I arrived in Sydney Tuesday bright and early after two overnight flights from London. I have to say that Australia feels more like home to me than anywhere else I've traveled this summer...though it's winter here! And that was perhaps one of the reasons: despite it being mid-winter, I was met with sunshine and 70's + (21+ C) weather. Of course the next day was much cooler with low 60's and rain, but my body and mind can accept this since it is actually winter here.
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| Random tree and house in Wollongong neighborhood |
The timing of my flight was perfect as former Fiji intern Mitch was already heading to the airport to pick up his sis and friend a bit later to bring us to Wollongong. He came a bit early and took me to Botany Bay, which made me so happy as that is one of my favorite places in Australia. :) As you John's Island peeps know, we have our own Botany Bay, which my family often goes to in the boat for a fun day and also is the view from my favorite prayer spot.
That was the first of several reunions with many more to come. I'm staying with a lovely family whose daughter, Martha, came to Fiji last summer for the mission trip. She's at school during the day, but we get to speak French every evening. :) I'm thankful for a relaxing pace to see people and also get some work done before I head to Indonesia next week for 2.5 weeks of conferences. (Heads up in case I'm MIA for a while). It's also nice to be somewhere I've been before and that has beaches and boats, which I'm missing back home.
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| Wollongong Harbour |
And of course, I'm loving the accents and Aussie culture. I actually had a man tell me "G'day" on my walk yesterday! I felt like saying "thank you" instead of my American "hi" just for making my day. Since most of you reading this are behind us here, g'day to y'all, too, mates.
Disclaimer: The y'all is all me. I'll always be southern. ;)
