welcome to october: and your days are numbered

hello, true blue! i'm sorry i've not been good about writing like i said i would. needless to say, it's been a busy couple of weeks.

the bush trip was amazing. we went about 1.5 hours north of sydney to kincumber, where we all stayed at a youth camp on the harbor. you could still hear cars, but it was still great to get out of the city. the terrain was the most like that of home in arkansas, which i love and miss. it was like getting a little taste of the ozarks in the middle of gum trees and eucalyptus.
during our time there, we learned some basics about aboriginal culture through short hikes to different locations, small group experiences (split into "totems" which is probably an idea not too dissimilar from a "tribe"), watching rabbit proof fence, making traditional crafts like bark baskets and fishing spears (fish were actually caught by our boys!), and learning to throw a boomerang and play didgeridoo.

which i learned...so i made the investment in one.

i fully intend to teach people how to play, so ask.

our trip was followed by the first long weekend break (four days). spent it sleeping, out and about, and even to a coogee beach!

however, this week has been full of things needing to get done that didn't really pan out over those few days, so there's been a lot of rushing around and getting things together. this weekend and next week will look like that as well. here's to obligations!

when the calendar quit fiddling around with september and broke into october, i'll admit that i was a little shocked. oh man. it's october! the presence of october throws the entire experience into a very finite sort of temporariness. we've been done settling in for some time, and we've planted some roots here. the next five weeks are the time to start to shake them loose, prepare for the going home.
who am i kidding? there's another month here!

i'm doing great. not sleeping enough, but who can sleep when sydney calls? i have been missing home a bit though. i was walking through a kmart the other day when i looked up and was surrounded by Christmas paraphanalia and Christmas music of some kind. the australian summer is starting, and songs of dashing through snow and which Christmas serve to make me miss home again.

we leave in the second week of november for new zealand. our days here are very numbered.

keep praying for my sanity!