Making the Adjustment

Yesterday marked a week since I have been here.  I can't believe it.  It seems like I have been here forever- and I mean that in a good way.  I feel pretty well adjusted to my family and my living situation, to my roomies and other ASC students, I even feel pretty well adjusted to using public transportation.  The weather is much cooler today which is actually really nice.  Yesterday it was about 100 degrees and very humid.  I love hot weather but when you have to walk everywhere and there is no AC to escape to, it gets a little intense.  We started classes yesterday and it was really fun.  Somehow I ended up with my 2 dance classes both on Monday so I had my hip hop and ballroom classes.  It was pretty intense though dancing it such heat.  Hopefully it will be a little cooler from now on.  I'm looking forward to Thursday because I don't have any classes and I can get some shopping done or go take a ferry out to a beach. 

I wanna tell you a little about my host family.  They are Neil and Michelle Townsend and they are amazing.  They have the best accents and sense of humor.  Like many Australians, their sense of humor is very cutting.  In Australian culture, if they make fun of you or cut you down, it means they like you.  Seems kinda backwards but I actually really like it.  They are a ton of fun. They are both chefs so the food we have is amazing.  Here is Neil cooking up one of our amazing dinners-

This is the house they live in, proudly boasting the Australian flag-

Our own house is located in their backyard where my 3 roomies and I live.  It’s so cute, they have a little hammock and everything out there for us-

This is their dog Mollie, she is a maltese/ shitzu mix and completely adorable.  However, she makes me miss Kato more than ever-

On Sunday, Neil was completely gracious and spent the whole day driving my roomies and I around Sydney to see the sights.  We saw all of the very very rich eastern suburbs and all of the beaches on the eastern coast like Bondi and all of the ones connected to it.  The highlight for sure was when we got out at a place called The Gap and walked around.  There is a gap in the shoreline so it is mostly cliffs and rocks.  It is in a spot called the heads which is the channel that goes to the ocean from the Sydney harbor.  My words and pictures cannot do this place justice.  It is the most gorgeous place I have ever seen in my life.  You can see in this picture that the harbor is on the left and then it goes out to the ocean on the right (PS-  you can click on the pics to make them bigger)

 

I have some photos from when we went on the harbor cruise around Sydney and when we did our scavenger hunt around the city.  This is my group mimicking the Sydney Opera house-

This pic is for Grant.  On our first date when he was talking about me being in Australia, he said he wanted me to take a picture of the Opera house for him.  I took many but here is the best one-

My first weekend in Sydney has come and gone and it was amazing!  On Friday night, my host brother Braeden took my roomies and I to a cool place near our house called Majors Bay.  It is a little Italian community with amazing cafes and gelato shops.  These are my roomies, Kelly, Maddie and Haley. 

Saturday was awesome because we took a ferry out to Manly beach and I was like, oh yeah this is why I came to Australia.  This place is gorgeous.  This is the view from the ferry-

We got off the ferry and had to walk through a cute little beach town to get to Manly.  The beach is huge and there are plenty of surfers and bogie borders.  I'll try it one of these days.  This is Manly Beach-

I have seen a ton of  cool yachts since I have been here and I really want to bring my fam's boat here and go boating on the harbor.  That would be incredible!  That night we went dancing at a Pub called the Three Wise Monkeys and that was a ton of fun too.  More pics to come!

Made it to Sydney!

After 14 straight hours on an airplane, the group of 37 students arrived in sunny Sydney Australia.  We are on the third day here and I think I am finally getting over the worst of the jet lag.  They have kept us all busy in the last 3 days during our orientation and although we have had to do all of the borig orientation stuff, it's been fun as well.  My Aussie family, the Townsends, are absolutley wonderful.  They are completely endearing and about as Australian as you can get.  Me and 3 other girls live in a seperate little house in their backyard.  We all have to share one room but its a really nice set up and we have our own kitchen and living area.  They have a really cute dog named Mollie and it is going to help so I don't miss my Kato as much.  The weather has been terrific, about 70 or 80 degrees and sunny, and all of the flowers are in bloom so everything smells amazing. 

Last night was amazing because we got to do a scavenger hunt around the city to get a little bit familar with everyting.  We concluded the day with a crusie around Sydney harbor.  We cruised around the opera house, under the harbor bridge and all around the harbor allowing me plenty of time to take pictures (I'll post some later).  All of the people are so much fun, the other ASC students as well as the Aussies.  We had a dance party on the boat which was fantastic.  The evening concluded with us pulling back into the dock next to the opera house when an old man fell off the walkway by the opera house and into the water.  After a few minutes of chaos and confusion, the bartender from our boat dove overboard and saved him.  It was very lucky we were there, otherwise the man  would have probably drowned.  It was a very dramatic end to a fantastic evening. 

I am starting to find my way around public transportation, the buses and trains and stuff but it will definitely take some getting used to.  Running out of time, my internet access is very limited.  Anyways, hope everyone is doing well, I miss everyone back home!!!!!!!!

      On Saturday night, my mom and I arrived in LA and met up with my aunt.  Our time here has been really nice.  Yesterday it was sunny and almost 80 degrees out and we spent the day at Disney Land and California Adventures.  My favorite rides at California Adventures were Soarin' Over California which made you feel like you were literally hang gliding over California, and a roller coaster called the Screamin' California.  I wasn't going to go on it because it looked  a little daunting but my mom agreed to go on it with me.  I couldn't believe she wanted to because she isn't big on rides but we went on it and both really enjoyed it. 

        At Disney Land, the best ride is of course the Indiana Jones ride.  Even though the wait  time was 75 minutes, we actually got to go on it twice within 40 minutes.  By the end of the day we were completely exhausted but it was well worth it.  If I didn't get to spend Valentine's day with Grant, Disney Land wasn't a bad trade-off. 

        As for today, we headed back up to LA and made a stop at Hunnigton Beach.  I was reminded how beautiful the ocean is.  It got me very excited to be in Sydney where beaches are everywhere.  Right now, I am just waiting the couple hours until I go to the airport and get on the plane to go to Australia.  I don't really know how I am feeling about it.  I'm excited and anxious, I just want to get there and start exploring.  I'm scared and nervous, especially with a 15 hour plane ride ahead of me.  I just have to trust in God that he knows what he is doing and that he will take care of me on this adventure.   

Getting Ready

I am in the final stretch, only one week left until I fly to the other side of the world to spend the next season of my life.  I have been trying to prepare myself the best that I can, but it’s hard to know what to do when I don’t really know what to expect.  I have never been outside of the United States, especially not for such a significant amount of time. 

I am looking forward to the hot weather, seeing the ocean and getting away from winter.  However, I am even more excited to meet all of the new people that I get to spend this time with:  the other students, my host family and all the Australians that I will have the opportunity to get to know.  I am excited to learn about their culture, values and way of life.  I am excited to grow closer to God in this time that I am there, away from my family and friends and everything I have known my whole life. 

I have been up  at school visiting everyone and saying good-bye.  It’s so weird that they are all here going to class and chapel and writing papers, going about their everyday routine.  I feel disconnected from it, like I should be doing the same thing.  It’s good though, God has planned this adventure for me and I am excited to get going.  This is the hard part though, this last week.  I have to finish up packing and say goodbye to everyone I love and hold dear in my life.  I have said goodbye to all of my friends here, but I know it will only get harder after this.  I’m ready though, I can’t wait to board that plane :)