It's been a year..

It's been just over a year since we arrived in Australia! It's very hard to believe it's been that long though, at times it seems like it's been a lifetime since I was back in the States.

Things feel mostly normal with the occasional uprising of trepidation. It's quite unsettling to be able to take nothing for granted. Like, for example, I still can't trust that one day I won't look up and find myself driving on the wrong side of the road. It's only happened once in a year and just as Mark warned, it happened when there were no cars around, thank goodness.

It's tough having to think about how much something weighs or how far away a place is or what 17 degrees will feel like. Mailing a letter means going to the post office because I haven't bought a book of stamps yet. I don't know if they sell books of stamps nor do I know how much postage is required for a simple letter.

My wallet still weighs 100 pounds (50 kilograms) because there are no notes smaller than a $5. I end up with a bunch of $1 and $2 coins in my purse because I don't want to have to inspect each one to determine the denomination before I start to count. It goes something like this.. "okay, that one is $1.. this is $2, that makes $3.. here's $.50.. shit, how much do I have now? $2.50? Alright, that one is $1 and this is $2. Don't forget to go to the post office to mail that letter.  This one is $.20.. no $.50...."   "I know it's only $4, but can I pay with my debit card, I mean EFTOS?"  (whatever the hell that is.) 

A new boy joined Makena's class a few weeks ago. He and his family are from Canada. I instantly befriended the mom; it's amazing how much you can have in common with a complete stranger. I picked her up one night to meet some of the moms for a drink at a local restaurant. When the time came to order drinks from the bar she deferred to me because she wasn't sure how to do it. It's exactly the same, well except for the inevitable miscommunication caused by the conflicting accents. But, I knew what she was feeling. It's almost as though for months on end you haven't taken a deep breath. Because, taking a deep breath means you will switch off for that split second while you inhale just a bit deeper. Switching off isn't allowed because you might be forced to think right at that exact moment! The last thing you want is to look like an idiot doing something that is mundane to everyone else; how uncool.

That's a look into the emotional side of being here a year.. I'll post something about the tangibles later.  

Kiddos

Here are some photos of the kiddos. The ones of Kess were taken at St. Mary's. That's where he goes to "kinder". I can't remember if I have written about it before or not, but it's a council (government) provided preschool program. It's just 2 days a week, 3 hours each day. It's about 2 blocks away from where we live currently. Kessler loves it!!! He skips all the way there and exclaims with glee, "I'm so excited!" as he bounds down the sidewalk.

Makena's are through Brighton Primary. She's doing really well. Some of her friends call her Mrs. No. Hopefully she remembers this for the boys when she's a teenager!