Monday was a great day. One of the mothers in the playgroup lives on a farm right next to a large nature reserve and she invited the group out. We had morning tea and then we watched sheep being sheared. It was 40 minutes away, but a gorgeous drive. It was through the mountains, over 1 lane bridges, and past cows, sheep, kangaroos, and emus.
Tuesday we had swim lessons and Caleb jumped into the water to me from off the side of the pool. It is so cool to see him progress!
Wednesday we went to the playgroup at the Baptist church. It was nice but I doubt I will go back. It was all grandmothers with the kids. So I was the youngest adult by like 40 years. But they were all very nice.
Thursday we went to our playdate's house. It was really good just to hang out and let the kids do their thing. We also got our house sprayed for spiders. It does not sound that exciting but there are 2 poisonous spiders that are very prevalent here and we do not want to take chances.
Friday we just stayed home. It was nice just to relax here.
Yesterday it rained alllll day, so we went to Questacon. Today we went back to the Baptist church. It was very welcoming, more so than in the last few weeks. But Caleb for some reason was being really clingy and would not let us leave him in the creche. Then I met up with a friend and went to the Old Bus Depot. It is a large market where vendors sell spices, nuts, clothing, pottery, and art. I got a really pretty pottery vase with Aussie animals carved into it. We also ate lunch there and I had the worst burrito I have ever had in my life. Note to self- do not eat Mexican food here, it is awful. I miss Chipotle! So this evening I made enchiladas for dinner, they were much better :)
This week is looking good for us tomorrow of course is Labor day so Brian is off :) The rest of the week is normal. Friday we have a playdate with an embassy mom and a party with some of Brian's co workers.
Since we have been here just about 2 months I thought I would make an initial list of things I like and dislike about Canberra.
Likes:
*The scenery - we are surrounded by mountains and trees. It is beautiful here!
*The wildlife - I love seeing kangaroos, cows, and the different birds - cockatoos, lorikeets, galas, magpies, and parrots.
*Being able to stay at home with Caleb - I went into this last week. We definitely could not afford to do this in the States.
*Playgroup associations - It is such a great system for moms and kids! I wish the States had this!
*Little to no traffic - It take 20 minutes everyday to get Brian to work, even in the rain.
*The people - almost everyone is really friendly and laid-back.
*Morning tea - Such a great way to break up the morning, chat, and of course drink coffee :)
*The house - It is much more than we need, a great backyard, and a nice neighborhood.
*The mild winter - A horrible winter for them (seriously the worst they have had in 12 years) is rain and highs in the 50s. Not quite 3 blizzards and freezing temps daily.
Dislikes:
*The restaurants - There is only Thai, Chinese, and Indian. Plus the pizza is gross and beets should never be on hamburgers!
*They cannot pronounce or spell my name here - It is pronounced meegan here and spelled meagan. When they want to pronounce is right they spell it megin. Ugh!
*The prices - Everything and I mean everything is at least twice as expensive as home. A 1/2 gallon of milk is $4.00, the gross burrito $10.00, turkey lunch meat $15.00 a pound, chicken breast $6.00 a pound, $100 a month gym membership, $150 for an oil change, etc.
*The lack of street signs, numbers, addresses - the address for places is at the corner of ___and___. But a lot of streets here are circuits, so you could be at the intersection that it says but not at the right address. I get lost every time I go to a new place. It is extremely frustrating.
*Health care - I went into that 2 weeks ago. A friend of ours went to the dr. 3 times last week and they turned her 2 year old daughter away each time claiming it was a cold. They went to a clinic and they discovered she had bronchitis. Insane!
*Customer service - When we first arrived I heard a study came out that ranked Australia last in customer service out of 20 countries (The US was ranked #1). I thought I will make my own decision and give it time. Well the study was right. It is really bad here, the basically ignore you in stores and take their time waiting on you; it just does not seem to be important here.
*Being away from family, friends, and work - I miss everyone sooooo much! It is hard being away from everyone. I also miss being Meghan. I am mom here 24 hours a day, I miss time to myself and being a teacher.
I am sure we will have more to add to the lists as time passes but so far the likes outnumber the dislikes so that is a good sign!
You know I love a good list! The sound of "morning tea" every time you mention it makes me green with envy - sounds DEEElightful. I laughed at the part about your name, I think I remember my own Aussie friend calling you "Meegan"!
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