So this is bad. Really bad. I haven’t kept up with my blog for a while and in the words of Larry the Cable guy I apologize. I went through a mini homesick stage and then got incredibly busy. So I’ll try to recap everything that has happened. So here goes……
Two New Zealanders, an American and an Australian go on vacation. You might be waiting for the punch line but there is none. This is actually what we did. During school holidays all youth programs take a break. My college was also out for holidays so I had a good opportunity to go with my hosts, Barry and Karen who are New Zealanders, and my friend Kat, who is Australian as well as half Asian, around the countryside of Australia for a week. The mix of nationalities and backgrounds were amazing :) (Interesting fact: Kat, whose whole name is Katrina was born on September the 11th . Katrina. Sep. 11. Yes I give her a hard time.) We stayed in Tacoma, NSW for a few days and drove to Euchuca, Ballerete and finally back home to Beaumaris. Throughout the vacation I have found that there are a few essential rules one must know before partaking on an Australian adventure. I did not know these so I am bestowing my newfound wisdom on you just in case you ever find yourself in the incredibly exotic place know as Australia.
Rule number 1: Do not leave a perfectly dry and warm house to go camp out in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm. You will just return to that house 3 hours later soaking wet, injured and in a bad mood.
Rule Number 2: Waterproof tents are never waterproof
Rule Number 3: Never try to chase an Alpaca who is foaming at the mouth.
Rule Number 4: If one plans to go on a week long camping trip there is a 97.3% chance that a cold front will come in the form of heavy, never ending rain.
Rule Number 5: Wear sunscreen in Australia. It rained more than not on the trip but I somehow managed to get a tan. Think how that will be in the summer when it never rains and the sun always shines.
Rule Number 6: Kangaroos are not scared of cars! Drive slow.
Rule Number 8: When milking a cow do not stand directly behind it or it will pee on you.
Rule Number 7: Wear a helmet when you ride bikes. This isn’t so much to protect your head if you fall off your bike but to protect your head WHEN magpies attack you.
There is a story worth telling based on Rule number 7. One day during the vacation Katrina and I decided to ride bikes around the area. Five seconds after we left we were attacked by the most viscous magpie I have ever encountered. Do birds get rabies? Actually I’m not too sure if even rabies could explain this bird’s behavior. It first ran smack into my helmet with its beak and continued to chase me down the road. If someone was looking out their window at that time they would have seen a girl screaming bloody murder riding down the road and a rather large bird in hot pursuit. I tried to cover my eyes with my hand because I was told they go for your eyes. I continued to scream for my friend who was riding beside me as if I expected her to heroically dive off her bike and tackle the bird. Fortunately, it soon left me and went for her. One minute later we’re almost on the ground because we’re laughing so hard. I now understand why it’s illegal in Australia to not wear a bike helmet. Since being in Australia I’ve had to endure 9 or 10 magpie attacks. According to the locals these numbers are unusually high for one person. Go figure.
The other day I saw a dead magpie on the side of the road and I must admit that I was not moved to tears.
Other than being attacked by magpies I was able to partake in an assortment of good ol’ Australian fun. We visited an Alpaca farm, went wine tasting, milked cows on a friend’s farm, set up tents (but never actually camped out!), went in a gold mine, attempted to pan for gold, spotlighted for Kangaroos, went on a boat ride down the famous Marry river, went to heaps of random museums, played random Australian card games, visited a strawberry farm and paid $6 for a milkshake there. Part of the time during our journey we stayed at the house of Karen’s cousin where I joyfully cooked good ol’ Texas chili and told them they were eating ethnic food. Of course they liked it.
In other news I managed to get a job. Yes I know I’m already busy but here in a few weeks college will be out for a total of almost four months. I decided that I’ll replace the day that I usually go to college with a job. It will be only one day per week and since it will replace college day I shouldn’t be any busier than I already am. The only problem is that I actually got the job three weeks too soon and now for 3 weeks I’ll have a job and college. So if you have wondered why I haven’t posted in a while here’s your answer. I work at a restaurant and coffee shop called Geleontos in the mall by my house. It is the toughtest job I’ve ever had because for 7 straight hours I don’t sit, eat, drink and I get limited time to breath. All day long I serve coffee, make food, work the cash register, bus tables and take orders. Actually to be more accurate I spill coffee, mess up the food, make the cash register go crazy, knock over tables and mess up orders. Of course I’m exaggerating but find that if you can’t exaggerate and learn to laugh at yourself then life gets hard. I actually do ok for someone who’s never had a restaurant job before. In the words of my boss I’m a “fast learner, a hard worker, and have a way with people”. Ha! Oh well I’ll take it. He must have not seen me spill that coffee or trip that customer. The customers are patient because they love my accent! “Oh I’m so sorry ma’m I just spilt coffee all over you. I’ll get that cleaned right up for y’all. No sir I don’t think we serve “servias” here. Oh. A servia is a napkin? Um… yeah I’ll get that napkin for y’all then.” I’m learning now more than ever the differences between Australian and American terminology and accents. I have the toughest time taking their orders in a loud crowded place because I can’t understand what they are saying and if I do I sometimes don’t know what in the world they are talking about. But I’m learning and I think this job will serve to make my Australian experience even richer. I’ve only got 9 more months here and I want to make the most of this experience. It’s funny because the day I came in for training the only people on staff we’re Asians that spoke in very hard to understand English. They were the ones that were supposed to train me. I forgot to mention that training day was on a Saturday during holiday which was one of the busiest days. So all day during training I had to learn 1 million different things but had the added difficulty of understanding what I was being told. But all the workers were so patient with me and I’m thankful that they showed me great kindness.
Other than going on vacation, being attacked by magpies and getting a job I’ve managed to stay busy with other activities and projects such as painting the youth house (bright red, orange, green, blue, yellow), managing the boys basketball team, writing the church newsletter turning in my college essays, starting a youth bike riding group, growing the young girls bible study I do, visiting the nursing home, going to classes, helping out with band practice, planning my “sermon” for the youth church service, building relationships with the youth, making friends, working to promote a new youth study group, and becoming incredibly addicted to caffeine. Of course I also find time to relax, run, keep in touch with God and talk with a few back home. Although there are many I miss that I am not able to talk to. I can’t believe I’ve already been here for over 3 months now. It’s sad to think that in 9 months I’ll have to leave this place. I’ve already gotten comfortable here but can’t imagine how much harder it will be in 9 more months when I have to say bye. As always thanks for reading my blog. I’ll try to post more frequently so I don’t feel like I have to cram in everything.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Chucky Cheese Paddles
To this day I can still remember quite vividly as a child sitting in my mom’s mini van, about to go a sleepover or party , and being told the consequences of not using “proper manners” to the adults present. To be clear “proper manners” means using ma’m and sir and referring to all adults as Mr. or Mrs. To be even more clear these consequences usually involved being hung upside down for a few days, stuck in a dark room with no food whatsoever for days on end or being spanked by a chucky cheese paddle (c’mon what kind of parent turns your paddle ball toy into a means for punishment when it is broken) No wonder I remember this so vividly. The fear of God was struck in me. Apparently Australian children do not get a similar talk from their parents. I just thought this was something every kid had to endure-like a coming of age necessity. In Australia, things are much more lax. Most kids here call the adults by their first names. Saying ma’m or sir can get you into some trouble because this is often viewed as a smart elic thing to say. I don’t even know the last name of some of my college professors because everyone just calls them by the first name. Needless to say, the first month here was tough. I was even told by the pastoral care worker that it’s ok that I slipped and used the word ma’m. It was if to say that she understood and was not offended. Ha! My pastor is refereed to as John. Not brother John, Mr. Haige, or even Mr. John. Nope. It’s John and sometimes Pastor John. It’s just a cultural difference that I have to get used to. To this day I still have trouble calling everyone by their first name but I’m getting better at it. I still have a mental image of my mom sneaking up behind me with a chucky cheese paddle-even if she’s actually thousands of miles away. Childhood scars.
I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the world where an elementary student asks the teacher for a rubber and the teacher never bats an eye. They do this all the time actually. Not saying ma’m and asking teachers for rubbers. Man oh man. I failed to mention that a rubber here is what we call erasers in America. However, it sill got me the first time I heard it and it took special effort to refrain from looking shocked or cracking a smile in the middle of teaching. I go into the schools on Mondays and teach third graders bible lessons during class time for an hour. The government allows you do that here so I thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity. I find this to be a neat experience but I’m completely out of my element. I am not destined to become a teacher as this experience has shown me. But I do alright I guess. I would have never dreamed that I would be sitting in a chair while a bunch of third graders gathered around me on the floor, anxiously awaiting what I’m going to say next. Must be the accent.
It’s spring here in Melbourne. I can’t seem to shake the feeling that I’m being robbed of my favorite season of the year; fall. The good thing about Melbourne is that it actually has 4 distinct seasons instead of the typical Texas seasons, kind of hot and hell (saying stolen from Stephen Jones). Each season here gets about 3 months of showtime. The bad thing about Melbourne is that in spring, the wind knocks you down if you are less than 100 pounds (45mph!) and birds try to poke your eyes out with their beaks. You’re having a bad day if you experience both of these simultaneously. Let me explain: In the span of 10 hours I was “dive bombed” by birds on two different occasions. They tried to take my head off. Quite alarmed I asked the locals to explain their strange behavior (Behavior of the birds this time, not the locals.) Apparently it is mating season for a particular bird called a magpie. The magpies are very territorial and if you happen to walk under their nests they try to poke your eyes out or at least get you with their beaks. My goodness even their birds here are dangerous! Aw spring, the season for warm weather, pretty flowers, blue skis and birds that try to poke your eyes out.
I finally got it! Difference between tea, dinner and supper: Read carefully. When someone says “come over and we’ll have tea together tonight” this means we are all going to eat a meal together at night. But if someone says “hey what would you like for supper later tonight?” then they are asking you what you would like for a late night snack. However, you know you hit the jackpot whenever they say “we’re going to give you dinner tonight!” because this means you’re going to get a very nice meal with many courses served. If somebody asks you over for breakfast this means you’re having…….breakfast.
~ I’m just joking about those aforementioned consequences. My mom would never do that! Well actually the chucky cheese paddle is completely true.
I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the world where an elementary student asks the teacher for a rubber and the teacher never bats an eye. They do this all the time actually. Not saying ma’m and asking teachers for rubbers. Man oh man. I failed to mention that a rubber here is what we call erasers in America. However, it sill got me the first time I heard it and it took special effort to refrain from looking shocked or cracking a smile in the middle of teaching. I go into the schools on Mondays and teach third graders bible lessons during class time for an hour. The government allows you do that here so I thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity. I find this to be a neat experience but I’m completely out of my element. I am not destined to become a teacher as this experience has shown me. But I do alright I guess. I would have never dreamed that I would be sitting in a chair while a bunch of third graders gathered around me on the floor, anxiously awaiting what I’m going to say next. Must be the accent.
It’s spring here in Melbourne. I can’t seem to shake the feeling that I’m being robbed of my favorite season of the year; fall. The good thing about Melbourne is that it actually has 4 distinct seasons instead of the typical Texas seasons, kind of hot and hell (saying stolen from Stephen Jones). Each season here gets about 3 months of showtime. The bad thing about Melbourne is that in spring, the wind knocks you down if you are less than 100 pounds (45mph!) and birds try to poke your eyes out with their beaks. You’re having a bad day if you experience both of these simultaneously. Let me explain: In the span of 10 hours I was “dive bombed” by birds on two different occasions. They tried to take my head off. Quite alarmed I asked the locals to explain their strange behavior (Behavior of the birds this time, not the locals.) Apparently it is mating season for a particular bird called a magpie. The magpies are very territorial and if you happen to walk under their nests they try to poke your eyes out or at least get you with their beaks. My goodness even their birds here are dangerous! Aw spring, the season for warm weather, pretty flowers, blue skis and birds that try to poke your eyes out.
I finally got it! Difference between tea, dinner and supper: Read carefully. When someone says “come over and we’ll have tea together tonight” this means we are all going to eat a meal together at night. But if someone says “hey what would you like for supper later tonight?” then they are asking you what you would like for a late night snack. However, you know you hit the jackpot whenever they say “we’re going to give you dinner tonight!” because this means you’re going to get a very nice meal with many courses served. If somebody asks you over for breakfast this means you’re having…….breakfast.
~ I’m just joking about those aforementioned consequences. My mom would never do that! Well actually the chucky cheese paddle is completely true.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Happy Father's Day!!!
Happy Father’s Day!
I believe there comes a time in every person’s life when they realize, at that particular moment, that they must look completely ridiculous. However they fail to do anything about it because they are having so much fun. I must admit that I’ve had more than my fair share of these moments in my own life but one particular instant came up just a few days ago. It involved me being taught an Australian dance by a few 12 year olds while trying to imitate the Australian accent, failing miserably, with icing spread on my face like Indian war paint. I had that moment. You might ask how this comes to be. All I can say is you might be in the same boat if you volunteered to make dessert with a bunch of 12 and 10 year olds. Kids don’t just make dessert and go home. Nope. Kids make dessert, lick the beaters, drop icing all over the floor, have a food fight, spread the icing all over face, learn new dance moves with icing on face, coax double left footed youth leader to learn the same moves, spread icing all over neighbor’s face, attempt to drink raw eggs, make a cooking show and take 108 pictures of the experience. If only I had this much fun every time I cooked. We made a popular Australian dish called “Pavlova”. Everyone was completely amazed that I’ve never even heard of the dish much less tried it. After trying it I decided that I have to move it to my famous "Wagley's top 10” favorite dessert list. It melts in your mouth and contains zero calories. Just playing. But it really does melt in your mouth.
The big expo night went smoothly. We had a turnout of a little over 100 kids. They all seemed to enjoy it. 90% of the kids responded to the “alter call”. I call it “altar call” because I honestly feel like the well intentioned speaker did it in a very deceiving (not intentional) and vague way meaning that most of the kids had no idea what they were doing. It went something like this “and now if you would like to throw away all the baggage in your life to Jesus come to the front and we’ll pray for you. Please Lord accept their baggage.” Since I’m in charge of follow up my main goal will be to clarify a few things and explain what a Christian is and how one becomes a Christian. My job with follow up is to have a weekly session for the kids wishing to know more about what they did and to help them grasp a basic understanding of Christianity. I’ve had the first session already and out of the 80+ kids who came to the front only 3 came back the following week. This might seem like a failure but I have to remind myself that numbers are sometimes an inaccurate way to measure success. Sometimes it’s about sincerity of heart and if we have even one new, serious believer out of our efforts on expo then it’ll be worth it. Plus I’m the type of person to do better in a small atmosphere and frankly I was a little intimated and freaked out about leading a session with 80+ kids. Yet now I’d say that I’m about 90% inspired and 10% overwhelmed about leading this. A great place to be I must say. So I guess we’ll continue to have the sessions once a week and hope and pray that it’ll grow.
~I’ve been having such a great time with my new bike. However, I find it a bit daunting when I continually get passed by old men on mountain bikes that seem to be out on a midday stroll. They smile at my out of breath and sweaty self and say “g’day” as they slowly pass by me. Grrrr
~I’m leading a skit for the youth to do on Sunday morning church. Yes yes I know please don’t laugh. I’ve had absolutely no experience with drama much less leading a team of overly energetic and caffeinated 14 year olds. But all has gone well so far. C’mon what’s the worse that can happen?
~“What are S’mores”? Yes I was actually asked this by several people in response to an idea I had about roasting marshmallows over a camp fire. This question might actually be even more surprising than the “what are hershey bars” question. I thought everyone knew! Yet this time I was more prepared and gave a much better response. It went something like this: “S'more appears to be a contraction of the phrase, "some more". The informal nature of this term reflects the environment in which s'mores are traditionally served and its meaning hints at the desires of campers who are not satisfied by just one s'more. Some have jokingly surmised that the name originated from people who were so busy eating the tasty treat that they did not have time to speak in complete sentences” Just joking. But I did explain it much better.
~I can’t believe that my classes are almost half way over. I’ve really been enjoying them and find that it’s been such a learning experience for me. All my classes consist entirely of essays. This is essentially a good thing because that means there are no late night study sessions but at the same time I feel like half my life is spent writing away (essays, emails, blogs, facebook, etc...) I bet I’ll become quite good at it in the end.
~Happy father’s Day dad! I know we’ve already celebrated it in America but Australians celebrate it today. Sorry mom (or should I say mum?) but mother’s day is the same day in both places.
~If I’m having a phone conversation with an Australian there’s a 90% chance that there will be a miscommunication in one form or another. To be honest, I have trouble understanding Australians as it is but on the phone I don’t have the benefit of reading their lips and smiling sweetly. There’s only so many whats, huhs, and pardons that I can do before I give up. Texts messaging has helped me tremendously.
~I have just returned from the ever popular AFL game. AFL stands for Australian Rules football and everyone here is absolutely crazy about it. September is the most intense month and I can’t go anywhere without hearing about it or seeing both men and women decked out in appeal. The best way to describe it is to say it’s a mix between soccer and football. They do not wear padding or helmets and it’s often called footy for short (Australians shorten everything). The first few days I was here in Australia I kept referring to it as “footsy” instead of footy. Needless to say that’s been taken care of.
~Australia is so stinkin' expensive
~Sometimes it’s not about the things you marked off your list that day but the relationships that you formed or the time spent with someone else.
I believe there comes a time in every person’s life when they realize, at that particular moment, that they must look completely ridiculous. However they fail to do anything about it because they are having so much fun. I must admit that I’ve had more than my fair share of these moments in my own life but one particular instant came up just a few days ago. It involved me being taught an Australian dance by a few 12 year olds while trying to imitate the Australian accent, failing miserably, with icing spread on my face like Indian war paint. I had that moment. You might ask how this comes to be. All I can say is you might be in the same boat if you volunteered to make dessert with a bunch of 12 and 10 year olds. Kids don’t just make dessert and go home. Nope. Kids make dessert, lick the beaters, drop icing all over the floor, have a food fight, spread the icing all over face, learn new dance moves with icing on face, coax double left footed youth leader to learn the same moves, spread icing all over neighbor’s face, attempt to drink raw eggs, make a cooking show and take 108 pictures of the experience. If only I had this much fun every time I cooked. We made a popular Australian dish called “Pavlova”. Everyone was completely amazed that I’ve never even heard of the dish much less tried it. After trying it I decided that I have to move it to my famous "Wagley's top 10” favorite dessert list. It melts in your mouth and contains zero calories. Just playing. But it really does melt in your mouth.
The big expo night went smoothly. We had a turnout of a little over 100 kids. They all seemed to enjoy it. 90% of the kids responded to the “alter call”. I call it “altar call” because I honestly feel like the well intentioned speaker did it in a very deceiving (not intentional) and vague way meaning that most of the kids had no idea what they were doing. It went something like this “and now if you would like to throw away all the baggage in your life to Jesus come to the front and we’ll pray for you. Please Lord accept their baggage.” Since I’m in charge of follow up my main goal will be to clarify a few things and explain what a Christian is and how one becomes a Christian. My job with follow up is to have a weekly session for the kids wishing to know more about what they did and to help them grasp a basic understanding of Christianity. I’ve had the first session already and out of the 80+ kids who came to the front only 3 came back the following week. This might seem like a failure but I have to remind myself that numbers are sometimes an inaccurate way to measure success. Sometimes it’s about sincerity of heart and if we have even one new, serious believer out of our efforts on expo then it’ll be worth it. Plus I’m the type of person to do better in a small atmosphere and frankly I was a little intimated and freaked out about leading a session with 80+ kids. Yet now I’d say that I’m about 90% inspired and 10% overwhelmed about leading this. A great place to be I must say. So I guess we’ll continue to have the sessions once a week and hope and pray that it’ll grow.
~I’ve been having such a great time with my new bike. However, I find it a bit daunting when I continually get passed by old men on mountain bikes that seem to be out on a midday stroll. They smile at my out of breath and sweaty self and say “g’day” as they slowly pass by me. Grrrr
~I’m leading a skit for the youth to do on Sunday morning church. Yes yes I know please don’t laugh. I’ve had absolutely no experience with drama much less leading a team of overly energetic and caffeinated 14 year olds. But all has gone well so far. C’mon what’s the worse that can happen?
~“What are S’mores”? Yes I was actually asked this by several people in response to an idea I had about roasting marshmallows over a camp fire. This question might actually be even more surprising than the “what are hershey bars” question. I thought everyone knew! Yet this time I was more prepared and gave a much better response. It went something like this: “S'more appears to be a contraction of the phrase, "some more". The informal nature of this term reflects the environment in which s'mores are traditionally served and its meaning hints at the desires of campers who are not satisfied by just one s'more. Some have jokingly surmised that the name originated from people who were so busy eating the tasty treat that they did not have time to speak in complete sentences” Just joking. But I did explain it much better.
~I can’t believe that my classes are almost half way over. I’ve really been enjoying them and find that it’s been such a learning experience for me. All my classes consist entirely of essays. This is essentially a good thing because that means there are no late night study sessions but at the same time I feel like half my life is spent writing away (essays, emails, blogs, facebook, etc...) I bet I’ll become quite good at it in the end.
~Happy father’s Day dad! I know we’ve already celebrated it in America but Australians celebrate it today. Sorry mom (or should I say mum?) but mother’s day is the same day in both places.
~If I’m having a phone conversation with an Australian there’s a 90% chance that there will be a miscommunication in one form or another. To be honest, I have trouble understanding Australians as it is but on the phone I don’t have the benefit of reading their lips and smiling sweetly. There’s only so many whats, huhs, and pardons that I can do before I give up. Texts messaging has helped me tremendously.
~I have just returned from the ever popular AFL game. AFL stands for Australian Rules football and everyone here is absolutely crazy about it. September is the most intense month and I can’t go anywhere without hearing about it or seeing both men and women decked out in appeal. The best way to describe it is to say it’s a mix between soccer and football. They do not wear padding or helmets and it’s often called footy for short (Australians shorten everything). The first few days I was here in Australia I kept referring to it as “footsy” instead of footy. Needless to say that’s been taken care of.
~Australia is so stinkin' expensive
~Sometimes it’s not about the things you marked off your list that day but the relationships that you formed or the time spent with someone else.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Jesus and Jack Black
For my 22 birthday my New Zealander host family threw a “barbeque” for me and I got to invite my friends. So basically New Zealanders threw a party for an American who invited a bunch of Australians. Go figure. It’s been a while since I posted but in a nut shell I turned 22 and Stephen got to visit me for two weeks. This had to be my favorite birthday too. I got a super huge stuffed gorilla, soap, raw kangaroo (which I did in fact eat), camel poop (I did not eat!), 2 cakes, and a box of cereal. They literally sang happy birthday to me 3 times throughout the day which meant that I blushed 3 times that day. For the program that night some of the youth showed a video we had made together. It featured me asking one of the boys to pass the ketchup. Since they don’t have ketchup here they pretend to be confused and agreed that we should catch up. “Ketchup!” I say and they then pick up a cat and say oh “cats up!” “No kethchup!” I continue and they proceed to put the cat in a bowl saying “oh cat soup” Quite clever I must say.
The youth seemed to enjoy Stephen quite a bit. Because of his beard many of the kids thought he looked like either Jack Black or Jesus. I tried to throw in George Clooney but they weren’t too keen on that. Together we got to go to the Mornigton Peninsula, an Australian zoo, a ruby game with the pastor, the Victorian market, Frankston, Australia, the beach, and unfortunately the airport as well. I even took him to my classes. The next time I see him will be in four months and I’m not too excited about that fact.
I’m beginning to feel more settled in now. Australians are great at making you feel welcome and they’ve all gone above and beyond for me. I’ve been so thankful for their kindness over these few weeks. I actually remember most people’s names now! I’m learning so much from my classes here and I’m starting to get more involved with everything. I’ve been asked to do several devotionals since I’ve last written and I feel much more comfortable doing them now. I might be teaching Sunday school soon and in the near future I’ll be teaching bible in the schools to 3rd graders. We’ll see how that goes. I find that I grow more when I’m forced to be put out of my comfort zone at least once a day. If you would have told me that I would be doing this kind of stuff a year ago I would have freaked out. But I find that I have the most fun, make the most impact, and grow the most when I agree to do things that are difficult for me to do at first.
Randomness (as always) :
~It never ceases to make my day when I hear an Australian imitate the ever popular Forest Gump. They tend to do this all the time and it sounds nothing like Forest Gump. I’m not too sure what it sounds like actually.
~I don’t understand that 90% of Australians can’t distinguish what type of American accent I have. They don’t hear the twang or the draw. It’s just an American accent to them and they can’t tell a difference from me and a guy from New York city. I find this highly puzzling.
~I’ve just received my new road bike! I got to test ride it today (first sunny day in a while) and it was amazing. Except for the fact that I continued to get passed up by teams of old men and women.
~ Apparently spitting outside is illegal here. At least that’s what the youth told me. But then again they’ve also told me that an elephant is buried under the church and that it’s illegal to not twirl your umbrella.
~However I might believe it because there does seem to be a few weird laws here. You’re not allowed to cut trees down in your own yard! There’s a $20,000 reward for turning in your neighbor who does so. The ironic thing is there was only a $2,000 reward for turning in a dude who heavily assaulted another person. You can’t own a gun except for a few minor exceptions. If you injure a person who breaks inside your house you have a high chance of being sued. I can’t carry maze. If a burglar comes into your backyard and gets bitten by your dog then its big trouble for you.
~ Remember when I said if an Australian invites you over for tea that means dinner? Well it gets even more confusing. Sometimes if they say we’re going to have dinner and it’s 10 at night then that means they want to have a snack. However, if they say “we're going to have dinner tonight at 6” then that most likely means an extremely nice meal with many courses. Yet if they want to have dinner but it’s breakfast time then I have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
~ I’m going to have a very exciting and busy week due to an important event called “Expo”. This is a huge youth rally that our church puts on twice a year. The majority of attendees are unchurched kids. The goal to get them through the door and show them that church isn’t as scary as they though it was. It’s a night of games, food, bands, and a short but hopefully effective talk. We’re all working hard to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep it in your prayers.
~ As always thanks for reading my blogs. More to come soon.
The youth seemed to enjoy Stephen quite a bit. Because of his beard many of the kids thought he looked like either Jack Black or Jesus. I tried to throw in George Clooney but they weren’t too keen on that. Together we got to go to the Mornigton Peninsula, an Australian zoo, a ruby game with the pastor, the Victorian market, Frankston, Australia, the beach, and unfortunately the airport as well. I even took him to my classes. The next time I see him will be in four months and I’m not too excited about that fact.
I’m beginning to feel more settled in now. Australians are great at making you feel welcome and they’ve all gone above and beyond for me. I’ve been so thankful for their kindness over these few weeks. I actually remember most people’s names now! I’m learning so much from my classes here and I’m starting to get more involved with everything. I’ve been asked to do several devotionals since I’ve last written and I feel much more comfortable doing them now. I might be teaching Sunday school soon and in the near future I’ll be teaching bible in the schools to 3rd graders. We’ll see how that goes. I find that I grow more when I’m forced to be put out of my comfort zone at least once a day. If you would have told me that I would be doing this kind of stuff a year ago I would have freaked out. But I find that I have the most fun, make the most impact, and grow the most when I agree to do things that are difficult for me to do at first.
Randomness (as always) :
~It never ceases to make my day when I hear an Australian imitate the ever popular Forest Gump. They tend to do this all the time and it sounds nothing like Forest Gump. I’m not too sure what it sounds like actually.
~I don’t understand that 90% of Australians can’t distinguish what type of American accent I have. They don’t hear the twang or the draw. It’s just an American accent to them and they can’t tell a difference from me and a guy from New York city. I find this highly puzzling.
~I’ve just received my new road bike! I got to test ride it today (first sunny day in a while) and it was amazing. Except for the fact that I continued to get passed up by teams of old men and women.
~ Apparently spitting outside is illegal here. At least that’s what the youth told me. But then again they’ve also told me that an elephant is buried under the church and that it’s illegal to not twirl your umbrella.
~However I might believe it because there does seem to be a few weird laws here. You’re not allowed to cut trees down in your own yard! There’s a $20,000 reward for turning in your neighbor who does so. The ironic thing is there was only a $2,000 reward for turning in a dude who heavily assaulted another person. You can’t own a gun except for a few minor exceptions. If you injure a person who breaks inside your house you have a high chance of being sued. I can’t carry maze. If a burglar comes into your backyard and gets bitten by your dog then its big trouble for you.
~ Remember when I said if an Australian invites you over for tea that means dinner? Well it gets even more confusing. Sometimes if they say we’re going to have dinner and it’s 10 at night then that means they want to have a snack. However, if they say “we're going to have dinner tonight at 6” then that most likely means an extremely nice meal with many courses. Yet if they want to have dinner but it’s breakfast time then I have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
~ I’m going to have a very exciting and busy week due to an important event called “Expo”. This is a huge youth rally that our church puts on twice a year. The majority of attendees are unchurched kids. The goal to get them through the door and show them that church isn’t as scary as they though it was. It’s a night of games, food, bands, and a short but hopefully effective talk. We’re all working hard to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep it in your prayers.
~ As always thanks for reading my blogs. More to come soon.
Monday, August 17, 2009
4 days or less
Sorry guys! So Stephen came to visit. I therefore have not had the time to sit down and post. I'll get one up here in 4 days or less. Keep looking and thanks so much for reading.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
"What are Hershey Bars?"
During my brief time here I have come to the conclusion that Australians and American candy do not mix. Much in the same way that Americans and the Australian “Vegemite” do go well together. But I’ll get to the second one in a bit. I want to first talk about one of the most amazing and puzzling questions asked to me by Karen, my Australian host (they don’t use Mr. or Mrs. here. Still getting used to that). We were standing in an American food store that she took me to when she preceded to ask me what Hershey bars were. After getting over the shock of the question I sought to find only the best, most elegant and wonderful of words to describe something as magnificently delicious and simplistic as a Hershey Bar. It was my responsibility, my duty, as an upstanding citizen of America to find the perfect expression to do the candy bar justice. “Um… it’s a big chuck of chocolate’ Looking back this wasn’t the most charming of ways to describe something that I find to be so incredibly amazing. It was then that I realized I must buy a pack of my favorite American candies and pass them around to the people that I know. The best American candy is of course a Reese’s (like I had to tell you) so I bought a bunch of Reese’s minis. Clearly no one would know what a Reese’s was. Even the head youth guy at the Church, who owns and runs a candy factory, had never heard of them. However, it seemed like everybody that I gave one to liked it. Success! Well…almost. One of the funniest moments here so far involved me giving a Reese’s to one of my friends. She opened it up and put the whole thing in her mouth. She was really quite for about a minute and I thought to myself “man she must really like it!” Then I noticed that she had this really funny expression on her face. The question that then came out of her mouth was not what I was expecting. “Um is there supposed to be paper in this candy?” Along with the Reese’s she had put the whole outer dark paper in her mouth too! She just thought it was supposed to be dark chocolate.
Note to Self: Do not send parents Australian food in the mail that has been washed once in the laundry. Even if it looks fine there could be soap hidden within the package and they might mistake the soapy taste for the authentic taste of Australian food. Yeah that did happen. I was so excited to mail my family Australian “Vegemite” but I overlooked the fact that I accidentally washed the package of vegemite with my jeans. However, most Americans might agree that Vegemite wouldn’t taste any worse if it had been washed. I also mailed it to Stephen and his family and I think the unanimous opinion was that it made them want to puke. I must admit the stuff is an acquired taste. I had some on my toast this morning and find it quite appetizing.
So I started my first week of classes on Tuesday and I’m going to be so busy! Over the course of 12 weeks along with my homework assignments and readings I will also have to write 11 essays and do one 35 minute presentation. Ha! I was worried that I wouldn’t be busy enough here! Nevertheless, I think I will really enjoy my classes. I’m taking the Gospel of Luke, Youth Ministry, Practical Ministry Awareness and Spirituality. These are all the types of classes that I wanted to take during my time at Ouachita but couldn’t fit into my schedule. I realized late on Sunday night that I had to report to Mitchum Baptist church early on Monday morning for a college meeting. That meant about as much to me as it does to you. I had no idea what and where Mitchum was. I had never heard of this place in my life. I had no car and I can only run so far. Everyone who could help me was already asleep so I just pulled out all the train maps and figured it out myself. I arrived in Mitchum (almost 2 hours away) but then I had to find the specific church in the city. I had no idea how to do this so I just started walking. I stopped random people to ask if they knew where I should go. Eventually I found the place and got there in the nick of time. I must admit I was pretty darn proud of myself for navigating the train system. I believe it makes up for getting completely lost the first time. Like I said I’ve been pretty busy. Some of the stuff that I’m doing in the near future include: cooking Texas Chili for the youth group (never cooked chili in my life), trying to start a new bible study group, getting to know the nursing home residents, coaching a B ball team, planning a 15 minute lesson, getting accredited so I can teach religion in the schools (you can do that in Australia!), helping out with the big expo event, learning how to become a Chaplin for a middle school and going to all the planned youth events throughout the week. Whew! But I’m glad that I’m busy doing stuff I feel is important because I want to make as much of a positive difference as I can. I feel called here for a reason and I’m leaving behind people that I don’t want to leave behind. I want to make the most of my time here so I know that it was all worth it. So far I think I’m doing just that.
Randomness:
~ It rains quite a bit here. I’m so tired of this rainy cold weather! In fact, I find it much harder to adjust to the weather here than almost anything else. I can’t ever seem to get warm! But what don’t kill you….
~ It’s common in Texas to hear the saying “if you don’t like the weather in Texas then wait a day, it’ll change.” Yet in Melbourne it goes more like this, “If you don’t like the weather in Melbourne then wait an hour it’ll change.” In any given day, I’ll wake up to “warm” sunshine, get caught in the rain on my afternoon run, get blown over by the wind on my walk to the coffee shop and watch the stars on a perfectly calm, clear night. Melbourne is called the “four seasons in one day city” and I now see why.
~ We’re having an upcoming “mystery night” for the youth. It involves things like traveling all over the city, finding one of the church members dressed as a leopard and hiding in a store, searching for a kidnapped girl, and running around a mall . I’m excited about that and I think it’s a great way to help reach the youth.
~ Once people find out I’m American (usually after I open my mouth) they generally ask me one of two things. A.) Have you shot a gun? B) What do you think about Obama? Isn’t he amazing? Hmmm……
~Wagley's Wonderful Weekly Australian Slang Lesson:
Wagging= skipping. i.e: Shelby was so excited about the A on her paper that she WAGGED up and down the hall.
Lollies= candy i.e: Matt chose a Heresy bar for his Lollie but Ken decided to go with a Reese’s. NOBODY ever uses the word candy.
Runners= sneakers or Nikes. i.e: To play basketball Mary had to bring her runners.
Floss= cotton candy i.e: At the fair Jenny had so much floss that she threw up on the ride.
Boy= girl. Just playing
~“Who is Helen Keller?” Some friends and I got into a conversation the other day and this is the question that was brought up. What? Helen Keller! So again, it was my duty as an American to find the proper words to describe this incredible women and her amazing achievement. How can I give them an idea of what she means to us Americans? However all I could get out was “um she was some blind and deaf chick who did some cool things.” Fail. Again. Man I gotta get better at describing things that are common knowledge in America.
~ 2 layers of socks, 3 layers of long sleeved shirts, a scarf, gloves, long johns, jeans, and a jacket. On any given day this is my attire. Not that I wear all of these items of clothing every single day but I’ll wear most of it. It’s particularly off-putting when I see a kid half my age running by me in shorts and sandals. It’s not that Australian winters are any colder than Texas winters but the fact that in Texas, people heat their houses and close their doors and windows.
Note to Self: Do not send parents Australian food in the mail that has been washed once in the laundry. Even if it looks fine there could be soap hidden within the package and they might mistake the soapy taste for the authentic taste of Australian food. Yeah that did happen. I was so excited to mail my family Australian “Vegemite” but I overlooked the fact that I accidentally washed the package of vegemite with my jeans. However, most Americans might agree that Vegemite wouldn’t taste any worse if it had been washed. I also mailed it to Stephen and his family and I think the unanimous opinion was that it made them want to puke. I must admit the stuff is an acquired taste. I had some on my toast this morning and find it quite appetizing.
So I started my first week of classes on Tuesday and I’m going to be so busy! Over the course of 12 weeks along with my homework assignments and readings I will also have to write 11 essays and do one 35 minute presentation. Ha! I was worried that I wouldn’t be busy enough here! Nevertheless, I think I will really enjoy my classes. I’m taking the Gospel of Luke, Youth Ministry, Practical Ministry Awareness and Spirituality. These are all the types of classes that I wanted to take during my time at Ouachita but couldn’t fit into my schedule. I realized late on Sunday night that I had to report to Mitchum Baptist church early on Monday morning for a college meeting. That meant about as much to me as it does to you. I had no idea what and where Mitchum was. I had never heard of this place in my life. I had no car and I can only run so far. Everyone who could help me was already asleep so I just pulled out all the train maps and figured it out myself. I arrived in Mitchum (almost 2 hours away) but then I had to find the specific church in the city. I had no idea how to do this so I just started walking. I stopped random people to ask if they knew where I should go. Eventually I found the place and got there in the nick of time. I must admit I was pretty darn proud of myself for navigating the train system. I believe it makes up for getting completely lost the first time. Like I said I’ve been pretty busy. Some of the stuff that I’m doing in the near future include: cooking Texas Chili for the youth group (never cooked chili in my life), trying to start a new bible study group, getting to know the nursing home residents, coaching a B ball team, planning a 15 minute lesson, getting accredited so I can teach religion in the schools (you can do that in Australia!), helping out with the big expo event, learning how to become a Chaplin for a middle school and going to all the planned youth events throughout the week. Whew! But I’m glad that I’m busy doing stuff I feel is important because I want to make as much of a positive difference as I can. I feel called here for a reason and I’m leaving behind people that I don’t want to leave behind. I want to make the most of my time here so I know that it was all worth it. So far I think I’m doing just that.
Randomness:
~ It rains quite a bit here. I’m so tired of this rainy cold weather! In fact, I find it much harder to adjust to the weather here than almost anything else. I can’t ever seem to get warm! But what don’t kill you….
~ It’s common in Texas to hear the saying “if you don’t like the weather in Texas then wait a day, it’ll change.” Yet in Melbourne it goes more like this, “If you don’t like the weather in Melbourne then wait an hour it’ll change.” In any given day, I’ll wake up to “warm” sunshine, get caught in the rain on my afternoon run, get blown over by the wind on my walk to the coffee shop and watch the stars on a perfectly calm, clear night. Melbourne is called the “four seasons in one day city” and I now see why.
~ We’re having an upcoming “mystery night” for the youth. It involves things like traveling all over the city, finding one of the church members dressed as a leopard and hiding in a store, searching for a kidnapped girl, and running around a mall . I’m excited about that and I think it’s a great way to help reach the youth.
~ Once people find out I’m American (usually after I open my mouth) they generally ask me one of two things. A.) Have you shot a gun? B) What do you think about Obama? Isn’t he amazing? Hmmm……
~Wagley's Wonderful Weekly Australian Slang Lesson:
Wagging= skipping. i.e: Shelby was so excited about the A on her paper that she WAGGED up and down the hall.
Lollies= candy i.e: Matt chose a Heresy bar for his Lollie but Ken decided to go with a Reese’s. NOBODY ever uses the word candy.
Runners= sneakers or Nikes. i.e: To play basketball Mary had to bring her runners.
Floss= cotton candy i.e: At the fair Jenny had so much floss that she threw up on the ride.
Boy= girl. Just playing
~“Who is Helen Keller?” Some friends and I got into a conversation the other day and this is the question that was brought up. What? Helen Keller! So again, it was my duty as an American to find the proper words to describe this incredible women and her amazing achievement. How can I give them an idea of what she means to us Americans? However all I could get out was “um she was some blind and deaf chick who did some cool things.” Fail. Again. Man I gotta get better at describing things that are common knowledge in America.
~ 2 layers of socks, 3 layers of long sleeved shirts, a scarf, gloves, long johns, jeans, and a jacket. On any given day this is my attire. Not that I wear all of these items of clothing every single day but I’ll wear most of it. It’s particularly off-putting when I see a kid half my age running by me in shorts and sandals. It’s not that Australian winters are any colder than Texas winters but the fact that in Texas, people heat their houses and close their doors and windows.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I Don't Get Australian Humor (Warning: Very Random Blog)
What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor? Help I can’t find my tractor. What? I don’t get this. Australian humor is a very complicated thing and I can only hope to progress (or is it regress?)to that level of understanding during my year here. Ha! I find that I am quickly adjusting to my new way of life. The thick, unique Australian accent is becoming much less noticeable. Now when I speak to people here I think their accent sounds completely normal (what is normal anyhow?). Just the other day I was talking to two girls for a while. One of them eventually told me that they were Americans and had just come to this country to visit. I didn’t notice their lack of Australian accent because it's become so familiar to me! I suppose the next step is to actually sound like one myself. Hmmm that should be interesting. I’ll call it the Australian twang.
Australia still seems like some huge, unfamiliar country where almost anything can happen. However, I think that this makes it more interesting. One of my favorite things to do is to tour the city during my runs and get to know the place I live in. It’s great because I almost never run in the same place twice. I actually live on the outskirts of the city so it’s not so overwhelming to a small town girl such as myself. The most amazing thing is that I live 1200 meters from the beach, a mile away from a huge shopping centre, a mere walk to some quant shops and bakery’s, and right by a few ethnic food places. I find that almost all the restaurants here are privately owned. In fact, the only restaurant I’ve seen that I actually recognize as a chain is TGI Fridays. The rest feature authentic, ethnic cuisine like Thai, Turkish, Greek, Indian, and Middle Eastern food which seems to be conveniently placed by my house. This fact makes me happier than a kid at Christmas.
My youth job seems to be pretty busy but not completely overwhelming. I’m really enjoying getting to know the kids. They’re all great. It’s been a great experience and I’m just trying to build relationships and become somebody that they can come to. And guess what? I’m coaching a girl’s basketball team! Don’t laugh. I know, I know. Most of you have seen me play basketball but this doesn’t mean that I can’t be a good coach. Right? In America, some people would say to me “you’re tall, you must be good at basketball”. But here it’s a bit different. The Australians say “You’re American, you must play basketball.” Unfortunately both groups are wrong and this example just goes to show that assumptions are almost never true. I think I should have a microphone of something when I coach during a game because I’m so quite nobody can hear a word I say. And if they could they still wouldn’t understand it. “Um put your hands up, grab that thing. Yeah I mean the ball. Run fast. You’re the post guard now. Um… I mean point guard. No I mean post. Run fast. Go. Jump high. Punch her in the face” I’m joking about the last one.
“Um… we usually don’t put our feet on the subway seats.” These are the words spoken by my kind Australian friend after I had used the subway seat in front of me as a foot rest for over 10 minutes. I was wondering why she kept looking at my shoes. I thought she was just interested in my super cool cowboy boots. Apparently here in Australia putting your feet on things other than the floor is seen as extremely rude. Oops. I’ve also found that I tend to have some trouble identifying the appropriate bill I should give the cashier. Their money looks so different. It’s extremely colorful, completely wrinkle free and much better looking. Coins here go up to $2. I dread buying something in a store because I fumble with the bills for a while before I decide which one to use.
Randomness:
~ To get a better idea of Australia, it’s best to think of it like America except everything is mini size. The food portions are much smaller and in turn the people are generally smaller (weigh less). Coffee cups are mini size. Sometimes I want to look at the food and say “well that looks nice but do you have something other than the sample”. LOL. The trash cans are mini size! It might hold 2 egg cartons. The grocery stores are much smaller but don’t necessarily have less stuff. Everything is just crammed into a smaller space and people tend to have trouble getting their buggies down the isle.
~ I’ve seen one pickup truck since I’ve been here.
~ I get to do a little nursing home visitation in some of my time and it’s been so much fun. There’s something unique about visiting people that have lived all of their 95 years of life in Australia. They can tell me so much about Australian history plus they love my accent!
~ I seem to become quite enamored with the grocery stores here. They’re a bit different than in America. There is one by my house and I sometimes just go in it to stare at everything. There are so many different types of food! I’m sure the people there think I’m such a weirdo. Some random girl who just stands there and stares at food for long periods of time. That’s me.
~ Oatmeal is called portage, trash cans are called rubage or dust bins (never ever trash cans) shady or creepy is called dodgy, sidewalks are called walk paths, and flashlights are called torches. More to come later.
~I have liked every new Australian food that I have tried. Except one thing: pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie mind you. The Australians eat pumpkin all the time and I just can’t seem to get that stuff down. I even like something called Vegemite and eat it on my toast regularly. It’s a type of spread and I’ve never tasted anything remotely like it before. The Australians said that I was the first American to actually like it. But please keep the Pumpkin.
~ I’ve never been much of a soda drinker before but I’ve fallen in love with a particular soft drink called solo. It’s hands down the best drink I’ve ever had before.
~ Australians tend to be quite lax about all these dangerous creatures living around them. Just the other day this guy in my youth group nonchalantly told me how he picked up a brick, put it down and saw the there was a Redback spider sitting right by his hand the whole time. They say the Redback spider is the 2nd deadliest spider in the world. Second deadliest! They also have these jellyfish swimming around their oceans that can supposedly kill you with one sting.
~ I tend to forget my camera everywhere I go! I hate this because I’ve seen so many cool things but I can’t even take a picture of it! I’ll try to be better about this.
Australia still seems like some huge, unfamiliar country where almost anything can happen. However, I think that this makes it more interesting. One of my favorite things to do is to tour the city during my runs and get to know the place I live in. It’s great because I almost never run in the same place twice. I actually live on the outskirts of the city so it’s not so overwhelming to a small town girl such as myself. The most amazing thing is that I live 1200 meters from the beach, a mile away from a huge shopping centre, a mere walk to some quant shops and bakery’s, and right by a few ethnic food places. I find that almost all the restaurants here are privately owned. In fact, the only restaurant I’ve seen that I actually recognize as a chain is TGI Fridays. The rest feature authentic, ethnic cuisine like Thai, Turkish, Greek, Indian, and Middle Eastern food which seems to be conveniently placed by my house. This fact makes me happier than a kid at Christmas.
My youth job seems to be pretty busy but not completely overwhelming. I’m really enjoying getting to know the kids. They’re all great. It’s been a great experience and I’m just trying to build relationships and become somebody that they can come to. And guess what? I’m coaching a girl’s basketball team! Don’t laugh. I know, I know. Most of you have seen me play basketball but this doesn’t mean that I can’t be a good coach. Right? In America, some people would say to me “you’re tall, you must be good at basketball”. But here it’s a bit different. The Australians say “You’re American, you must play basketball.” Unfortunately both groups are wrong and this example just goes to show that assumptions are almost never true. I think I should have a microphone of something when I coach during a game because I’m so quite nobody can hear a word I say. And if they could they still wouldn’t understand it. “Um put your hands up, grab that thing. Yeah I mean the ball. Run fast. You’re the post guard now. Um… I mean point guard. No I mean post. Run fast. Go. Jump high. Punch her in the face” I’m joking about the last one.
“Um… we usually don’t put our feet on the subway seats.” These are the words spoken by my kind Australian friend after I had used the subway seat in front of me as a foot rest for over 10 minutes. I was wondering why she kept looking at my shoes. I thought she was just interested in my super cool cowboy boots. Apparently here in Australia putting your feet on things other than the floor is seen as extremely rude. Oops. I’ve also found that I tend to have some trouble identifying the appropriate bill I should give the cashier. Their money looks so different. It’s extremely colorful, completely wrinkle free and much better looking. Coins here go up to $2. I dread buying something in a store because I fumble with the bills for a while before I decide which one to use.
Randomness:
~ To get a better idea of Australia, it’s best to think of it like America except everything is mini size. The food portions are much smaller and in turn the people are generally smaller (weigh less). Coffee cups are mini size. Sometimes I want to look at the food and say “well that looks nice but do you have something other than the sample”. LOL. The trash cans are mini size! It might hold 2 egg cartons. The grocery stores are much smaller but don’t necessarily have less stuff. Everything is just crammed into a smaller space and people tend to have trouble getting their buggies down the isle.
~ I’ve seen one pickup truck since I’ve been here.
~ I get to do a little nursing home visitation in some of my time and it’s been so much fun. There’s something unique about visiting people that have lived all of their 95 years of life in Australia. They can tell me so much about Australian history plus they love my accent!
~ I seem to become quite enamored with the grocery stores here. They’re a bit different than in America. There is one by my house and I sometimes just go in it to stare at everything. There are so many different types of food! I’m sure the people there think I’m such a weirdo. Some random girl who just stands there and stares at food for long periods of time. That’s me.
~ Oatmeal is called portage, trash cans are called rubage or dust bins (never ever trash cans) shady or creepy is called dodgy, sidewalks are called walk paths, and flashlights are called torches. More to come later.
~I have liked every new Australian food that I have tried. Except one thing: pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie mind you. The Australians eat pumpkin all the time and I just can’t seem to get that stuff down. I even like something called Vegemite and eat it on my toast regularly. It’s a type of spread and I’ve never tasted anything remotely like it before. The Australians said that I was the first American to actually like it. But please keep the Pumpkin.
~ I’ve never been much of a soda drinker before but I’ve fallen in love with a particular soft drink called solo. It’s hands down the best drink I’ve ever had before.
~ Australians tend to be quite lax about all these dangerous creatures living around them. Just the other day this guy in my youth group nonchalantly told me how he picked up a brick, put it down and saw the there was a Redback spider sitting right by his hand the whole time. They say the Redback spider is the 2nd deadliest spider in the world. Second deadliest! They also have these jellyfish swimming around their oceans that can supposedly kill you with one sting.
~ I tend to forget my camera everywhere I go! I hate this because I’ve seen so many cool things but I can’t even take a picture of it! I’ll try to be better about this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg){kind=small}