Week 2

After the storm: The first weekend I was in Canberra it rained for 2-3 days straight and last weekend was the same which was a shame because I had just moved into my accommodations and I really needed to go grocery shopping. I moved in on Friday the 12th and spent the day unpacking and decorating my room. I planned on going grocery shopping on Saturday, the next day, but I woke up to rain, so I lazed about. Sunday started out the same, but cleared up for a bit. When I had finally talked myself into going into the city, it started raining again but I knew if I didn't leave, I'd never go and I'd never get food, so I grabbed up my umbrella and stormed out into the storm! Rain does something to a city; everything looks new, fresh and intriguing! Wandering around is for some reason a lot more exciting when it's raining and it's easier to feel connected to the surroundings and those around you, despite being complete strangers, cause when everyone is dodging the rain and jumping over puddles just as you are, empathy come naturally. And I realized that you can learn the most about a new place when it's raining; what types of people use umbrellas, who dresses appropriately for the weather, who was caught off guard, who doesn't mind getting wet, who's chivalrous, who stays inside, who still goes out and about, etc. I highly recommend people watching in the rain. Next time it rains wherever you are, grab some shoes that can get wet and an umbrella (or not!) and meander!

Get out there and live; enjoy the rain!

Alarm: On Wednesday morning I did not get to sleep in, I was not woken up by my alarm and I was not woken up by cockatoos.. in fact I was woken up by a fire alarm drill, dark and misty at 6:00 in the morning. I'm glad I actually woke up for it though, because no alarm was going off in my room, it was just the halls, and while it was loud, I'm a deep sleeper. I was actually woken up byt he sound of doors above and below me slamming shut. In the commotion, and since we knew it was coming some morning, I realized, "Oh, this must be the fire alarm drill.. I shouldn't roll over and go back to sleep. I should get up." So I did. Our Senior Residents (aka Resident Advisors) then led us on a hike up Black Mountain for breakfast at the top.. or so I thought. "2 kilometers or so"... So we're hiking up the mountain and I'm sweating and huffing and puffing, clearly out of shape, plus loving the views, so I liberally take photo breaks and catch my breath. By the time I get to the top, there's no on in sight. I really couldn't figure it out, but I explored a bit and enjoyed taking my pictures. Spent a good amount of time up top, no on came by, so I headed down the same way I came up. The free breakfast is what hooked me from not going back to my room and going back to sleep in the first place and I did the hike and didn't even get any breakfast! Phooey! But I've hiked to the top of Black Mountain, I can cross that off my list! :)

A view from the hike up Black Mountain.

Amazing: I have 3 favorite places in Canberra so far. The FIRST is Hobart Place which is this little park in the city amongst some corporate buildings. I can't say exactly why I love going there, but it's always calm and sunny since it's tucked away from the streets. There's a circular patch of grass lined by benches and a little fountain. The pathways are lined with these cool sculptures that look like big green and blue leaves or sails, and all the light posts are crowned with a flower pot of beautiful pink and purple zellia flowers. The SECOND is a little dock on Lake Burley Griffin. Last week, Rhiannen and I finally got pizza from the New York pizza place and we decided to go eat it down by the lake. So we found this little dock, sat down and enjoyed the panoramic view of Canberra. We made friends with these black swans.. they were interested in our pizza.. so were we! Lol! But we enjoyed taking pictures of them, watching them swim around and throwing them bits of crust. It was a "you-had-to-be-there" afternoon, but it was wonderful as the sun dipped lower in the sky and the clouds rolled by. My THIRD favorite place I came across kind of by accident while I was wondering the school and I happened across this tree. It didn't look especially spectacular, but it's all the rage if you're a bird! Everyday at about 6pm this tree gets different species of visitors: Cockatoos, Gang-Gang Cockatoos and Rosella Parrots. And they all just sit there, eating in harmony! I love stopping by this tree now and seeing who's there and just watching them all eat and snapping away pictures.

Feeding our new friends on my favorite dock on Lake Burley Griffin.

The tree of bird harmony

Animals: I'm still amazed by this one tree being a feeding perch for 3 different types of birds, but I already talked about that. So, to the next animal! Unfortunately I saw a redback spider and it wasn't in a picture... In fact, it was in the School of Art. I took a picture, but I don't like to think about it. Moving on... I saw an Australian opossum! At first I didn't think it was an opossum, but when I showed the pictures I took to an Aussie, they informed me that it was indeed an opossum. Aussie opossums look nothing like American opossums! Ours look like big fat rats, but here opossums have bigger ears and a tail that is like a cross between a raccoon and opossum tail. When they come across humans, they kind of aren't sure what to do, so they just look at you for a minute, puzzled, "What are you? Are you a tree? Should I climb up you?". It's kind of weird but once they do get up in a tree, they're fine and go about their business eating and could care less if you're around, haha!

Momma opossum and baby opossum

Astronomy: Last week I saw the night sky for the first time since being in Australia! Previously it had either been cloudy or I was in for the night before it was really dark. But now I've seen the Southern cross!!! Yay! I thought the Southern Cross was like out Big Dipper and was the astronomical southern pole, but I found out it's not exactly. What I found interesting is that Orion, Taurus the Bull and the 7 Sisters (Pleiades) are also visible in the southern sky. After a little research, it's because Orion is in the astronomical equator, so it's visible in both hemispheres. I'm grateful because the sky is a little more familiar and I feel a little closer to home... a little closer to you all! :)

Athletic: IF, and that's a big IF, I was athletic, I would totally do Inward Bound. ANU is, I believe the only university to do it even though it originated out of school rivalry. ANU and some other school used to pull major pranks on each other constantly throughout the year. After years of destruction, they decided to channel their rivalry into a competition and thus Inward Bound was born. Now it is a competition between the different residents halls and colleges on ANU's campus. An Inward Bound team is made up of 4 people: a navigator and 3 runners. This team of four then trains like crazy in running until the big day. When that day comes, they are all blindfolded and taken out somewhere into the middle of the bush. They take the blindfolds off, are given a map and coordinates and they have 24 hours to get from point A back to point B, the distance of which could be anywhere from 50K to 150k (30-90 miles). It sounds really intense and I'm just not a competitive person, but IF I was, and IF I liked running, I would totally do it! Because while it sounds a little crazy, it also sounds extremely adventurous to just be plopped down in the middle of nowhere and then find your way back. Survival of the fittest? Yes!

American news: Apparently Obama is coming to Canberra sometime in March. No one really knows when, but he'll only be here for 48 hours, in which he'll address the Parliament. At first I had heard it was going to be more of a vacation, but now it'll be just a short trip... nonetheless, leave it to our President to spend precious American tax dollars in a depressed economy to bring along his little girls too so they can see Australia... while their jet-lagged of course. Rhiannen isn't too please since she works at the Canberra Girls Grammar School which is between Parliament house and the Embassy and those roads will probably be closed for security purposes. Hilary Clinton is also scheduled to visit Australia sometime in April, but that's all I know about that.

Amor

It's true, Friday night I fell in love with Australia!

**I love how the sun enchants the land at 6 o'clock pm.
**I love how when the city goes to sleep, Australia wakes up.
**I love how birds live in harmony and share a meal in the same tree.
**I love how the trees sing and rustle.
**I love gum-tree green!
**I love how I've had to learn the metric system and re-learn english.
**I love how the sun has kissed my shoulders and grace me with it's Aussie glow.
**I love my incredibly awkward sandal tan.
**I love how nothing is more than a 20 minutes walk.
**I love how I've lost weight just being here for 2 weeks.
**I love how I orient myself by the Telstra Tower.
**I love how if you walk long enough you'll walk in circles.
**I love experiencing the WORLD in ONE country.
**I love how "multicultural" is the culture.
**I love how people say "heaps" heaps.
**I love the Southern Cross.
**I love trying to figure out if Orion is backwards or up-side-down.
**I love the daily clouds that roll through the sky like dancers on a big celestial stage.
**I love how there are heaps of benches everywhere and the pace of life allows you to sit and drink it in.
**I love how faith has surprised me here.
**I love how there is public art everywhere if only you remember to look up, down and side to side.
**I love how majestic the willow trees sway.
**I love how every restaurant has outdoor seating.
**I love how it rains in Canberra.
**I love that everything is visible from Lake Burley Griffin.
**I love getting lost.
**I love how Aussies confidently walk into the street without the "walk" signal.
**I love how pedestrians have the right of way.
**I love that the cockatoos are cocky and the pigeons are meek.
**I love having dinner by the lake.
**I love midnight meal and meeting new people in the kitchen.
**I love TimTams.
**I love how Australian's regularly wear Australia branded clothing and accessories.
**I love how college students are the same everywhere: they will always eat free food.

Actually...

Animals: Um, so I used to think the wild cockatoo were cool, but now? Absolutely not! I'm a pretty deep sleeper, it takes a lot to wake me up once I'm asleep, but the big squawking things managed to awaken me early this morning! It must have been about 6:00am and it was soo loud and soo annoying, I tried burying my head under my pillow to no avail. I really don't know how it was possible except by the grace of God, but I did manage to get back to sleep. The comical thing is, once I was back asleep I managed to have this magnificent dream in which people were shooting the cockatoos with very large rubber-band guns! Actually, in my dream they were seagulls, it was at my home (sorta, you know how dreams do that), and Campbell was the one shooting them. It was glorious and we all celebrated :)

Accommodations: I was unaware that the halls and colleges (aka dorms) on Australian university campuses were actually just very large co-ed fraternities. They don't have a greek (sorority and fraternity) system in Australia and by the time kids come to uni they are typically of drinking age, which is 18 years old. This week is "O-Week" (short for Orientation Week. This week is general Orientation week for the whole uni where as last week was International Orientation week), and O-Week is essentially a week of partying. Each night is a different theme night. Last night, for Valentine's Day, appropriately (not) was "Drag and Diva".. uh, no thanks, I'll pass. I went and checked out another different church (more on that later). Tonight is ABC, short for Anything But Clothing, which means, everyone gets creative and comes up with a skimpy outfit made of trash bags, or caution tape, or cardboard, that sort of thing. Then everyone heads to the bar for dancing and drinking. I can't say which one there is more of, the dancing or the drinking. And it's all organized by the leadership team of the Hall. Organized partying. Huh? The only organized partying the States has is whatever fraternities come up with. But there are some differences. Typically, fraternity parties have free alcohol or maybe a $5 cover fee. Here, you have to buy your own beer and it ain't cheap! The "cheap" prices students get here at the Hall's bar is $3.50 for a Corona and such. The other difference is, a lot of the partying that goes on at fraternities is underaged and thus illegal. This is completely legal and encouraged.. that's what I find weird.

Attendance: I think I'll be happier once classes actually start and we've all got things to concentrate on. I need some structure to my life and a schedule I can follow... I haven't sat a class since the first week in December and I'm rusty on the whole thing.. I'd rather not spend the week before I start classes at a prestigious Australian university partying and getting drunk.

Agree?: Am I taking the wrong approach? Should I be embracing it since these are all new experiences for me to drink in? Should I fully immerse myself? Should I, as they say, "live it up"? I don't know. I may regret it later, but I'd rather stay true to myself and my convictions. Agree? Disagree? Let me know your thoughts.

Arnott's: You'll be happy to know there are some "Aussie" things after all! Arnott's is a food brand that is specifically Australian. They make a lot of snacky foods, but they're most famous for "Tim Tam"s, which if you haven't ever tried them... you need to! They are heaven in a cookie! They rank up there next to Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Samoas! There is even an "Aussie way" to eat them: bite off a bit at both end and then stick one end in a cup of tea and drink the tea through the cookie, er, I mean biscuit. Yummm... warm chocolatey taste!

Auditorium: So on the International Orientation day, I stopped by the C.I.F. (Crossroads International Fellowship) table and found out they are a Christian based club for international students that meets on Sunday afternoons for some snacks, games and fellowship. At USC there is a group called "Bridges" which is the Campus Crusade for Christ equivalent and some of the girls I live with in the Menlo house are quite involved. It's strange now to the BE the international one! Anyways, this group is sponsored by Crossroads In The City, a church that meets on campus in an auditorium or lecture hall at 6:30pm which is right after the CIF meeting. Some people from CIF then go to church, but it's not a requirement. I was happy to see two other American girls that I had met earlier in the week at the CIF meeting! It really was a pleasant surprise and filled my heart with joy! So then we headed into church. The actual church bit isn't what I'm used to, per-say, and it wasn't what I expected, but the people I met there and got connected with are fabulous. They're going to be running a mid-week Bible study in B&G, my dorm, which I'm excited about! And there is also a group that meets on Thursdays at lunch called FOCUS (Fellowship Of Christian University Students), and a weekend retreat camp on the beach called Getaway in March that I might go to! I think I'll definitely try to get involved in these groups and maybe more, but I might continue shopping around for another church. Then again, this one meets on campus, can't get closer than that! Would you mind joining me in prayer concerning Crossroads and my search? Thanks!

[Never] Alone: This is for all those beautiful single ladies out there! I know that Valentine's Day seems a little cruel when you have no one to share it with and you end up buying heaps of chocolate for yourself and eat it all day... or maybe that's just me, either way, they have excellent chocolate in Australia, so I don't mind buying tons of it! But see, that's just it, if you thought being single on Valentine's day was hard, trying being single in a foreign country! And that my friends, is V-day blues. It happens, but that doesn't mean we can't do something about it... in fact Jesus did something about it over 2,000 years ago. I think most of us would settle for a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates, but we certainly wouldn't require, or even want somebody to DIE for us! But that is the intensity to which we are loved by God and Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection is what allows us to love Him back. Because of that, we are offered and ushered into a personal and intimate relationship with the God of the universe, the One who set the stars in the sky like diamonds and whispers to you in the gentle stillness. So, I'm reading this book called "His Princess: Love Letters From Your King" by Sheri Rose Shepherd, and I thought I'd share a letter with you since it brought me a lot of comfort yesterday on Valentine's Day:
"My Princess... You're never alone.
You never need to hold on to anyone out of fear of being alone, My precious princess. I am with you wherever you are. I am the friend who walks in when the world walks out. I created you to have strong relationships, My love, and I see your desire to be close to someone. If you will seek Me first and come to Me with your wants and needs, I will choose your friends for you. I also will bless those friendships abundantly. Don't settle for less than My best to fill your schedule with people to see and places to go. I want to reach you with the reality of My presence in you first, and then you will be ready for real relationships that are orchestrated by Me.
Love,
Your King and your Best Friend
(Matthew 28:20)

P.S. I love you too! :)

Week 1

Aussie: It's official, I'm as "Aussie" as a "Yank" can get; I've got a local mobile number, I've opened up a bank account, I'm registered and enrolled in all my classes, I've got an address and I've ridden the public transportation! Yay!

Accommodations: Yesterday I moved out of the youth hostel and into my university accommodations; Burton and Garran Hall. This is both a good and happy thing and a sad thing. It's bad because I'll no longer live in the center of the city which was a very convenient location. It was neat meandering through the city each evening on my way back "home". I'm actually going to miss it there. The good and happy thing is, I've got permanent accommodations and I don't have to live out of a suitcase anymore! Yay! I spent yesterday moving in: unpacking all my stuff, making the bed, putting up my postcards, straightening and going through the ridiculous amount of papers and pamphlets I've managed to pick up in a week and so forth. And then I passed out at about 8:00pm like an old lady! Today I'll be putting up all my pictures of friends and loved ones. It'll be home soon, but it won't easily be HOME because HOME is where my heart is :)

Arachnophobia: When I first checked out the Hall on last Tuesday, I didn't like it very much at all. The hallways are narrow and claustrophobic and they smell, not to mention the Hall's "mascot" is a redback spider! The first thing that went through my head was Ron Weasley saying, "Spiders! Why did it have to spiders! Why couldn't we follow the butterflies!" hahaha, so that's how much of a dork I am, but personally, I think Ron had it right, why does it have to be a spider!? And a super poisonous one too!? Why couldn't it have been a butterfly? Or, ok, a platypus since they have that poison toe thingy, that's intimidating, right?! So they've gone and posted pictures everywhere of this spider and I don't like it. :( At least I can buy air freshener to take care of the smell... I guess I'll just have to avoid looking on the walls. I'm hoping and praying I never come across one in person!

Attractions: On Wednesday I went on a Canberra tour with the other international students. We drove by the Fyshwick Markets, which is like a huge farmers market with fresh produce. It's usually a tad cheaper than the stores and it's supposedly quite the experience too. We would've stopped, but the bus left late. Then we went to the Parliament House! We had about an hour to explore around ourselves which was a weird experience since you would never be allowed to do that in the States. The second hour there we were given a free guided tour and we even got to sit in the observation deck and see the House of Representatives in action. They voted "No" on something, but I can't tell you want it was because we couldn't hear the first bit and I know nothing about Australian government or politics. The last stop on our bus tour was the top of Mount Ainslie which has a spectacular panoramic view of the whole city, pretty cool. Canberra is actually pretty cool because a lot of the government things to do around the city are free like the National Mint and the Botanical Gardens. Eventually, I'll get to all of them!

Adventure Across town: Thursday night, Rhiannen and I went to check out a room in a share house that she might, hopefully, move into, come next week. She won't find out until Monday but we're keeping our fingers crossed. We were supposed to arrive and see the place at 6:30pm...needless to say, we didn't get there at 6:30pm. It wasn't until nearly 7:30-8:00pm that we finally go there, but it was an adventure! First we took the express out of the city centre to the bus interchange. The express busses come every 5 minutes and the furthest you could go would only take about 30 minutes. But the next bus out of the interchange to Chiefly where we needed to go wasn't for 20 minutes which seemed forever. The suburb that the bus interchange is in is nice, but the interchange itself is probably the dodgiest place in all of Canberra! Then, of course, the bus we took was the "slow" bus because the stop we wanted was near the end of the loop, but it meant not sitting in the interchange so we took it. And then, once we were dropped off, we weren't sure which direction to walk. Eventually we got headed in the right direction, but the actual street we were looking for wasn't labeled properly. Rhiannen found house 32, walked straight up to the door despite us being unsure and thankfully, it was the house! It seemed like a lovely little house and a pretty good fit, but the guy said he wasn't going to decided until Monday. Then again he asked, "So you like the place?" and one wouldn't ask that unless there would be some kind of future! Keeping our fingers crossed! By the time we made it back to the City, it was at least 9:30pm and we hadn't eaten dinner so we went to Maccas (aka McDonalds). To make it even, the next day I had her help me lug all of my luggage across town to my dorm and it was a hot day to be moving such heavy things! teehee

Alcohol: While it is legal here for me to drink, and I've sampled some (a cup of sangria and a flute of champagne at the Multicultural Festival last weekend), this subject makes me nervous and uneasy. For one thing, they only accept an Australian Driver's license, a passport or a "Proof of Age Card" as an official age defier. It would be a very bad thing to carry around my passport all the time, as it could be stolen or get lost and they are hard to replace and that just would not be fun. So I could get a proof of age card, but that's just one more thing to round up documents for and one more card to carry! Boo! Anywho, for orientation week, the Hall I'm living in as set up a bunch of event, most of which as various parties in the evenings. I really don't want the week before I start classes in a foreign country to be all about drinking and that's pretty much what it's planned to be. Boo again! See, in the States, I'm not old enough to drink to so it's not in my life and besides that, drinking culture isn't really my personality. This going-out-to-a-pub-or-bar-or-club-thing-because-it's-what-uni-students-do is going to be hard to get used to! I'm really really praying I can find a group of nice friends who would rather explore all the touristy things to do in the city, go on bushwalks, play games and just good ol' enjoy each other's company as opposed to party, party, party. A trip to the wineries, sure. A pub every now and again, ok. But every night or at least every weekend... no thanks, I'll gladly pass! Being able to drink may be an indicator of age, but refusing a drink is a mark of maturity.

Atmosphere: It's raining again. Though, I prefer the rain to the heat. The rain is deterring me from going grocery shopping since I have to carry everything back myself across town, and one hand will be occupied by an umbrella, I haven't left yet on account of only having one hand. But this past week it's been pretty darn hot! It's been in the 80s (F) and 90s (F) and it's not very enjoyable if there is no beach or even pool near by! Rhiannen's been making fun of me because I think it's ghastly and she keeps telling me it's uncomfortable, but it's not "hot". "Hot" is when it gets in the 40s (C) which is over 100 (F)! If I experience 40C, I'll agree with her for sure, but I still think in the 30s (C) is hot too! But just those few days of sun, and I've already got a healthy Aussie glow with browned shoulders and such. My feet, that's a different story! They've got a real funny tan!

Animals: Still nothing other than birds, but I still think it's cool that they've got wild cockatoos! They're a bit annoying squawking at dusk and in the early morning.. ok, real annoying, but cool! Rhiannen thinks it's funny that we only have cockatoos in pet stores and as pets in the States. (She's started writing down all the weird Aussie-American differences.) But since the Hall I've moved into is near the base of Black Mountain in the bush, any day now and I'll get to see a kangaroo in the wild! Yay! Can't wait! hehehe! :D

Post Script

1) I do have a housing assignment! Yay! Praise Jesus! I actually got my first choice, Burton and Garran which is a self cartered option and I will be cooking for myself. I plan on making everyone some REAL "biscuts" as well as some chocolate-chip COOKIES! hahahaha, this will be fun!

2) I'll post some pictures into my posts when I have time to upload them and get onto the internet. It might not be until next week, but know that they are coming :)

3) I love you all and missing you terribly! You'll have to excuse my absence from the internet until I find a more reliable source. Bear with me and keep the prayers coming! Y'all are wonderful!

Days 1, 2, 3 and 4

Arrival: There were no complications yesterday with my flights; everything was pretty much smooth and on-time. The flight from LAX to Sydney was quite long, but I slept for most of it, I think. It wasn't a good sleep as I think I may have woken up every 2 hours or so, but when I did wake up for good, it was the morning of the next next day! hahaha. I didn't think I'd have much jet-lag since it was dark when I went to sleep morning when I woke up, like any normal day. However, last night I was pretty pooped at 8pm because my Los Angeles-synced body clock still thought it was 1am and I woke up this morning around 5am for the same reason. Sooner or later I'll get the hang of it.


(Showing the flight path from LA to Sydney across the Pacific Ocean and crossing the Equator)

Atmosphere: It's cloudy and overcast today with showers predicted throughout the day. This is actually quite unusual for Canberra. It does get pretty hot here but usually it's a dry heat, similar to a desert. Today it is really humid and muggy. I hope this clears up soon, cause I want SUMMER! ;) It'll stay nice until about mid-March before it dips into cooler temperatures. I've been told it can get to below 0 (C) here... I am not looking forward to that, but thankfully I've got a few months between me and winter.

Attention: I was picked up from the airport by Hayward, an ANU student, who dropped me off at the YHA hostel to check in and take my luggage up to my room while he kindly waited and then drove me to the school. I picked up a "Welcome" packet for International students. Upon learning that I was actually just an international exchange student rather than a plain ol' international student, I was quickly passed off to people higher up and since I'm nearly one of the first to arrive, I was able to get a lot of special attention while they tried to sort out my housing fiasco. Ros's maternal instincts kicked in and she made sure I was well taken care of. This was such a huge comfort and blessing and it made it a lot easier to not cry, knowing that I had good people in the International office looking out for me.

Accommodations: I understood that I was to arrive between Feb 5 and 7th because the international orientation is on the 9th. I thought I was only one day early, come to find out, housing contracts don't start until the 13th. There are quite a lot of international ANU students at the hostel as well! Why they do it this way, cannot be explained. So the deal is, I'll find out soon, very soon, but will have to stay at the hostel until the 13th when I am able to move in. Hopefully it will be a place on campus since they are trying hard to get as many of the international students in on-campus housing.


(This is a picture of the 8-share I was in for one night at the YHA hostel)

Assignment: Anyways, Ros entrusted me into the Nat's care for the rest of the afternoon. He gave me a brief tour of the ANU campus and showed me to the School of Art. When we made it back to his office, he insisted that I use his phone to call my parents since I had not yet phoned them. It was a incredible blessing to be able to call my dad and speak to him for a bit and let him know that I arrived safely and was being looked after. Nat and I then walked into the city where we grabbed a coffee and I was able to ask him all sorts of questions about life in Australia and such. I felt much better asking him all of my questions rather than another student or someone my age because he was far more knowledgeable and aware even at just several years older than me. Also, I felt less judged. After drinks, he gave me a tour of the city center and we walked the mall, swung by the cinema and a few camera stores that I will be needing to go to once classes start, and the supermarkets. In Australia, people tend to shop at butchers, fruit and vegetable stands, and other specialized stores rather than America's one-stop-shopping. Prices are typically neither cheaper nor more expensive, but this way of shopping is preferred.

Account: And speaking of prices -- IT'S SOOO EXPENSIVE HERE! My iced tea yesterday was $4.00, and my salmon and asparagus penne was $17.00! Nat informed me that lunch ranges from $15-20 and dinners $15-25. A combo meal at say, McDonalds might be $9.00! But this will be good incentive to learn to eat a little less. Lol! To account for at least part of this, tax is mostly included in the listed price and tips are EXTREMELY rare, but wages are considerably higher.

American: I was surprised (comforted and pleased) with the amount of American things in Australia. Here they also have McDonalds, Subway, Payless shoes, Borders bookstores, Baskin Robins, Krispy Kreme, KFC, and Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King).


(the Maccas in the Canberra Centre Mall)

Amigos: Adrianna, one of the girls in my room (also my bunkmate), was in the room when I finally made it back to the hostel. We chatted for a bit and then went out to grab dinner. She will also be a student at ANU, but she's starting her Masters and is looking for independent housing so she can bring her car and cat down from her home in Darwin. Places to live in Canberra are hard to come by since like our capital city, Washington DC, not many people actually live IN the city. Rhiannen is one of my roommates from a different 4-share. Immediately I noticed the cross necklace around her neck and let me tell you, it was like seeing blue sky after 40 days of rain- it gave me such hope! She doesn't make fun of me for asking silly questions about Australian life or lingo and the best part is she loves Jesus! We decided to go check out a random new church together this evening and it was so peaceful and reflective. The church is called Canberra City Uniting Church. After the service, everyone gathered around for tea, coffee, crackers and fellowship. And it was quite the eclectic and international group! We've made plans to grab some "American" pizza at the "I <3 NY big slice" over some "Barefoot" beer, hopefully tomorrow during the Super Bowl! It'll be good ol' American fun! She's also extremely generous and hospitable and invited me to go back to Sydney with her one weekend to see some of the city and her church, I'm really looking forward to it.

"Australian": I'm quickly learning that there is no such thing. It just doesn't exist. See, I thought I was going to Australia to experience Australian life, but really the world just got a little bit closer. There are all sorts of Indian and curry restaurants, Sushi places, chinese restaurants, Portuguese restaurants, and so forth. Especially this weekend during the National Multicultural Festival, but more to come on that later!

Availability: The mall and stores close at 5 or 6pm and the city starts to look slightly ghostly by 8. It's something that I'll definitely have to get used to because in America, everything is based on connivence.

Animals: No special sightings, but there are quite a lot of interesting birds! At dusk they all seemed to come out and sing, tweet, and squawk. It was kinda pretty, but very loud! Nonetheless, at least they don't have pigeons and seagulls! I've found out that one of the birds is a cockatoo..wild cockatoos! I just think that's soo cool!

And there you have it, an account of Andrea's arrival in Australia.

Greetings!

Welcome friends, family, followers, and fans!
I'm am honored that you're here to come along for the ride with me- I can't say what it'll be like, but it'd be best to buckle up! See, when He said, "Follow me," I said, "Ok!". When He said, "Come," I said, "Yes". Where God guides, He provides! Nothing beyond that is guaranteed. But there is so much to be gained and I'm excited to meet it as it comes.


"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

"And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
Hebrew 11:6


A is for more than just Australia.

It's for Andrea too. Over these next 5 months, I will learn more about myself and become more confident in who God created me to be; His daughter, His creation, His bride.

It's for adventure as well. This is a big scary step, but all it takes is baby-steps. Over the next 5 months, I want to go places, see things and do things that I wouldn't have the opportunity to do otherwise. I want to not only sight-see around Canberra, but also travel all over Australia and hopefully New Zealand and possibly Fiji.

A is for art. At the Australian National University, I will be studying photomedia, figure drawing and art culture/history relating to Australia. I will be relying on God strongly, because I will need His inspiration, passion and creativity. Last semester was not so hot, but I'm laying it down at His feet.

I hope that we can grow and learn as a group. That this is beneficial to us both, and encouraging for everyone! Prayers are much appreciated! <3