another place for Christmas

December 22, 2008

you know how I mentioned a farm in my last email... well, that's where I'm at now. in a town called Berrigan, a few hours north of Melbourne. it wasn't an easy decision, but I've left Newcastle.

I'm living with a family - Simon, Anita and their two daughters, Tillia (15) and Mia (9). At their home they have horses, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, cats, a talking cockatoo, a guinea pig, and guinea fowls. Their farm consists of cattle, sheep and crops (barley, wheat, oats, canola, lupines, and triticale). I will be spending Christmas with them and then heading to their beach house for a couple of weeks. We will be back on the farm by mid-Jan and I will most likely get work as a fruit picker. A slight change from living on the beach. I'm not sure how long I will be here... maybe one month, maybe three...
then off to somewhere new, i suppose

wishing you a merry Christmas!

love,
julie

more pictures & song

Feel free to sing along...

Aussie Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:
OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

CHORUS

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS

change is happening

December 15, 2008

so i moved into a new place even closer to the beach...
i just started working at a fine dining restaurant as a waitress. the name is "Cibo tapas bar" and it's about a 15 min bike ride from my house.

however...
i might have an opportunity to work on a ranch through one of my mom's friend's friend.
australia has been an interesting experience so far. not easy, not even too fun most days... but challenging and life changing, so i guess that's good.
wow... Christmas is just around the corner.
i hope you guys have a good one.

love,
julie

more pictures

and the story continues...

i hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.
i sure did, even though i didn't do anything special. it was just a nice, peaceful, rainy day.
i'm moving into a new place today with my friend Renee in Merewether (another suburb in Newcastle).
the job search continues... so let me explain what i'm up against. Newcastle is definitely one of the harder places to get work in Australia. there is a large university and not much tourism. most places prefer to hire locals and i don't have too much experience in hospitality (waitressing and what not). also, my visa doesn't allow me to work more than 6 months at a job, even though i'm able to stay for a year. however, i know i could work harder at being more persistent and following up better. i met someone at church today who does a lot of temp work and she said she would talk to her temp agency for me. so that's encouraging. anyway, i will let you know what happens...
i still feel this is where i'd like to be, even though it's not easy at the moment.
please keep me in your prayers.

love,
julie

camping and what else...

Wow! I cannot believe how fast a week can go by!
As I was riding my bike home today, I had to stop and admire the clouds, colors, and surf. It was so breathtaking. God is so breathtaking. I enjoyed the moment of peace and pinched myself that I'm actually in Australia. I had a challenging, but good camp experience. We went to a beach called Bulli, near Wollongong and there were about 25 of us. It was challenging because I was analyzing my life too much, but good because I got to surf and meet some cool chicks.

On Monday, I worked at the university as a medical model... first-year med students poked at my stomach for their exams, pretending I was their patient. So for 5 hours, I had about 30 students one-by-one perform the same procedure on my liver, kidneys, and another part of my stomach. On Tuesday, I did a catering trial for a high school graduation formal. They were giving out awards to students, such as "teacher's pet" and "most likely to be the first to get married." However, there were some strange ones, like "the Figjam award" (an acronym for "F*ck I'm good; just ask me," which is a nickname for people who have a high opinion of themselves), "most likely to get plastic surgery," "least likely to get an award," and "most likely to get naked" (where of course... the guy had to start taking off his clothes, while everyone laughed). My arms were dead after 4 hours of serving platters and plates and clearing tables for hundreds of people! I'm surprised I only dropped a few pieces of silverware (although one was on a guys nice suit - "sorry"). I never realized how hard it is to serve gourmet food while you're starving.

I have another job trial next week at a pub... can you see me as a bartender? ha ha
maybe one of these days I will get some work. ;)

Julie

p.s. I learned the hard way not to ever order a milk shake, unless you are in the mood for flavored milk. My bad, I guess what I meant was "I would like a thick shake." I threw my drink away without even bothering to complain.

job? surf and skinny lattes

I know it's been a little while since an update, but there hasn't been too much to say...
still looking for work
hanging out with people
surfing
going to coffee shops
running around the hills and beaches

It has been quite a test of endurance. I've had some good, some bad days and am learning through it all. I got a bike, so that's nice. I have a lock on my bedroom door now, after some not-so-fun experiences, so I feel a bit safer while I sleep. Praise God I will be moving out soon and living with a girl from Christian Surfers. Regarding job stuff, I'm thinking hospitality is the way to go... given my visa only allows me to work up to 6 months per job and there just aren't too many jobs here. So I've been getting a lot of experience with job interviews, job trials, and passing out resumes. I guess if I'm considering being a career counselor someday in the very distant future, this will all be a good experience. Right? :) Ahh, well everything can be used for good. Even if I'm just learning endurance. I'm still glad to be here and getting to know some nice people. I've been surfing heaps, but not as much as I would like... so I run to keep my sanity. And this weekend I will be going on an all-girls camping trip organized by Christian Surfers. So I will get to meet more people from around the coast of New South Wales. Can't wait!

Hope all is well. Enjoy the pics!

Love,
Julie

more pictures

peace and love - remembering Radar

As you know, a couple years ago I was traveling around Central America. My first stop in July of 2006 was El Paredon, Guatemala, a small little fishing village where I helped at a locally-run surf camp for a couple of months. At the time, it was mostly run by two young boys, ages 17 and 19. Well... the oldest one, Radar, who would now be 21, just passed away on Saturday due to a surf related accident. You may remember me sharing with you through my email updates about a dangerous heart condition he had, so I was surprised to hear his death was not related to that. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers at this time. They will be holding a memorial service for him at the end of November. He was such a leader and really looked up to amongst his group of friends and younger siblings; a beautiful person who will be dearly missed. (in the first picture, Radar is the one on the far left)

b-day, new house, and the never ending job hunt

October 23, 2008

i had a really nice b-day. a couple girls made me brekkie, then we made crafts with shells, picked poppies in the central park (since they were about to be torn up), and that night for tea (dinner) we had sushi with a homemade carrot cake for dessert. very fun

i moved into a new place with 5 other people (4 guys and a girl) and a puppy... a little crazy, but i have my own room. the suburb i live in is called "the hill," so as you can imagine i get a good work out. hopefully soon i will get a bike b/c i am exhausted from walking around town. i've realized it takes me 3x as long to get somewhere walking as it would running, and i'm sure biking will be even faster than running... almost as fast as a car. except they make you wear helmets here or you get fined. so i have to get a helmet. and there aren't too many bike lanes, so i guess it's good they make you wear the ugly helmets.

so please continue to keep me in your prayers with job stuff and figuring out why i'm here. it has been a good lesson so far... not easy, just a process which i'm trying to learn to enjoy. hope all is well in the home land... tell me stories :)

love,
julie... who is now 27! so mature - ha, ha
and thank you for all the b-day wishes

p.s. let me know if you want my cell or address b/c i didn't want to post it on here

after the long weekend

October 8, 2008

well, i had so much fun in Sydney! i drove down with a girl named Nerida who lives in Newcastle, but is from Sydney. we toured the city in the rain and cold, rode the ferry, checked out the opera house, enjoyed an amazing Latin festival and then church and a jazz festival the following day. i was just blown away... so stoked and really felt God's love through it all.

now I'm back in Newcastle. I spent a couple days at a hostel and am currently staying with one of the girls here until I can find a place... that's right. I'm praying about settling in Newcastle... so we'll see what happens. I'm scared and excited and just trying to figure out how to trust God with everything. I would like to have things sorted out before my b-day on Tuesday, but who knows. I wish things were easier sometimes, but we learn so much in the process, don't we? :)

to God:
This life is a journey of chosing you and walking by faith. Loving you, loving others with the love you have lavished on us, and being used by you only when we recognize that it's all about you to begin with and what a blessing it is to be yours.

julie

a few days in Newcastle

October 2, 2008

so some promised pictures will be coming.
now that I'm hanging around a group of aussie girls I'm getting accustomed to some more cultural differences. a few things... they like to abbreviate and add "ie" to everything! Dixon beach is "diko," chocolate is "chockie," gum is "chewie"... you get the idea. they use so much slang it's ridiculous to keep up.
i really like being so close to the beach, although i have to get used to surfing a shorter board and feel a bit of a kook out there at the moment. i still have to get the whole duck diving thing down, because i would always turtle roll my longer board. (sorry to non-surfers who have no idea what i'm saying) i love hanging out with girls who are stoked on God and surfing. i'm praying about staying here or traveling more. i was feeling frustrated today about it and shared that with one of the girls. right away she was like, "let's pray about it." i love being honest with people and seeing God work through that. what a difference it makes to rest in his peace and cling to his truth. God has really been showing me how beautiful life is with him... his love has just been radiating through so many of the people i've been meeting. there is nothing more encouraging than to see how God changes people's lives.
so here are a few more pictures to enjoy and create a visual for you.

love
julie