The Van Camp's: Live from Australia

Hard to believe that we've been here for over a month already! A lot has happened in a short period of time. We found an apartment, furnished it, celebrated Alan's first birthday, and managed to find some time for sight seeing. It's funny to reflect on where we are versus where we've been. Brad and I never imagined living in an apartment again. Although I don't think either one of us ever thought we would live in Australia. Life is full of surprises.

View of Sydney Opera House from ferry. Alan with his friend and birthday buddy Annabelle.

Brad attended several wards before I got here. Once he found one that he liked, I started looking online for places to live. For him, internet access was hard to come by at first. He would go to McDonald's at night for the free wifi to check email. On his days off he would try go see apartments and quickly discovered that the rental market here was HOT! People were somehow signing leases before the showing even took place. Given the fact that we were up against so much competition, we decided to use bribery. That was our ace in the hole since we had no rental history, credit history, or references. So we have a nice two bedroom, two bathroom unit with a great view of Sydney. It's across the street from a shopping mall, within walking distance of a library, parks, movie theatre, post office (great for all those packages from home) and the train station. The best perk of all is our great neighbors that Brad met at church who are also from the US. After we signed the lease we found out they live in the same building on the same floor. It's kind of like being back in a college dorm. We visit almost daily so that Alan and Annabelle can play. Since their birthdays are two days apart we threw a joint party. They've been here for almost a year and have made our transition so much easier.

The view of Sydney from our apartment and the pool down below.

I owe special thanks to Liesl for showing me the ropes. Alan and I go with her and Annabelle to Rhyme Time at the library, swimming lessons, and playgroup. There are so many activities here for moms with little ones! Maternity leave is one year at most places except for Aldi where it's TWO years. I've seen a lot of women with kids that are barely one already (pretty far along) pregnant with the next one. They go back to work for a couple of months and take another year off. That is one thing I wish the US would pick up on from the Aussies (and most of the rest of the civilized world for that matter). Outside of that, I'd say we've gained a greater appreciation for the US.