February 1, 2009

We have made it through our first 3 full weeks in Australia and I am starting to be a bit more relaxed. Last Monday was Australia day and we took it easy (we had to, everything was closed). We went first to a ward swimming party and met a lot of people and kids in our new ward. I love the laid back feel of Cairns, no one is in a rush and everyone that we have met has been really nice. Later that day we went swimming at the beach. It is a bit strange because you can’t just go swimming at any part of the beach, I guess you could but you don’t want to because of the jelly fish! They have specific swimming areas that are netted so the jellyfish can’t get to you. There aren’t any waves because the Reef blocks them and slows the flow. It's perf!

The next day we went into town and bought a car! Thankfully we returned our rental (it was a hollow box with wheels) I had to follow Quintin to return the rental and in the first 20 feet of driving out of the lot I almost got hit. I felt all of the salesman’s were probably laughing wildly at the silly American girl. We looked at more houses and were getting sick of it, so while we were considering this old ugly rental that was pink inside and out, (I named it the pink peppermint palace) I got a call from a realtor that told us that we got a townhouse that was brand new and so cute!! I was ecstatic, Quintin was less than thrilled because it doesn’t have a backyard. After I had a good talk with him he changed his mind. :)

For the last couple of days we have been running around trying to find furniture and household goods (I love that word, goods) We have found almost everything that we need except a refrigerator and a mattress, two really important things for a home. Thursday is when we can move in so we still have a few days to find those things. We are both feeling so blessed that everything has gone our way, although it was a slow start, we feel like we almost have everything for a good life here.

The branch here is awesome, the people are so friendly and have the most amazing testimonies. Today in church I met a few more people and got a few more numbers. Things are progressing and I love it.

There is a cyclone expected to hit shores tomorrow morning, and I don’t love that.

Love you all,

Holly

Here are a few quirks that I have noticed about Aussies:

-They like to cut words in half and ad an eee sound, like Breakfast is Brekky, Address is Addy, University is Uni and so on.

-They can all talk your ear off! When Quintin (a big talker) starts talking to an Aussie I know that I won’t be able to put a word in for about 30-40 mins.

-The food here is almost as good as American but never quite right. They don’t use any real spices except for curry (bleck!) I did find a good steak and Pizza Hut’s pasta is really good but that is about all I’ve found.

-A lot of the men and children go to the stores without shoes or shirts on, Apparently they never have gotten those signs that say ‘no shirt, no shoes no service‘.

-They don’t great you with a G’day like you would expect them to. They all say “How you goin?” I get thrown off by the grammar and usually say “I’m good?”

-Instead of dead racoons and deer at the side of the road, you see Wallabys (small kangaroos)

There is a big field close to our new place that is always filled with wallaby's. So cool!