Hello from Oz to all you special people!
For those with a Trent-like attention span here’s the short version:
- Arrived in Brisbane safely after a smooth journey.
- Great family reunion with Trent’s parents and older brother & family, and my cousin & family.
- Now staying in parents’ house while they’re away on business.
- Trent got iPad
- Caryn got a cold and slept a lot. Then got better and went shoe & handbag shopping.
- Feeding kookaburras daily in the garden.
- Neither of us have been killed by spiders, scorpions, plants, jellyfish, sharks or the sun.
For those with a Caryn-like interest in the details here’s the long version:
Our flight to Oz went remarkably smoothly and we arrived safely on 15 August, with all our declared goods being allowed through, even our sentimental twig-covered lamps from Egypt – phew. It still amazes me that we can virtually cross the globe in under 24 hours. Kept having to tell each other that this is now the place we call ‘home’.
We were so pleased to be able to see the Jacobs’ parents for a day before they had to leave to Weipa on business. The evening before they left we had a hearty welcome with a good old South African braai (barbecue) with all the Brisbane family. Was great be reunited with everyone and see our nephews and my cousin’s beautiful children again. In the days that followed we got our first impressions of Cashmere, the suburb in which our family live. There’s a lot of (gum tree?) forest surrounding the houses, and we have already been treated to visits from the local wildlife – possums and kookaburras. Mom Jacobs has coaxed the kookaburras into the garden and they visit promptly between 5 and 5:30pm daily for a snack out of our hands.
Unfortunately I managed to contract a cold somewhere in transit between continents, so had an enforced chillout time from Day 2 until today, which seemed to be the turnaround point. Meanwhile, Trent had been salivating after an iPad since it’s release, and so of course managed to visit an Apple store on Day 1, and purchase an iPad by Day 3. It is now my greatest competitor for his affections. However, I knew I had not lost when he suggested that we go handbag and shoe shopping today (because I had disposed of handbag and most shoes in my ruthless packing regime), AND THEN accompanied me for the entire trip as my personal shopping assistant, making excellent suggestions and helping me make highly satisfactory final choices.
And so now, with good health, we will start some more exploring of this new land. In some ways it feels overwhelming because everything is new. We’re not familiar with geographical areas, shop names, bank names and even some road rules. However, in other ways we have been so welcomed that it bodes well for future friendships. Everyone is so friendly. Our neighbour popped in last night just to say hi and to see if there was anything he could help us with. We were offered dinner at his house that evening and left with the agreement that we’d have a bbq together with him and his wife and 4 kids sometime soon. His brother-in-law also happens to be an occupational therapist, so he’s going to put me in contact with him. How nice is that!?!
We are truly blessed
Coming up next (terms and conditions apply):
- Scouting out Brisbane for where the work is. Where should we live?
- Church hopping
- Planning a weekend stop at a friend’s place in Sydney. Thinking of driving the 1000km and doing some camping and sightseeing along the way.
- Washington D.C. you ask? Still probably at least 3 weeks.
Will keep you updated, and would love to hear what’s happening with each of you guys too, so please keep in touch!
Much love,
Caryn (and Trent)