the mountains and show off his beautiful country. I couldn't pass up the chance to view the magnificence while I was on this side of the world!
I can't wait to see all of you dear folks soon. I know I will leave again for another adventure. But for now, home is where my heart is =0)
1. Abby and I saw a sign for the kangaroo exhibit. We walked through two sets of doors (which I fatefully always pulled when it said push...Abby mercilessly makes fun of me as I did it about eight times that day). We stepped right into their "pad." I mean, at one point a Roo just bounded inches from our toes!!! I was a little jumpy myself! Abby wins the prize, though. She actually screamed when a bird came swooping by us. She saw it out of her perpherial vision and thought the mob master kangaroo was about to take us down. The crowd of cute guys down the way thought we were even more interesting to look at then the animals. At least I had something to make fun of her about after the door incidents!
2. There was a baby elephant born on July 4th in the elephant exhibit. Luk Chai (it means boy in Thai) was all over the place, curiously poking his trunk into all sorts of places, like water, chains, logs, and even poo! He is the first elephant to be born in Australia. We viewed all of the elephants during their play time. They played a soccer game and little Luk Chai followed the ball around, trying to steal it!
It was a tearful goodbye to Abby on Tuesday. She was so helpful in giving me perspective to my future and a faithful listening friend. I think we infected her with the travelling bug too. Perhaps Ireland this summer, Abby? =0)
My next stop before my triumphant return to the States will be New Zealand. My friend Andrew from the Outback has promised to fly us over the mountains and show off his beautiful country. I couldn't pass up the chance to view the magnificence while I was on this side of the world!
I can't wait to see all of you dear folks soon. I know I will leave again for another adventure. But for now, home is where my heart is =0)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The story continues...
....the story continues....
Tara and I somehow make it through a couple roundabouts (peculiar British commonwealth street structure). I kept saying "yield to the right! yield to the right!" We spot the bike path and start scooting along the beach. We stopped for coffee at a little cafe overlooking the ocean. After about three miles, we came to the end of the trail, and spotted a Woolworth's (grocery store). So, we decided it would be a good time to go shopping for our usual fanfare (rice cakes, apples, and tim tams). Also, we need some champagne for when we met up with our French friends. The bottle shop guy said if we bought six, we'd get a 10% discount. Being suckers for discounts, no matter if it makes sense or not, Tara and I readily pick out 6 bottles of bubbly! When we retrieved our bikes, we realized what we had done. How were we going to get it all back! I took the bike chain and strapped down the Champagne in the six pack carrying case to the back of my bike. Tara carried our purses. So here were...two girls in helmets, sundresses, sunnies, and a six pack of rattling Champagne bottles all the way back to our hostel. Tara even juggled her kebab in one hand as we rode. It was absurd and completely us. One of our funniest and completey unphotographed moments of the trip.
Itinenary Update:
We left Hervey Bay and went to Airlie Beach. We took an incredible sailing/snorkeling trip out to the Whitsunday Islands. I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef!!! The fish were so thick around me at one point that I freaked out (wild aminals kind of make me nervous) and swung out my hand. It smacked into one. So I flung out my other arm to get away and it smacked into another fish!!!! But all in all it has been one of the most beautiful sights I have beheld in my life.
Then, we left Airlie Beach for Townsville and met up with our French friends, Vinci and Caro, as well as Abby!!!! Abby and I snorkeled again off of Magnetic Island. Vinci and Caro offered to take us to Cairns. All five of us road tripped in their camper van. We camped out in their extra tent for three nights.
Tara, Abby, and I kissed them goodbye a couple days ago and flew to Sydney, hopped the train immediately to Townsville (there was a crazy crazy guy on our train who kept asking us if we were ok...then he'd flip us off...then he'd ask our names...then he'd say his name was "cannabis"...then he'd ask us if we were ok...then he'd talk to other people and it would start all over...eventful three hours!), where we spent a night.
Then, we headed out for a day to Port Stephens to see the whales and dolphins...but not surprisingly (we always have things not work out on this trip) it was way too windy to see anything so we didn't pay to go out. Instead, we watched a movie with Heath Ledger (the ultimate Aussie...God rest his soul). About half way through the movie, Abby and I look up at the top shelf over our heads and see a tail. We flick on the lights and discover a rat peeping at us!!!!! I will not lie. All three of us freaked. The rat flew out of sight. We continued watching Heath. However, the rat was not to be deterred for long. He kept terrorizing us about every 10 minutes until the movie was done. I was even standing on top of my chair for a good fifteen minutes. Remember, I don't like unpredictable wild animals...Tomorrow we head back to Sydney, where Tara and I will show Abby all the great sights. I'm most excited for the world famous zoo!
Tara and I somehow make it through a couple roundabouts (peculiar British commonwealth street structure). I kept saying "yield to the right! yield to the right!" We spot the bike path and start scooting along the beach. We stopped for coffee at a little cafe overlooking the ocean. After about three miles, we came to the end of the trail, and spotted a Woolworth's (grocery store). So, we decided it would be a good time to go shopping for our usual fanfare (rice cakes, apples, and tim tams). Also, we need some champagne for when we met up with our French friends. The bottle shop guy said if we bought six, we'd get a 10% discount. Being suckers for discounts, no matter if it makes sense or not, Tara and I readily pick out 6 bottles of bubbly! When we retrieved our bikes, we realized what we had done. How were we going to get it all back! I took the bike chain and strapped down the Champagne in the six pack carrying case to the back of my bike. Tara carried our purses. So here were...two girls in helmets, sundresses, sunnies, and a six pack of rattling Champagne bottles all the way back to our hostel. Tara even juggled her kebab in one hand as we rode. It was absurd and completely us. One of our funniest and completey unphotographed moments of the trip.
Itinenary Update:
We left Hervey Bay and went to Airlie Beach. We took an incredible sailing/snorkeling trip out to the Whitsunday Islands. I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef!!! The fish were so thick around me at one point that I freaked out (wild aminals kind of make me nervous) and swung out my hand. It smacked into one. So I flung out my other arm to get away and it smacked into another fish!!!! But all in all it has been one of the most beautiful sights I have beheld in my life.
Then, we left Airlie Beach for Townsville and met up with our French friends, Vinci and Caro, as well as Abby!!!! Abby and I snorkeled again off of Magnetic Island. Vinci and Caro offered to take us to Cairns. All five of us road tripped in their camper van. We camped out in their extra tent for three nights.
Tara, Abby, and I kissed them goodbye a couple days ago and flew to Sydney, hopped the train immediately to Townsville (there was a crazy crazy guy on our train who kept asking us if we were ok...then he'd flip us off...then he'd ask our names...then he'd say his name was "cannabis"...then he'd ask us if we were ok...then he'd talk to other people and it would start all over...eventful three hours!), where we spent a night.
Then, we headed out for a day to Port Stephens to see the whales and dolphins...but not surprisingly (we always have things not work out on this trip) it was way too windy to see anything so we didn't pay to go out. Instead, we watched a movie with Heath Ledger (the ultimate Aussie...God rest his soul). About half way through the movie, Abby and I look up at the top shelf over our heads and see a tail. We flick on the lights and discover a rat peeping at us!!!!! I will not lie. All three of us freaked. The rat flew out of sight. We continued watching Heath. However, the rat was not to be deterred for long. He kept terrorizing us about every 10 minutes until the movie was done. I was even standing on top of my chair for a good fifteen minutes. Remember, I don't like unpredictable wild animals...Tomorrow we head back to Sydney, where Tara and I will show Abby all the great sights. I'm most excited for the world famous zoo!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Touring (Tooling) to Discovery
There is so much I want to tell but only 15 minutes to do so! First things first. I must give a shout out to my family and faithful readers of this blog. I've been hearing from various places of random people I didn't know were tuning in and it makes me happy that all the money scammed out of me to get some internet time isn't a waste. To my California cousins...Scott told me you thought it was a funny read and that makes me feel so complimented! Wish I could have been at Nanie's party with you!!
Tara and I left Noosa Heads for Hervey Bay two days ago and spent yesterday touring Fraser Island. It is the biggest sand island in the world and is a world heritage sight (meaning they're trying to preserve it). We saw everything from rainforests to scrubby beach grass to dingos to shipwrecks. We even saw a fern that has been on our planet for over 3 million years!! (well the same kind...obviously those specific ferns aren't that hold...). We dipped our toes and sunbathed next to freshwater perched dune lakes...the ph level is so high in the water that nothing grows in the water so it is crystal clear. Gorgeous. Only 100 exist in the world and 50 of them are on Fraser Island! Tonight we're catching the night bus (8 hours...whew) to Airlie Beach. We are going on a sailing tour of the Whitsundaies for 2 days/2 nights. I'll be snorkeling the Great Barriar Reef!!!! I'm utterly stoked.
Here's some story snipets:
1. Tara and I were pulled over by the police this morning....on our push bikes (aussie for bicycles)!!!! We were wobbling our way down the street, forgetting that we needed to be on the left side of the street. So we came to an intersection and we were trying to straighten ourselves out. We looked erratic. The police car pulled up during our chaos and asked us to pull over and talk to him. He proceeded to tell us that we had to wear our helmets. It's the law. The penalty is $100. Our stomachs dropped. But we said he took it from our accents that we weren't from around here (that obvious?). He told us to go to a bike trail and stay off the streets because we looked out of practice. No fine. Sooo Tara and I proceeded to make our way to the bike trail along the coast (gorgeous). Picture this...we were wearing cute sundresses, sunnies, and helments...definitely looked like were 16...and...I'll have to continue the story next time because my internet time is running out!!!!....it only get's better...
Tara and I left Noosa Heads for Hervey Bay two days ago and spent yesterday touring Fraser Island. It is the biggest sand island in the world and is a world heritage sight (meaning they're trying to preserve it). We saw everything from rainforests to scrubby beach grass to dingos to shipwrecks. We even saw a fern that has been on our planet for over 3 million years!! (well the same kind...obviously those specific ferns aren't that hold...). We dipped our toes and sunbathed next to freshwater perched dune lakes...the ph level is so high in the water that nothing grows in the water so it is crystal clear. Gorgeous. Only 100 exist in the world and 50 of them are on Fraser Island! Tonight we're catching the night bus (8 hours...whew) to Airlie Beach. We are going on a sailing tour of the Whitsundaies for 2 days/2 nights. I'll be snorkeling the Great Barriar Reef!!!! I'm utterly stoked.
Here's some story snipets:
1. Tara and I were pulled over by the police this morning....on our push bikes (aussie for bicycles)!!!! We were wobbling our way down the street, forgetting that we needed to be on the left side of the street. So we came to an intersection and we were trying to straighten ourselves out. We looked erratic. The police car pulled up during our chaos and asked us to pull over and talk to him. He proceeded to tell us that we had to wear our helmets. It's the law. The penalty is $100. Our stomachs dropped. But we said he took it from our accents that we weren't from around here (that obvious?). He told us to go to a bike trail and stay off the streets because we looked out of practice. No fine. Sooo Tara and I proceeded to make our way to the bike trail along the coast (gorgeous). Picture this...we were wearing cute sundresses, sunnies, and helments...definitely looked like were 16...and...I'll have to continue the story next time because my internet time is running out!!!!....it only get's better...
Monday, August 10, 2009
Character's Continued
Surfer's Paradise
Katya from Germany...this roommate came in and immediately asked us if she could join us in our plans for the evening. As we all got ready for the evening (most girls agree that the best bonding comes when we're being girly and prepping for a night out), Katja entertained us with how she made it to Australia. She was drinking with her older sister one night when she was 18 and was pretty tipsy when her sister wagered a bet with her. If she lost, Katja had to come to New Zealand with her. Katja lost. The next morning she found her way into a travel agent's office and booked a flight and spent all of her money on it. She ended up loving New Zealand, fought with her sister, and took off hitch hiking the south island. She made up with her sis and she convinced her to go to Australia. Katja then stayed on for the rest of the year, traveling with random people she met. At one point she was in the airport going home, when she saw a sign for a ticket to Alice Springs on a train. She had $250 to her name. She cancelled her plane ticket and left for the Outback. She called her parents two days later when they were on their way to get her at the airport to tell them she was still in Australia. Yeah. She's crazy. But I admire her spunk and zeal for adventure.
Tara Wanbaugh and Joylynn Corum from the States....we accidently put our suitcases in the wrong area under the bus. So, when we arrived in Surfers, they weren't unloaded and had loads of bags on top of them. I apologized to the bus driver and explained what happened. He had no patience for us, looked us up and down with a very displeased and sour expression, and said "well you'll have to get them yourself." I said, Tthat's fine. We can do that." Tara and I began hauling bag after bag out of the under carriage. We soon became the attraction for the bus driver, the line of 30 people waiting to get on the bus, and all people passing by. Here were two cutsy American girls, throwing luggage around, grabbing our too big suitcases, and jigsawing other people's luggage back into place. Nobody said anything. Nobody offered to help. They just stared for 10 minutes as we did this. Probably one of the strangest and most uncomfortable moments we've had on this trip. And we've had plenty.
Brisbane
This morning, an older woman of about 50, with grey hair in a disarray, said to me, "what is she doing here?" in a whisper. I turned to look, as I was the only one in the room I thought. She most decidedly wasn't talking to me but herself as she picked at her fingernails. Strange. Tara said she had been muttering to herself last night too. Later, she asked Tara and I where we were from in the States. We answered Minnesota (easier to say that sometimes). She said quite viciously, "do you follow what goes on in America?" She obviously believed we were ignorant, spoiled, obnoxious Americans. After answering, she said we better watch who we let into our country, sniffed at us, and walked away. As if Tara and I should be sitting down in Arizona or California somewhere, with shot guns, watching the border. Yes. I firmly believe I've met my first real life schizophrenic. We half expect our stuff to be lit on fire by the time we get back to our room. Our accents work against us.
We're onto Noosa Head next and more beach...I'm going to be tan!!!
Katya from Germany...this roommate came in and immediately asked us if she could join us in our plans for the evening. As we all got ready for the evening (most girls agree that the best bonding comes when we're being girly and prepping for a night out), Katja entertained us with how she made it to Australia. She was drinking with her older sister one night when she was 18 and was pretty tipsy when her sister wagered a bet with her. If she lost, Katja had to come to New Zealand with her. Katja lost. The next morning she found her way into a travel agent's office and booked a flight and spent all of her money on it. She ended up loving New Zealand, fought with her sister, and took off hitch hiking the south island. She made up with her sis and she convinced her to go to Australia. Katja then stayed on for the rest of the year, traveling with random people she met. At one point she was in the airport going home, when she saw a sign for a ticket to Alice Springs on a train. She had $250 to her name. She cancelled her plane ticket and left for the Outback. She called her parents two days later when they were on their way to get her at the airport to tell them she was still in Australia. Yeah. She's crazy. But I admire her spunk and zeal for adventure.
Tara Wanbaugh and Joylynn Corum from the States....we accidently put our suitcases in the wrong area under the bus. So, when we arrived in Surfers, they weren't unloaded and had loads of bags on top of them. I apologized to the bus driver and explained what happened. He had no patience for us, looked us up and down with a very displeased and sour expression, and said "well you'll have to get them yourself." I said, Tthat's fine. We can do that." Tara and I began hauling bag after bag out of the under carriage. We soon became the attraction for the bus driver, the line of 30 people waiting to get on the bus, and all people passing by. Here were two cutsy American girls, throwing luggage around, grabbing our too big suitcases, and jigsawing other people's luggage back into place. Nobody said anything. Nobody offered to help. They just stared for 10 minutes as we did this. Probably one of the strangest and most uncomfortable moments we've had on this trip. And we've had plenty.
Brisbane
This morning, an older woman of about 50, with grey hair in a disarray, said to me, "what is she doing here?" in a whisper. I turned to look, as I was the only one in the room I thought. She most decidedly wasn't talking to me but herself as she picked at her fingernails. Strange. Tara said she had been muttering to herself last night too. Later, she asked Tara and I where we were from in the States. We answered Minnesota (easier to say that sometimes). She said quite viciously, "do you follow what goes on in America?" She obviously believed we were ignorant, spoiled, obnoxious Americans. After answering, she said we better watch who we let into our country, sniffed at us, and walked away. As if Tara and I should be sitting down in Arizona or California somewhere, with shot guns, watching the border. Yes. I firmly believe I've met my first real life schizophrenic. We half expect our stuff to be lit on fire by the time we get back to our room. Our accents work against us.
We're onto Noosa Head next and more beach...I'm going to be tan!!!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Life's Characters
I was just thinking about how much people shape my experiences and view of place as I travel. Here are some stories I've collected and glorious people we've met in the last couple of weeks...
Port Macquarie
Kyle from Canada...worked at the hostel we stayed at. He was eating a Big Mac and was on his way home to Canada when he was offered a job at the hostel. He used a healthy dose of sarcasm with everything he said and really big words in the morning. He was a gentleman...drove us around...let us play video games...use the Internet for free...gave us gummy worms. However, don't cross him when he's cleaning. I was in the room doing a beauty routine that only burnettes understand when he opened the locked door unannounced vacuuming. I threw the covers over my head and pretended to be sleeping. Tara walked in 30 seconds later, realized what was going on, and said "she's sleeping!!" (like what are you thinking tone of voice). He left. We went to the bathroom where I was doing round two beauty treatment and he knocked on the door and said he was coming in to mop...really Kyle????
Surfer's Paradise
Jill from San Diego...truly our lost sister she walked right in and declared she loved "us." We haven't stopped laughing since and we even stayed in Surfer's and extra night to be with her. We have created many "epic" moments...such as dancing to techno like crazy people and feeling like cougars (we swear 17 year olds snuck into the club). She has a wicked life as a bartender in an Irish pub and lives in a cozy beach town. She hangs out with surfers, boarders, and musicians. Yup we want to live in her house. I'd even take a closet. The three of us own up to the obnoxious loud American stereotype but we just can't help laughing till our guts ache.
More to come when I don't run out of Internet time..ugh...
Port Macquarie
Kyle from Canada...worked at the hostel we stayed at. He was eating a Big Mac and was on his way home to Canada when he was offered a job at the hostel. He used a healthy dose of sarcasm with everything he said and really big words in the morning. He was a gentleman...drove us around...let us play video games...use the Internet for free...gave us gummy worms. However, don't cross him when he's cleaning. I was in the room doing a beauty routine that only burnettes understand when he opened the locked door unannounced vacuuming. I threw the covers over my head and pretended to be sleeping. Tara walked in 30 seconds later, realized what was going on, and said "she's sleeping!!" (like what are you thinking tone of voice). He left. We went to the bathroom where I was doing round two beauty treatment and he knocked on the door and said he was coming in to mop...really Kyle????
Surfer's Paradise
Jill from San Diego...truly our lost sister she walked right in and declared she loved "us." We haven't stopped laughing since and we even stayed in Surfer's and extra night to be with her. We have created many "epic" moments...such as dancing to techno like crazy people and feeling like cougars (we swear 17 year olds snuck into the club). She has a wicked life as a bartender in an Irish pub and lives in a cozy beach town. She hangs out with surfers, boarders, and musicians. Yup we want to live in her house. I'd even take a closet. The three of us own up to the obnoxious loud American stereotype but we just can't help laughing till our guts ache.
More to come when I don't run out of Internet time..ugh...
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
East Coast
Hi! Quickie update...our greyhound is arriving soon.
We have made it from Sydney to Newcastle to Port Macquarie to Byron Bay to Nimbin and are now on our way to Surfer's Paradise. We are burning up the east coast!!! Our days involve drinking hot drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate), looking for free food in the hostels, beach bumming, minimal shopping (come on we're girls), and always planning our next destination. We also do a lot of snuggling in our beds (because it can still be quite cold!) and talking about really important things like which months have 31 days and why we use the expression chit chat. I know rocket science. But we laugh a lot.
Important update: I resigned from my job at Cleveland. It seems the best for all involved. My future is looking ambiguous but I kind of like it. I might even continue to live abroad for a bit. Don't worry Josh I'll be there for your big day =0) Ok. More on that later.
Love for Aussie land!
We have made it from Sydney to Newcastle to Port Macquarie to Byron Bay to Nimbin and are now on our way to Surfer's Paradise. We are burning up the east coast!!! Our days involve drinking hot drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate), looking for free food in the hostels, beach bumming, minimal shopping (come on we're girls), and always planning our next destination. We also do a lot of snuggling in our beds (because it can still be quite cold!) and talking about really important things like which months have 31 days and why we use the expression chit chat. I know rocket science. But we laugh a lot.
Important update: I resigned from my job at Cleveland. It seems the best for all involved. My future is looking ambiguous but I kind of like it. I might even continue to live abroad for a bit. Don't worry Josh I'll be there for your big day =0) Ok. More on that later.
Love for Aussie land!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Aaaahhhh my internet is running out...
Somethings I've done this past month:
1. 3 hour scenic flight in a four seater plane over Lake Eyre. My pilot friend Andrew took me. We saw the Painted Hills too. There is no road to them and you can only see them from the hair. They are rock formations that glow pinky gold. Also, we saw a lone camel lost out in the boggy lake.
2. Multiple bonfires where I share S'mores with the locals. We also did crazy cookies in the the ute (utility veicle..aka truck) in the desert.
3. Goodbye at William Creek with Tara...crazy dancing...hair waving...champagne toast where I managed to break two glasses (prior to any drinking mind you)...also my goodbye a week later with our two French friends. We had a cake made for us with sparklers. Thanks Amelia and Lisa.
4. Gotten my hair cut in Adelaide.
5. Traveled without Tara. Not as fun.
Time's running out....to be continued....
1. 3 hour scenic flight in a four seater plane over Lake Eyre. My pilot friend Andrew took me. We saw the Painted Hills too. There is no road to them and you can only see them from the hair. They are rock formations that glow pinky gold. Also, we saw a lone camel lost out in the boggy lake.
2. Multiple bonfires where I share S'mores with the locals. We also did crazy cookies in the the ute (utility veicle..aka truck) in the desert.
3. Goodbye at William Creek with Tara...crazy dancing...hair waving...champagne toast where I managed to break two glasses (prior to any drinking mind you)...also my goodbye a week later with our two French friends. We had a cake made for us with sparklers. Thanks Amelia and Lisa.
4. Gotten my hair cut in Adelaide.
5. Traveled without Tara. Not as fun.
Time's running out....to be continued....
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
We all speak English right?
Ok I'm gonna leave you with a linguistics lesson. This is how you know if you've lived in true Australia. I learned most of this at the bar when I gave out a blank look to a request. Huh?
1. Stubby=a bottle of beer as opposed to a can
2. Stubby holders, eco holders, coolers=the foam cover that goes around a can or bottle of beer to keep it from warming too quickly when you hold it...Aussies are crazy about them
3. TEDS=Toohey's Extra Dry...a common beer in Oz
4. Flat white=coffee with milk
5. Long black=black coffee
6. Short black=espresso
7. Always roll a Cooper's stubby before serving it to mix the residue in the bottom
8. EFTPOS=using a credit card to pay
9. Petrol=gas
10. Hot chips=french fries
11. Tomato sauce or just sauce=ketchup
12. Meat pies, pasties, and sausage rolls are a common meal choice for Aussies
13. Capsicum=peppers
14 Ordering something with the lot (like a hamburger)=an egg and bacon go on it
15. Lime, soda, and bitters does not mean a lemon-lime bitter soda but a mixed drink (yeah did that one wrong once)
16. Squash=lemon soda called Solo
17. Lemonade=Sprite
18. Shandy=mixing a "lemonade" and a beer
19. Cuddles=hugs
20. Quad bike=four wheeler
21. R.F.D.S.=Royal Flying Doctor Service
22. Ta=shorthand way to say thanks
23. No worries=used in numerous ways but some common ones are for saying thank you or no big deal
24. Reckon=means how you think about something..."do you reckon we need more VB in the fridge?" or "I reckon that's a good idea."
25. Sheila is rarely used to refer to women...it seems kind of derogatory...like saying "my old lady" is in the car
26. Jumper=sweater or cardigan or sweatshirt
27. Thongs=flip flops
28. Swag=a canvas personal tent that a person uses to camp outside and put around a sleeping bag...lots of Aussies use swag as they travel around
29. Toastie=toasted sandwich
30. Spot on=you're absolutely right
And many more that I'm forgetting at the moment...sometimes I'd just say this stuff like it's second nature! Usually I'd get a few laughs or amused smiles from the guests. Of course I'd be laughing first...best way to keep some sanity when serving.
Here's a typical way I'd learn some of this lingo:
"Can I have a pair of TED's thanks." (Aussies always end their requests with thanks. It was usually one big slur of words with thanks being the period on the end and I would think..."Thanks? Thanks for what? I haven't done anything yet and I have no idea what their saying in the first place!")
"Excuse me...you want a pair of what?!" (With the accent, it sounded like tits and I had no idea what a TED's was anyhow)
1. Stubby=a bottle of beer as opposed to a can
2. Stubby holders, eco holders, coolers=the foam cover that goes around a can or bottle of beer to keep it from warming too quickly when you hold it...Aussies are crazy about them
3. TEDS=Toohey's Extra Dry...a common beer in Oz
4. Flat white=coffee with milk
5. Long black=black coffee
6. Short black=espresso
7. Always roll a Cooper's stubby before serving it to mix the residue in the bottom
8. EFTPOS=using a credit card to pay
9. Petrol=gas
10. Hot chips=french fries
11. Tomato sauce or just sauce=ketchup
12. Meat pies, pasties, and sausage rolls are a common meal choice for Aussies
13. Capsicum=peppers
14 Ordering something with the lot (like a hamburger)=an egg and bacon go on it
15. Lime, soda, and bitters does not mean a lemon-lime bitter soda but a mixed drink (yeah did that one wrong once)
16. Squash=lemon soda called Solo
17. Lemonade=Sprite
18. Shandy=mixing a "lemonade" and a beer
19. Cuddles=hugs
20. Quad bike=four wheeler
21. R.F.D.S.=Royal Flying Doctor Service
22. Ta=shorthand way to say thanks
23. No worries=used in numerous ways but some common ones are for saying thank you or no big deal
24. Reckon=means how you think about something..."do you reckon we need more VB in the fridge?" or "I reckon that's a good idea."
25. Sheila is rarely used to refer to women...it seems kind of derogatory...like saying "my old lady" is in the car
26. Jumper=sweater or cardigan or sweatshirt
27. Thongs=flip flops
28. Swag=a canvas personal tent that a person uses to camp outside and put around a sleeping bag...lots of Aussies use swag as they travel around
29. Toastie=toasted sandwich
30. Spot on=you're absolutely right
And many more that I'm forgetting at the moment...sometimes I'd just say this stuff like it's second nature! Usually I'd get a few laughs or amused smiles from the guests. Of course I'd be laughing first...best way to keep some sanity when serving.
Here's a typical way I'd learn some of this lingo:
"Can I have a pair of TED's thanks." (Aussies always end their requests with thanks. It was usually one big slur of words with thanks being the period on the end and I would think..."Thanks? Thanks for what? I haven't done anything yet and I have no idea what their saying in the first place!")
"Excuse me...you want a pair of what?!" (With the accent, it sounded like tits and I had no idea what a TED's was anyhow)
The ancedotes of a Aussie Bartender
Hello all my dear people!
Here is the promised longer blog, as I have only been able to fill you in sparingly in the last six weeks. I have arrived in Sydney. Tara and I giggled like preteens upon seeing each other and I'm sure our hostel roommates were thinking American girls truly are as they seem on reality TV. But Tara and I have come to care less about such misconceptions. We're exuberant about life! We ate rice cakes and drank Starbucks coffee and tried to piece together some understanding of our lives at William Creek. Here's some wispy strands of thought:
1. William Creek was a worthy adventure. I was telling my dad...this June/July has been the craziest it has ever been at W.C. because of Lake Eyre filling and there was a team, an alliance, that came together with a mission to see it through. We came from the Australian countryside, the French Brittany region, the American Mid-west, the Australian east coast and city (later to be joined at the end by Germany, Canada, and French Canada). Our bond came out of marathon days where the occasional soft touch or g'd on ya mate could restore your crumbling stamina. We had a community, an international family. And for that alone I know W.C. was an experience of a lifetime. Slowly the fellowship broke apart and moved on...but that June and July of 2009 we had victory.
2. It can be very frustrating to be thrown into a new experience and find you are not being yourself no matter how desperately you are trying to regain that peace of personal portrayal. I told Tara at the beginning of all this that I just felt stilted and wasn't able to communicate in my usual manner. Slowly, as I became accustommed to William Creek and the work, I found my core me coming out again. It was relief to feel me again!! Adriana, the boss and friend, kept introducing me to people and telling them that I suite my name (so reassuring because I felt somewhat like I was failing at that for a bit). I was laughing and dancing and teasing and making connections.
3. But beyond finding my bearings, I also learned new things about myself. While I was making beds one morning and listening to Death Cab, it hit me how much traveling puts me in my element. I need to forge my way into new places and find victory in more William Creeks. I want to collect the stories of people I befriend, add my own, and write it all down. I want to share my writings! I want to visit the homes of my new friends. There is nothing like traveling to the Outback, meeting tourists from all over the world, to realize how humanity is fluid and flowing. I find the wider my world, the more solidarity I feel, and the greater hope I have for our freedom. I think I will move to another country again. Soon. Anyone with me?
4. William Creek helped me see some personal beauty, a truth that is so hard to hang onto in our slippery world of beauty and standard.
5. If I had a gold coin for everytime someone asked me where I was from, how long I've been in Australia, how in the world did I find William Creek, and where will I be traveling next...I might not have needed to work at all =0)
Next adventure: Tara and I bought a greyhound bus pass that goes from Sydney up to Cairns on the east coast. We can get off and on as many times as we want within the next 45 days. We leave tonight for Newcastle, about 2 1/2 hours north from Sydney. We will be in Brisbane on August 17th. Abby will join us. And we'll keep going. We'll fly back down to spend a few days in Sydney with Abby. Then, we're hoping to go to New Zealand after she leaves on Sept. 1st. Soooo....here we go!!!
Here is the promised longer blog, as I have only been able to fill you in sparingly in the last six weeks. I have arrived in Sydney. Tara and I giggled like preteens upon seeing each other and I'm sure our hostel roommates were thinking American girls truly are as they seem on reality TV. But Tara and I have come to care less about such misconceptions. We're exuberant about life! We ate rice cakes and drank Starbucks coffee and tried to piece together some understanding of our lives at William Creek. Here's some wispy strands of thought:
1. William Creek was a worthy adventure. I was telling my dad...this June/July has been the craziest it has ever been at W.C. because of Lake Eyre filling and there was a team, an alliance, that came together with a mission to see it through. We came from the Australian countryside, the French Brittany region, the American Mid-west, the Australian east coast and city (later to be joined at the end by Germany, Canada, and French Canada). Our bond came out of marathon days where the occasional soft touch or g'd on ya mate could restore your crumbling stamina. We had a community, an international family. And for that alone I know W.C. was an experience of a lifetime. Slowly the fellowship broke apart and moved on...but that June and July of 2009 we had victory.
2. It can be very frustrating to be thrown into a new experience and find you are not being yourself no matter how desperately you are trying to regain that peace of personal portrayal. I told Tara at the beginning of all this that I just felt stilted and wasn't able to communicate in my usual manner. Slowly, as I became accustommed to William Creek and the work, I found my core me coming out again. It was relief to feel me again!! Adriana, the boss and friend, kept introducing me to people and telling them that I suite my name (so reassuring because I felt somewhat like I was failing at that for a bit). I was laughing and dancing and teasing and making connections.
3. But beyond finding my bearings, I also learned new things about myself. While I was making beds one morning and listening to Death Cab, it hit me how much traveling puts me in my element. I need to forge my way into new places and find victory in more William Creeks. I want to collect the stories of people I befriend, add my own, and write it all down. I want to share my writings! I want to visit the homes of my new friends. There is nothing like traveling to the Outback, meeting tourists from all over the world, to realize how humanity is fluid and flowing. I find the wider my world, the more solidarity I feel, and the greater hope I have for our freedom. I think I will move to another country again. Soon. Anyone with me?
4. William Creek helped me see some personal beauty, a truth that is so hard to hang onto in our slippery world of beauty and standard.
5. If I had a gold coin for everytime someone asked me where I was from, how long I've been in Australia, how in the world did I find William Creek, and where will I be traveling next...I might not have needed to work at all =0)
Next adventure: Tara and I bought a greyhound bus pass that goes from Sydney up to Cairns on the east coast. We can get off and on as many times as we want within the next 45 days. We leave tonight for Newcastle, about 2 1/2 hours north from Sydney. We will be in Brisbane on August 17th. Abby will join us. And we'll keep going. We'll fly back down to spend a few days in Sydney with Abby. Then, we're hoping to go to New Zealand after she leaves on Sept. 1st. Soooo....here we go!!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
quickie
I've left the Outback!!!!
Unfortunately I'm using borrowed Internet and still don't have much time to catch up to all the emails and facebook posts, etc. I will try to get back "online" soon. Here's the quick update.
I fly early tomorrow morning to meet Tara and Sydney (finally to be reunited!). We'll sort out our plans of the next day or two and then I think we'll start heading up the east coast toward Brisbane, spending Tara's birthday on the beach (naturally). Abby will join us as well for part of our east coast trip. I'm so excited!!!
I definitely have stories to tell but that will just have to wait...
Keep yours coming though!!!
Unfortunately I'm using borrowed Internet and still don't have much time to catch up to all the emails and facebook posts, etc. I will try to get back "online" soon. Here's the quick update.
I fly early tomorrow morning to meet Tara and Sydney (finally to be reunited!). We'll sort out our plans of the next day or two and then I think we'll start heading up the east coast toward Brisbane, spending Tara's birthday on the beach (naturally). Abby will join us as well for part of our east coast trip. I'm so excited!!!
I definitely have stories to tell but that will just have to wait...
Keep yours coming though!!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
S'more Please
I literally have about five minutes for this post before I have to head full speed into our afternoon rush. The espresso machine has mourned my absence for the last half hour while I sorted through all my email I'm quite sure. Life has taken on a whole new frenzy this last week, as school holidays here in Australia began, and droves of families went on the great trek across the "Red Desert."
Brief life stories:
*Fourth of July was duly noted by Tara and I. We made s'mores for all our Aussie friends, an American bonfire tradition they had never heard of, or to our decryment, ever partaken in. We had supplies specailly brought in from Coober Pedy, a good two hour drive away. They loved them and were quite fascinated as I tutored them on the importance of the golden brown "mallow." Adriana let us use some of her sparkler supply in a 30 second fire frenzy to commerate our Independence.
*Last night we celebrated Adriana and Nev's (the owners and the bosses) third year of being at William Creek. The French girls cooked crepes and quiche. We presented them with a handmade card and some gifts. They were quite surprised and delighted. Naturally, we popped the champagne and I tore up the dance floor with an assortment of nationalities, genders, and age groups. The joy was flowing and couldn't keep my feet from tapping it out!
I hope to get back on sometime today or tomorrow to give some more funny ancedotes but as for now I must attend to my bar "wench" duties. Thank you to all who have been sending me emails and messages. I will hopefully get a chance to respond soon. Your love is being felt!!!
Brief life stories:
*Fourth of July was duly noted by Tara and I. We made s'mores for all our Aussie friends, an American bonfire tradition they had never heard of, or to our decryment, ever partaken in. We had supplies specailly brought in from Coober Pedy, a good two hour drive away. They loved them and were quite fascinated as I tutored them on the importance of the golden brown "mallow." Adriana let us use some of her sparkler supply in a 30 second fire frenzy to commerate our Independence.
*Last night we celebrated Adriana and Nev's (the owners and the bosses) third year of being at William Creek. The French girls cooked crepes and quiche. We presented them with a handmade card and some gifts. They were quite surprised and delighted. Naturally, we popped the champagne and I tore up the dance floor with an assortment of nationalities, genders, and age groups. The joy was flowing and couldn't keep my feet from tapping it out!
I hope to get back on sometime today or tomorrow to give some more funny ancedotes but as for now I must attend to my bar "wench" duties. Thank you to all who have been sending me emails and messages. I will hopefully get a chance to respond soon. Your love is being felt!!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Heli Ridin' Through Reality TV
One of the main activities in William Creek is airplane or helicopter flights over Lake Eyre. The helicopter piolets are good friends of ours...really they are like staff here too...and Mark took Tara and I for a flight a couple of days ago. Absolutely fantastic! We cruised at about 1,000 feet and got to see the majestic red desert for hundred of miles in all directions. About 15 minutes into our flight we saw blue stretch out on the horizon. Lake Eyre is quite the phenomonen. Water runoff from the north of Australia comes down (every 30 years or so ) and fills the lake, which is below sea level. This causes salt to rise up from the ground as well, making it a salt lake. Fish eggs that have laid dormant for years hatch and birds from the coast fly hundreds of miles to eat the fish. How do the birds know??? One of those mystical mysteries. So, we touched down on an area that used to be covered with water a few weeks ago (the water is receding feet upon feet by the day). Tara and I tasted the left over salt and took in the opportunity for a photo op. Don't worry we have video coverage of our adventure too. Mark even swung the helicopter like you would when rounding up cattle...ariel rollar coaster!
Otherwise, our days stretch on for lifetimes. We've been here for over two weeks but it feels like months and a blink of time all at once. I think we should have a reality tv show based on our time here. It's intense community between about 10 0f us plus the piolets down the way and all the crazy tourists. Vinci, Caroline, Tara, and I sometimes joke about where the camera men are hiding. The show would be some twist between Big Brother and Real World. All the intensity can cause quite the tense moments and exhaustion can always fray even the most laid back person. I try to laugh often. Sometimes Tara and I don't even get a chance to talk until bedtime (we share a bed =0) )...we're like a funny old couple sometimes. We're each other's sanity so often! When she's gone for a week, it will feel like I'm in purgatory...hahaha. Ok a little dramatic. I'm not looking forward to it that's for sure! The thing about our reality tv show here though, is that everyone is so loving and we care for each other. My massaging talent has been found out. Leon and Diane reckon I have healing power. =0)
Who will be kicked off the desert oasis next? Guess you'll have to tune in to find out....
Otherwise, our days stretch on for lifetimes. We've been here for over two weeks but it feels like months and a blink of time all at once. I think we should have a reality tv show based on our time here. It's intense community between about 10 0f us plus the piolets down the way and all the crazy tourists. Vinci, Caroline, Tara, and I sometimes joke about where the camera men are hiding. The show would be some twist between Big Brother and Real World. All the intensity can cause quite the tense moments and exhaustion can always fray even the most laid back person. I try to laugh often. Sometimes Tara and I don't even get a chance to talk until bedtime (we share a bed =0) )...we're like a funny old couple sometimes. We're each other's sanity so often! When she's gone for a week, it will feel like I'm in purgatory...hahaha. Ok a little dramatic. I'm not looking forward to it that's for sure! The thing about our reality tv show here though, is that everyone is so loving and we care for each other. My massaging talent has been found out. Leon and Diane reckon I have healing power. =0)
Who will be kicked off the desert oasis next? Guess you'll have to tune in to find out....
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Big Deal
So something I should clarify. William Creek is a big deal out here. It's the only spot you can stay for miles around and when you're crossing the desert that's priceless. Also, Lake Eyre is full of water for the first time in 30 years, so there are a lot of tourists going out there to see it. There are flights daily that bring people up over it too. So the place is pretty bustling with campers, hotel guests, and cabin guests. It keeps all of us busy from 8 in the morning to 9 at night!!!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Stars
How ya going?
Typical greeting from Aussie land. Except it sounds more like one long word "howyegoin."
I'm still working my tail off everyday but things are getting a bit easier as I figure out the routine and the jobs. I learned how to drive a manuel shift four wheeler yesterday. Tara and I laughed because riding it together was the only time we've felt even remotely sexy since being here. Hahaha. We're dusty and disheveled with little to no makeup most of the time. The water we shower with is from the bore (underground lake) and smells pretty bad. We can't drink it if that says anything. Our toilet is an old outhouse made into a toilet with plumbing. Yup.
Three stories for you:
1. Sam Neil and entourage (Jurassic Park anyone?) came into William Creek for drinks two days ago and lunch yesterday. Yes that is right. I served him his toasted tomato, ham, and cheese sandwhich and he spoke to me when ordering his cappaccino. Also, some famous Australian rugby player was with him...George something. Crazy right?
2. Our friends Dianne, Leon, and Tracy are really into zodiac and astrology stuff. It's interesting to hear them talk about it all the time because it's such a natural part of their existence. I hope that my love for Christ is just as easily noticed. Tara and I are going to have our star charts done by them soon I think. I'm looking forward to using it as a self reflection tool. Needless to say, I've been hearing a lot about my Saggitauruas (how is that spelled anyway) qualities and who I mix well with, etc. We're all a very tight knit community here. There is about 11 of us that our "on staff" at the moment. Dianne and Leon will be leaving soon and it will be so sad to have a part of our community leave. But Tara and I have each other. We are each other's "base," the nucleus of each other's family while here.
3. The last story has nothing to do with stars, except we saw it out under a starry sky. Tara and I were sitting outside swinging, when we saw a dingo!!!!! I scrambled up on top of the swing thinking that it would save me. Hahaha! We ran back inside. When we were safe, we laughed at our silliness. It was heaps more scared of us and had ran away almost immediately. If there's a whole pack of them surrounding you, then you need to be scared.
Ok. So I was able to get on here for a few minutes but I don't know when the next opportunity will arise! We have to ask the "boss" very very nicely and very very sparingly. The pay phone isn't working at the moment either. Basically, we're cut off. I kind of like it. It'll provide me with some time to process. But I'm so busy I'm not sure if I even have time for that!!
I love you. Miss you. Give me the skinny on your lives too!
Typical greeting from Aussie land. Except it sounds more like one long word "howyegoin."
I'm still working my tail off everyday but things are getting a bit easier as I figure out the routine and the jobs. I learned how to drive a manuel shift four wheeler yesterday. Tara and I laughed because riding it together was the only time we've felt even remotely sexy since being here. Hahaha. We're dusty and disheveled with little to no makeup most of the time. The water we shower with is from the bore (underground lake) and smells pretty bad. We can't drink it if that says anything. Our toilet is an old outhouse made into a toilet with plumbing. Yup.
Three stories for you:
1. Sam Neil and entourage (Jurassic Park anyone?) came into William Creek for drinks two days ago and lunch yesterday. Yes that is right. I served him his toasted tomato, ham, and cheese sandwhich and he spoke to me when ordering his cappaccino. Also, some famous Australian rugby player was with him...George something. Crazy right?
2. Our friends Dianne, Leon, and Tracy are really into zodiac and astrology stuff. It's interesting to hear them talk about it all the time because it's such a natural part of their existence. I hope that my love for Christ is just as easily noticed. Tara and I are going to have our star charts done by them soon I think. I'm looking forward to using it as a self reflection tool. Needless to say, I've been hearing a lot about my Saggitauruas (how is that spelled anyway) qualities and who I mix well with, etc. We're all a very tight knit community here. There is about 11 of us that our "on staff" at the moment. Dianne and Leon will be leaving soon and it will be so sad to have a part of our community leave. But Tara and I have each other. We are each other's "base," the nucleus of each other's family while here.
3. The last story has nothing to do with stars, except we saw it out under a starry sky. Tara and I were sitting outside swinging, when we saw a dingo!!!!! I scrambled up on top of the swing thinking that it would save me. Hahaha! We ran back inside. When we were safe, we laughed at our silliness. It was heaps more scared of us and had ran away almost immediately. If there's a whole pack of them surrounding you, then you need to be scared.
Ok. So I was able to get on here for a few minutes but I don't know when the next opportunity will arise! We have to ask the "boss" very very nicely and very very sparingly. The pay phone isn't working at the moment either. Basically, we're cut off. I kind of like it. It'll provide me with some time to process. But I'm so busy I'm not sure if I even have time for that!!
I love you. Miss you. Give me the skinny on your lives too!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
William's Creek
Okay. We're alive and well. There is hardly any internet access (we don't really have time) and no phone reception....if that gives you any idea of what it is like! So the blog will be slowing down here for a few weeks. Here's a few things to help you understand what William's Creek is like:
1. Our drive from Coober Pedy took about 1 1/2 hours at about 60 miles an hour in a four wheel drive car. The landscape was sand dunes with sparse shrubbery. The sand is a beautiful red. Tara spotted a mob of Kangaroos (a lot of time you don't see them in the wild). There was a male with his harem and a joey!!! There were broken cars (some of them 40 years old!) and some tragic stories of the people who lost their lives walking in the heat after breaking down. We saw the longest man made structure...a dingo fence...over 9,000 km when it was at it's largest...now 5,000 km (if I remember Merv correctly).
2. Here's what you see when you pull into W.C.: On the left...campground, pub/dining room/kitchen/staff quarters, cabins, small airstrip and on the right....more campground, cabins, piolet's office, and house for the owners....and that's it!!! Takes about three minutes to walk. Tara said it best when she said looking out to the desert you feel like you're looking at the ocean...it's unending and you feel so small.
3. Tara and I laugh often because we feel like God is either punishing us for not wanting to be housewives either/or preparing us to be housewives. We are a stange mix of Little House on the Prairie women/Cinderella. Our duties so far include but are not limited to: Cooking, busing tables, waitressing, bartending, working the till, laundary (hanging it up too...no dryer!), housekeeping, moping, dusting, stocking.....and the list grows!!! We start our days by 7:30 or so and end them around 9:30...then we all sit down and have a drink. We also dance (the to Outback country western with the owner and other staff member and the two French girls we work with). Then we fall into bed...sometimes we read aloud to each other first...and then do it all over again!!!
4. It's waaaayyyy cold in the desert at night!!!!!!!!!
5. Last night, we went out to visit our friends Russ and Roz who are walking from Darwin to Melbourne with camels to raise money for kids with cancer....it will take them 8 months in all. We ate camel meat with them over the fire, traded stories, petted their pet camels (weird that we ate camel too but soooo good), and gazed at the most dramatic starry sky....nothing to tarnish that sky. We got home at 2 in the morning and woke up our boss...oooppppsss...at least we joked about it (kind of) in the morning.
1. Our drive from Coober Pedy took about 1 1/2 hours at about 60 miles an hour in a four wheel drive car. The landscape was sand dunes with sparse shrubbery. The sand is a beautiful red. Tara spotted a mob of Kangaroos (a lot of time you don't see them in the wild). There was a male with his harem and a joey!!! There were broken cars (some of them 40 years old!) and some tragic stories of the people who lost their lives walking in the heat after breaking down. We saw the longest man made structure...a dingo fence...over 9,000 km when it was at it's largest...now 5,000 km (if I remember Merv correctly).
2. Here's what you see when you pull into W.C.: On the left...campground, pub/dining room/kitchen/staff quarters, cabins, small airstrip and on the right....more campground, cabins, piolet's office, and house for the owners....and that's it!!! Takes about three minutes to walk. Tara said it best when she said looking out to the desert you feel like you're looking at the ocean...it's unending and you feel so small.
3. Tara and I laugh often because we feel like God is either punishing us for not wanting to be housewives either/or preparing us to be housewives. We are a stange mix of Little House on the Prairie women/Cinderella. Our duties so far include but are not limited to: Cooking, busing tables, waitressing, bartending, working the till, laundary (hanging it up too...no dryer!), housekeeping, moping, dusting, stocking.....and the list grows!!! We start our days by 7:30 or so and end them around 9:30...then we all sit down and have a drink. We also dance (the to Outback country western with the owner and other staff member and the two French girls we work with). Then we fall into bed...sometimes we read aloud to each other first...and then do it all over again!!!
4. It's waaaayyyy cold in the desert at night!!!!!!!!!
5. Last night, we went out to visit our friends Russ and Roz who are walking from Darwin to Melbourne with camels to raise money for kids with cancer....it will take them 8 months in all. We ate camel meat with them over the fire, traded stories, petted their pet camels (weird that we ate camel too but soooo good), and gazed at the most dramatic starry sky....nothing to tarnish that sky. We got home at 2 in the morning and woke up our boss...oooppppsss...at least we joked about it (kind of) in the morning.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Coober Pedy
We had a quick stop over in Adelaide yesterday. We enjoyed catching up on our journaling and reading in the park (Tara and I decided to read some classics that we hadn't gotten to yet..she's working on "Great Expectations" and I'm getting to "Age of Innocence.") The best moment was when we were swinging and spontaneously began singing a few songs. Euphoric. We heard some shouting nearby and discovered a footie game (Australian football), a game I actually had to play for a couple of weeks during high school gym class! We were easily entertained by its fast pace and constant activity, not to mention brutal interactions, between the players.
We took off for Coober Pedy at about 6 p.m. The small city lights quickly faded away to red sand and sparse shrubbery. Also, our phone reception quickly faded. One elderly lady we met, Evelyn, in Adelaide, said that Coober Pedy is often considered "the end of the world." A lot of movies are shot here for that reason...
We met Merv Richards at the station in Coober and he brought us to his home, which is an old opal mine and completely underground!!! He's a fascinating character and has many connections to the film industry. He'll be taken us out to William's Creek shortly. William's Creek is the smallest town in Australia...three permanent residents...let the adventure begin! Needless to say, internet and phone will be a bit sketchy for the next month and half, so don't worry overly much...it is "the end of the world."
Here is Merv's website with pictures of the area and his home, where I am currently.
http://www.aridzone.net
Miss you all and love you!
We took off for Coober Pedy at about 6 p.m. The small city lights quickly faded away to red sand and sparse shrubbery. Also, our phone reception quickly faded. One elderly lady we met, Evelyn, in Adelaide, said that Coober Pedy is often considered "the end of the world." A lot of movies are shot here for that reason...
We met Merv Richards at the station in Coober and he brought us to his home, which is an old opal mine and completely underground!!! He's a fascinating character and has many connections to the film industry. He'll be taken us out to William's Creek shortly. William's Creek is the smallest town in Australia...three permanent residents...let the adventure begin! Needless to say, internet and phone will be a bit sketchy for the next month and half, so don't worry overly much...it is "the end of the world."
Here is Merv's website with pictures of the area and his home, where I am currently.
http://www.aridzone.net
Miss you all and love you!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Melbourne
We are heading out to the Outback this evening at six (like 2 in the morning central US time...I think...I always do that math wrong somehow...). Melbourne has been quite an adventure itself, as Tara and I fretted about if we truly had this hotel job or not. It was a holiday weekend and the Outback people run on what we call "Native Time" back home (apparently when there is a public holiday here it really means that no one does anything and nothing is open). Nevertheless, Tara and I kept ourselves busy...here is some of our adventures in the cold, very rainy city of Melbourne...
1. This city is known for it's little cafe culture...there are a lot of hidden alleyways chalk full of good little coffee shops and bistros. I wanted to have that true Melbourne coffee experience at least once so I dragged Tara to one of these streets the other day. The first place we went, the barista's ignored us for at about 6 or 7 minutes and all we wanted to know is if we order from the counter or sit down and wait for them to come to us. They were sooooo snooty. So we left. The next day we tried again in a different location. We knew we needed to sit down and they would come to us for this one but we were seated there for at least 15 minutes before we flagged down a waitress (the place was not that big either). Then our chai tea latte orders didn't come for at least a half an hour. We even noticed our snooty waitress hanging out with friends smoking while we were waiting for our drinks. Sooo weird. So then we went to Starbucks later and the people there are sooo friendly. They ALWAYS want to know our names (of course that's for the order but still....). Our accents are hard to understand I guess because the names on the cups always come back slightly off. Like for instance "Tara" has been "Tera" or "Terah" or "Kiara" and "Joy" has been "Joan" and "Joice" and "Joey." Today we did totally fake names. I did "Evie" and it came back "Ivy." Oh the little things that entertain us. Needless to say, we've enjoyed our coffee expereince more at good ol' Starbucks than if the famous cafe's.
2. Our roomie this time around was from Spain. Her name is Christina. We had great fun going out with her one night. We met up with our Irish friends we met in Sydney (after a very frigid couple mile walk...yeah we're still trying to live cheaply but I for sure thought I was going to be hospitalized with frostbite)...and they took us to this very small bar/venue where a gypsie band was playing. I'm always astounded at how people can be so creative and share such beauty with others. They seemed to be just making it up as they go (pretty sure they were ) and even our Irish friend, Stephen, starting adding his own stuff on the piano, having never played with them before. For some of the songs, a man rapped too and it was just such an interesting mix of genres but meshed somehow. Wish you could have experienced it. It was glorious to listen to and watch all the VERY colorful characters that gathered there.
3. Tara and I mastered the public transportation, the Tram, and proceeded to take it everywhere. It rains spontaneously here and so we were often caught in a sudden downpour. We'd find either a store to shop in or a tram to ride around to wait out the horrid weather. We took the Tram to St. Kildra one day and walked the seashore. It was windy but the sea was refreshing. We ate a cute little place where we agreed could have been our best meal yet. Nothing too fancy. But of course, as we rarely eat "real food," anything tastes pretty spectacular! We met some older aussie men cleaning their boat and had a nice chat. They thought we were a bit crazy going out to the Outback.
Well we're not really sure when the next time we'll have internet so this might be the update here for a bit. We'll be in Adelaide tomorrow and then Coober Peddy on Sunday. Then we'll be picked up there either Sunday or Monday. THEN we'll finally be "home" for the next 5-7 weeks. Cheers! Wish us luck!
1. This city is known for it's little cafe culture...there are a lot of hidden alleyways chalk full of good little coffee shops and bistros. I wanted to have that true Melbourne coffee experience at least once so I dragged Tara to one of these streets the other day. The first place we went, the barista's ignored us for at about 6 or 7 minutes and all we wanted to know is if we order from the counter or sit down and wait for them to come to us. They were sooooo snooty. So we left. The next day we tried again in a different location. We knew we needed to sit down and they would come to us for this one but we were seated there for at least 15 minutes before we flagged down a waitress (the place was not that big either). Then our chai tea latte orders didn't come for at least a half an hour. We even noticed our snooty waitress hanging out with friends smoking while we were waiting for our drinks. Sooo weird. So then we went to Starbucks later and the people there are sooo friendly. They ALWAYS want to know our names (of course that's for the order but still....). Our accents are hard to understand I guess because the names on the cups always come back slightly off. Like for instance "Tara" has been "Tera" or "Terah" or "Kiara" and "Joy" has been "Joan" and "Joice" and "Joey." Today we did totally fake names. I did "Evie" and it came back "Ivy." Oh the little things that entertain us. Needless to say, we've enjoyed our coffee expereince more at good ol' Starbucks than if the famous cafe's.
2. Our roomie this time around was from Spain. Her name is Christina. We had great fun going out with her one night. We met up with our Irish friends we met in Sydney (after a very frigid couple mile walk...yeah we're still trying to live cheaply but I for sure thought I was going to be hospitalized with frostbite)...and they took us to this very small bar/venue where a gypsie band was playing. I'm always astounded at how people can be so creative and share such beauty with others. They seemed to be just making it up as they go (pretty sure they were ) and even our Irish friend, Stephen, starting adding his own stuff on the piano, having never played with them before. For some of the songs, a man rapped too and it was just such an interesting mix of genres but meshed somehow. Wish you could have experienced it. It was glorious to listen to and watch all the VERY colorful characters that gathered there.
3. Tara and I mastered the public transportation, the Tram, and proceeded to take it everywhere. It rains spontaneously here and so we were often caught in a sudden downpour. We'd find either a store to shop in or a tram to ride around to wait out the horrid weather. We took the Tram to St. Kildra one day and walked the seashore. It was windy but the sea was refreshing. We ate a cute little place where we agreed could have been our best meal yet. Nothing too fancy. But of course, as we rarely eat "real food," anything tastes pretty spectacular! We met some older aussie men cleaning their boat and had a nice chat. They thought we were a bit crazy going out to the Outback.
Well we're not really sure when the next time we'll have internet so this might be the update here for a bit. We'll be in Adelaide tomorrow and then Coober Peddy on Sunday. Then we'll be picked up there either Sunday or Monday. THEN we'll finally be "home" for the next 5-7 weeks. Cheers! Wish us luck!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Shout out
Here's a shout out to our friends we left in Sydney:
Marjan (Holland!)...roomie we'll miss you!
Patrick (German...ha!)...thanks for being the best free tour guide
And Franzes (Austria =0))...you made Sydney a "happy" place
Marjan (Holland!)...roomie we'll miss you!
Patrick (German...ha!)...thanks for being the best free tour guide
And Franzes (Austria =0))...you made Sydney a "happy" place
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Outback
Here is a very quick update...our lives are soooo prone to change on the dime. Adriana from William Creek Hotel in South Australia contacted us yesterday morning and asked us to come work out there for a time. We'll be doing housekeeping, bar work, and other physical labor. They provide accomodation and food and pay by the hour. We plan on being there between 5-7 weeks. First we're going to Melbourne for a couple of nights, then to Adelaide, then taking a bus to Coober Peddy where they will finally pick us up. So here is our next adventure!!! Here is a websited to check out William Creek....quite an adventure...
http://www.williamcreekhotel.net.au/
http://www.williamcreekhotel.net.au/
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Luck of the Irish
Well we really aren't that lucky in the whole department of jobs. We have this SEMA thing but the start date is undetermined (sometime in the next 2 weeks) and the duration is undetermined...approximately 5 but who knows. So once again Tara and I are unsure about what we are going to do...we aren't sure if it is worth it to hold out for this job with so many unclear variables (I guess it depends on "other aspects of the project" and when they get done before we can do what we were hired for). We were having a frustrated moment and luckily they called us before we signed a lease for an apartment for five weeks. We were going to mourn the night away with Tim Tam's and hot chocolate but we got a text from a gentleman we had met the previous night....a Irish folk musician. His band was playing at a local venue and he wanted us to come check it out...our names were on the list...how can you pass up a free folk Irish show??? So with little information to help us find the bus to get there and a few queasy moments (the bus ride was a little rough on my stomach...Tara thought for sure I was going to lose my Tim Tam's all over her), we found our way to this little Irish pub in a laid back suburb. Best decision in Sydney so far. The band Grada was phenomenal (check them out) and we danced our little hearts out of melancholy! The guys in the band chatted us up afterwards (which I personally loved hearing their Irish accent) and we laughed and made merry. One of our best little adventures yet.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
We aren't going to starve!
Tara and I had an interview at this place called SEMA today. They do different projects for different clients...don't really know. But anyway, the interview consisted of ten of us sitting in a room, filling out paperwork, then taking and watching everyone take a typing test (sooo nerve racking and I know how to type!), and then take a short multiple choice test about some instructions they gave us. Ummm yeah. We have college degrees. We were laughing at ourselves for even being nervous. On our walk home, they called us and offered us the job!!! It is temporary, about 5 weeks, pays decently, and we can work together. We'll be correcting standardized tests for the Education Department. Lots of data entry. We don't care though. It's just nice to have something and be able to move on from our hostel living. Also, this morning, a woman we've been in contact with from the Outback called and was talking about us job sharing out there (as there is only one spot open). She said she'd be in contact with us. She sounds like a chummy momma character. That would give us a way different experience for sure. So we for sure have something but if we have both then who knows what we'll do!!! Thank you for all your prayers. We certainly are feeling pretty blessed after our slump there for a bit. Hope all is well. Hit me back and let me know what's going on in your lives. corjoy@bethel.edu or facebook or post below. Love!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Small Boat, Big Sea and Big Boat Aussie
A couple of things we've experienced thus far are a couple of interesting worship services. We were sitting on the steps of a huge library looking at a map the first day we were in Sydney and someone passing by asked if we needed help. We were trying to find where Hillsong Church was located. The woman helped us and then invited us to her church called Small Boat Big Sea in Manly. We just happened to be in Manly the next evening so we decided to seek it out as we were feeling the need for spiritual renewal. The church was like a house church. There were about 30 adults and a handful of kids. Everyone rotated with doing during aspects of church like praying, giving a message (more like leading a bible study discussion). They start every service by having a potluck meal together. Everyone was so incredible welcoming and engaged us and made us feel very welcome. People were offering their services and encouragement. They fed us even though we brought nothing (we didn't know). The coolest part was when they had someone share their testimony of sorts or just more like their background and what they are doing now. Then, different people piped up and affirmed them in who they were and how they saw that person sharing God's love (they called it "sending" the person). Very beautiful to witness. The second service we were part of was this last Sunday. We finally made it to Hillsong Church. Very Mega Church like and an exact opposite of Small Boat. It was cool to walk into the foyer and hear all of these different languages and people mingling from all walks of life. The service was almost like a theater production. The graphics and visuals were astounding. The worship was very good and there were at least twenty people on stage. At one point they went "online" with the other campuses for some announcements and I thought I was watching a news show with news anchors. The pastor's message was more like hearing a motivational speaker at a conference...not bad, just different. The people were once again very welcoming and accomodating. It was of course to fly under the radar there but we connected with a couple of people to get more info.
Anyway, Tara and I awoke with some tentative good news. A data entry temp job called me and asked us to come in tomorrow for an interview/typing test. We are trying not to be too hopeful but if it does work, we'd be very grateful. We don't know much about it. Sounds a little brain numbing but we are definitely NOT picky. We're still throwing out apps and calling places. Last night we went to the Opera House to witness the light show they are putting on. It was pretty and a good walk. Tonight we're thinking of going down Oxford Street, a funky/alternative part of town. We trying to keep it cheap and just people watch for the most part. We did get a free pass to go to the Sydney Aquarium and we did that on Sunday. It was fun to see Sydney's sea life up close and personal. Tara loved it, as she is a more passionate animal lover than I but I must admit I was getting into it a bit.
We continue to have crazy little moments. Like when Tara and I were crossing the street and a bus breezed by here and missed her literally by inches. As a delayed and dismayed reaction, I reached out and pulled her to me. Really if she had tripped or stumbled to her left at all she would have been laid out flat...crazy Sydney drivers!!!!
Anyway, Tara and I awoke with some tentative good news. A data entry temp job called me and asked us to come in tomorrow for an interview/typing test. We are trying not to be too hopeful but if it does work, we'd be very grateful. We don't know much about it. Sounds a little brain numbing but we are definitely NOT picky. We're still throwing out apps and calling places. Last night we went to the Opera House to witness the light show they are putting on. It was pretty and a good walk. Tonight we're thinking of going down Oxford Street, a funky/alternative part of town. We trying to keep it cheap and just people watch for the most part. We did get a free pass to go to the Sydney Aquarium and we did that on Sunday. It was fun to see Sydney's sea life up close and personal. Tara loved it, as she is a more passionate animal lover than I but I must admit I was getting into it a bit.
We continue to have crazy little moments. Like when Tara and I were crossing the street and a bus breezed by here and missed her literally by inches. As a delayed and dismayed reaction, I reached out and pulled her to me. Really if she had tripped or stumbled to her left at all she would have been laid out flat...crazy Sydney drivers!!!!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Ok soooo I think I've been giving this sad sad report to all of you back home. Let me clarify. Tara and I are meeting so many awesome people from all over the world...The Netherlands, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, England, Australia (of course)...and the list goes on. We thrive on meeting and hanging out with people from all backgrounds. However, we are restricting our activities and food to minimal so to save money because the job market is really poor over here for four month working visa people (like ourselves). We're trying so hard to find anything (even data entry) but it seems like everyone is saying we have nothing for ya. So that constantly keeps us stressed. Also, I've had a couple really sad things happen to me....first my camera is missing (the hazards of living with strangers in a hostel)....next a pair of sandals that I love broke (yes the ones I made my sister find for me the day before I left...sorry Juli)....but you know I haven't given up all hope that it will all turn around in the matter of minutes! As Tara says "we are intelligent, educated, beautiful, qualified, outgoing young women, who wouldn't want us to work for them?" Hahaha. Oh and Chris...the Outback means the middle of nowhere Australia like in the "Rescuers Down Under" not the restaurant...ok back to the job search!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Update
Sorry all I don't have much time to give you a proper update. Tara and I are throwing out apps like crazy. Nothing's panned out so far. Tara's really motivated right now because our options if we don't find anything will be working in the Outback or fruit picking...not exactly what we imagined. Here are some observations from our time here so far:
1. Toilets have two flush options...one for number one and one for number two
2. Everyone wears leggings here but they treat them as if they are actual pants...Tara and I are loving it..in fact I'm wearing leggings now!
3. Common Aussie lingo we've heard...."no worries" in response to thank you, heaps...as in a lot of something, and shout...as in I'll buy this round of drinks or "shout"
4. Pidgeons here are just as disgusting as anywhere else but the other common birds are very colorful and exotic sounding (freaks me out)
1. Toilets have two flush options...one for number one and one for number two
2. Everyone wears leggings here but they treat them as if they are actual pants...Tara and I are loving it..in fact I'm wearing leggings now!
3. Common Aussie lingo we've heard...."no worries" in response to thank you, heaps...as in a lot of something, and shout...as in I'll buy this round of drinks or "shout"
4. Pidgeons here are just as disgusting as anywhere else but the other common birds are very colorful and exotic sounding (freaks me out)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Job please!
Tara and I are on the job hunt. We're putting a lot of pressure on ourselves which makes us literally go crazy by the end of the day. We've adopted Starbucks coffee as way to face the day and a good laugh session at the end of the day to get over our jitters about the future. We want to stay in Sydney or possibly go a bit north to the Gold coast but we're also thinking of fruit picking?! We've made quite a few friends already in the hostel we're staying at in the heart of Sydney. Our roommates are from the Netherlands and their male travel buddies have become our mates as well. The Aussie's are remarkably friendly and authentically interested in becoming friends and knowing our stories. It is such a "no worries" culture that Tara and I can't wait to be established so we can join them!! Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and your communication with us is priceless...it adds so much brightness to my day!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Apparently my phone case is a security blanket...haha
Tara on our 14 hour flight
Down Under Decisions
So we arrived here on a Saturday and couldn't do orientation until Monday...thus Tara and I have been tooling around Sydney...we know the same 10 blocks pretty well...in fact too well. We've seen the Sydney Bridge and Opera House, the botanical gardens, Hyde Park, took a Ferry to Manly (surf town), and experienced George Street and the craziness of China town. Our hostel mates are from Holland and think we're lame since we've gone to bed early and gotten up early both nights we've been here (jet lag). But they are very nice.. they even speak in English with us since we're American and know nothing but English....still we can't wait for a place to call our own. Which brings me to the job search....woah. Talk about overwhelming amount of info. I think retail might be it. But we're also considering going up the east coast a bit to Surfer's Paradise...the possibilities are endless. Prayer's for a job would be so wonderful and that Tara and I can make decisions together well. I have a mobile number it is....0415 714 413. This is how you use it:
Living it up in the Land of OZ,
Joy
How do my family & friends contact me?
- They need to dial their International Access Number (011 for North America and 00 for UK/Europe)
- Dial 61 (Australian Country Code)
- Dial your Australia mobile number EXCLUDING the initial zero
Living it up in the Land of OZ,
Joy
Saturday, May 23, 2009
G'day!! Tara and I made it safe and sound to Sydney, although we did some idiotic things along the way and had more than one potential disaster. We almost didn't board our flight to L.A. in time because we weren't paying attention...literally they said "last call for flight blah blah blah..the doors are closing" before I looked up at the time and we scrambled. Also, we didn't declare some food during immigration and Tara was attacked by a little fido dog. So we are fitting the ditzy, clueless American girl stereotype rather well these days. I have some great footage and pics already so hopefully I can get those up here too. Much love to you all and pray that our idiocy can be cured....or at least doesn't get us into too much trouble...
oh wait did I mention we saw pierce bronson (james bond) in the L.A. airport...um yeah...I could have hugged him....
oh wait did I mention we saw pierce bronson (james bond) in the L.A. airport...um yeah...I could have hugged him....
Monday, May 18, 2009
Hey all! I'm officially off to the Land of Oz on Thursday, May 21 at 3:00 in the afternoon. Tara (fabulous roommate and bestie) and I arriving on Saturday, May 23 at around 6:00 a.m. in Sydney. From there we will find our shuttle and arrive at a youth hostel connected with our work abroad program. From there.....well let's just say we have a lot to figure out....adventure and intrigue awaits!! I'm not nervous (yet) but any prayers or shout outs would be much appreciated as we take on Australia for the next four months....
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