Cottesloe Beach

 

 On Sunday, I went with Rikki, the current Au Pair who is leaving this coming Saturday, to Cottesloe Beach! It was very beautiful! The water was aweseomely blue and actually very warm (not uncomfortable warm, but warmer than what I am used to in Monterey. It was about the average Californian's swimming pool temperature). I didn't get to swim this time, because I didn't bring my swimsuit, but there's plenty of time for that later on.

 Just look at these beautiful pictures! This is what I was picturing when I was imagining coming here, back in January. Atwell, the subdivision I live in, is not quite so scenic, but it still is pretty, and has nice trees and parks around it. Cottesloe Beach is about a 20 minute drive from the house. Close enough to go on a very relaxing day trip. The water is usually very calm in the swimming area that we were in. There were quite a few waves on this day, but it was nice. :)

 Aaaaand there were cockatoos sitting in the trees above us! I was laying on my back and was very surprised to see one right above me! Apparently they are not so exciting for most people. I was the only person taking a picture of them. And I've seen a bunch more since Sunday, just flying around the neighborhood.

I walked out to on a pier thingy and looked out at the curve of the earth! Pretty darn awesome, God!

Since then, I have had a very nice time getting to know the family and the area. I haven't started driving yet, but I have been learning where everything is, and getting used to driving on the other side of the road, using kilometers, etc.
I got an Australian bank account today! Yipee! So in a few days I will get my new (pink!) debit card from the bank and can actually start buying things! They gave me some aussie dollars to hold me over until then.

I'm really looking foreward to going to church this Sunday. It seems like forever since I have been, even though I really only missed one week. I might have to look around a bit to find one that fits me, but the one I am planning on attending this week seems pretty nice (at least, from what I can tell from the website and podcasts). Can't wait to connect with fellow believers!

Also, I'm starting to think in an accent. Only when I am listening to the radio, or the Australian accented GPS, but it's still there. Hmm... we will see what becomes of that.

Until next time!
TTFN!
(ta-ta for now) <3

Greetings from Perth!

Hi everyone! I have arrived safely in Perth!
That flight was so long! I am very happy to finally be here, and just woke up from sleeping for about 11 hours. And I definitely needed it. The trip in total was 26 hours long. Being that those mere 26 hours brought me through 2 whole days and halfway around the globe, I think it's safe to say that they were the longest hours of my life thus far. The flights were uneventful (I've heard "boring" is a word that is only good when used to describe an airplane ride). Well, boring it is! It turns out I like flying a lot more when I am not congested. Luckily, I was in an eisle seat, so I could get up and walk around/use the restroom whenever I needed to. When I wasn't sleeping, I was trying to read (which is hard when you are low on sleep) and watched Thor: The Dark World and The Lone Ranger! Pretty good movie selections on this flight, if I do say so myself. There was about 30-40 films/tv shows to choose from, and they played on little personal screens on the back of the seat in front of me. Virgin Australia had very good food (I ate a grand total of 3 airline meals and one snack). Beef stroganoff, cheese omlettes, and some yummy chicken-mushroom thing. The attendents were pretty cool too. They all had aussie accents! As did many of the passengers. The man sitting next to me was from Melbourne, and was very excited to wecome me to Australia! Apparently I need to visit Brisbane and the Golden Coast.

The family is very kind and welcoming, and the little girl is adorable! She can say my name already, because she has a doll named Emily, also. :) We may be going out to eat lunch later today!

The house is beautiful! I haven't seen much of anything yet, except from looking out the window on the drive from the airport (which I may not have been fully awake). But the sky is very blue and clear (no yucky valley haze here), and it's nice and warm and summery! Can't wait to go exploring!

Bye for now!

Thus The Journey Begins...

I am officially checked in and prepared to board my flight to LA!
After having some very yummy pizza in San Francisco with the fam, I passed through security and found my gate very easily. Now comes the wait! My flights go from LA to Melbourne and then on to PERTH! I am very excited to actually be there!
Thank you everyone for your prayers. I have actually been at peace for most of the process today (other than a small emotional moment when I was leaving my house). Please continue!

Adventure Is Out There

We are in the single digits now, with only 9 days, before I set sail (well, take flight) to Perth! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't anxious, but so far my excitement is overpowering my nerve, thankfully. I'm really not that nervous, just a little bit sad that I will have to say goodbye to all my family and friends. And dog. :( But I rest easier with the knowledge that I will be coming back AND keeping in contact.
It may sound a little nerdy (surprise surprise, coming from me) but only of the reasons I am not all that nervous is that I know every great story begins with a moment like this. With a moment of stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something unexpected. Hardly anyone had any lifechanging, magical adventures sitting at home in front of their computer.

The Pevensies stepped into a wardrobe.
Harry went to Hogwarts.
Rapunzel finally left her tower.
Frodo left the Shire.
Luke left Tatooine (I think that's how you spell it)
Belle went to live with Beast... well, she was kind of force... ok, you get it.

Adventure is out there!



Look at the world, so close, and I'm halfway to it
Look at it, all so big, do I even dare?
Look at me, there at last, I just have to do it
Should I? Here I go!

(That's from Tangled... for you less Disney-obsessed readers) 

17 Days and Counting!

Well, the days are passing so quickly that I feel like I'm just waking up, going to bed, then waking up again. Which is a slightly accurate description, since I am out of school and basically in a "waiting" phase. Only 17 days until my flight leaves for Perth! Technically, I have 18 days until I arrive. Or 19. I'm going to be time-traveling a bit, so I'm not sure, exactly. :) My flight leaves on a Thursday, has a layover in Los Angeles and a layover in Melbourne before landing in Perth on Saturday. But my travel time is only 26 hours. Have fun trying to wrap your mind around that. I know I am.
The anticipation is definitely getting more intense. There will be an hour or two when I don't think about it, then the word Australia will pop inside my head and I will get really very excited. Or anxious. My nerve, thankfully, have been very calm compared to what I expected them to be at this point, and I praise God for that. He is definitely my Rock during all of this. Everything in my life is changing, but I know my Savior is just as present and real in the city of Perth, Australia, as he is in the town of Modesto, California, and it brings such a peace to what I am sure would normally be a very frightening and nerve-wracking time for me.
I've started thinking about packing. Yes, I know. The phrase "it's the thought that counts" really has no hold here. But the planning is real, people! I have been doing "research" (I guess you could call it that) on the best way to pack lightly and tightly, and let me tell you, Google is my best friend right now! Actually, Bing is what I use. Bing beats Google any day! Except when you try to use it as a verb. "Googling" > "Bing-ing."
But the ideas are the same. Layering clothes, rolling clothes, tying clothes up with rubber bands... so much information on this subject! That's why I love in internet. I also have learned, in the process, how to cram 2 weeks worth of stuff into a carry-on (I don't think I will need to do this, but it's good to know), as well as how to pack shampoo and lotion and other bathroom items so that they won't explode/leak over everything you own! There are several ways, but the one I like most is the method where you put a plastic bag screwed on under the lid. I don't know if it works the best, but it just seems so darn creative!
I now have my plane ticket, my work and travel visa, and my travel insurance. My passport was already up-to-date, so thankfully I didn't need to worry about that. Having everything bought, paid for, and organized is such a huge relief, and it also solidifies, in my mind, that this thing is actually happening, and it is happening SOON! Like, less than 3 weeks, soon! That's right... 3 weeks from this very second, I will be thousands of miles away from home!

Well, that's very daunting. Daunting but exciting! It's crazy how much writing gets me processing information. 

On another note, I took the Myers-Briggs personality test online today! If you have never taken it, do it! I promise it is so much fun! (At least for me, which is actually part of my personality... and I will talk about that later). This test basically determines which personality type you are, sorting you into one of 16 different types. I got INFP, or Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving. Apparently, it's one of the rarer types ("That's why you're so weird" said my mom. Hardeehar!) But seriously. The descriptions of INFP people is 99.9% spot on my own personality. I feel like I just got to know myself and it's great! So, part of being an INFP is that you are really interested in how people work/psychology stuff (which I am) and you want to basically analyze human beings and how they see the world. And try to convince them to take the Myers-Briggs test, too!

So, here's a link to the website! It's free and pretty quick! And, did I mention, fun?

http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

What personality type are you?



 

This Is Perth

Here is just a glimpse of the city where I will be staying this coming year. (Technically, the family I am staying with lives in a neighborhood outside of the city, but I still like the picture!)

First Postings/ About the Name

Welcome to my blog! I am very excited to begin writing, and even though my trip doesn't technically start for about a month, the journey and preparations and excitement has been building for several weeks now.
A little about my adventure:
On February 20th, I will be taking a 20plus hour flight to the beautiful city of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, for the purpose of being an Au Pair. (For those of you who don't know, an Au Pair is basically a fancy term for an international, live-in nanny. The job is also about having a cultural experience, as well as providing one for the family you are serving.) I will be caring for an adorable 18-month old little girl for 6 months to a year.

It is kind of a strange thing to announce to people the fact that you are leaving home for several months. Much less, to go someplace as exciting and desirable as an Australian beach city! There are not many conversation starters that seem to lead into the topic very well.
"Hey, guess what? I'm moving to Australia for 6-12 months! Have fun here in this lovely Central Valley drought summer!"
The responses I get from the people I have told are actually quite predictable. "WOW! You are brave!" That seems to be the most common one. And the most encouraging! I have never really thought of myself as brave, up until the last few months. And I definitely never thought that I would be leaving home and spending much of a year in another country, away from everyone and everything I know. I daydreamed about it, yes. But daydreaming and actually doing are very different things. You don't have to have courage to daydream.

Now, about the name of the blog: Walkabout Sheila. Thank you to all my facebookies who gave such wonderful, creative suggestions to my blog title prompt! Several of them were very tempting!
A walkabout is a rite of passage into the Aboriginal culture. (The Aborigines are the native people of Australia, like the US's Native Americans.) During their adolescence, they would go out into the wilderness and learn to survive on there own, sometimes for as long as 6 months. The rite of passage would mature them, unite them with their people, and be a spiritual journey for them. Now obviously I am not attempting a walkabout in the traditional sense of the word, but I do expect this trip to be something that thrusts me into adulthood and draws me closer to God.
Sheila is not quite as significant. It is just an Australian slang for girl/woman. So, yeah. That's all I have to say about that. (Said in my best Forrest Gump voice)

I look forward to adding posts often on my trip, hopefully with some pictures as well! So long for now, oh bloggers of mine!