our journey, part 2

Warning:  this post is long side. But don't be swerved by that; please read it - dive in - and don't jump out to early.  ;) 


t h e  s k y  f r o m  t h e  p l a n e  w i n d o w 

I really should have explained our move/arrival date/etc earlier to you, but better late then never!  I'll  throw most eloquence out the door and write plainly. 


We arrived in Australia about two months ago; we flew for a total of 21 hours and our journey was safe and smooth.  We did, however, have a layover flight in Singapore - it was lovely to have the journey split in two and be able to adventure and explore just a little more.  During the two days we spent in Signapore, we had a fabulous time, besides when we got terribly sick due to a mixture of food poisoning (hey thanks greasy Singapore food) and jet lag (what can one expect after travelling so far?!).  Singapore was brimming with an authentic Asian feel: Small and clean cobbled roads were crammed with meat stalls and colourful booths selling Asian silks.  Real Asian food (i.e., no westernised Chinese takeaway!) ribboned its smell across the streets.  Humid mists lazily floated around and palm trees wavered in the midst of a booming city.  Oh, and the city itself was amazing -- like New York City, it was gleaming and dazzling with lights and finesse - sky scrapers and roads that ribboned round and round, spilling with bright yellow taxis and dazzling cars.  (Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of Singapore itself because I wasn't feeling great... the greasy food, remember? *grr*.) 

t h e  l i t t l e s t  o n e

  So that's Singapore; now we're in Australia!  In Australia, it's been very hot (at the moment it's 87 degrees fahrenheit outside); because we're on the other side of the world, it's spring.  Although at first glance having a repeat of spring and summer seems appealing (at least it seemed appealing to me!) it has been hard to leave the glory of fall and the wonderful cosiness of winter behind.  Christmas won't be Christmas without any snow…and hot cocoa (who would want to drink hot cocoa in 98 degree weather anyway?!)…and the ambience of a crisp and chilly winter's day.  But, I'm learning to cope with the heat, and in many ways it is nice not to be living in the dampness, rain, and chill of England.  


u n d e r  t h e  p i e r  a t  a  b e a c h  n e a r e s t  t o  u s
Since our arrival in Australia, we've seen many weird yet wonderful creatures.  And we've even tasted a weird yet wonderful creature (namely, kangaroo meat).  As for seeing these creatures… As we drove along the road one day there was a huge lizard (20 inches long) in the middle of the road; my dad screeched the car to a halt and we pulled over on the side of the road.  A few (brave) ones clambered out to have a peek; unfortunately, the poor lizard was dead (I won't get into the gory details but let's just say the lizard was rolling his eyes).  This past Sunday, as we were enjoying a Sunday drive in a rural part near us, a baby kangaroo (a joey!) was meandering around in the field right next to the road - he was The. Cutest. Thing.  We all oohed and awwed through the car window, even managing to wake Caleb, our baby brother up, in our exclamations of 'Oh, the joey is just! so! adorable!".  I feel Australian-ized (not a word but…) after seeing a kangaroo.  My favourite creature was the koala, who, in a completely ordinary neighbourhood, was sitting high in a tree with his legs crossed, his arms hanging on either side of him, and his eyes slightly closed.  (I imagined him reviewing The New York Times and sipping a cup of coffee, which was totally applicable to him).  Yeah, Mr. Koala-in-a-tree was stinkin' adorable.  Another not-so-nice instance involving creatures consisted of a broom, a very nervous and frantic me, and a hairy thing with eight legs (but let's not get into that at the moment)...

 

I could go on and tell you about every other aspect of our move (and what life is like here in Aussie) , but to finish; we've been in Australia for two months and are slowly settling in - we've found a church, met some fellow homeschoolers, been to the beach, familiarised ourselves with a few local neighbourhoods, swam in a pool, learnt a few Australian catch-phrases, and we've even tried kangaroo meat!



NOTE: If any of y'all live in America, Canada, or England (i.e., country that actually gets cold around Christmastime), I'd love if you'd bottle up some cold and snow and cocoa and mail it to me - or something of the sort - because I get extremely envious when I see your luscious cozy winter photos posted on blogs, instagram, etc. ;)  Oh, and one more thing -- if you're ever visiting Aussie, give me a shout!

Love,
Acacia xx

PS In case you're wondering what place Australia takes in our journeys; I've now lived in Canada, America, England, and Australia. :)

PPS Thoughts on the new header?? 

15 comments

  1. hullo, miss acacia {gosh, i love your name. have i mentioned that before? it's just so artful and graceful and pretty and even though i know a slice of your good nature through your beautiful writings here [don't get me started on THAT now, since you just are so talented with words], it seems to fit you perfectly}. okay, enough about your lovely name. ;)

    IT'S SO GOOD TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE ALIVE!!! :D sorry, we all knew that but still. it's good to hear that australia has been good to you {minus the heat, but welcome to typical California autumn-like weather *facepalm*}. in Cali, it's been FREEZING, and i'm kind of staying up a little late to see if it will snow after ten odd years of waiting. *smiles*

    love this. love your photographs. jealous of your talent and all around loveliness
    xx || grace

    p.s. apologies for the LONG/rambly comment. it's a little too late across the pacific. {hey, you're closer now! :D}
    p.s.s. i think we should start calling you "miss world traveler." you lived in london {somewhere i'm dying to visit}, america, canada {from which my random accent has sprung} visited singapore and now you're drenched in golden australian sunshine.
    p.s.s.s. i can't get over your talent with words. just the way you used the word, "ribboned" is fantastic. okay, i'm done. xoxo

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  2. Hello! Welcome to Australia!
    And by the sounds of it, you are already more Aussie than I am! ;) You see, I have lived in Australia ALL my life, and I have never eaten kangaroo meat. :O Which is strange seeing that I live out in the country where a heap of kangaroos live. :)

    So glad you are loving our lovely country! You must come and visit sometime. :D What part of Australia are you in? We are in the Sunshine State. :) See if you can guess which one that is. ;)

    Anyways, enjoy your lovely life in Australia! And all us Aussies hope you love the country as much as we do. :D <3
    Love,
    Miss H

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  3. Wow! You got to see a kangaroo? I'm sorry you don't get to have a "cold" Christmas but if its any consolation where I 'm at its been in the 70's and so I haven't been wanting to drink any hot chocolate either. Amazing how you've lived in so many places-icluding London!
    Your pictures are very pretty

    -Morgan

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    1. oh, and your header is lovely. the colors are very nice

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  4. In which I confess to those of you who thought I lived in London:

    I didn't live IN London, but I was only a very quick train ride away from London (I could buy a ticket to get to London for $10). :) But I did live in England... ;)

    Thanks for all your lovely comments!

    xx, Acacia

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    1. Oh, I'm sorry I misunderstood. Still it is very neat that you lived in England and that you were just a train ride away from London!

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  5. Oh dear...I might just be a wee bit jealous that you've lived in all those places ;)) Especially England. Gracious do I want to live there someday!
    Australia sounds intriguing, I totally want to go there someday. But I am sorry you won't have snow :(( we currently have 11" in my part of Missouri and it's kept me from going to work and school. I've loved it. ;D Wish I could send you some!

    xx-noni

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  6. oh, I can't say how much I love reading about your adventures, (especially the england and australia part). I'd love to bottle up some snow and send it to you, since we have more than plenty right now. actually, if you want cold, just come visit. the last few days we've barely gone above zero in the temperatures. which I honestly prefer over the heat, especially during the Christmas season.
    also your photos are the loveliest, especially the splashing water droplets shot, woah, woah, woah , the editing is stunning.
    xx. -marcia
    p.s. the new header is loverly, you have skillz, girl!

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  7. the water though. THE WATER THOUGH. if you want, you should bottle up some sand/ocean in a jar and send it to me. srsly. also your new header is fab. <3

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  8. Anonymous7.12.13

    ahhh, i just LOVE this!! i always enjoying knowing a bit more of what's like in a country i've never been to, and since australia is one of my top dream places to go, i love getting a glimpse of it :) though i live in the usa, i can't really tell you i'm enjoying the coziness of the winter time since i live in florida and we're having an almost summer weather, it's crazy! although, i grew up in brazil where it's also summer during christmas so i actually prefer hot christmases at the beach than in the snow, so enjoy that for me! i think the southern hemisphere is awesome ;) cannot wait to visit australia one day.. <33

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  9. I live in australia and wish it snowed here in winter :(

    oh mr bear

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  10. It's wonderful to here about your adventures in more detail! (aka I got you're email) You're so right, your little brother IS the cutest!
    -xo-
    Sarah
    P.S. Expect an email soon, I'm so super busy lately with school, basketball and exams ;)

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  11. Yay for Australia! Yay for your family! I'm so thankful that it sounds like you're all at least alive and settling in. I'm glad that you found a church, too! All these photos are lovely… they make me want to adventure so badly. I think my goal shall be to get so good at wedding photography that someone will ask me to shoot their wedding in Australia. You can shoot with me, and we'll have the grandest time! I miss you so much (isn't it funny how you can miss people you've never seen in real life? Isn't it wonderful how God brings kindred spirits together and creates amazingly uplifting friendships through this crazy thing called the internet?)! Skype soon? :)

    Lots of love and the dusting of snow that's on my back patio,

    Lindsey Lou

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    1. p.s. your header is lovely!!

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  12. Ahhh! You're now in my country! Welcome to Australia, Acacia! :) I'm so excited for you. In my whole life living in Australia I have never eaten kangaroo meat...I don't want to either! I live in quite a "rural" area so we see kangaroos and joeys very often, so don't worry!

    As for missing the cold, be assured that does get VERY cold here in the Winter. But I understand you for missing a white Christmas, at least it's fun to jump in the pool at Christmas time. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! :)

    I hope to meet you sometime! Hope you enjoy Australia! :)

    Love from,
    Laura

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