Late Night Homework Session

I have a debate due in 5 hours... ah!
Naturally, I've waited until the last second to finish writing/memorizing my parts, and now I'm in a total state of panic. Australia has not been good for my work ethic. Everyone here is so laid back about things, so I always procrastinate until the last possible moment. In this case, I'm staying up all night writing a debate I should have had ready weeks ago.
So what is this debate for? Our class is going to Parliament tomorrow for a tour and we have to speak there! Ah! My topic covers why the United States is responsible for bringing democracy to countries that are currently under dictatorships. Ugh.

Enough school talk, in less than 48 hours I will be boarding a train headed to Brisbane, and I won't be back for 8 days - so next week, don't expect any updates.

In the meantime, know that I am having an amazing time. I am absolutely homesick, but I'm making the best of my time here.

Love,
Kristin

Easter!

Lori, Darin, Spencer and Brandon!

Hi Everyone! I just got your care package (unexpected I must add) yesterday. Thank you so much for thinking about me on easter! It was so sweet of you, and of course I love the candy.

Here is a picture of Julie and I having a bubble-blowing contest with the gum you sent! (I won.)




And for everyone else, I'll be gone in Cairns until Easter, so if I don't talk to you before then, HAPPY EASTER!

Travel

Big News!

This Saturday, I'm taking a train from Sydney to Brisbane (14 hours) with several close friends from the ASC group. We'll be there until Tuesday (stay in a hostel on the beach), then we hop a plane from Brisbane to CAIRNS where we'll spend another 5 days at the GREAT BARRIER REEF! We rented a sweet apartment on the beach, so we can cook for ourselves and have an awesome view. But basically, I am so excited.

Spring Break - here I come!

I was talking to Jon today and he told me that my blog is lame because I only ever write about what I'm doing, and usually it's so outdated it is no longer relevant. I guess for people I talk to frequently, that's true, but what about everyone who I can't really get in contact with while I'm here? Anyways, I'll try and talk more about emotions in this entry, just so everyone can know what's really going during my time here. I'm beginning to realize it's about what you're learning from your experiences, not the experiences themselves.

Before I spill my guts... here are the links to some of my Australia photos.
The links are in order of most recent to the oldest. So, go check them out!

http://spu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019514&l=b6ee4&id=42900138

http://spu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019150&l=b6676&id=42900138

http://spu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018825&l=5ab95&id=42900138

http://spu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018607&l=14317&id=42900138


Now... some food for thought. I'm reading this book right now called The God of the Covenant. It's always cool to read scripture based books, as regardless of the topic of the book, you always can pull something out of it and apply it to your life. While reading this book tonight, something really stood out to me... "The ethical quality of life of the people of God is the vital link between their calling and their mission. There is no mission without ethics. "
The current discussion going on amongst the ASC group has been about integrity and ethical decisions that we all have to make. As Christians, we are asked to make the decision that will bring the most glory to God.
It has been really interesting being here, as I'm starting to realize how different Christianity looks to different people. All 25 of us are Christians, but we come from such different backgrounds. Our core beliefs line up, but the way we live our lives and the specific convictions we posess are all so unique. It's easy not to talk about our faith with one another, but I'm starting to realize that in order to have real Christian community, we need to be able to communicate openly with one another about our lives and the way we live it and why. There are a lot of people here from the Weslyan tradition - who aren't allowed to dance or gamble or even look at alcohol. I don't exactly know where I'm going with this point... basically, I'm just trying to say that I'm learning something here. Faith is personal to everyone, and to not discuss it takes away from the richness of friendships. It is too easy to assume that everyones Christianity looks like your own, and by doing that you are closing off the possibility of deep friendship and understanding of what makes up a person.
To try and wrap up my random train of thought... I guess I'm just starting to realize that people need to figure out their own ethics and own up to them. I think a lot of younger Christians have yet to discover the difference between their church's doctrine and scripture itself. For those that have grown up in the same church their whole lives, it is easy to know what is "right" for your church body, and assume that it is exactly what all Christianity should look like. I feel encouraged to explore the idea of Christian ethics, putting aside what I know about them already, and dig into the scripture to understand the way God wants us to live our lives. Like my book was talking about, without having a solid ethical background, it is much harder to hear God and to understand his calling for your life.
So... what a perfect time to seek God more wholly.

Anyway, I'm having a great time. I feel like I'm learning so much about God. But not only that, I'm getting to know my friends and myself on a much deeper level. Being on the other side of the world allows for an amazing oppertunity to open the lines of communication so much more. I miss everyone and only 96 days until I come home :)

I love you and please let me know how I can be praying for you!

Love,
Kristin

Here are a few pictures.... I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been running amok around the city. Tonight, I took a 4 hour nap and just relaxed and wow, I feel so much better. Things are starting to settle down here, I feel more at home, but it's hard being away from the people you love for so long. I really miss everyone :( But I am in Sydney, so that's cool.


This is Town Hall.


Yes, this is us doing homework on the steps of the Opera House.


Tyler, Sarah, and I at the bus stop.


I tripped down a step. My knee is currently swollen and bruised. This picture does it no justice. (But don't worry mom, I'm fine!)

PS

If you want to get in touch with me, but don't want/don't know how to post a comment on my blog, my e-mail address is kirkk@spu.edu.

That is all :)

It's Business Time

I guess I haven't been very good about updating this week. It's been a little crazy, classes are starting to pick up quite a bit. And of course I've been frolicking about the city, not doing homework when I should...

So, the highlights of my week include, but are not limited to -
1.) Camping at Coogee beach. It's pretty much the most beautiful beach I've ever been to. We got there at about 8:00 on Wednesday night, and fell asleep on a grassy knoll around 1 am. Then at 5 AM we were rudely awakened by a torrential downpour. I guess next time I'll check the weather first... but it was a lot of fun! I've never really camped out under the stars, but since I've been here I've done it 4 times! At 5 we ran with our sleeping bags over our heads to a random gazebo and slept on picnic tables there until we could catch a bus back to the city.
2.) Newtown Mission. I love serving people. I was a little worried about being placed at a homeless mission, not knowing what to expect, but I'm starting to get to know the people I serve every week and they all have amazing stories! This past week Jess and I were appointed head chefs - so now we get to do all the cooking on Thursday nights :) That's pretty sweet if you ask me.
3.) Friday night. I went dancing with a few of the girls from our program. It was pretty fun, but I don't think the whole dancing thing is really my scene. I'd prefer to watch a movie and play cribbage :) The weekends here make me a little homesick. I used to always look forward to Saturdays because it was the time when Jon and I got to hang out.

Anyways, I wrote postcards this week, so I'm putting them in the mail tomorrow. I hope I didn't leave anyone off - Ingy, if you're reading this, I need your address!

You're prayers are always appreciated, and let me know if there is any way I can be praying for you as well.

Love,
Kristin

I Survived The Outback

Well... I'm home from the Outback in one piece. Only a few minor bruises and mozzie (mosquito) bites... not to bad, eh?

So here are some things I'd like to share thus far about my Australia experience with their version of "English."
1.) I cannot understand what people are saying most of the time. They talk fast and have weird slang, so you must ask them to repeat themselves frequently. They have to use "proper English" when talking to Americans.
2.) Rhyming slang is weird. For example, they call Americans "septics" because septic tank rhymes with yank. More examples to come....
3.) If you ask where the restroom is, they will look at you funny. You must ask for the toilet.
4.) There is no such thing as a gas station, it is called a servo.
5.) Peppers do not exist. They are called capsicums. No one has ever heard of a "bell pepper."
6.) Everything here is abbreviated. It's like talking on instant messenger all of the time. Avo = Afternoon.
7.) There is no such thing as crayfish or crawdads. They are called yabbies. If you are going fishing for yabbies, it's called yabbying.

Now, on to my experience in the Outback.
We drove 8 hours west of Sydney, halfway across the state of New South Wales. Eventually we arrived at our destination, Euabalong West. We stayed on a 35,000 acre farm. Yes, that would be 35,000 acres. There were bunk houses, but most of us opted for sleeping outside under the stars. It was absolutely beautiful! The highlights of the trip included, but were not limited to...
A.) Kangaroo chasing. We took four wheel drive yutes (that would be a truck) across the property looking for 'roos. It was amazing! I think the group I went with spotted about 30 of them, and we didn't die, which was a plus as I was a bit worried about careening through a dark field at however many kilometers an hour.
B.) Sleeping under the stars. I honestly don't know if I've ever done that before... at least somewhere besides my backyard.
C.) Holding week old puppies. They were adorable and I'd never seen puppies that little before.
D.) I saw my first up close and alive cow. I've only ever driven past them at a distance. I also learned that cows come in many different colors and not all of them give milk.
E.) Seeing a sheep get sheared.
F.) The AMAZING sunsets! Here are my two favorite pictures...





The one major down fall of the trip were the crazy amount of flies! We all wore nets around to avoid getting flies in our mouths/ears/noses/etc. Here is a picture of Jennessa and I wearing our dorky fly nets!



Basically, I had a lot of new experiences this weekend, which was good. I feel a lot closer to the people on this trip. It's also sunk in that I will be living in this country for 4 months. I feel a little more at home, but I'm also beginning to realize that I eventually will get to go home to the states and back to the people I love.

Anyways, I miss all of you! My goal this week is to send out postcards - so if I didn't ask for your address before I left, and you'd like a letter from me... leave me a comment with your info :)

Talk to you soon!
Love,
Kristin

The Outback

I'm leaving for the Outback in 6 hours.
We're driving 8 hours west to see Kangaroos and learn more about the Aborigines.

I'll be back on Monday night with lots of cool pictures and crazy stories to tell.

Pray for our safety! And my sanity while being trapped on a bus all day...