aussie, aussie, aussie, oy, oy, oy...

its a sultry autumn day as i hang out the washing on the line. overhead in the gum trees, the crows mock me, their cries comical and derisive, gentle yet sarcastic. a magpie alights at my feet, its head cocked this way then that, trying to figure out when it was i moved into the neighbourhood. the cockateils screech and shriek from their perches, a gaggle of white-haired old harridans, their daily routine upset by the interloper below.

my first week in australia has come and gone, and my education has only begun. this week alone i have learned to enjoy little-league soccer, fix an over-cooked lasagne, nurse my husband through a nasty bout of food poisoning, celebrate ANZAC day without getting arrested, and program computer chips like a pro.

soon, i will get behind the wheel of the "three eyed hak" - my husband's beige toyota station wagon -if nothing else, to test his intestinal fortitude. i will seek a library card. i will learn to drive to arana hills and back. i will ride public transit.

like my God, my husband is my rock and my refuge. it is with great compassion and good humour he copes with a wife that has left her entire life on the other side of the planet to join him in his world. i have left behind both good and bad: my friends, my family, my church, my pets; a mother that is struggling financially, and relatives determined to make the situation worse, not better. through my ups and downs he calms me, soothes me, supports me, listens to me, loves me, offers advice when he has some, shuts up and listens to me moan when he doesn't. he is a man that shows his love in hundreds of little ways - going shopping for me when he is ill, sacrificing a day with his son to ensure i have a phone - and one who never expects a moment's recognition for his kindness and caring. my husband is the man that keeps a sweater in the car because he knows that his canadian wife is having trouble adjusting to the australian climate, and that in allowing her to operate the air conditioner, he must prepare himself for the very real possibility of hypothermia.

i have friends here that have embraced me with kindness, openness and charity - people that treat me as though i have never been away. i have family here that have opened their lives to me with grace, kindness and good humour. i have friends across the globe that keep their hands staunchly outstretched to me that i might never slip and fall on their watch. there is a charming young boy in my life that my husband has blessed me with as well - one who shines with a sweetness, an innocence and delightful good humour, as a copper penny shines in the queensland sun.

i have learned that water is a scarce commodity, to be treated with respect and conservation. i have learned that daddy long-legs spiders have a courage about them, and defiant nature i very much admire; and that against all odds they are welcome guests in my kitchen. i have learned that i have a pronounced accent, and that when people say "pardon me?", it is not that did not hear me, it is that they haven't understood a word i've said. i have learned that shouting "aussie aussie aussie" in a packed bar on ANZAC day will get you tossed out before 3:30pm, and that in brisbane, it can be pouring with rain even as the sun is shining brightly overhead.

this is a magical, wonderful place; rich in smells, sounds, sights and wonders beyond my imagination. it is a place of ruggedness and luxury, of hardiness and sensuous pleasures; of hedonism and honest Christian values. it is a complex and wond'rous place, and in my heart i have never been happier, more blessed, at peace and at home.

but for now, i am content to simply bask in the warm april sun, hanging out the wash, as the crows heckle my efforts, the cockateils settle in to gossip about the newcomer and the grasshoppers zing merrily though the lazy autumn afternoon.

how soon the evening comes.....