I think God has decided to turn the furnace on high in this corner of the world. It's been a blast of constant heat for the last week and it doesn't look like it will stop any time soon. We've been getting days filled with 35-38 degree weather. *For those of you who are not too keen with Celsius, that converts roughly to 90-100F.* Needless to say it's been quite warm, but I think I'm still happy with my choice to leave the cold behind. :) I might miss the snow come Christmas time, but right now I'm quite content with sunshine and flip-flops!
I'm in the midst of preparing for my mini-triathlon coming up this Sunday. I think I'm fairly well prepared and I'm going into it just looking to enjoy the race. This past weekend at church I met a new friend and I even convinced her to do the triathlon with me! I'm happy to have a buddy competing with me. I'm still a bit nervous about the whole thing mainly because of the swimming portion. However, I'm extremely fortunate to have such a great swim coach right in the same house as me to give me some pointers and help with my swimming. :) In addition to all my exercise, I finally get to start singing with a great choir again! This week marks the start of practices for my all female choir. I'm pretty excited to get back into a routine of singing and this also gives me an opportunity to meet some more girls my age.
There's been so much going on lately that I forget to update my posts regularly! But this way I can share a lot at once. :) This past Saturday I was up quite early to see my host-dad off at the start of the Rottnest Channel Swim. It was an early beginning to the day, but it was such a site to see! So many people - swimmers and spectators - flooded Cottesloe Beach for the event and there were hundreds of support boats and paddlers in the water! It was also a gorgeous morning for the swim - clear skies, slight breeze, and fairly calm waters. The thousands of swimmers that participate in the event had to swim 20k to Rottnest Island off the coast of Western Australia. I can't even imagine swimming that far! Congrats to my host-dad, Bill, and his team for completing the swim!!
Today, I went down to Freo to just wander around and get out of the house. I stopped off to get a coffee and before I knew it, an older Italian gentleman was talking to me. He completely made my day! He was so sweet and kissed my hand. He was also quite impressed with all my travels and constantly complimented me. I love people who are not afraid to just talk to a complete stranger! Certainly left a smile on my face for the rest of the day!!
It's time for me to get a little rest before another exciting day in WA. Goodnight dear friends! I promise to update again soon!
~A
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Try-athlete...or...Tri-athlete?!
I realized today that my posts are becoming more infrequent. Although, I think that has to do a lot with the fact that I'm becoming more comfortable with my surroundings and a lot of things aren't so new anymore. I'm beginning to feel quite settled at the house and with the family. Church has certainly become the norm for my weekend activities and coffee in Freo is a must during the week. Feeling comfortable where I am is a great feeling.
My new found comfort level has brought me a lot more confidence especially in trying to meet people and do things. On Friday evening I decided to tag along on the church's youth excursion to the beach. It was actually really great meeting the younger people in the congregation. And now I am the female youth leader in addition to all the other male leaders of the youth group. I think this will be a great thing for me and will hopefully be a great help to all the girls in the youth group. At the beach I also got to talk a lot with a German seminary candidate named Hanns. He's here for four weeks shadowing the pastors at church and is also playing guitar in the praise band. It was certainly refreshing to chat with someone who is going through a similar experience as me as far as being in a different country for an extended period of time.
On Saturday I took my first trip to Rottnest Island. I was invited to go along with the family on a friend's boat. Of course I didn't want to pass that up! The boat was absolutely huge (biggest personal boat I've been on!) and it was a fabulous time. Barbecue on the back of the boat, swimming in the water, drinking wine and just enjoying the ocean air! I was pretty quiet most of the day, but I had fun just soaking everything in. Today I had another little adventure with a new friend from church. We sat and talked for hours at Dome over coffee. Fantastic time! He also showed me around downtown Perth a little bit while we looked for new running shoes (these shoes will come into play in the next paragraph). We talked about school, work, and traveling. By the end of the day, we planned out a 29 day trip across Western Europe with an extension for a week in London and five days in Greece. I so wish we that could actually happen! :)
Now some of you might be wondering why I have entitled this post as such - "Try-athlete...or...Tri-athlete?!" Well, here's where the running shoes come into the picture. After riding my bike around the riverfront for the past few weeks, I decided to start looking into cycling races. I mentioned this to my host mom and she pointed me in the direction of 2XU Women's Triathlon. This triathlon has four segments for varying levels of athleticism. If you go to the link, you will be able to view each available segment. I am going to do the Mini-Triathlon to get myself acquainted with the sport. However, if I'm feeling really adventurous, I might go for the Short-course Triathlon. Either way, I wanted to try something different and extremely outside my comfort zone. In addition, this triathlon is in two weeks on March 6 - so soon!!! And to top it off - I don't have running shoes with me! I asked my mom to check into how much it would cost to ship my running shoes to me...cheap right?? No way! Over $100 to ship my little running shoes half way across the world. I guess I will be shopping for new runners! :) Needless to say, I'm getting very excited about trying something different, but my nerves are starting to catch up with me. Let's hope they don't get the better of me! Wish me luck!
It's time for me to sign off and get back to my homework for the night. It's been great friends and I'll be back soon with another update! Miss you all!!!
~A
My new found comfort level has brought me a lot more confidence especially in trying to meet people and do things. On Friday evening I decided to tag along on the church's youth excursion to the beach. It was actually really great meeting the younger people in the congregation. And now I am the female youth leader in addition to all the other male leaders of the youth group. I think this will be a great thing for me and will hopefully be a great help to all the girls in the youth group. At the beach I also got to talk a lot with a German seminary candidate named Hanns. He's here for four weeks shadowing the pastors at church and is also playing guitar in the praise band. It was certainly refreshing to chat with someone who is going through a similar experience as me as far as being in a different country for an extended period of time.
On Saturday I took my first trip to Rottnest Island. I was invited to go along with the family on a friend's boat. Of course I didn't want to pass that up! The boat was absolutely huge (biggest personal boat I've been on!) and it was a fabulous time. Barbecue on the back of the boat, swimming in the water, drinking wine and just enjoying the ocean air! I was pretty quiet most of the day, but I had fun just soaking everything in. Today I had another little adventure with a new friend from church. We sat and talked for hours at Dome over coffee. Fantastic time! He also showed me around downtown Perth a little bit while we looked for new running shoes (these shoes will come into play in the next paragraph). We talked about school, work, and traveling. By the end of the day, we planned out a 29 day trip across Western Europe with an extension for a week in London and five days in Greece. I so wish we that could actually happen! :)
Now some of you might be wondering why I have entitled this post as such - "Try-athlete...or...Tri-athlete?!" Well, here's where the running shoes come into the picture. After riding my bike around the riverfront for the past few weeks, I decided to start looking into cycling races. I mentioned this to my host mom and she pointed me in the direction of 2XU Women's Triathlon. This triathlon has four segments for varying levels of athleticism. If you go to the link, you will be able to view each available segment. I am going to do the Mini-Triathlon to get myself acquainted with the sport. However, if I'm feeling really adventurous, I might go for the Short-course Triathlon. Either way, I wanted to try something different and extremely outside my comfort zone. In addition, this triathlon is in two weeks on March 6 - so soon!!! And to top it off - I don't have running shoes with me! I asked my mom to check into how much it would cost to ship my running shoes to me...cheap right?? No way! Over $100 to ship my little running shoes half way across the world. I guess I will be shopping for new runners! :) Needless to say, I'm getting very excited about trying something different, but my nerves are starting to catch up with me. Let's hope they don't get the better of me! Wish me luck!
It's time for me to sign off and get back to my homework for the night. It's been great friends and I'll be back soon with another update! Miss you all!!!
~A
Monday, February 14, 2011
Will You Be My Valentine?
Here I am in a completely different country, all by myself, but am I lonely? Of course not! I live with a great family. I am blessed to worship with an amazing church family. And I have the best family and friends loving me from back in the States. I think this has been the best experience I could have ever chosen for myself. I am completely out of my element here, but I'm absolutely loving it. I certainly have my days of homesickness and missing my friends, but I definitely wouldn't change this for anything. The 13th of February marked one month of living the Aussie life for me. I can't wait to see what the next 11 months have in store!
After a very eventful weekend last week, the past few days have seemed pretty sublime. But I am more than happy to just have some peaceful relaxation. :) I've done tons of reading at various cafes, put more kilometers on my bike along the riverfront, and even had time to audition for a young women's chorale. And guess what?! I'm in! I'm so thrilled to be able to sing with a group again and meet some new friends along the way. Can't wait to start rehearsing!
I'm so thankful for the amount of technology available to me. I am able to keep in contact freely with everyone back home and still continue my adventure here! On Saturday morning I was even able to speak with my Grandpa who is in South Dakota at the VA Hospital in Sturgis. He's so funny and such a blessing to still have in my life. He even tried to figure out the time difference between us! (And for those of you who know the situation with my grandpa, that is quite the challenge for him!) He's doing well and getting back to his physical therapy so he can start walking again. We even joked that he can start training for his marathon again! :) I also received a lovely email from my Grandma in Milwaukee. I'm so happy she is doing well and out of the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers as she continues treatments.
I think I'm going to spend the rest of my Valentine's Day doing what I love - going for a bike ride, taking care of kiddos, and cooking! I might even toss in a little nap and getting coffee somewhere. :) So as I mentioned before, here's to the Aussie life and what God has in store for me these next months! Miss you and love you all!
~A
After a very eventful weekend last week, the past few days have seemed pretty sublime. But I am more than happy to just have some peaceful relaxation. :) I've done tons of reading at various cafes, put more kilometers on my bike along the riverfront, and even had time to audition for a young women's chorale. And guess what?! I'm in! I'm so thrilled to be able to sing with a group again and meet some new friends along the way. Can't wait to start rehearsing!
I'm so thankful for the amount of technology available to me. I am able to keep in contact freely with everyone back home and still continue my adventure here! On Saturday morning I was even able to speak with my Grandpa who is in South Dakota at the VA Hospital in Sturgis. He's so funny and such a blessing to still have in my life. He even tried to figure out the time difference between us! (And for those of you who know the situation with my grandpa, that is quite the challenge for him!) He's doing well and getting back to his physical therapy so he can start walking again. We even joked that he can start training for his marathon again! :) I also received a lovely email from my Grandma in Milwaukee. I'm so happy she is doing well and out of the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers as she continues treatments.
I think I'm going to spend the rest of my Valentine's Day doing what I love - going for a bike ride, taking care of kiddos, and cooking! I might even toss in a little nap and getting coffee somewhere. :) So as I mentioned before, here's to the Aussie life and what God has in store for me these next months! Miss you and love you all!
~A
Monday, February 7, 2011
For the Win!
What a spectacular end to a fabulous weekend!! Go Pack Go!
This weekend was filled with so much fun! On Saturday I went to the opera. Every year in Perth, an opera is put on in the Supreme Court Gardens as a family event. It is completely free of charge and everyone is encouraged to attend and support the fine arts. How could I resist going to the opera for free?! I attended the opera with a couple friends I met at church over the past few weeks. They provided a delicious evening picnic meal of smoked salmon, salad, fresh baguettes, peaches, and champagne. Yum! Of course we had to have champagne because we were seeing Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. For those of you who don't know the story-line, we brought the bubbly because there is an entire song dedicated to champagne at the end of the opera. The show was hilarious! The night was perfect for an outside event except for the extreme winds which actually made it a bit chilly to be wearing a dress. Other than the wind though, it was a fabulous evening and I had a great time!
Sunday was filled with another style of music - first church and then a music festival. In the afternoon I headed to The Big Day Out with a friend of Bill's. It was a little nerve-wracking to be going to a large event like that with someone I had never met. But then again, I'm in Australia, so why not?! I had nothing better to do with my time and I'm so glad I went. I hardly knew any of the bands that were playing (probably only a handful), but I had a great time just wandering around the festival grounds with my new Irish friend. Who would've thought it would take me going to Australia to meet an Irishman? :) Regardless, he was a fun guy and made the night very enjoyable. We even got to go back stage for some of the evening!
What an even better way to start off my week and end all of my American friends' weekend - THE PACKERS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!!! It may have been an early morning for me so that I could watch the game, but it was certainly worth it. I definitely had my moments of freaking out and doubt, but they pulled through and won! So proud to be a Wisconsinite!!! Maybe I need to leave the country more often so all of the Wisconsin sports teams can win championship titles....Wouldn't it be amazing now if the Brewers went to the World Series?! Okay, I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself on this, but it would be pretty awesome. :)
This little Packer chick is super sleepy from a fun but very busy and exhausting weekend. Off to bed for me! Have a fantastic week everyone!
~A
P.S. Woohoo!!! We won the Super Bowl!! :)
This weekend was filled with so much fun! On Saturday I went to the opera. Every year in Perth, an opera is put on in the Supreme Court Gardens as a family event. It is completely free of charge and everyone is encouraged to attend and support the fine arts. How could I resist going to the opera for free?! I attended the opera with a couple friends I met at church over the past few weeks. They provided a delicious evening picnic meal of smoked salmon, salad, fresh baguettes, peaches, and champagne. Yum! Of course we had to have champagne because we were seeing Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. For those of you who don't know the story-line, we brought the bubbly because there is an entire song dedicated to champagne at the end of the opera. The show was hilarious! The night was perfect for an outside event except for the extreme winds which actually made it a bit chilly to be wearing a dress. Other than the wind though, it was a fabulous evening and I had a great time!
Sunday was filled with another style of music - first church and then a music festival. In the afternoon I headed to The Big Day Out with a friend of Bill's. It was a little nerve-wracking to be going to a large event like that with someone I had never met. But then again, I'm in Australia, so why not?! I had nothing better to do with my time and I'm so glad I went. I hardly knew any of the bands that were playing (probably only a handful), but I had a great time just wandering around the festival grounds with my new Irish friend. Who would've thought it would take me going to Australia to meet an Irishman? :) Regardless, he was a fun guy and made the night very enjoyable. We even got to go back stage for some of the evening!
What an even better way to start off my week and end all of my American friends' weekend - THE PACKERS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!!! It may have been an early morning for me so that I could watch the game, but it was certainly worth it. I definitely had my moments of freaking out and doubt, but they pulled through and won! So proud to be a Wisconsinite!!! Maybe I need to leave the country more often so all of the Wisconsin sports teams can win championship titles....Wouldn't it be amazing now if the Brewers went to the World Series?! Okay, I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself on this, but it would be pretty awesome. :)
This little Packer chick is super sleepy from a fun but very busy and exhausting weekend. Off to bed for me! Have a fantastic week everyone!
~A
P.S. Woohoo!!! We won the Super Bowl!! :)
Friday, February 4, 2011
A Tall Mac with a Side of Little Creatures, Please
It's been a great week for my cafe adventures! I found three more cafes that I quite enjoy. All of them are located in Fremantle, just a short bus ride from the house. Hush is very characteristic of its name. It's very small and quiet and if you don't know what you're looking for, you will most likely miss it. Adorable little espresso bar and they make a great cappuccino! The staff was super friendly as well. On Thursday I decided to wander around Fremantle for a good 2 hours just seeing what the town had to offer. Happened upon 2 great little cafes. Moore & Moore is very reminiscent of Alterra (the lakefront location, in particular). The atmosphere is very earthy and organic. I had the best chai of my life there! They make their own house blend of chai. They serve it as a loose leaf tea in a small pot of steamed milk. The sweetness of the milk with the hints of vanilla and cardamom were to die for. I also stopped in at Maraschino and had my first 'tall mac.' For those of you that don't know (I certainly had to ask and I'm glad I did), a tall mac is a double macchiato - basically 2 shots of espresso with a dollop of foam on top. Needless to say I had my caffeine fix for the day! I also think I found another favorite drink with the tall mac. :)
On Thursday evening, I went out for the first time with a couple of girls my age! So much fun actually being around people I can really relate to. Don't get me wrong, I love my host family and I adore my church family, but there's something about being around people that speak the same lingo - even if I don't totally understand all the Australian jargon. :) We ventured down to Little Creatures right in the harbor in Fremantle. I had a crisp pale ale and we all shared frittes with tomato sauce and aioli, blue cheese and pear pizza with rocket, and tomato and goat cheese pizza with artichokes. For those of you who are not foodies, I will translate this meal into layman's terms: french fries with ketchup and mayo, blue cheese and pear pizza with arugula (bitter greens), and the last one pretty much explains itself. All in all the food was delicious and I'm sure you can all tell I'm in foodie heaven already! :) I had a great time chatting with the girls and getting some ice cream afterward. I certainly hope that I am able to start meeting some more people. Although I suppose that means I actually have to make an effort at meeting people! ;-)
**Breaking News** I have an audition for a semi-pro women's chorus on Tuesday! I'm so excited about this opportunity since I miss singing with a choir greatly. There's something about being pushed and challenged with something you absolutely adore, in this case music. :) I now need to prepare an audition piece this weekend. This should be an interesting endeavor as I don't have any music with me (luckily my mom is helping me out) and I don't have a piano or keyboard readily available for practice. Wish me luck!
In other news, Jensen and Sahmara started school this week. It feels like I've barely seen Jensen at all! Luckily the three of us had a little excursion to Little Stove on Tuesday. They had a great time on our little adventure and they loved the cafe. The baristas at little stove made the kiddos tiny milkshakes/smoothies in addition to my regular sized one. *On a side note: Milkshakes/smoothies here a very different from the U.S. I had a banana and coconut smoothie which consisted of milk, yogurt (or spelled yoghurt here!) and the fruit. No ice! So strange to not have ice blended in, but the drink was quite refreshing and delicious.* We also continued our adventurous day with a bus ride and train ride. We had to meet Saskia in Cottesloe in the afternoon, so we hopped on the bus to Fremantle Station and road the train up to Cottesloe. They had a great time and talked non-stop the entire way! Adorable! Today Lawson and I had a little adventure of our own in taking the bus. We road the bus up to the library for story time. He had a great time with all of the books and he even got a baby cino! Yum! :)
I'm off for the night since I'm having difficulty keeping my drooping eyelids open. I'm completely drained from this week - classes started again, the kids certainly kept me busy, and I did an immense amount of walking and riding my bike. Time for a restful weekend, especially since I need to be prepared to sit my butt in front of the t.v. without distraction for the Super Bowl!! Go Pack Go! :)
Be safe, stay warm, and drink lots of hot coffee, my friends! Miss you all!
~A
On Thursday evening, I went out for the first time with a couple of girls my age! So much fun actually being around people I can really relate to. Don't get me wrong, I love my host family and I adore my church family, but there's something about being around people that speak the same lingo - even if I don't totally understand all the Australian jargon. :) We ventured down to Little Creatures right in the harbor in Fremantle. I had a crisp pale ale and we all shared frittes with tomato sauce and aioli, blue cheese and pear pizza with rocket, and tomato and goat cheese pizza with artichokes. For those of you who are not foodies, I will translate this meal into layman's terms: french fries with ketchup and mayo, blue cheese and pear pizza with arugula (bitter greens), and the last one pretty much explains itself. All in all the food was delicious and I'm sure you can all tell I'm in foodie heaven already! :) I had a great time chatting with the girls and getting some ice cream afterward. I certainly hope that I am able to start meeting some more people. Although I suppose that means I actually have to make an effort at meeting people! ;-)
**Breaking News** I have an audition for a semi-pro women's chorus on Tuesday! I'm so excited about this opportunity since I miss singing with a choir greatly. There's something about being pushed and challenged with something you absolutely adore, in this case music. :) I now need to prepare an audition piece this weekend. This should be an interesting endeavor as I don't have any music with me (luckily my mom is helping me out) and I don't have a piano or keyboard readily available for practice. Wish me luck!
In other news, Jensen and Sahmara started school this week. It feels like I've barely seen Jensen at all! Luckily the three of us had a little excursion to Little Stove on Tuesday. They had a great time on our little adventure and they loved the cafe. The baristas at little stove made the kiddos tiny milkshakes/smoothies in addition to my regular sized one. *On a side note: Milkshakes/smoothies here a very different from the U.S. I had a banana and coconut smoothie which consisted of milk, yogurt (or spelled yoghurt here!) and the fruit. No ice! So strange to not have ice blended in, but the drink was quite refreshing and delicious.* We also continued our adventurous day with a bus ride and train ride. We had to meet Saskia in Cottesloe in the afternoon, so we hopped on the bus to Fremantle Station and road the train up to Cottesloe. They had a great time and talked non-stop the entire way! Adorable! Today Lawson and I had a little adventure of our own in taking the bus. We road the bus up to the library for story time. He had a great time with all of the books and he even got a baby cino! Yum! :)
I'm off for the night since I'm having difficulty keeping my drooping eyelids open. I'm completely drained from this week - classes started again, the kids certainly kept me busy, and I did an immense amount of walking and riding my bike. Time for a restful weekend, especially since I need to be prepared to sit my butt in front of the t.v. without distraction for the Super Bowl!! Go Pack Go! :)
Be safe, stay warm, and drink lots of hot coffee, my friends! Miss you all!
~A
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