A week over due! -sorry

I'm not re-reading any of this... so there may be heaps of grammar and spelling errors... and I'm okay with that. haha.

I am really impressed with Wartburg right now (can you believe I said that?! Normally I'm saying how much I dislike the place)... earlier this week the students protested a lot of frustrations they hold toward the college because many students feel like their complaints aren't being heard... the students declared it an "outfly" day... check out the article in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier: http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2009/03/25/news/local/doc49ca3d98b8d3f636088054.txt

Thursday:
Like most Thursdays Helen drove me to Magill and Karen picked me up to go to Ingle Farm. When I arrived at Ingle Farm we found out that our speaker cancelled so we had no plan for what the Afghani women's group was going to look like today.

We whipped up some ideas and decided to have another cooking day. This week we made butterfly cup cakes. They are basically cupcakes with the center cut out, and filled with jam and whip cream. A lot of Australian desserts have jams or creams in them. We also discussed a swimming date that will come up at the end of the term. The Afghani women love to swim, but oftentimes are unable to because it is culturally unacceptable to be seen by men when they are in their bathers (bathing suit).


After the women's group I had a meeting with Chelsea who is an intern in charge of some events at Ingle Farm, a young Afghani woman who works with LCC and helps us translate, and another student intern who is in charge of an African women group on Wednesdays.


My afternoon house visit cancelled because she said she was sick. I'm not sure if she really was sick, or just needs some motivation. Either way, I hope she starts feeling better soon and is up to some more visits in the near future.


I helped out with random tasks around Ingle Farm for the remainder of my time there... one neat thing that they have is a library filled with toys, books, videos, and other child necessities. Anyone can check the things out for free, what a good way to use the resources!

I can't think back far enough to what I did for the rest of this day. :)



Friday:
Today I went to Ingle Farm with the intentions of doing a home visit right away, but the mum was having some difficulties and I was unable to visit. I hung around and helped out at a creche until I caught a bus and made it back to Magill by lunch time. This afternoon was a fun day because everyone around Magill has been working extremely hard these days and decided to spend a portion of our afternoon at Cleland National Park. At the park we saw tons of animals! Lazy Kangaroos who were sprawled out on the lawn, koalas, Tasmanian devils, lizards, birds, dingos, emus, wallabies, and heaps of beautiful scenery. (Pictures to follow). It was a lot of fun!

After we returned to where we're staying Helen invited us to go to Brighton Beach, her favorite! When Peter got home the five of us went to the beach and arrived just in time for the sunset! We had a great view of the shore and sunset while we ate our tea, it was lovely! After tea we got ice cream and then took a nice walk on the beach... very relaxing.


Saturday:
This morning came early! Jazz who is in charge of camping ministry picked us up at the house at 8:15 to make it to a camp training by 9. We got there a bit early and hung out until others arrived. This camp training is required for people who are planning on helping out at the YPOUT camp April 17-20. We thought it was going to go until 4:30 pm, but because we had other child safe training we were able to leave at 1.

Some girls who we met at FUEL who were also at the training were kind enough to drop us off in the city. El and Hil decided to head back to the house, but I took this opportunity to spend some time in the city when the shops were open (they normally close at 5). I called it retail therapy. haha. I only bought a couple things... and I'm justifying the purchase because they were on sale.

When I returned to the house I made dinner and the three of us decided to watch a movie Hilary got from the video rental place down the street. I don't recall what the name of the movie was, but it was an Australian film and it wasn't all that bad. We decided to call it a night because we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

Sunday:
I woke up this morning at 7 and wasn't feeling well, but after a while I was able to fall back asleep until I woke up again at 9. The three of us had to catch a 9:44 bus in order to catch a 10:55 train that took us to Belair. We arrived in Belair and Yvonne (head of LCC) and her husband, Richard, were awaiting our arrival.

We took a scenic route through the hills and vineyards until we arrived at one of their favorite wineries where we did a wine tasting. I've never been to a winery, so it was a new and very fun experience. You are able to taste any of the wines they have and nibble on a few things (this place had olives, cheese and crackers, and figs).

After the first winery, an olive tasting at an olive grove, and another winery we had lunch. We got back into the car and headed towards another winery. I was feeling fine until we started going on the really windy/up and down roads. I started to get a little car sick and just tried to breathe deeply and kind of closed my eyes. All of a sudden I threw up! I have never thrown up before in a car, no matter how car sick I've gotten. I felt absolutely terrible! When we arrived at Yvonne's house I got sick again, my stomach settled down when we weren't in a moving vehicle I and felt much better.

After watching a bit of a movie we went to Reality, which is a more modern service at Yvonne's church. We returned to their house after the service and some of their friends came along a bit later. Richard made homemade pasta... it was really good, but I was nervous about eating it since I wasn't feeling the greatest! After a while Yvonne drove us back to the train stop and we returned to Adelaide. When we got back into the car I started to feel sick again and actually threw up later that night at our house. I think I got sick from a combination of being exhausted, driving on curvy roads, I have one of the many bugs that are going around Adelaide right now, and wine didn't help any of it.



Monday:
I took today off. I wasn't very thrilled about the idea because I hate to miss things like work or classes. I didn't throw up any more today, but my stomach and digestive system are still pretty messed up. :(

I woke up early to let Helen know I wouldn't be coming to work and skyped a bit. Helen and Peter let me stay in their house a bit longer to skype while they went to work. It was really nice because I was able to talk with Stephen, my mum, and Amanda and Kayley skyped with me at the Bakers! It was really nice to chat with everyone... it was the first time I was able to skype with Amanda and Kaylee- it was wonderful to catch up on their lives!

After skyping I went back to the house and took my bedding into the living room and sprawled out on the floor. I watched a bit of tv and ate some toast then slept for a while. They are doing construction across the street so I wasn't able to sleep for too long without being woken up.

Helen and Ellie arrived in the evening with some crackers and other things that are good for an upset stomach. Helen told me to take tomorrow off and Ellie decided to take tomorrow off because she was feeling a bit exhausted. When Hil got home we had dinner and watched another Australian film.



Tuesday:
Today I tried to sleep in... so much for that. I got up and made breakfast because I was really hungry when I woke up. I think I shouldn't have had so much to eat because I needed to lay down a bit because my stomach was feeling a bit queasy. Ellie went over to Helen's and used the Internet while I hung out in the living room a bit longer.

When Ellie returned we ate lunch and decided to go on a walk because I have been sick of staying in the house for the past couple days. Ellie was kind enough to give me some medicine that calmed down my stomach- I think I have too much acid or something.... I felt much better after I took the meds.

We walked to Target (it doesn't sell groceries here) to look around. We stopped at a fruit and veg, then coles to get some groceries. We returned to the house and started to cook when Hilary got back from Sefton Park. We had dinner then I walked to Helen's where I caught Peter and asked him what Helen's favorite type of cake was- it is her birthday tomorrow! I know birthdays are a big thing their family so I wanted to make her something special. Once I found out I walked to coles again, got some things for a cake and cake/pudding cupcakes, and baked them before I went to bed!


Wednesday:
Helen gave me a lift to Magill this morning and I was planning on walking to Glynde Church, but Emily offered to give me a lift- it was very nice of her! Playgroup was very nice, I really enjoy getting to know the mums... Lorinda invited me and the girls to tea next week!

I had a meeting with Pastor John after playgroup and we discussed evangelism and how we were going to approach a visit we had this afternoon. There is someone who is new to the church who wanted to know more about getting connected, he moved here with no family in Australia, and he wanted to know more about Jesus. After our meeting Diane who helps out at playgroup and is part of the Glynde congregation dropped me off at Magill.

I had lunch and we celebrated Helen's birthday! Yvonne was there, I felt so embarrassed... it was the first time I've seen her since I got sick. Emily made long noodles for Helen's birthday and we brought the cupcakes to work. It was quite the feast.

John picked me up for the visit and were at the man's house for 2.5 hours. He is a really nice guy, but I think that English was somewhat of a barrier. After the visit John dropped me back off at Magill where I got caught up on a few things before Helen and I headed home.

Helen invited the three of us to join her for a birthday meal... it was a very kind gesture! Hil wasn't feeling the greatest so she decided to stay behind, but there were 12 of us who went to a nice restaurant. After the meal we returned to Helen's house where Helen opened her gifts and we had cake and ice cream. It was really nice to join Helen on her birthday! :)



Thursday:
Today I got a lift with Helen to Magill, then Karen dropped by to pick me up to go to Ingle Farm. The Afghani women group was on the agenda for this morning. We had a speaker come in and talk about breast cancer and cervical cancer. At first another worker and I were nervous about the topic because this cultural group is more closed about certain topics, but it ended up being quite a good session. In Australia it is suggested that women get proper tests every two years to prevent these cancers and other diseases. In fact, in Australia these tests are free. I wonder how many cases of cancer would be caught sooner if the US had free tests.


I was supposed to meet with a family this afternoon, but it turns out that one of the kids has hand foot and mouth disease so I wasn't able to go. Instead I hung around and did some tasks around the office and chatted with one of the other student interns about her experiences at Ingle Farm.


I got dropped off at Magill and was planning on taking a bus home, but instead Helen was kind enough to drop me off near the house on her way to catch coffee. When I arrived Hil and El were getting ready to go to the Mitcham Shopping Centre because on Thursday the suburb shops are open "late" or until 8.

The three of us looked around the mall then went to Foodland. When we got home Beibei stopped by and we chatted for a while, had some tea, and did a Bible study. I am really thankful to have met Beibei.... we might go to a boxing class tomorrow!