Salvation Saturday

The city of Brisbane looks like a war zone or a third world country. This past week, the downtown area and many suburbs along the Brisbane river flooded. Entire houses were submerged and people have lost homes, businesses, and possessions. 75% of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone and there are some in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley have lost loved ones to flash floods.

Today has been declared "Salvation Saturday" as busloads of volunteers with brooms, shovels, and scrub brushes have come in to help clean up areas where the water has receded. It's amazing to see so many people pulling together in the midst of tragedy.

I guess I'm part of the 25% of the state not directly affected by the floods (aside from the empty fresh produce shelves in the grocery stores!). It's shocking that only 20 minutes away is total destruction and devastation. A Griffith University student posted some pictures of Southbank, the area where my campus is. From the looks of it, I'd say the first floor will have some significant damage. That would include the library (all those amazing music and resources!), numerous grand & upright pianos, and a portion of the main theater. I haven't heard anything definite, so these are just my assumptions.

Here are a few pics of Southbank & the Queensland Conservatorium taking on Wednesday, January 12th (photos by David Speicher)

(the arbor pathway where I walked to uni everyday, now its own little river)

(from across the river, you can see the ferry dock almost fully submerged)

(a street beside the Con, now under water)

Images on the news today are of smiling people working hard to put back together what was torn away. I'm sure there are many untold stories of those who are not smiling today. I pray that no one will be alone in their loss.

Fairdinkum & grouse, mate!

Kate tells me I'm sounding a bit Australian. She can hear it in a few words I say and I've definitely picked up some Aussie lingo. I notice it the most when I write home and have to translate back into Canadian...haha! Here are a few words I've picked up along the way:

Suss it out (assess the situation)
Get it sorted (sort it out)
I reckon (I think, I believe)
Arvo (afternoon)
Cuppa (cup a tea)
Tea (supper, dinner, evening meal)
Supper (evening snack, usually tea and biscuit)
Bench (kitchen counter)
Rubbish (Garbage)
Rubbish bin (garbage can)
Whinge, whinging, whinger (whining, complaining)
Muso (musician)
Port (suitcase)

Ones that I haven't used, but find fascinating:
Probs not aye! (Probably not going to happen)
POM, POME, POMMY (someone who is from Britain, could mean "Prisoner of Mother England")
Fairdinkum (true dat!)
Grouse (good, awesome)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! January 1, 2010, I was with my "other family", Bruce & Donna & Julia Thiessen. After a day of cross-country skiing in Banff, a good meal and a soak in the hot tub, we spent time together praying in the new year. My 2 requests were to know God more and to know what the next step would be in terms of vocal education. A week later, I discovered Griffith University online and well, I guess the rest is history!

January 1, 2011 sees me in quite a different place. In this journey, I am so grateful for those who walk with me, who pray with me and for me, and who continue to do life with me even though this distance is great. Thank you. My life is RICH because of you.

This week also marks 6 months in Australia! Day 184 according to my camera. Time is flying by.

The Christmas season has come and gone. I made a good effort to get into it, but I have to admit, I miss the snow and my family and friends back home. A hot Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas! But I did get to enjoy it with some wonderful people.

(Christmas lunch with the Daisy Hill gang:
Me, Deb, Neil, Bel, Dave, Kruffs)

Christmas in Brissie

• Charlie Brown Christmas tree (well, the tree itself was nice, but the decorations wouldn't last long if my mom were around!)
• Santa hats, reindeer antlers, Santa hat earrings, and a festive dog
• Christmas lunch with the Daisy Hill gang
  

(Dave, Kruffs, Bel, and I)

Christmas in Moree (6 hours southwest of Brisbane)

• Nativity plays by children and adults
• Christmas baking (bringing in some Canadian treats like cinnamon buns, poppycock and lemon tarts)
• multiple Christmas dinners! So full...
  
• Escaping the heat in an air conditioned farmhouse!
• Being spoiled by Kate & Cheryl Boughton
  

(Christmas dinner with the Boughton family)

Christmas Day at Megli's farm

• a place I had heard much about from other Canadian friends have visited/lived there. It was great to have a bit of Canadian representation and we enjoyed good food and company.
• Still, I missed my own family GREATLY. We did have a hilarious Skype chat with on Christmas Day.
• Of all the things I missed this time of year, it was playing games and hanging out with my fam.

(Christmas Day @ the Meglis)

Other holiday adventures

• I got to see a bit of Australian country life
• hiking in a small mountain range
• horseback riding on the farm
• I even saw a brown snake...it was dead, but I saw it nonetheless. This would be my first snake sighting since I arrived in OZ (no pics, sorry...too gross!)

(afternoon ride with Kim Megli)

(Hike @ Mt. Kaputar)

New Years on the coast

• we (Kate, Cheryl & I) drove 6 hours east to Macksville on the coast
• We left the "outback" and drove through foothills, then a mountain range which dropped into a beautiful rain forest with waterfalls and finally to the ocean.
• Fish 'n chips on the beach, hanging out with Kate's relatives, swimming in the ocean, and some touristy shopping.

(Kate & I @ Nambucca Heads)

It's good to be back "home" in Brisbane, ready for 2011 and all that it holds.

Special Gifts

I believe that my best Christmas present came early this year. My dear friend, Catherine came to visit me for a whole week! We were fully aware of how perfectly timed this visit was...a gift all in itself. Catherine had to book her flights way back in March (she also went to Perth to spend Christmas with her sister), before I was even accepted into Uni or even knew for sure if I was moving to Australia. But I did and had finished my first semester and moved to a new house just in time to welcome my friend to my little world. I didn't have a summer job yet, so other than a few students, I was totally free to be with Catherine and have some great adventures.

(picking up Catherine @ Brisbane Airport)

It was fun showing someone from home where I live and go to Uni and meet some people in my life here. Catherine said that she had pictured me in a Canadian version of Australia, but that this is truly a different world.

We did a lot in our 6 days together. I had the pleasure of being Catherine's personal shopper as I gladly spent her money on new clothes since she forgot her suitcase back in Canada. A minor setback that barely phased us and any sorrows that remained were drowned at Max Brenner, the BEST chocolate restaurant in the world (it's American, so if you find one on our continent, GO!). Despite rainy weather, we managed to get some beach time in at Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise and Marcoola Beach on the Sunshine Coast. The rain stopped long enough for us to walk around, enjoy the view, and play in the waves. We hit the markets, randomly found a glow worm cave tour, hiked through some rain forest, enjoyed some seafood, looked over the Glass House Mountains, and drove scooters around a small island (C also fell off the scooter on the small island...). We enjoyed my new home, cooking some Aussie treats, swimming in the pool, and watching the evening come in as the birds go to sleep, crickets and frogs sing and fruit bats start flying in.

(@ the Big Pineapple on the Sunshine Coast)

How did we get around, you may ask? Why the Datsun Sunny plugged along the coast quite nicely. We bought defogger for the windshield as the air vents didn't do the job of keeping the windshield clear. Turns out neither did the defogger...we used towels. Catherine also discovered a massive water leak on the passenger side as her feet were soaked by the end of a rainy day. We had a couple of hot days and were once again grateful for the invention of air conditioning...in our vehicles back in Canada. Windows rolled down and fluids checked daily, we made our mark on the Eastern Coast of Australia.

Lots of laughter and really cherishing the little things in life, it was an unforgettable week! Catherine is one of the people who has walked with me from the beginning of this journey. It was a cool gift for both of us to celebrate and see how God has blessed and provided, both in direction, dreams and friendship.

(@ Byron Bay)

Moving up in the world

December marked my 7th move in 5 years. I was more than happy to make this move, although Bel did say one HAS to have this kind of living experience to really appreciate the good things in life.

Our lease was up at Daisy Hill and we decided not to renew. Deb got married in November, so we downsized to a smaller house, but definitely have moved up in the world! Dave & Bel's dad has rented us a beautiful newly renovated house in Shailer Park. We even have a pool, just in time for the hot, humid summer! Bedrooms are a bit smaller, but the teaching studio is bigger.

So we've gladly said goodbye to our old house. Gone is the moldy shower, the cockroach infested kitchen, the spider-ridden downstairs. Now we're learning all about maintaining a pool (not easy when it's been raining almost everyday) and trying to keep the house looking new (not easy when you live with Bel & Dave...). :)

Here's a tour of our old house/new house!