is it really April?

Well, March wasn't exactly "in like a lion and out like a lamb" at our house. Weather notwithstanding, it was more like "a lion in a decathalon of some sort" with church events, baby classes, hospital checkups, and work. (Ok, that was lame, but I tried. Moving on.)

We had the opportunity to go to a Newcastle Knights (rugby league) game with tickets from work, which included dinner in the corporate suite and some pretty good seats. That was cool; I've missed going to Amerks and Red Wings games like I used to with Deloitte. Jesse had a decent understanding of the game, and we sorted the rest out together. It wasn't quite as amusing as the time Laura and I went to a Knighthawks (lacrosse) game in Rochester, and affectionately dubbed the sport "baskesocckey" as we attempted to decipher the rules, but it was still a good time. I did get a bit stiff with my ever-heavier body in the plastic chair, but was able to put my feet up for the second half of the game, which we watched from the box.

I'm not sure if it was in March or late February, but we've encountered a previously unanticipated benefit of pastoring a country-ish church: a family in our church "came into some beef" and we have been enjoying some of the most tender steaks I've ever had since then. (Well, steak, and a roast, and some ground beef too :) Our little freezer, at one point, was full of meat. We've been alternating with chicken and experimenting some with marinades to keep things exciting, and Jesse is becoming an expert at grilling the steaks. He also made chicken parmigiana this week when I missed the train coming home from work and we had guests coming over for dinner. That turned out very good; recent experiments of mine (including satay chicken and a peach-chicken dish I didn't fully think through ahead of time) have been less successful. Edible, but less successful.

The last week of February, we attended the National Pastors' Conference in Tweed Heads (on the border of NSW and QLD). It was my first time into Queensland (unless you count the Brisbane airport), as our hotel was technically in NSW but across the street from Queensland. We had a great room with a beautiful view of the water, and I got to catch up with a high school friend who is pastoring a church in Perth with her husband. Who would have thought that Fillmore grads would find each other on the other side of the world? Anyway, that was a good trip. We took our time coming home and spent a couple of days in Port Macquarie, where we had the pleasure of wallabies playing in the backyard of our rented cabin/house.

The conference fun didn't end there, though. The first weekend in March was our District Women's Retreat, in a retreat center on Lake Macquarie. It was fun to get to know some other women from around the state, and hang out with a friend and her two-week-old baby.

I only have 3 weeks left of work (actually, it's only 12 work days, with one holiday and two Fridays off) before it's time to come home and wait for baby! We got a lot done yesterday in preparation for his/her arrival, and there's still more to do. I've been reading up on childhood vaccinations and have been trying to formulate a plan for those. I don't mean to make anyone nervous; we are planning on our child receiving all the recommended vaccines, perhaps slightly delayed from the planned schedule. What I'm struggling with at the moment is why my newborn baby needs a Hepatitis B shot. I haven't found anything that compels me to believe this is critical for a newborn, other than that it was the easiest way to make sure everyone is immunized against it. If anyone has an idea on this, I'm all ears.

And so all of this brings us to nearly the middle of April, with just over 5 weeks to go (give or take) until the baby's room is occupied. Crazy!

October

Two months later. Yikes. Jesse and I had a great trip at the beginning of September to the Barrington Tops. We went on a hike that definitely pushed the boundaries of the shape I was in, but it was fun to get away and relax for a few days. Jesse surprised me by bringing some of our nice clothes to have a candlelight dinner one of the nights; it was a great celebration of our almost-anniversary.

For those who don't know, our visa was approved the first week of October, so a lot of that worry/phone calling/stress has died down. At least we get two more years now until we have to go through it again. It's been nice not having to haggle through another employment extension every month, and to have all of my paperwork now in my married name and new passport (I think health insurance still needs to be changed... and maybe some frequent flier club memberships, but that's it.)

We looked through a house that's closer to the church (essentially in its backyard), but so far it looks like we can't afford to move there. Housing prices are very high over here, particularly in comparison to the Rochester area (where I was once house hunting a couple of years ago), so it's hard to swallow the cost of some of them. The area hasn't been hit by the financial crisis nearly like most places in the US, and it's believed by some that there is still somewhat of a housing bubble to be burst. Combine that with the fact that someone working in the mines could be making upwards of $1,700AUD/week, and ta-da, expensive housing. So we are staying put for the time being, but on the lookout.

I haven't done much reading lately, but I have appropriated Jesse's ipod shuffle for the ride to and from work, which has been nice. It was particularly useful yesterday when some drunk man near the front of the carriage was "singing" very loudly for a good half of the ride. One day when I was NOT listening to the ipod, a very dark-skinned man wearing a heavy Christmassy sweater came an sat next to me at the University stop (most people were wearing a light jacket, at most). Through my scholar-servant powers of reasoning, I deduced that he was likely from Africa. He's originally from Nigeria, spent some time in Ghana, and was hear to do a master's in education. I don't usually strike up conversations with fellow train-goers, but it was nice to have a bit of a cross-cultural experience on the way home.

Jesse and I discovered a new restaurant near where I work, which touts itself as a "pizza and pasta bar". This sounded very good to me. I had a creamy chicken penne with baby spinach and pesto sauce - yum! Jesse had a four-cheese pizza, and we watched a Chicago Bulls game on the HDTV. I think we both prefer college to pro basketball, but a chance to watch familiar sports over here is one we will take. We've started getting reception on a channel that shows basketball and NFL football, and have even watched a couple of NFL games (although the commercial breaks are never timed quite right, and we end up missing parts of the game. We get back from the break and have to figure out what just happened). All in all, the pizza and pasta bar was a success.

(Oh, for those who are wondering, our delusions of garden have been crushed by lack of effort before they even fully materialized. I think we have managed to kill another herb plant, though.)

Today, I am looking forward to a massage and a chiropractor visit. It's been a year since I've gone to either, and I'm feeling it. I actually found this place via tv commercial - not where I would typically look for a doctor - but their clinic offers both and is open 1/2 day on Saturdays, so here's hoping it will be good.

one man's trash is another man's clutter

So, visit with family = good. Took them around, they took lots of photos, they helped out a lot with projects we'd been meaning to get to around the house (or, more accurately, projects we'd been hoping they'd help with... yeah). It's good to have family around. As an added bonus, we are now experienced tour guides, and have a better idea of where to send/take visitors. (Your package will include, but is not limited to, a day in Sydney walking around the Circular Quay, a visit to a quaint country petting zoo with Aussie animals, a minimum of one Australian barbeque with a REAL Aussie family, and the opportunity to make us feel like we have friends.)

Today, we had a garage sale for the youth to raise money for camp in a few weeks. We actually did reasonably well - we earned more money than I had expected we would. The kids and adults from the church worked well together in putting it on, which was cool. As I looked through the hall at the massive amounts of stuff, I couldn't believe the sheer volume. But people came by and found treasures; toys, vases, books, clothes. And our teens who helped should have their camp trips mostly paid for.

After napping off the exhaustion of this morning, Jesse and I are awaiting our Saturday night Pizza Hut pizza. I think we will be on a first-name basis with the delivery girl very soon. I get deep dish pepperoni, he gets thin crust cheese, and we watch movies and/or Aussie Rules on tv. (Aussie Rules = Aussie Rules football, known as footy in Victoria, but not here, where footy refers to Rugby League.)

Heat, Celebrations, and Antics

This weekend was quite full.  Friday, Jesse and I left in the morning for Sydney, where we met up with friends to attend a one-day cricket match.  Once we arrived at "the cricket" (as it is referred to here), we were in the sun pretty much from 2pm until it went down, gloriously, around 8pm.  I have never been so hot in my life!  But Jesse had a great time, and I enjoyed watching it, during those brief moments when the sun went behind a cloud, or during the cool of the evening once the sun had set.  There was what appeared to be 2 families sitting in the row in front of us, with about 5 boys and 1 girl in total, ranging in age from about 4 to about 9, all dressed in Aussie jerseys and hats, waving flags and shouting things like "shot!" and "that was well fielded!" There is something incredibly charming about little children with an Aussie accent, particularly when it involves a phrase like "well fielded."  We had a lovely 20-30 minute walk in the cool evening back to Sydney Central to catch a bus back to our friends' house.  Great day.

Saturday, we got up quite early (for us) to head back to Maitland.  An elderly woman in the congregation had passed away this week, and Jesse was presiding over the funeral.  We arrived at our house in time to meet with her cousin, go over some last-minute service adjustments, scrub the temporary tattoos ("Go Aussie Go" and "Australia") off of our faces, and head to church.  The funeral was a great tribute to her life, and many folks hung around for the morning tea afterward to discuss remembrances and enjoy each other's company.  

It's interesting to contemplate grief, and how we honor the memory of our loved ones.  I may have blogged about this story in the past, but it comes to mind again.  I remember when we were putting together the services for my great-aunt Lois a couple of years ago, which included a handbell choir piece to honor her love of the handbells.  I was standing next to my sister as we practiced before the service, and it must have been particularly warm, or I was particularly nervous, or something.  At any rate, I rang one bell with unusual gusto, and it slipped from my hand.  I panicked, reached out, and caught the bell just in time to ring it again (and, honestly, to prevent damage to the bell and its surroundings).  My sister and I dissolved into laughter.  My grandmother commented that it was just such a moment that Aunt Lois would have enjoyed.  In that crazy moment, we honored her memory.

Saturday was one of the hottest days yet.  A couple from the church who have a pool took pity on us and invited us over for a swim.  It was glorious.  We had lovely conversation, watched a bit of the Melbourne Cup, had tea (dinner) together, and then Jesse and I headed home.

Sunday, Jesse began his sermon series on Leviticus, for which he'd given the congregation a reading assignment last week.  It seemed to go well, and it was nice to have the rest of the day to relax.  While job-hunting online, I found a couple of positions that seemed like they may be a good fit, and applied for them.  I'm optimistic; we'll see what happens, however.

Today, Australia Day, we had a church outing to a nearby lake for a day of cricket, boating, cricket, barbecue, and of course, more cricket.  We had a great turnout amongst the church families, and played a few rounds (innings) of cricket with a group of guys enjoying the lake as well.  Jesse and I have the sunburns to prove that we were thwarted by the overcast sky for much of the day (I didn't put sunscreen on until about 3:15), but we felt like we had celebrated Australia Day properly.  

Good Onion, Mate

When I would tell people I was planning to move to Australia, once they'd wiped the shock off of their faces, one of the first ways they would respond was something to the tune of "at least there's not a language barrier" or "how are you ever going to learn the language?" We'd enjoy a good laugh. The fact of the matter is, though, that down here, Jesse and I are the ones with an "accent." Some of the kids in the youth group claim that Jesse has "lost" his accent, but I still have mine. I'm pretty sure they've just gotten used to the way he talks.

Throughout our engagement, Jesse complied a bit of an "Australian to American" dictionary for me, with everything from phrases that will be useful to phrases to steer clear of. We enjoyed a laugh the other night over how much the Aussie phrase "good on ya, mate" ("good for you" is the closest I can think of, but it seems to connote "way to go" as well) sounds, to an American, like "good onion, mate." Of course, most readers will be familiar with the use of "mate" which can be used in any sort of situation - don't remember someone's name? "G'day, mate." Have friends from your cricket team? They're your "cricket mates." "Accidentally" foul someone on the other soccer team? "Sorry, mate."

After being thanked, most people will say, "it's ok" or "no worries." When greeting someone, it's "how ya going?" as opposed to "how ya doing."

I was shopping yesterday, searching rather unsuccessfully for additional thank-you cards at the shops downtown. As a result, I decided to go back to the craft store where I'd bought yarn and buy some blank cards there. When I walked in, the clerk who'd checked me out just a few minutes beforehand was at the register.

"Hey again," I said.
"Pretty well thanks," she said.

I smiled to myself and headed to the card rack; my saying "hey again" sounded a lot to her ear like "how ya goin'", with perhaps slightly less vowel movement at the end. So funny.

Having been here for a year already, Jesse has most of the phrases down. I'm working on finding ways to train myself to use them. In the interim, I try to say things like "hello" and "how are you," which appear to be universally understood. I still clearly sound like I'm from somewhere else regardless of what phrases I'm using, so at least I'm trying.