This week so far has been busy. I will post properly when I feel like I've gotten a chance to stop and think.
There have been awesome things, such as John Woodhouse's chapel sermon on Mat 5 (the little bit on divorce). And morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea continue to be highlights of every day for me!
There have also been cool, intersting things like the lemon zest and seafood frittata I made from Jamie's Italy. Also fun stuff: we went to a Thai restaurnt tonight with Katie and Bernie and our friends Bek and Weber.
There have been hard things, like getting up at 6:30 each moring (or even earlier for Nick) And having unfamiliar and, at times alienating, anglican 'prayer book' chapel services.
We have both felt quite 'at-sea' this week because we're at the point of not knowing all of the things we have to do and the expectations upon us, but still being ominously aware that there is lots to do. We feel like we're behind already but we've hardly started yet. We also feel like our time is all filled up, even though we have hardly made any commitments yet.
Mostly I am very glad for the realisation I had today that being here is a privelidge. I'm doing this by choice, so it's not about what college is making me do, but rather about taking advantage of this awesome opportunity. Please pray I will remember this.
Walking through Ultimo a little while ago we stopped at the traffic lights and saw this sign:
Living Room (in shared apartment) for rent $110 pw. Your own single bed provided.
Man! Sydney!
Living Room (in shared apartment) for rent $110 pw. Your own single bed provided.
Man! Sydney!
We are currently in a lo-fi photos phase. Still, better than no-fi :P Anyway, the stitching is terrible, but I couldn't be bothered to work on it. This is Darling Harbour yesterday. We walked from our house to the city. I reckon if we hadn't wandered around a bit it probably would have taken about half an hour to get to Town Hall. Nick says 25 minutes. Despite me getting hot and bothered from the walking, it is pretty cool to be able to live somewhere that's so close to the city yet doesn't feel like city at all.
For those of you interested, next to the big grey boat that's a submarine - the HMAS Onslow. I was fascinated to see that the periscop-ey bits are camouflage painted. Apparently they are noisy though...
So back to the walk: This is the view from out our lounge room window (well, if you stick your head out and turn to the left)
See the really thin tower with the blob on the top sticking up from the city, well that's the centre point tower. And this pic is from when we got to Pitt St mall, right under the centrepoint tower:
Found this sign on our back fence:
I think a certain feline entrepreneur has a bit of explaining to do! Pabs, how on earth did you manage to get yourself banned from Sydney?!!!! I am beginning to wonder what kind of 'removal' company was being run! ;)
Some photos
I finally figured out how to get photos off my phone! This one is from our second day in Sydney on a ferry to Birkenhead Point.
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We went to Centrelink in Leichardt today. I don't have a photo of it but this is of Norton St (the next street across) during the world cup final.
This is Anzac Bridge I think. Bron and I walked there the other night from our place. Glebe has nice parks and walkways near the water.
Sydney Christians
You hear things about Sydney Christians. Overall I think I've heard more negative things than positive. Our experience over the last four weeks however has been great.
The first church we went to saw a guy (who was going through some pretty full on stuff) come over, introduce himself and then offer us some furniture. We were also invited to lunch at someone else's place.
At the second church the people almost fought over giving us a lift. We were offered furniture and a car, rego all paid for the year!
We have been driven around, had a mini tour of Balmain and been welcomed by everyone.
This is all from people who didn't know us before we walked in off the street.
This has been so helpful and has also taught us a thing or two about God and his people. I know you're a generous bunch, but Christians in Hobart, don't let Sydney outdo you in welcoming strangers!
The first church we went to saw a guy (who was going through some pretty full on stuff) come over, introduce himself and then offer us some furniture. We were also invited to lunch at someone else's place.
At the second church the people almost fought over giving us a lift. We were offered furniture and a car, rego all paid for the year!
We have been driven around, had a mini tour of Balmain and been welcomed by everyone.
This is all from people who didn't know us before we walked in off the street.
This has been so helpful and has also taught us a thing or two about God and his people. I know you're a generous bunch, but Christians in Hobart, don't let Sydney outdo you in welcoming strangers!
Today we:
- saw Matt and Mel, who had come up from canberra to go to the cricket. It was great to see them because it feels like the start of being able to see them more (they have offered to pay our bus fares to come to canberra to visit them soon - something we'll be definitly be taking them up on)
- got our stuff. Feels like home a bit more now. Boxes were severely wet and dented but, thank God, nothing broken! (When I saw the condition of the boxes I was sure there would be a few things) It also feels a bit like going back in time to when Nick and I had the flat together... all our old stuff, some of which has been packed away all the time we had been at king st.
-didn't finish putting away and unpacking. Also didn't finish drying the loads and loads of washing which is hanging up on the as yet empty curtain rods. It poured so much today the windows were all steamy and mel lost a thong crossing through the small stream overflown from the gutter.
- saw Matt and Mel, who had come up from canberra to go to the cricket. It was great to see them because it feels like the start of being able to see them more (they have offered to pay our bus fares to come to canberra to visit them soon - something we'll be definitly be taking them up on)
- got our stuff. Feels like home a bit more now. Boxes were severely wet and dented but, thank God, nothing broken! (When I saw the condition of the boxes I was sure there would be a few things) It also feels a bit like going back in time to when Nick and I had the flat together... all our old stuff, some of which has been packed away all the time we had been at king st.
-didn't finish putting away and unpacking. Also didn't finish drying the loads and loads of washing which is hanging up on the as yet empty curtain rods. It poured so much today the windows were all steamy and mel lost a thong crossing through the small stream overflown from the gutter.
From The Sydney Desk...
Tassie Devils found in Sydney
I found the Devils lurking in a dark corner of a humid, smelly, people-packed street in Sydney.
Startled by the bright brash lights of Sydney they clung together in their apartment. The scavengers had sniffed out a place in Glebe.
- It has hippies like Tasmania - tick
- Green leafy streets like Tasmania - tick
- A village feel like Tasmania - tick
The female had a long bruise trailing down her leg - the fruits of the previous nights scavenging. The Devils found a chest of drawers that serves beautifully as a kitchen bench but the female's scavenging resources were pushed to the limit lugging the beastly bench kilometres home along the dark, humid, dangerous streets of the inner city.
The male calculated he'd been walking at least two hours a day in hunt of exotic foods such as the mysterious store that contained a window full of olive oil and a roof dripping with mummified herrings. He walked for five hours in one day last week - that was the day the scavengers ventured into the consumer vortex that is Ikea.
The scavenging tendencies of the devils have been shown in their full glory at Moore college. Their classmates have property, shares and one day a week jobs that rake in more than the minimum wage. The scavengers, self-titled "Tassie Devils", have been filling their flat with what they pick up off the streets.
I saw them in action as they walked me home after a dinner of the best spagbol I've tasted - as we meandered around the dark rank backroads of Glebe, the dull night sky was lit up by the gleam in their eyes as they spotted some 'stuff' outside peoples houses.
I've decided to leave my TV outside my house tonight in the hope they'll be lured back to Tassie.
Thanks Felicity!
I found the Devils lurking in a dark corner of a humid, smelly, people-packed street in Sydney.
Startled by the bright brash lights of Sydney they clung together in their apartment. The scavengers had sniffed out a place in Glebe.
- It has hippies like Tasmania - tick
- Green leafy streets like Tasmania - tick
- A village feel like Tasmania - tick
The female had a long bruise trailing down her leg - the fruits of the previous nights scavenging. The Devils found a chest of drawers that serves beautifully as a kitchen bench but the female's scavenging resources were pushed to the limit lugging the beastly bench kilometres home along the dark, humid, dangerous streets of the inner city.
The male calculated he'd been walking at least two hours a day in hunt of exotic foods such as the mysterious store that contained a window full of olive oil and a roof dripping with mummified herrings. He walked for five hours in one day last week - that was the day the scavengers ventured into the consumer vortex that is Ikea.
The scavenging tendencies of the devils have been shown in their full glory at Moore college. Their classmates have property, shares and one day a week jobs that rake in more than the minimum wage. The scavengers, self-titled "Tassie Devils", have been filling their flat with what they pick up off the streets.
I saw them in action as they walked me home after a dinner of the best spagbol I've tasted - as we meandered around the dark rank backroads of Glebe, the dull night sky was lit up by the gleam in their eyes as they spotted some 'stuff' outside peoples houses.
I've decided to leave my TV outside my house tonight in the hope they'll be lured back to Tassie.
Thanks Felicity!
First week of college
It's been pretty good so far. We walked to college on the first day feeling very much like excited kindy kids. (but maybe that had more to do with the backpacks, pigtails and holding hands crossing the road). Coffee at Campos with the other tassie guys did little to quell that feeling. After some confusion with the startng time (umm, well I stuffed it up actually and got us all there an hour early), our first two days were mostly orientation, so not much learing but some good bible teaching.
One strong impression has been how welcoming the lecturers and staff were (even though some of them were scary). It's so wonderful to be studying in a place where the staff are so happy to see each new year of students arrive, because they have been praying for years that God will raise up more workers for his harvest field.
Study wise - this week has been pretty good for me. The first day of Greek was great - I knew it all and didn't have to do any homework! Unfortunately, the second day progressed beyond the alphabet and has been a bit of a struggle! I think it will just take lots of work. As for Nick... well, he's been treating it all as a bit of revision I think.
We've stuck pretty tight with the tassie guys. There are actually six of us studying: Nick and I, Des, Bernie, Mel, and Anne-Sophie (who we were suprised but happy to see). At one point one of the older students on the orientation team came up to us outside and asked if any of us knew other people at college. We sheepishly admitted that we all knew each other, and in fact four of us even went to the same school!
It's great to have friends around though, and it doesn't mean we haven't met any new people! Yesterday afternoon Nick and I went for coffee with (read, dragged away from the library)another couple, Jasmine and Victor. They were awesome, and we got along really well. They're not your average checked-shirt wearing, moore anglicans either. They'd probably look more at home at the Crossroads of 5 years ago. But most of all, like so many of the people we've met so far, they're friendly, young and passionate about the gospel.
Tonight we leave for the 'weekend away'. It's at some campsite down south of Sydney. Felicity reckons it's very nice. She told us this when she came to visit the other day. Gosh, it was so great to have our first tassie visitor! When I knew Felicity in tassie, I always thought of her as a sydney person. But I realised when we saw her, that she really has become such a tasmanian over the last few years! It was wonderful to see her. We look forward many more tassie visitors in the future (hint hint!)
Will keep you posted, and when our stuff arrives may even be able to post some pictures!
One strong impression has been how welcoming the lecturers and staff were (even though some of them were scary). It's so wonderful to be studying in a place where the staff are so happy to see each new year of students arrive, because they have been praying for years that God will raise up more workers for his harvest field.
Study wise - this week has been pretty good for me. The first day of Greek was great - I knew it all and didn't have to do any homework! Unfortunately, the second day progressed beyond the alphabet and has been a bit of a struggle! I think it will just take lots of work. As for Nick... well, he's been treating it all as a bit of revision I think.
We've stuck pretty tight with the tassie guys. There are actually six of us studying: Nick and I, Des, Bernie, Mel, and Anne-Sophie (who we were suprised but happy to see). At one point one of the older students on the orientation team came up to us outside and asked if any of us knew other people at college. We sheepishly admitted that we all knew each other, and in fact four of us even went to the same school!
It's great to have friends around though, and it doesn't mean we haven't met any new people! Yesterday afternoon Nick and I went for coffee with (read, dragged away from the library)another couple, Jasmine and Victor. They were awesome, and we got along really well. They're not your average checked-shirt wearing, moore anglicans either. They'd probably look more at home at the Crossroads of 5 years ago. But most of all, like so many of the people we've met so far, they're friendly, young and passionate about the gospel.
Tonight we leave for the 'weekend away'. It's at some campsite down south of Sydney. Felicity reckons it's very nice. She told us this when she came to visit the other day. Gosh, it was so great to have our first tassie visitor! When I knew Felicity in tassie, I always thought of her as a sydney person. But I realised when we saw her, that she really has become such a tasmanian over the last few years! It was wonderful to see her. We look forward many more tassie visitors in the future (hint hint!)
Will keep you posted, and when our stuff arrives may even be able to post some pictures!
Another bottleshop experience
We moved in to our new place on Monday and have spent most of our time this week getting stuff from Ikea in Homebush and a 'Home Mega Mall' in Auburn. Auburn is a weird place for us. We went to the Big W there which is exactly like the one in Kingston or anywhere else. However, in this Big W Mulsim women wearing the full head scarves stood in the checkout line next to immodestly dressed Asian girls, conversations were going on in several different languages and we were almost the only white people in sight. Not quite like the one in Kingston. Apparently Auburn has the second biggest mosque in the Southern hemisphere after the one in Lakemba.
Yesterday I was walking around Darling Harbour and spotted a Dutch take away kiosk. They sell beef croquettes, poffetjes (little pancakes), 'Dutch' hamburgers and other unhealthy delights. I intend to return there soon and I will let you all know how they taste as soon as possible.
We start College on Monday. Three weeks of Greek before the college year officially starts. We feel a bit like we're starting prep. It's exciting but also a bit frightening.
Yesterday I was walking around Darling Harbour and spotted a Dutch take away kiosk. They sell beef croquettes, poffetjes (little pancakes), 'Dutch' hamburgers and other unhealthy delights. I intend to return there soon and I will let you all know how they taste as soon as possible.
We start College on Monday. Three weeks of Greek before the college year officially starts. We feel a bit like we're starting prep. It's exciting but also a bit frightening.
