A little bit of Christmas cheer

So I've arrived in Canberra - my new home for the next 4 months or so. It was sort of daunting arriving in a place that is going to be home for the next little while. Phil's mom picked me up from the airport. I have a new room - it's Phil's mom's sewing room so it's a bit "pretty" so to speak. I don't feel presumptuous enough yet to add my own personal touch to the room - but who knows, maybe all the floral patterns will grow on me.... ;)

Canberra if you don't know is the capital of Australia. No, it's not Sydney or Melbourne. It's Canberra. It was created as the capital city in the 1920's. It has a population of just over 330,000 but the city is freakin' massive. It's not exactly urban sprawl per se- it's just sprawling with houses and buildings dotting the landscapes. Canberra sort of reminds me of Calgary. This is also the city of roundabouts. I feel completely disoriented when I go anywhere b/c I keep going in circles everywhere. Lots of rolling hills. There's been a drought in AUstralia for the last few years, so the grass is a nice shade of yellow/brown. I've also seen two dead kangaroos so far on the road - apparently it's quite common. I can't wait to see live kangaroos.

I'm excited to be here. It's going to an experience to say the least. It's also experience living with Phil's family. As you probably know - I come from a small family. My dad passed away when I was 9, so it's just been my mom and I. At Phil's house - he has 4 sisters, mom, dad, and even a family dog that is terrified of me. When I sat at the dinner table yesterday - I felt like I was watching a TV show - maybe Leave it to Beaver or something. It'll be an interesting Christmas.

Today, I went job hunting. I had a few interviews lined up. The good news: there's lots of interesting work to do, from fundraising, to planning events, to advocacy, etc. The bad news: it's gonna be all volunteer work by the looks of it. Not exactly financially sustainable but I figure I could do a few months of volunteer work and still be okay $$$-wise. It'll be really interesting work. I was meeting w/ the Deputy CEO (Mike) of the St. Vincent de Paul SOciety (essentially, they're a Catholic Salvation Army, and they're called "Vinnies"as per the shortening of every word possible in Australia). So anyway, Mike asked me if I had time to go do a delivery out in the boonies of Canberra. A single mom just moved out to this farm house in the sticks and 'literally doesn't have anything. We drove out about an hour into the countryside and dropped off mattresses, Christmas hampers, toys, and some furniture. The expression on the woman's face was priceless. The two kids were SO excited. It really was a privilige to be a part of something like that.

It actually felt like CHristmas to me. I really haven't been in the Christmas spirit. After traveling through Asia and suffering from a Christmas carol / commercials / lights deficit, it doesn't really feel like Christmas. But today was cool. Really cool.

Anyway, just want to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS. *HUG*