starting to feel settled in

Yay, so I've finally gotten all my furniture!! (That happened this past Saturday) It was all flat-packed so I've been spending a lot of time putting it all together and I've done it all by myself except for the bed (I had some help with that). It definitely makes you feel a little more proud of your furniture when you put it together yourself. :P Having furniture in my place definitely makes it feel a little more like a home. I also took a trip to IKEA to get all the odds and ends you need for an apt/house. It ended up being a fairly pricey outing but I got most all the little things I needed and a few that I didn't need. :P Now I just need to get a washing machine, tv, and some more decorations.

I'm still working on getting settled at work. They have finally completed part of the transition, but there are still several other things to do. And it seems no one is still really sure exactly what I'm suppose to be doing everyday. As it is, I have maybe 5-10 hrs of things to do right now a week but this does leave me time to go out and see more of the different things that the company does.

Earlier this week, I had visitors from my church in Ithaca. One of the girls had come over to study art in Sydney and her mom came for a visit. They both came up to the Brisbane area and we went up to the Sunshine Coast. It was wonderful seeing people from "home" and from the states in general. I've not met any other Americans since I've been here. We had a wonderful time together and having a couple visitors made it seem just that much more like I'm getting settled in here.

ps. I apologize for any lack of regular posting. I've been pretty busy getting settled.

A place to call home!

Yay!!! So I found a place to live. It's fairly close to work, church, and friends I've made from church. It's also close to a park, shopping center, and train station to get to the city. It's a 2 bedroom townhouse and just the right size for me. The complex it is in is gated and very quiet. I ended up with a 7 month lease since a 6 month least would put me at Christmas. At that point I'll make a decision about staying there or moving else where or what.

Since it wasn't furnished, I've been spending a lot of time looking for deals of furniture/appliances. I just bought a fridge today, thanks for a tip from a lady at church! It's new to me and in good shape and was much much cheaper than buying it brand new. I found a package furniture deal for a really really good price that will pretty much furnish the whole place (except for a tv and furniture for the spare bedroom). After I get all that taken care of I'll worry about buying a washing machine (there is no room for a dryer, so all the laundry gets hung up outside).

A guy at church said something to me this morning that is so true. He and his family are Australian but have lived overseas and he said that it's great being a Christian if you move overseas because all you have to do is find a good church and then it's like having an instant family. I have definitely found this to be the case. I've very much enjoyed the church that I've been going to here. I wouldn't say it's home yet, but it's a lot closer to being home than the other churches I visited.