These blog posts have been very picture driven. The mentality has been that if I have pictures, then I post something on the blog.
I am hoping to take the time soon to write out more about what has been like here in Australia. There are a lot of things that are different and a lot of things so familiar. For instance, on our way home from church, I found myself wearing a tank top, skirt and flip flops while listening to Christmas music and enjoying some air conditioning. Now, if you take that example and compare it with what I know from the States and what I know from PNG, you will see things that are familiar (Christmas music at this time of year) and things that are VERY different (the weather is different than the States and actually having air conditioning is different than PNG). We have had many moments like that.
Oh...here is another one. The other day, I was driving back from grocery shopping and I thought, "I should call my mom." You see, I wasn't around any Aussies, I was in a car and driving on smooth roads, I was listening to Adele on the radio....for that moment, it felt like I was in the States and I could just pick up my phone to call my mom or Dawn or Loria. Weird feeling.
Then, there are the classic Adrienne moves. I tried to drive out an in ramp. In Australia they have lots of roundabouts.....which are kind of nice. But, you have to make quick decisions once you are in a roundabout. As I was going around, I started to go "out" and realized that I was about to enter a highway going the wrong way. Ooooops! And, the only way to correct my mistake was to back into a roundabout. Kind of a scary thought. Luckily, this was just a roundabout at a mall, so the roundabout wasn't very busy. But, you get the point.
And, another thing, the TV stations here show heaps (Aussie word) of American TV shows. So, you can see that being surrounded by American music and American TV, it is easy to forget sometimes that you are not in America. But, we are definitely not in America.
For one, the prices are crazy high here. It literally hurts sometimes to pay such a high price for something that would be so much cheaper in the States. Here's an example. How much does it cost to eat at McDonald's there? I don't even know anymore. But, does it cost this much? For $7.95, you just get your sandwich. Then, if you want fries and a drink, you add that to the cost. I won't bore you with more prices differences, but $10 a person or more at McDonald's?? Or, baby onesies- one baby onesie costs $5. And, one baby onesie with a design on it costs $12-14....for one!
Also, Australia is definitely not America because we do not have our close friends and family with us. When this little girl is born, our family will not make the drive to visit. Well, they would make the drive if they could, but they just are not able to with us living on this side of the world. So, being in Australia is wonderful and a chance of a lifetime in so many different ways. Really! We recognize that every day we get to swim and sit in the sun and relax a bit before heading back to PNG. But, being here is a reminder of what we miss so much. At first glance, when you enter a mall or get in your car to drive somewhere, you feel like you are in the States. But, every day is a reminder that we are not home. At least in PNG, you know WHY you are there. You have a purpose and a mission and you think, "God called me to this life and I can persevere." But, here, you look around at this life you once knew like the back of your hand and think, "Just kidding. Close, by not America! Close, but not home."
Now, lest you start to feel overly sad for us, that was not the point of this post. This was just a post to give you a little more understanding of our life and this international experience. It is what we face, but we face it knowing that there is a reason we have made the sacrifices we have made. We are confident that we are supposed to be in PNG and working there for this time. There is a peace that comes with knowing that you are right where God has called you to be. But, we are human....we do feel and we are not robots. And, I think that I can honestly say that we are loving our time in Australia BUT this time in Australia has made us miss America even more than before.
Oh...here is another one. The other day, I was driving back from grocery shopping and I thought, "I should call my mom." You see, I wasn't around any Aussies, I was in a car and driving on smooth roads, I was listening to Adele on the radio....for that moment, it felt like I was in the States and I could just pick up my phone to call my mom or Dawn or Loria. Weird feeling.
Then, there are the classic Adrienne moves. I tried to drive out an in ramp. In Australia they have lots of roundabouts.....which are kind of nice. But, you have to make quick decisions once you are in a roundabout. As I was going around, I started to go "out" and realized that I was about to enter a highway going the wrong way. Ooooops! And, the only way to correct my mistake was to back into a roundabout. Kind of a scary thought. Luckily, this was just a roundabout at a mall, so the roundabout wasn't very busy. But, you get the point.
And, another thing, the TV stations here show heaps (Aussie word) of American TV shows. So, you can see that being surrounded by American music and American TV, it is easy to forget sometimes that you are not in America. But, we are definitely not in America.
For one, the prices are crazy high here. It literally hurts sometimes to pay such a high price for something that would be so much cheaper in the States. Here's an example. How much does it cost to eat at McDonald's there? I don't even know anymore. But, does it cost this much? For $7.95, you just get your sandwich. Then, if you want fries and a drink, you add that to the cost. I won't bore you with more prices differences, but $10 a person or more at McDonald's?? Or, baby onesies- one baby onesie costs $5. And, one baby onesie with a design on it costs $12-14....for one!
Also, Australia is definitely not America because we do not have our close friends and family with us. When this little girl is born, our family will not make the drive to visit. Well, they would make the drive if they could, but they just are not able to with us living on this side of the world. So, being in Australia is wonderful and a chance of a lifetime in so many different ways. Really! We recognize that every day we get to swim and sit in the sun and relax a bit before heading back to PNG. But, being here is a reminder of what we miss so much. At first glance, when you enter a mall or get in your car to drive somewhere, you feel like you are in the States. But, every day is a reminder that we are not home. At least in PNG, you know WHY you are there. You have a purpose and a mission and you think, "God called me to this life and I can persevere." But, here, you look around at this life you once knew like the back of your hand and think, "Just kidding. Close, by not America! Close, but not home."
Now, lest you start to feel overly sad for us, that was not the point of this post. This was just a post to give you a little more understanding of our life and this international experience. It is what we face, but we face it knowing that there is a reason we have made the sacrifices we have made. We are confident that we are supposed to be in PNG and working there for this time. There is a peace that comes with knowing that you are right where God has called you to be. But, we are human....we do feel and we are not robots. And, I think that I can honestly say that we are loving our time in Australia BUT this time in Australia has made us miss America even more than before.
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