So far:
1.) We learned that Aussie's are laid back. Friday morning at 8 AM, Garrett and I headed to UNSW campus to meet some of the others in his department and to finish some final paperwork. As we walked through campus we noticed that it was completely empty. When we met up with Garrett's supervisor he told us that no one else would get there until 9 or later. We also learned that Aussie's work a 35 hour week.
2.) We keep walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk. You know how when you and another person going in the opposite direction pass one another on the sidewalk and both of you move to your own right? Well, the same is done here, except on the left. Garrett and I don't even notice until we're walking upstream through a crowd of people.
3.) We've discovered some interesting birds. The first was a little black and gray bird with a bright yellow beak and yellow around his eyes. He wasn't really that interesting.....just pretty. Next was a white and black chicken-sized bird with a long black curved beak kind of like a Gonzo nose. We still don't know what he is called. All we know is that he's funny looking. The last two are considered pets in the states. The rainbow bird dove at us on our walk today. The cockatoos played nice and kept their distance. Garrett and I were just surprised to see them outside of cages. At first we thought that they were escapees. Apparently they are regulars around these parts. We also heard a bird that sounds like the teacher on Charlie Brown. Still haven't seen him up close yet.
4.) We've learned that bell peppers are called capsicums and raisins are sultanas.....that will take some getting used to.
5.) We took a really nice walk today to Coogee Beach. The waves were huge and the scenery was beautiful! The water was SO blue and the sand looked incredibly soft. It was too cold to take off our shoes. We will touch the sand next time. We only took our point-and-shoot today. We will definitely be going back with our better camera.
6.) We took a bus to church today, met so many wonderfully kind people, and were offered and given a ride back to the boarding house (No, not home. We're still kind of homeless).
We haven't done a whole lot since we got here because of the rain. But we didn't stay cooped up because of it. We pulled out the umbrellas and let our socks and shoes get drenched.
We walked passed this on UNSW campus.
We are on the hunt for an apartment. The process isn't too thrilling. They basically make it as difficult as possible down here. We'll explain more about that later. I was feeling pretty homesick since we arrived, but today we were able to Skype with my parents which helped so, so much!
Tomorrow brings job hunting and more apartment hunting. Please pray for us and wish us luck!
