Aussie Takeaways.

If you know me at all you've probably picked up on my love for imitating accents. So, of course, one of my goals in coming here was to pick up a sweet aussie accent. Unfortunately, I have been unable to pick up their nasaly tone thus far. BUT, I have begun to use plenty of phrases both Aussie and British. 

Here are a few things you might catch me saying:

Bin--trash can

Rubbish--trash

Runners/Joggers--tennis shoes

How ya going?--How ya doing?

Well--really (ex. I look well tired, that was well funny etc.)

As if--I can't believe (ex. As if we're actually going to macca's for the second time today! <--this may or may not be based on actual events. Basically it's a British version of 'oh no she didn't')

Macca's--Mcdonalds

Ranga--redhead/ginger (ex. I used to be a ranga but then I went blonde) This comes from orangutan just in case you were wondering. So it rhymes with sang. 

Good on ya--good for you! Well done!

Things you won't catch me saying:

I'm watching THE cricket instead of im watching cricket. (let's be honest I won't be watching cricket at all so this really isn't all that big of an issue)

Capsicum--peppers are PEPPERS not capsicums. 

Other strange things:

1. Animals here are oversized.....kangaroos, pigeons, spiders, lizards it's crazy

2. Birds here are ABSURD. Seriously. You think you're listening to a cat screech for help and it's a bird outside your window. Yesterday, Shani and I heard a bird that seriously sounded like a futuristic machine. WEIRD.

3. I'm pretty sure people here just all feel like it's not Christmas. Granted we're feeling it more as backpackers. But, seriously with the warm weather--everyone was out and about today and it just was strange thinking it's christmas. 

4. Traffic lights are annoying and it takes like twice the amount of time to get places

5.  They don't have pumpkins like at home and therefore no one has ever had pumpkin pie or anything pumpkin related.

6. Halloween isn't a thing here.

7. They don't believe in hand soap here. Public toilets here RARELY have hand soap which drives me insane.

8. Aussies are super serious about Christmas being over. Seriously. Everything was taken down like the next day. Calm down people.

9. The only item i've found here that is cheaper than at home is the macca's ice cream cones which are 30 cents. BEAT THAT AMERICA. but actually, do. Because it's great.

Back to Basics

I haven't written in years it seems like. Sorry about that. Sort of. Okay I'll be honest. Doing a blog while travelling always seems like a great idea until I'm actually there and have to maintain it. Obnoxious. But, I have the world's worst memory so not keeping some sort of written recollection seems like a terrible idea, so here we are again.

WORK

Work is really wonderful. I'm currently working at a sales and marketing company that raises funds for charities across Australia. In many ways it is exactly what I was attempting to AVOID throughout my job search. I have always disliked sales jobs, and this one takes me door to door---basically my worst nightmare. But, as always, God is good and knew exactly where I needed to be. This will be 4th week coming up, and I am so happy to be with this company. The fact that we're helping out charities definitely helps me get over any dislike I have of sales jobs, as well as the fact that they hate pushy sales people here--aka, if a person says no, LEAVE. Do not just wait for the to say no 5 times after giving them a myriad of excuses.  

However, beyond the surface info of the job I'm able to see God's lovely sense of humor. Yes, I am in a sales job. No, that is not where I wanted to be at all. But, God made sure I realized why he put me here. Reasons such as 

1. Learning to take criticism.

     When you're going door to door you need to know why your pitch is or isn't working with people. I have to learn to be okay with people telling me I could do specific things better or differently without taking it personally. And let's be real that's never been something I've been great at.

2. The people are AWESOME.

     I could not have asked for a more fun and wonderful group of people to work with. We went on road trip this week and I definitely laughed harder and more frequently than I have since coming to Aussie-land.

3. The Lean Factor

     My job is hard. People slam doors in your faces, tell you that what you're fundraising for doesn't make sense, yell at you for no apparent reason and so on. But, at the end of the day that forces me to lean on God and others way more than I normally have to. Literally everyday I go out I have to do a nice quiet time with the J-man to get ready for the day. I try and think less about what i'm trying to do and more about being a blessing to every single person I meet. If I can make someone smile or laugh while chatting with them on their doorstep, regardless of whether or not they sign up, I feel as though I have accomplished something.

4. Workouts

   Well, also it's a good workout, which is a major plus since I can't afford a gym membership.

HOUSE

My apartment is awesome and I'm so thankful I ended up here. I live with 4 other girls from all over the place (British, German, Finnish and South Korean at the moment) and they are wonderful!=] We have gone to the movies, laughed about the most ridiculous things, had fantastic wine nights and just generally had an awesome time living together. 

                                

BIRTHDAY

Keeping on the my house is awesome thread...for my birthday we made an amazing Thanksgiving feast which was so wonderful. Turkey Day is my favorite holiday, and I hate missing it, so it was so wonderful to come hoe late from work and have the turkey ready and make some fun side dishes with my girls. Honestly, so wonderful. Could not have asked for a better birthday=]

 

CHURCH

 I started at church called c3 balmain, which was lovely, but didn't have many younger people so I've now headed to Hillsong in the city for church the past few weeks which has been really great. I've unfortunately yet to find a bible study but, am trying to keep that up on my own as much as possible, and will hopefully find something eventually!

CHRISTMAS

Okay, we all know I don't love Christmas, but Darling Harbour (which is right around the corner from where I live) is doing a santa fest. Check the photos. Real Life. Darling Harbour getting crazy. Keep it together people. I think we've gone overboard with this.

                                       

                             

                                                      

This one isn't Darling Harbour. This is Sydney's Town hall. It lights up differently every 15-20 minutes.

                                      

                                                        

OTHER THINGS:

1. I have officially had 2 people think I was Irish. WHAT?!

2. Went to the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who in theatres AMAZINGGG. and YES. I wore my awesome Doctor Who shirt that Hildawg bought me=]

3. Just got contact info for a woman who may be able to help me with job search stuff later this year. SO cool.

4. Finally got christmas and New Year's pegged down. Super pumped for both.

5. Miss you all a ton! Although 'i'm not normally a huge Christmas person, being away from home is definitely making it hard. Especially since all the Christmas songs are about snow and home. haha BUT, luckily, it's been super hot, so it's pretty easy to forget it's Christmas which means also forgetting how much it sucks not being home. (it'll be 100 tomorrow. GROSS)