I have now officially been in Perth for one week but it feels like much longer.

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January 14th 2011

Published: January 14th 2011

So as you can see by the title of this blog, it is my one week anniversary of being in Australia and it doesn't feel like it's just been 7 days, it feels like it's been a whole lot longer. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, in fact in many ways it's a good thing as it feels like i've known quite a few of the people for at least a good few years.

We've pretty much finished the first week of orientation and lectures on 'Hearing God's voice' which has been good. Everyone is still adjusting and there is still one more person to join the base (a brother of one of the students which is already on the YPDTS) and people are still learning names but the atmosphere is generally positive. Some students have been getting sick though (like vomiting sick) which hasn't really been a great introduction to their time here and it does seem to be spreading at quite a constant rate (3/10 people in my room have had it so far, each a day apart from each other) but people generally get over it pretty quickly so it could be a whole lot worse!

We've all now been assigned our morning chores (8am-8:25) and daily duties (after lectures and lasting for 2 hours). The ones i've been assigned to are: outside for the morning chores (so far this has involved sweeping which felt pretty pointless as it can get a little windy so things get blown around and a lot of sand gets trodden in from the beach visits but i guess as time goes on i'll realise how important that chore is) and rego (registrars office) which will involve filing. I'll be in rego for the 3 months which I am on base for and I'll be on outside duties for the rest of January and then will change to something else like kitchen prep, cleaning vehicles, cleaning the bathrooms, hospitality etc.
The reason we all get chores to do around the base is to promote a loving family attitude on base and demonstrate God's serving heart to others. I'm sure there have been times in your life when you've been in situations where someone is not very considerate of the mess they are making or one person is having to clean on behalf of everyone or the work load is just generally not shared equally. This can be pretty destructive to relationships and to a person's self-worth, especially if they are a very organized person or are the one who is doing all the cleaning. When everyone is given something to do, everyone is equal and people don't tend to abuse their living spaces so everyone wins 😊

The main thing I am finding difficult is not having constant access to a computer. I have come from a home where I could use my laptop when I wanted and whenever I wanted and came with the belief that here there would be base computers which I could use. Well it turns out that there was a break down in communication and the only way you can access the internet is by paying for the internet ($60) and either using your laptop or borrowing someone elses. Since I didn't bring a laptop I am stuck with the latter option which is not all that fun as everyone has people who they want to talk to and things they want to do on the internet so finding an appropriate time to ask someone isn't all that easy. Like right now it is 2:17pm in Australia so a lot of people are on the first batch of work duties (1:30-3:30) but since I don't start my work duty until 3:30 I can borrow the laptops of those who are working. This is good because it means that I can check facebook and update my blog but the time difference does not allow me to skype as it is only about 6am in the UK which as you could probably guess is not prime skyping time. To put it bluntly...this sucks. I'm getting a little tired of watching everyone else skype their friends and family and do whatever they want when they want to and it really gets to me. With the base being pretty intimate there is nowhere to run to get some time alone so i'm finding this aspect of life difficult. There have been many moments when I've just wanted to go off and cry but I can't because every corner I turn there is someone there. It's not that I'm homesick, it's just frustration that everyone else is able to contact their close ones and all I can do most of the time is sit and watch. It is not easy.
If anyone has some spare time a care package/letter/package would be very much appreciated right now.
Prayer about this would also be hugely appreciated as I can tell it has the potential to spoil relationships as my immediate way of coping with things is shutting off and withdrawing and since I have no way of venting my feelings in a way I'm used to I can feel pretty uncomfortable and a bit like a caged animal. I'm also feeling a little resentment and jealousy towards those who do have easy access which clearly isn't going to be very healthy when it comes to building relationships.

Anyhoo...hmmmm something more positive to say to lighten the mood. Went to the beach the other day and it was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. The sea was so blue and the sand was so soft. I don't think I've ever seen a beach as pretty as an Oz beach. It's a bit hot to go to one before like 5pm but once it started to cool down it was just such a nice experience. Some people did get stung by jellyfish though and there were quite a few men in Spedos about so there were some downsides to it but it's beauty just completely outweighed them. Going to one tomorrow as well for a whole day! I've clearly beaten you all when it comes to tomorrows plans!

Some new experiences this week:
*Used the washing machine on base for the first time (oh how exciting). It's not like the ones at home, it looks a bit like the one Marge uses on the Simpsons.
*Went to an Oz beach
*Bought some Ozzie clothes (3 nice dresses and 2 pairs of shorts from a shop called Cotton On also bought a Aussie hoodie)
*Met some Mexicans
*Ate beans on some salad (the food we have for meals here is donated so sometimes the meal combinations can be pretty strange. Not all of them are that bad, in fact a lot of them are pretty tasty but sometimes you've just got to accept that it's food and you're hungry).
*Met someone with exactly the same birthday as me to the year! We are exactly the same age. Crazy times. He's actually one of the guys I flew over with and I only found this out yesterday. It blew my mind.
*Heard the longest birthday song in my life. It involves a lot of clapping, some table slapping, some cup throwing and some spirit fingers (well not quite spirit fingers but pretty similar to them). If you ever have a birthday on base then you get a birthday table, have to chose 7 people to sit with, get a birthday cake, have the whole base sing the birthday song to you and make a speech in front of the whole base. My birthday falls on outreach so thankfully I won't have to do the whole choosing 7 people thing. Wouldn't really mind the rest of the stuff though!
*Saw an Oz cockroach. They're pretty big compared to UK ones and they can fly. I'm not bothered by them at all but some people are mega scared of them. If they're not poisonous I just don't care!
*Bought some Aussie chocolate and boy is it expensive! Most standard sized bars (like a mars or dairy milk or snickers) cost like $2.50 which is about 1.58 pounds (using a Canadian computer at the moment so no pound signs for me!). Crazy!

So there you go, another little window into my life! I'm sure there is a lot of stuff which I have missed out but for now that is all I can remember and I think I should probably wrap up now before I lose everyone's attention!

Have a nice weekend folks and I'll hopefully write to you again soon!

Much love and blessings,
Ra

I have now officially been in Perth for one week but it feels like much longer.

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