Welcome to The Land Down Under

Hello from Sydney!!

We made it.  Flight was pleasant, although I'm sure those feelings will wear off when we travel back to the States every three months.  We already have our trip booked for the first week in October, so it made our goodbyes that much easier.  Thanks to all our family and friends for making the effort in seeing us before we left.  

Had to make one last stop to Forth Worth.  Where my heart belongs.  

Our last day in Dallas…dropped off our car at carmax, lunch at Tolousse with Ronnie's dad, brother, step sister, and my sister, highland park soda fountain for classic milkshakes (you can't get more American than that), and final goodbyes. My sis then drove us to the airport with 10 bags in tow.  

Literally within 2 minutes of our cab dropping us off in front of our place in Kirribilli, a young and rather handsome gentleman introduced himself to us.  I guess it's not everyday that a local is hopping out of a cabbie with 10 bags!  He quickly proceeded to ask if we had arrived from the States, which to my response was "Just how did you know?!" in a sarcastic tone.  Maybe it was the accents? Or just the obnoxious amount of things?  He kindly replied, "It was just the twinkle in your eye."  

Then, ten minutes later as we were moving our bags in and tinkering with the three doors (with three separate keys I might add) to get into our place, our next door neighbors stopped by to greet us!  They are a lovely young couple, native to Australia.  We explained our situation, that our shipment of furniture wouldn't arrive for another two and a half weeks due to a back up in Panama (crazy I know)….and that we were about to head to the local Target and stock up on basic supplies.  We then said our goodbyes and they offered us to stop by anytime if we needed anything.  Five minutes later, a knock on the door…our neighbors again offering us to use their spare bed set!!! They apologized for not thinking about it in the first place and insisted moving it in right away.  Of course, we were taken back and somewhat hesitant, not used to the very kind gesture.  Our last next door neighbors in Dallas would go out of their way to not make eye contact or smile.  Just another way that God has shown himself in this journey…

On Sunday, we took a taxi to the local mall to shop at Target, Big W (equivalent to WalMart), and Woolworths (major grocery store).  We couldn't get used to the idea that you just took one cart in and out of each store and on to the next with your purchased goods.  Pretty convenient.  Due to the jet lag, we crashed at 6 pm and slept for a full 12 hours!  

Monday was Ronnie's first day of work at the Sydney office…or so we thought!  His boss was nice enough to let him have the day off to get everything organized (thanks Jenny!)…and boy is there a lot.  Ronnie has been so on top of things (surprise, surprise), but we still seem to be running into kinks.  Ronnie's dad explained it this way "If it was easy, they wouldn't call it an international assignment."  We now have an Australian bank account, prepaid local phones, but still not internet connection at home.  That has been the killer for us, since we are relying solely on wifi to communicate via skye and FaceTime.  They are supposed to come out today and fix the problem, but we aren't very hopeful…the initial set up took three weeks time to get an appointment, which we were prepared for and scheduled it a month ago so it would be installed when we arrived.  Then, when it didn't work, we called tech support and they determined that a technician would have to come out…"I have no idea when they will be able to come…we will TRY calling them and MAYBE they will call us back."  I guess we will have to adapt to the no sense of urgency attitude haha.  Don't you know this drives Ronnie nuts.  O well, looking forward to a balance….we will feel more accomplished when we get something done and appreciate it more!  

In the meantime, we will have to rely on sidewalk cafes and starbucks for our internet needs!

A ten minute walk in our neighborhood led us to Luna Park, a well known carnival on the waters edge.  Not too shabby of a view.  

Then, Ronnie picked up dinner from the local butcher shop and market.  Lamb rump with a homemade moroccan rub, baked potatoes, and a fresh tossed balsamic salad was on the menu.  And to our surprise, the outdated fan generated oven turned out to do its job.  

Still can't get over waking up to this view everyday.  The first sunrise and sunset over the harbor…

And the daily commute…I think we could get used to this.

Writing this post from the royal botanical gardens. Crazy birds walking around.  Sunny, 65 degree Sydney day.  

All for now!

Kels