RIP, blog

I think I'm done here. I've been thinking about it for awhile, and now seems like a good time to make the switch to a new space. I'm a bit attached to this one; we've been together for six years. But at the same time I've been ready for something new and fresh, so here goes...

Find us here now:

Aussie + American

Sorry if that makes you gag. Ha ha

Megali Evdomada

(That's Greek. Remember Greek?) It's holy week, or "great week" as the Greeks like to call it. I'm sitting here in Adelaide, South Australia and remembering my last two Easters in Greece. The slaughtered goats everywhere, the bells tolling for hours on end (does your head in, that), the priests in their long and severely black robes chanting (also for hours on end), lighting candles at midnight, cracking red eggs, watching the goat's head with its teeth and eyes still gleaming at you as it turns on the spit over the fire. Ah, the Greek Easter.

Fast forward ... Easter in Australia doesn't have quite the same ring to it. I am thankful to be spared the commercialism of bunnies and eggs, for the most part, but it's feeling a bit anticlimactic. An Australian ITeams coworker made the comment that the long weekend is more sacred for many Australians than is the actual reason for Easter. It's a camping weekend, or a few days to catch up with all those things around the house that need doing.

I'm startled (that says "startled," not "starting") to realize that I'm more comfortable in Greece with pagan rituals and Orthodox celebrations than in this country where there is not much happening. It's challenging my views and my perception of what is cultural and what is truly biblical as we remember Christ's death on the cross. To me, observing Aussie culture, the lack of a special Easter service at church or not having a big family dinner feels like an affront to Christianity! :) And then it nearly does my head in to realize that those are cultural things - my whole view of Easter is American.

Our church here celebrates the Lord's Supper every month with a special service. They believe we should be mindful of what Christ did on the cross every day of the year, not just one weekend. So rather than have the traditions occupy our focus, or our attention taken with making sure everything looks right for the Easter holiday, they choose not to give it special attention. It's controversial, in my mind and others' - we don't fully agree with it, for a few reasons. But it's making me think long and hard about how much of my perception of Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter are rooted in American culture. Scripture doesn't prescribe that we celebrate Easter. It does tell us to remember his death through communion, which we do regularly. In fact, Easter started as a pagan holiday, until the church decided to Christianize it and put it on the Christian calendar.

I won't lie - I've felt angry this week and even shed a few tears as I'm confronted with my cultural view of this holiday, which to me means that I feel I am totally missing out on it. It's not WRONG to celebrate Easter as we do in the States, with special services and dinners and spending time thinking about what it means. I think that's good, for the most part (though obviously the customs can usurp the meaning and value of it - like in Greece, but also in American commercialism and ritualistic traditions). But it's also not wrong to NOT have an Easter service, instead choosing to remember what Jesus did with as much weight in July or November as in April. Some might call it "bold" - not bowing to the pressure of having a special service just because everyone else does.

Like I said - it's doing my head in. I see their side yet I am still very much entrenched in my own (since, you know, I'm American). I'm bothered, and I do feel like opportunities are being missed - and that I'm missing out! :) Yet I am also thinking through what Easter truly is - and that's not American Easter, or Greek Easter, or Australian Easter. It's not about the church service (or lack thereof). Even though every American fiber in me cries out for that.... :)

I miss bananas

What a poor deprived country I live in. Because of the hurricane in Queensland in February, our banana prices have been soaring - because most of them were destroyed. I think they are about $13/kilo at my local supermarket at the moment. I can't argue with the prices as the markets try to support the farmers who lost so much of their crops. It just means that bananas are truly a treat these days.

Oh, to taste that sweet, starchy, firm ... uh ... how do you describe the taste of a banana?!

Step two...

The nice people at the Greek consulate have submitted the proper form and copy of my passport to request a penal certificate to affirm that I am not a criminal in Greece. Hurray! It was so much easier than I ever dreamed. The last thing I'll need to do is get fingerprinted in the States to have a background check and then it should be smooth sailing for my work visa. I hope I have black fingers in my wedding.

P.S. My dress came in today! It was made especially for me and it's too big. On to alterations ... better not lose any more weight ;) But, I love it! :)

(my second choice; decided in the end to go with another)

Step one...

Thanks for your prayers! I got a temporary visa today that will allow me to travel outside the country and re-enter for up to three months. After that I have to stay until the decision is made on the work visa. But YAY they are letting me go. :) We can attend our wedding!

Went to the Greek consulate as well but the guy who "may" be able to help me was out sick. I'm sure he was on strike. These are Greeks after all! :) I'm supposed to call back tomorrow to see if he's in and if I can come in and see if he can get me what I need. I also recalled Pepie my Greek lawyer friend, so she's standing by in Athens to offer assistance if needed. Hopefully we'll get this taken care of. Thanks for praying!!! (You can keep praying for the Greek police certificate if you want.) ;)

grr, Grrrrr, and GRRRRR!

Some disheartening news this morning...my work visa will not be granted by April 30. I guess they sent me a "request for further information" last month, but I am not sure where they sent that...I never got it. I need to supply police and background checks from every country I have lived more than 12 months in the last ten years.

I also need to figure out how I can leave this country in two and a half weeks without completely forgoing my visa application in process, since the "bridging visa" I currently have doesn't allow me to leave Australia (if I want to get back in and still get a visa, at least).

I am not sure what the bigger problem is ... getting a new bridging visa in the next 12 working days so I can go get married and be allowed back into Australia, or getting police reports from Greece. What little info I can find about that is that those reports are only given for residents, and that you must apply in person. Ha ha. Trip to Athens, anyone?

Tomorrow I can go apply in Adelaide for the correct bridging visa; hopefully if I pay the fee and offer my valid explanation, that could be granted right there in the office (fingers crossed). Then I'll go the Greek consulate and see if there is anything they can do for me by way of a background check that would appease immigration (fingers, toes, legs, arms, etc. crossed). I can also add fingerprinting and FBI background check to my not-at-all-busy week before the wedding when I get to Seattle.

Raaaaahhhhhhhhrrrrrgh.

Cluck.

I attended my first ever "hens' night" last night. We would call it a bachelorette party, but being in the spirit of the queen as they are here (they drive on the wrong side of the road, for goodness' sake), it was a bona fide hens' party. And it was for me! :)Andrew's mates took him out for his "buck's night" - they went paintballing and for dinner afterward. (I've never understood the appeal of being shot at and returning home with welts and bruises, but boys like it, I guess.) So his mates' wives and some of the other girls in the church, as well as some of Andrew's "rellies" decided to throw one for me as well. It was a combo hens' party and kitchen tea (I guess that's like a shower), so we got all dressed up and went to high tea. I love that, and it was so fun! They made a nice little book for me full of notes and advice and recipes, and they each had to write a poem about Andrew and I, all of which were quite amusing. Andrew's sister's note to me in the book includes "On a serious note though - if you hurt my brother ............ he probably deserved it! :)" Ha.

Anyway, it was a fun afternoon and evening, and I feel blessed to have had time with these girls here in Adelaide. It's a bit of a bummer to have to start from the beginning AGAIN in Sydney, but at least we'll be doing it together this time.

Me with Deb B, Jeannie (part of the family I live with), and Deb F

My new "in laws" - Kate (cousin), Margaret (aunt), "Mummo" (Grandma in Finnish),
and Mum Marja-Leena

Cathryn, Adele (Andrew's sis), and Amy

Deb and Cathryn attempt the "Kelsey smile"

new record: 2 days

I may have caught up with my reading plan! Just finished The Road of Lost Innocence in two days. So it's a quick read, but I am feeling good about myself. :)

That said, much of it was difficult to read. Somaly Mam has an organization in Cambodia (and now in surrounding countries) rescuing and restoring women and children in the sex industry. This was her own story of being sold into a brothel as a child, the abuse and violence she suffered, and how she used her experiences to help other women and girls with her same plight.

It was good to learn more about the beginnings of her foundation and what they are doing in this region of the world, and though I'm familiar with the industry and the violence and exploitation, it's still hard to read the terrible and unbelievable stories of little girls being sold by their parents into prostitution, their virginity being sold, and even some situations where parents fight to get their kids back from the shelter so they can sell them again. In this culture, a woman's value is nothing except what profit she can bring to her family. It's still really sad for me to think about how whole cultures can hold such wrong views. As a Cambodian, Somaly can speak to this fairly and in an unbiased way. (Our own cultures have wrong views too, of course.)

It is an engrossing, quick read if you want to learn more about this situation.

A few faves...

Now that some of you have already seen these... lots to choose from but here are some highlights:


(hot!!!)

34 days: married and staying in free missionary housing

I'm thankful God didn't let me be anxious for too long! :) We were praying about this housing last night, and this morning I called a woman whose information I got from International Teams regarding an apartment that they have for missionaries. I booked it for up to two months when we arrive at the end of May. It's fully furnished, self contained (on their property) and FREE for missionaries (that's me!). Wow, totally relieved and grateful.

34 days: married & homeless

How comforted and encouraged I felt when Andrew announced this information today. [Yes, that is sarcasm.] As of last week we had a place in Sydney to house sit for two months when we arrive at the end of May, straight from wedding & honeymoon. A needed blessing and time for us to find our own place. Then this week that offer fell through. So we'll be moving out of our places in Adelaide, pack up to go to America to get married, and have just a hotel to come home to in Sydney.

Cue stress-induced anxiety attack now.