So marshmallows you find in the grocery store here are different. They come in small bags, look kinda crusty, feel less fluffy, and are pink and white! Supposedly the different colors taste the same but I'm skeptical... (quick side note: I saw the word skeptical in the paper today and it was spelled "sceptical", that was weird...) Well, I had read on a forum that you could find American marshmallows in Target (yes, we have Target here but it's a little different from Target in the states). So I decided I need to make a special trip to Target to find these American marshmallows because I had a craving for rice krispy treats :) (ok, maybe it wasn't really that special of a trip... I just went on my way home from work :P) and I found them!! There was much rejoicing :P
I made rice krispy treats tonight and they are yummy :)
Friday, October 1, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
money money money!
One of the big things that's different here is money and the way most people pay for things. In the states, I rarely carried cash, maybe $20 if I knew I was going to need it. If I needed to buy something I would just use my credit/debit card. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've actually had a US$50 bill in my possession and I've only seen a US$100 bill a few times as well.
The biggest initial challenge was figuring out the different bills and coins. All the bills are different colors and sizes here! The smallest bill is a AU$5. There are $2 and $1 gold coins and then the silver coins are .50, .20, .10, and .05. Australia doesn't have a penny and everything is rounded to the nearest .05. (I really like that system and I think the US should do the same.) I see $50 bills all the time here, I even saw a $100 at the street party. Whenever I get money from the ATM, if it is at least $50, I get at least one $50 bill. I find I carry cash much more often here (and a lot more of it) because there are lots of places that don't accept credit/debit cards (mostly food places in the shopping centers). For the first month or so I was here I paid in cash for pretty much everything under ~$50. I don't use cash quite as often now but still much more often than at home... Perhaps it's better for my budget this way :P
The biggest initial challenge was figuring out the different bills and coins. All the bills are different colors and sizes here! The smallest bill is a AU$5. There are $2 and $1 gold coins and then the silver coins are .50, .20, .10, and .05. Australia doesn't have a penny and everything is rounded to the nearest .05. (I really like that system and I think the US should do the same.) I see $50 bills all the time here, I even saw a $100 at the street party. Whenever I get money from the ATM, if it is at least $50, I get at least one $50 bill. I find I carry cash much more often here (and a lot more of it) because there are lots of places that don't accept credit/debit cards (mostly food places in the shopping centers). For the first month or so I was here I paid in cash for pretty much everything under ~$50. I don't use cash quite as often now but still much more often than at home... Perhaps it's better for my budget this way :P
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
it's been almost 3 months!
Since I moved here... not since I last wrote something :P
I feel like I've settled in fairly well, though it still feels like I'm on holiday sometime. Certain things still shock me... like the cost of eating out! Occasionally there will be a culture difference these days that will catch me off-guard but most of the time it's random phrases that come out of people's mouths.
A lot has happened in the last few weeks... at the end of July the church I'm going to here had a street party! About 9000-10000 ppl showed up and there was lots of food, fun, monster trucks and fireworks. A long day but a good day. :)
Work is going well... I'm slowly getting around to seeing all the seismic sites we own right now. Still trying to figure out exactly what I'm doing though... However, we did have a few earthquakes over the past couple weeks!! One was about a M3!! Of course I had no clue what to do with all that information but it was still exciting! We have also finally gotten things going for a proper workstation and internal network set up. Hopefully by Christmas things will be completely set up.
In other news, my parents will be here in just over 3 weeks!!!! yippeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel like I've settled in fairly well, though it still feels like I'm on holiday sometime. Certain things still shock me... like the cost of eating out! Occasionally there will be a culture difference these days that will catch me off-guard but most of the time it's random phrases that come out of people's mouths.
A lot has happened in the last few weeks... at the end of July the church I'm going to here had a street party! About 9000-10000 ppl showed up and there was lots of food, fun, monster trucks and fireworks. A long day but a good day. :)
Work is going well... I'm slowly getting around to seeing all the seismic sites we own right now. Still trying to figure out exactly what I'm doing though... However, we did have a few earthquakes over the past couple weeks!! One was about a M3!! Of course I had no clue what to do with all that information but it was still exciting! We have also finally gotten things going for a proper workstation and internal network set up. Hopefully by Christmas things will be completely set up.
In other news, my parents will be here in just over 3 weeks!!!! yippeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
WARNING: rant ahead...
I spent the better part of the day Saturday looking at apts/townhouses. The whole process of finding a place to live here makes me want to kick and scream and yell and throw punches like a little kid having a temper tantrum. :P
So first off all the prices are quoted weekly, but you pay (at least for all the places I looked at) every fortnight (every 2 weeks). To actually find places you end up being pretty much reliant on the internet to discover what's available... no calling up a real-estate agent and getting them to do the job for you (ok that's similar to the US). Then you have to make a million phone calls to actually see all the places you want to see (cuz there are a million different real-estate agents and one can't show you the place that a different guy has listed). Then go look everywhere and hope you find a place you like. So all this isn't really what bothers me though... it's what happens after you find a place you like.
First you have to put in an application. They want all the usual stuff (id, personal info) and then pay slips, bank and credit card statements, 2 business references, 2 personal references, and current and previous addresses and occupations. You also have to have 100 identification points, I think I might have 60... but really how the heck am I suppose to have 100 points when I just moved here. I've never been given a rent receipt, I have no clue what a tenancy history ledger is, I don't have any bills in this country currently, and I don't own a vehicle.
So I did find a place I would like to live... but I haven't gotten past the application yet. There were things it asked for that I didn't know the answer to so I'll be asking about those at work. Hopefully it all works out!!
Rant over... I guess it wasn't really too much of a rant :P
So first off all the prices are quoted weekly, but you pay (at least for all the places I looked at) every fortnight (every 2 weeks). To actually find places you end up being pretty much reliant on the internet to discover what's available... no calling up a real-estate agent and getting them to do the job for you (ok that's similar to the US). Then you have to make a million phone calls to actually see all the places you want to see (cuz there are a million different real-estate agents and one can't show you the place that a different guy has listed). Then go look everywhere and hope you find a place you like. So all this isn't really what bothers me though... it's what happens after you find a place you like.
First you have to put in an application. They want all the usual stuff (id, personal info) and then pay slips, bank and credit card statements, 2 business references, 2 personal references, and current and previous addresses and occupations. You also have to have 100 identification points, I think I might have 60... but really how the heck am I suppose to have 100 points when I just moved here. I've never been given a rent receipt, I have no clue what a tenancy history ledger is, I don't have any bills in this country currently, and I don't own a vehicle.
So I did find a place I would like to live... but I haven't gotten past the application yet. There were things it asked for that I didn't know the answer to so I'll be asking about those at work. Hopefully it all works out!!
Rant over... I guess it wasn't really too much of a rant :P
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
the weekend!
Friday before leaving work, I was given a car! with a gps to help me find my way! Yay!!
Sat. I started looking for a possible permanent place to live but between not knowing where I was going and driving on the wrong side of the road it got to be very stressful so I decided to go have a little fun. I had been told about Mt. Coot-tha, which was a lookout over all of Brisbane, so I went up in that direction. It was quite pretty up there, although pretty crowded since it's a big tourist area. After taking a few pics and eating some lunch, I went driving around and found a spot to do a little hiking around. The I stumbled across the botanical gardens, which were super pretty!! You could easily spend a couple weeks there.
Sunday, I was planning on going to one church in the morning and a different one in the evening. Unfortunately, I had difficulty finding the church in the morning... and finally found it by a very indirect route, but since it was a small church and at that point it was almost 30 min after the service had started I decided that I'd just go to their evening service instead. So I spent the afternoon hanging out and went to a local park with sorta a mini zoo with a bunch of native Australia animals. That evening I went back to the church. It was a super small crowd (maybe 20 ppl), but ppl were friendly. Once I get a better idea of where I'm actually going to be living I'll be able to better decide on a permanent church too.
After church, I was invited to dinner and the young adults bible study on Monday and so I went. Dinner was amazing, especially since I have only been eating sandwiches and pastries pretty much since I got here. Bible study was good too, though a little different than what I'm used to. It is good to know that the sunday school answer to any question no matter what country you're in is always Jesus :).
Sat. I started looking for a possible permanent place to live but between not knowing where I was going and driving on the wrong side of the road it got to be very stressful so I decided to go have a little fun. I had been told about Mt. Coot-tha, which was a lookout over all of Brisbane, so I went up in that direction. It was quite pretty up there, although pretty crowded since it's a big tourist area. After taking a few pics and eating some lunch, I went driving around and found a spot to do a little hiking around. The I stumbled across the botanical gardens, which were super pretty!! You could easily spend a couple weeks there.
Sunday, I was planning on going to one church in the morning and a different one in the evening. Unfortunately, I had difficulty finding the church in the morning... and finally found it by a very indirect route, but since it was a small church and at that point it was almost 30 min after the service had started I decided that I'd just go to their evening service instead. So I spent the afternoon hanging out and went to a local park with sorta a mini zoo with a bunch of native Australia animals. That evening I went back to the church. It was a super small crowd (maybe 20 ppl), but ppl were friendly. Once I get a better idea of where I'm actually going to be living I'll be able to better decide on a permanent church too.
After church, I was invited to dinner and the young adults bible study on Monday and so I went. Dinner was amazing, especially since I have only been eating sandwiches and pastries pretty much since I got here. Bible study was good too, though a little different than what I'm used to. It is good to know that the sunday school answer to any question no matter what country you're in is always Jesus :).
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