Changing Things Up

Okay well this is my 3rd official day in Australia and minus the jet lag it has been pretty awesome. Just to let you all know, I will be changing my blog style up a little. Here at YWAM we have to journal, it helps us remember some of the things we learned that really moved us, but we are limited in the way we can express it. So while some are expressing the way God is moving through drawings, song, sculpting, videos, etc...mine will be through this Blog. So you will be seeing a lot about what we are currently learning and how that is affecting me. So enjoy! :)

But today I am just going to catch everyone up on what Australia is like so far.

Okay, so my DTS (Discipleship Training School) is very small this term. Where usually there are 30 students, there are only 11 of us. 6 girls and 5 guys. But it gets better, because we are 2 DTS's in 1. YWAM Waves (which I am on) and YWAM Around the World DTS (which travels from Aussieland, to China, Thailand and India). So when the Around the World girls leave the there will only be 4 girls and 5 guys, plus the staff members. Normally I would think such small numbers are a bummer, but it is actually like a family. I love it. The ages of the students range from 17 to 24(me)! :) But the students and staff are all great.

Let's see. Since most my staff are from Florida, we celebrated the 4th of July down by the beach. We grilled up some "hot dogs". Haha. Okay "hot dogs" in Australia are called Snags and I think they are this beef chicken mixture, but they taste like breakfast sausage. You eat them with sauteed onions and ketchup on a piece of white bread. I thought it would be gross, but pretty decent. Oh and for all you sushi lovers, I had 2 big sushi rolls for $5...pretty sweet.

What else? Okay, so breakfast is called "Breckie". Afternoons are called "Avos". Salvation Army is called "Salvos". The mall is called "plaza". McDonald's is called "Mackers" and we have "Tea" every day, which is great cause I love tea and coffee. Every thing here is abbreviated or sounds like a made up word...hence Mooloobala (where the big beach is at and Starbucks!!!)

While we are living here, we all share house duties. Today myself and my friend Jack were given the duty of grocery shopping. Which is hilarious if you know me. I have such a hard time shopping in America due to my indecisive nature and always wanting the cheapest deal, so imagine me in Australia, where everything is worded or spelled different and the eggs are in an unrefrigerated aisle next to the utensils; and the milk is "special milk" that doesn't go bad and it is located next to flour. Everything is so random. The grocery store is in a plaza/mall next to the shoe store, clothing store, liquor store, tattoo parlor and every other kind of retail you can think of. It is like SAMS on steroids.

I am so excited to start school and outreach. We will be learning about Australian culture here soon. So far, they are pretty cool people. Very breezy (ie. chill or laid back).

Well that is all for now. I will be posting some more serious stuff as we get more into our trip. Cheers. Love you all, and hey "Catch ya later, Mate!"