Here comes the bride.... round 1

I took my time getting up this morning and getting ready for the wedding. I was quite excited to wear my sweet blue dress and heels, which I’d taken for a test run to the pub on Thursday night. Surprisingly enough, they did quite well. I wore black tights, which are actually quite the fashion here. I caught a ride to the wedding with one of Jess’ friends, Elise. Pretty cool name if I do say so myself. After the wedding, we all crowded around outside and took turns pouring a cone of rose petals on the bride to wish them well. The wedding party then headed off in old fashioned cars to take photos around the city. Meanwhile, I spent the time with a couple new friends Ros and Lance. Ros and Lance are actually both from South Africa and after we got some coffee we went to Ros’ home and her parents and grandparents were there. We visited with them and it was neat to hear about another place. There were actually some real conversations about industries and legal situations. When it was near time for the reception, we headed into the city to the Rydges Hotel. The reception was held on the top floor with a lovely view of the skyline. I got to sit with Vicki and meet her hubby Andrew.

At the table, we had an arts and crafts session and made hair pieces with the hot pink rose petals and ribbon on the table. There was some drinking and some dancing. When it was time for the bride and groom to leave, we formed a line to wish them well and give hugs on their way out. Pauline, Roz, Lance and I got ready and headed out to go out in the city not too long after. We ended up at a place called the Elysium Lounge. The music was LOUD but good, and we danced the night away. Since Pauline and Lance are together, and Ros found herself a dance partner for the night, I felt a bit 3rd wheelish by the end of the night. I decided to catch myself a taxi home at around 4:15am. The taxi driver made me a bit mad when he took me for a little extra drive after passing where he should have turned to take me home. I guess it’s just something one has to expect as a tourist. By the end of it I was just glad to be home and ready to go to bed.

Playing Hooky

I peeled myself out of bed at 7am with some difficulty. I got myself ready to go to Calvary as previously discussed in the week. It was only when I was about ready to walk out the door that I realized it was raining and icky outside. This is significantly annoying because of the fact that my commute to Calvary involves a walk to the bus stop and then walking in the city to the train station (which takes about 1 ½ hours total). There was also the fact that I really wanted to spend time with the girls and be a part of decorating the church. So, I played hooky. I spent time at McDonalds in the morning while the girls studied, and then we got ready and headed to the church to decorate and have the rehearsal. This took a bit longer than expected, and then we headed to supper. Hayley and I shared a HUGE bbq chicken pizza and potato wedges, which are served with sour cream and sweet chili sauce. After dinner, the bridesmaids and I headed to back to Hayley, where Jess was meeting us. We had a glass of champagne and some lollies while the girls touched up their nails before getting ready to go to bed.

We may or may not have spent some time playing with our food, which in my case were gummy teeth.......... It was impressive that they made it to midnight, since they had to leave the house to get their hair done by 7:30am the next morning. I, on the other hand got to sleep in. Between today and the day before, I also had the fun of making sure to take out quite a bit of cash from the ATM because of the fact I realized that my debit card would be expiring on the following day.

Dancing Qeens!

On Thursday morning, I made my way to Meals on Wheels to help there for the day. They were sending out a mailing to volunteers and I spent the day stuffing envelopes. I went to eat with Linda and Vicki at a Hotel, and even put a dollar in a Pokey (slot machine). Not that this will surprise anyone, but I didn’t win anything. After finishing up the day, I headed back to meet Adele at the shops near home to look for wedding gifts for Jess and some food for supper. We went to Target and I found some BONDS underoos, which is a common brand here. They have thicker bands which can often be seen (kind of a trend). There was a pair in a tie-dye pattern which we decided were the obvious choice for me since I have worn a tie-dye shirt and been
promptly informed that this was not a popular fashion in Australia. We went to three different grocery stores looking for something called Dukkah, which turned out to be ground up nuts and seasonings which you dip bread with olive oil in. The staff at the first two stores didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. After we’d found this we took our purchases back home to make something to eat. We made a beef stir fry and ate by candle light. We decided to go out to a pub hoping to find a chill place to hang out. We gave Beth and one of her friends a lift into North Adelaide as they were headed out to celebrate her completion of a teaching degree. We went to a bar called the Cambridge, as it was the only bar that appeared to have ANYONE in it. There were a couple of people there teaching Cuban dancing in between other music. We played a game of pool, which was slightly different than at home. Rather than solids and stripes, there were yellow and red balls besides the que ball. We spent time dancing and doing a “photo shoot” on some of the couches. Around midnight, we decided to leave, somewhat disappointed because the DJ had not played the song I requested. We spent some time talking before we got ready and went to bed. We checked in with Hayley as well and I was invited to be a part of getting the church ready for the ceremony on the following day. I told them that I was planning to go to Calvary but might meet them when I got back to the city.

Time for some catch up!

On Tuesday evening, Jared and Pam took me on a walk on the beach to watch the sunset. We ate supper and watched a bit of TV. I got some great pics of the sunset and we even got a decent one of us together using the timer. I got the great pick of their son Cael in his All Blacks (Pam and my favorite Rugby team together).

Its been a while since I had a chance to catch up, and I’m proud to say it’s because I’ve been busy. Last week, after spending Tuesday night with Jared and Pam, I spend the day at Calvary again. I helped more with entering information into their database and we all went out to lunch together near the beach. I had salt and pepper squid, which was delicious until I found a hair in it. As I have some experience in the food industry I know that unfortunately these things happen. It was only awkward because it meant that I was the only one eating while everyone else waited for me. At lunch, I spent time looking at the career section of the newspaper to look for job openings that might be a fit for me. I found a couple, such as a similar position to what I did when I worked for Lutheran Services in Iowa, as well as some at the college organizing student placements. (Unfortunately when I researched more information on these later it turned out that they were only part time positions.) The most interesting position that we discussed me applying for is one that would technically be “above” the program manager at the Calvary site. I swiftly reminded all the staff at lunch that they should be nice to me since I’ll soon be above them in the pecking order. After lunch we went back to the office and I finished up researching how to gain a police check from the US. Before lunch, this had included a phone call to the local police station, who told me to ring the consulate. I asked how to find the number for this and the officer I was speaking to told me to “google it.” I found this to be an interesting direction from such an official individual. After I phoned the consulate I was informed that the FBI would be who I needed to contact and that she would e-mail with the information how to do this. Of course this took until after lunch. In the meantime I found what I thought was how to do this, and printed off what I needed. Turns out, I was wrong. When I got the e-mail and printed off those instructions as well. Shirley, an admin staff from Calvary gave me a lift back to the city stopping at a few places on the way. We stopped a furniture repair place and then a store to find some new filing cabinets. We stopped at the Blair Athol site so I could pick up the volunteer information and then she dropped me at home since it was going to rain. I visited shortly with Beth, one of the housemates and then made supper while waiting for Hayley to get home and Adele to arrive. I proved that I can’t read military time, by having supper ready exactly an hour before Hayley said she’d be home. I made American style Chicken Parmesan (baked chicken over pasta vs. the breaded chicken over chips/fries). Luckily, Hayley arrived home about 45 minutes early so it worked out alright. We ate and before too long, Adele arrived for the night. They had plans to get their nails done for the wedding on the following day. We visited and went to bed before too long.