Where do I start? This post will be long and wordy. I will post pics separately. So grab a beverage, sit down, and enjoy.
It has been over two months since my last post and predictably a lot has happened. David has worked some - soon after his squadron returned from the US, most went on holiday vacation. D went back to work on Monday to an empty office. I have been applying to jobs, going to networking events and reading. There is nothing like starting over to make you realise how much your personal connections matter.
November 11 was a big day here in Australia. There were a number of events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of WWI Armistise. We started our day with a ceremony in a park. In the evening we went to a theatrical/video performance at the Queensland Performing Arts Center. It was educational, touching and imbued a sense of culture unique to the ANZACs.
Later that week our furniture arrived. The biggest question was whether our couch would fit in the elevator or up the stairs and in our door. Thanks to David who took off the legs, it is in our apartment and has provided many wonderful hours of sitting. After not having personal possessions since early May, it is wonderful to be surrounded by our books, art, oddities, etc.
As we have settled into our apartment with our belongings, we have endeavoured to quite literally put down roots. Our house plant family has expanded rapidly. We have adopted least four native Australian plants, a new 'Figgy' (Fiddle Leaf Fig), a few members of the lily family as well as some herbs and such. I have aspirations for a lemon and a lime tree for the balcony. Having the warm sub tropical sun has its advantages.
With our constant craving to get on the water, we tried out WAGS- Wednesday Afternoon Go Sailing. It's a program at a local marina that kicks off around noon. The yachts all go out for a race and those with space aboard invite newbies (like us) aboard. In our case our hosts used us as rail meat (ie we sat around) and we didn't get to help much with the sailing. While it was nice to be out on Moreton Bay, we realised we wanted to be a little more active so it has remained a one time thing.
In an effort to keep myself busy and to create some structure I started volunteering with the Royal Historical Society Queensland. It has been amazing how many similarities there are with ICHS and my past work. I have been able to help out with research appointments, technology upgrades, and general archival organisation.
In mid November I reconnected with my Vietnamese roommate from my LC study abroad trip in 2008. She and her husband are living just south of Brisbane near the Gold Coast. They have introduced to a few local sights, most recently taking us to Byron Bay- our first sojourn into New South Wales. Just a tad south we checked out the eastern most point of Australia! From the cliffs of the lighthouse we saw a few animals swimming in the surf. I believe these to be our first Australian shark sighting.
On December 19 we officially hit our 90 days in Australia mark. This means we were required to apply for citizenship! So we did. It's a very strange feeling being able to do that application so soon after getting here. Time has flown!
Because we are near to water and because that water is warm, we decided it was time to learn to kite board! I have been watching the sport ever since it came about nearly two decades ago. Once my twenties passed, I thought my dream did as well. Turns out you can learn new tricks, or at least try. We had three two hour lessons and bought our own gear on right before our last lesson. Merry Christmas to us! We now are those nerds who religiously watch the wind and drop all plans as soon as it starts to pick up. I will say that David has taken to it quite naturally, while I am still fighting with the plank on my feet. All in good time, or so they say.
Christmas dinner was spent at a friends house. Aside from our investment into kiting, we did not do much to celebrate the holidays. It is a very strange sensation to hear Christmas carols when the temperature is in the 80s and 90s. Kathryn and Andy made a delicious lamb dinner (not traditional Aussie prawns) and we enjoyed a late night of wine and games. As for New Years, we celebrated by going to bed.
This past weekend we spent a lovely three days at Binna Burra Lodge in Lamington National Park. Dave knew we had a weekend away, but was unaware where or what we would be doing. He was quite pleased to find that most of our time would be spent hiking through the rainforest. Not so thrilled when he found out we would battle both leeches and ticks. We did see some incredible flora and fauna, a favourite of which was the pademelon. Stay tuned for pictures in a future post.
That brings us up to today. We have a few small days trips in the coming weekends. So stay tuned for updates and pictures. Also we will continue to hit the water whenever wind and work permit. Hope to have some pictures and maybe a video of kiting up in the near future.
It has been over two months since my last post and predictably a lot has happened. David has worked some - soon after his squadron returned from the US, most went on holiday vacation. D went back to work on Monday to an empty office. I have been applying to jobs, going to networking events and reading. There is nothing like starting over to make you realise how much your personal connections matter.
November 11 was a big day here in Australia. There were a number of events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of WWI Armistise. We started our day with a ceremony in a park. In the evening we went to a theatrical/video performance at the Queensland Performing Arts Center. It was educational, touching and imbued a sense of culture unique to the ANZACs.
Later that week our furniture arrived. The biggest question was whether our couch would fit in the elevator or up the stairs and in our door. Thanks to David who took off the legs, it is in our apartment and has provided many wonderful hours of sitting. After not having personal possessions since early May, it is wonderful to be surrounded by our books, art, oddities, etc.
As we have settled into our apartment with our belongings, we have endeavoured to quite literally put down roots. Our house plant family has expanded rapidly. We have adopted least four native Australian plants, a new 'Figgy' (Fiddle Leaf Fig), a few members of the lily family as well as some herbs and such. I have aspirations for a lemon and a lime tree for the balcony. Having the warm sub tropical sun has its advantages.
With our constant craving to get on the water, we tried out WAGS- Wednesday Afternoon Go Sailing. It's a program at a local marina that kicks off around noon. The yachts all go out for a race and those with space aboard invite newbies (like us) aboard. In our case our hosts used us as rail meat (ie we sat around) and we didn't get to help much with the sailing. While it was nice to be out on Moreton Bay, we realised we wanted to be a little more active so it has remained a one time thing.
In an effort to keep myself busy and to create some structure I started volunteering with the Royal Historical Society Queensland. It has been amazing how many similarities there are with ICHS and my past work. I have been able to help out with research appointments, technology upgrades, and general archival organisation.
In mid November I reconnected with my Vietnamese roommate from my LC study abroad trip in 2008. She and her husband are living just south of Brisbane near the Gold Coast. They have introduced to a few local sights, most recently taking us to Byron Bay- our first sojourn into New South Wales. Just a tad south we checked out the eastern most point of Australia! From the cliffs of the lighthouse we saw a few animals swimming in the surf. I believe these to be our first Australian shark sighting.
Because we are near to water and because that water is warm, we decided it was time to learn to kite board! I have been watching the sport ever since it came about nearly two decades ago. Once my twenties passed, I thought my dream did as well. Turns out you can learn new tricks, or at least try. We had three two hour lessons and bought our own gear on right before our last lesson. Merry Christmas to us! We now are those nerds who religiously watch the wind and drop all plans as soon as it starts to pick up. I will say that David has taken to it quite naturally, while I am still fighting with the plank on my feet. All in good time, or so they say.
Christmas dinner was spent at a friends house. Aside from our investment into kiting, we did not do much to celebrate the holidays. It is a very strange sensation to hear Christmas carols when the temperature is in the 80s and 90s. Kathryn and Andy made a delicious lamb dinner (not traditional Aussie prawns) and we enjoyed a late night of wine and games. As for New Years, we celebrated by going to bed.
This past weekend we spent a lovely three days at Binna Burra Lodge in Lamington National Park. Dave knew we had a weekend away, but was unaware where or what we would be doing. He was quite pleased to find that most of our time would be spent hiking through the rainforest. Not so thrilled when he found out we would battle both leeches and ticks. We did see some incredible flora and fauna, a favourite of which was the pademelon. Stay tuned for pictures in a future post.
That brings us up to today. We have a few small days trips in the coming weekends. So stay tuned for updates and pictures. Also we will continue to hit the water whenever wind and work permit. Hope to have some pictures and maybe a video of kiting up in the near future.
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