Well I arrived in Australia in one piece but not so lucky with my travel items. The flight from DFW to LAX was supposed to be a 3 hour flight with a 4 hour layover. We boarded a 3 month old 60 million dollar plane and sat on the tarmac for 2 hours, only to be told we would have to deplane as it was not working properly. We were sent to another gate and had to go through the boarding process all over again and wait for baggage to be transferred from one plane to the next. The entire process burned my 4 hour layover and we were greeted by a Quantas rep who led us to the next flight, which was then delayed another hour and a half. The next leg of the flight, though 15 1/2 hours was much better than the 3 hour flight. When I arrived in Australia, it was 7:30 Tuesday morning. I had lost Monday altogether when we crossed the International Dateline. It took an hour and a half to find my bags, realize I had 2 missing bags, do a missing bag report and clear customs.
When I finally got to Peggy and Angus, we headed out and the ride home was a 7 hour trip. To break the trip up we stopped in Queensland at a place in the mountains. Very beautiful with lots of trees, waterfalls, and spectacular views. I was able to see new birds that I have never seen before and that is exciting to experience trees, birds, and animals never seen before. It is wonderment. After stopping, we continued the drive and the scenery changed as we got to the state of New South Wales. It reminds me of Oklahoma as you head for Anadarko or of West Texas. You can see the changes in scenery from the pictures. Most strangely is adjusting to driving on the left and seeing cars to the right of your lane.
I am still adjusting to that. It has been an absolute culture shock, I think more than Africa was. I had some expectation of Africa and my expectations were pretty spot on. My expectations here are very different. The people are polite and very proper. I have tea 2 times a day. Moree is quite different. There are many houses burned out from either the children setting them on fire or from them being blown up from meth labs. We drove around several streets and the poverty and burned homes are sad.
I finally got my 2 missing bags on Thursday and got everything unpacked and put away. Unfortunately, I had items damaged from the flight and Quantas does not cover them so now I get to experience filing claims with insurance. This morning I will pack a bag as we head out for a rally this weekend. It has been continual going since I stepped off the plane. My hope is that my days and nights will get switched soon and I will begin to adjust to life in Australia. I do love it though and trust God has a plan for me here. Thanks for the prayers!
When I finally got to Peggy and Angus, we headed out and the ride home was a 7 hour trip. To break the trip up we stopped in Queensland at a place in the mountains. Very beautiful with lots of trees, waterfalls, and spectacular views. I was able to see new birds that I have never seen before and that is exciting to experience trees, birds, and animals never seen before. It is wonderment. After stopping, we continued the drive and the scenery changed as we got to the state of New South Wales. It reminds me of Oklahoma as you head for Anadarko or of West Texas. You can see the changes in scenery from the pictures. Most strangely is adjusting to driving on the left and seeing cars to the right of your lane.
I am still adjusting to that. It has been an absolute culture shock, I think more than Africa was. I had some expectation of Africa and my expectations were pretty spot on. My expectations here are very different. The people are polite and very proper. I have tea 2 times a day. Moree is quite different. There are many houses burned out from either the children setting them on fire or from them being blown up from meth labs. We drove around several streets and the poverty and burned homes are sad.
I finally got my 2 missing bags on Thursday and got everything unpacked and put away. Unfortunately, I had items damaged from the flight and Quantas does not cover them so now I get to experience filing claims with insurance. This morning I will pack a bag as we head out for a rally this weekend. It has been continual going since I stepped off the plane. My hope is that my days and nights will get switched soon and I will begin to adjust to life in Australia. I do love it though and trust God has a plan for me here. Thanks for the prayers!