THE NOT SO SECRET LIFE OF MEL

February 2008 - The hard month

2008-04-27T16:16:00.006+01:00

In February life was pretty hard, it was cold, sad out side and everyone had gone home .... the fun times were over :( I was saved at the end of the month as I had a visitor, my grandfather! He came to see me on his way to Africa to do some more surgical work as a missionary. We only have 2 days together but it was really special. We wandered the town and went to Westminster Abbey and had a personal tour! Its was very interesting. We then went to see where Granddad studied at the Royal College of Surgeons. He knew his way around London better than I do!! It was great to see the place that he studied, and to walk the Halls and see the room in which he received his Fellowship Certificate. The best part was going into the museum at the College!! It was full of 2 floors of ‘things’ in glass jars! Skin, spines, bones, bits and pieces. It was awesome, Granddad taught me all about different surgeries, and pointed out lots of cool tools that he uses. It made me queezy but it was fascinating all the same! We have a lovely dinner with Dave on the Thames overlooking St Pauls. Good times!

Visa Debacles
It was also in Feb, the 15th of Feb to be exact, that I received the news that my workplaces original idea about my visa situation had changed. Heightened levels of stress and much work in preparing applications began. I would now need to return to Australia to be finger printed for a re-entry visa under my new work permit. We didn’t have much time for all of this so it was stressful to say the least.

During this time, Dave had left for Australia, with Bronwyn, & Rory for his brothers wedding which took place on sunny Rottenest Island. He had a great time and came back with a healthy glow! My pal leonie was in Oz at the same time and we had a new flat mate luke.

So, in light of being alone in London and all the stress that was going on I planned to go to see a friend of mine from Perth who was living in Poland

Poland
Was great! I totally needed to get out of london and get some space, peace and time to relax. Keren a friend of mine from Fusion put me up for 4 days and showed me around the town of Warclaw (pronounced vrat-swav!).

I went to Polish church, learnt a lot about the history of the place, sat in on one of Kerens English classes and LOVED! trying all the new food. Keren was a great host, and encouragement to me in a hard time

Enter 2008 - January marks 1 year in London

2008-04-27T16:14:00.004+01:00

So enter the new year,

Being that Dav and Craig were here for Christmas the Criags parents (The Parkers) kindly extended their welcome to us Aussie lot and we crashed their New Years Eve Party. It was a great time, with lots of friend and family of theirs there, many people we have met through the wedding and also others we have grown up with! There was good times dancing to Darren and Terry’s DJ’ing, drinking champers with the girls and just seeing the New Year in with friends :)

Also, 15 January 2008 marked my 1 year anniversary in London. Crazyness.

December 2007 - Dreaming of a white Christmas

2007-12-29T22:47:00.015Z

Continuing on with the month by month recount .. we hit December which saw:

Susannah's Leaving Party
My special london house mate, was called home to sunny skies and a great job in December! Susannah and I went through a lot together, and her final days in London topped it, as she had her bag stolen on our street! Despite London's ill treatment of her, she may be back! (Check out Leonie’s awesome send off surprise for sus.... a big ben cake ;)

The Christmas Period

Christmas was different and I loved it! No sunshine and BBQ’s here thank you very much ;)

In London for Christmas lots of german markets popped up around the place cooking yummy germans sausages etc (this is the closest I got to a aussie hotdog), there was pretty lights on every high street, and lots of festivals. Dave and I visited Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and Leonie, Cassandra and I went to the Frost Fair on South Bank were we drank mulled wine and sat on an ice carved chair.

Christmas day involved staying over at Bronywn and Rorys Christmas Eve as there was no public transport for us to get anywhere on Christmas day. They hosted the French (Dave & Bronwyn), Anderson (Rory and Robbie) and Lester associated (Me and my cousin cassandra) pairs for a lovely Christmas feast. We attended Shepperton Church and enjoying being cozy, sitting around inside while the roast was cooking :) Fresh holly from the garden was on the table and we watched the Queens address on TV! What an Englishy christmas!

The rest of the Christmas/New Year period was cool, my best pal Davinia was here so there was lots of food, drink, shopping and hanging out. We went ice skating at the Tower of London, drank mulled wine, went to see Billy Elliot, attempted to visit Windsor Castle (instead sat in a pub across the road from the castle with Cas and Sandra!), shopped together and just caught up! It was very nice indeed ;)

The updates will continue, so stayed tuned! xx

I'm back - Nov 2007 Family, France, Fun!

2007-12-29T22:46:00.009Z

Ok Ok, I know ;) It’s been forever since my last blog entry and I am sorry!! I cant even say I will start again with a new found vigor in the new year ...because its already May! But here we are, so I’ll give this blogging thing another shot :)

Now where did we leave off? .... Oh yes, it was November 2007

November
Was an awesome month as my Dad and Bro Ryan came to visit!!! Yay! It was so exciting to have them here, and as family does, they made me feel safe, loved and special. Ryan turned 21 last year so it was his treat to come to Europe. On his list of places to see included London (bonus I was there!) and Paris. So we went! The extra extra bonus was, Uncle Karl, Aunty Helen and my cousins Catlin, Husdon and Norton we planning to be in France around the same time, and they graciously altered their plans so we could all enjoy Paris and France together! It was a total help of course that Uncle Karl can speak French and has a very good eye for all things yummy, classy and french!

The adventure started with a £40 fine when arriving at the Eurostar depot in London, followed by hours of being lost in dark Paris with an illegible photocopy of a map! We were saved after a quick prayer, when a man approached us like a guardian angel and gave us directions! All was ok after we had some sustenance (crepe’s and a glass of red ;) We found the next morning in the day light, we were in fact meters only from our accommodation, facing the wrong direction the night before!

The days to follow were cold but packed with awesome things to see. A open top bus tour gave us a great scope of this beautiful city. We drove past the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Opera building, Arch de Triomphe and down the Champs-Élysées . I was an iscle at the end, but it was lovely all the same.

A late night evening at the Louvre, and a breakfast meeting with Uncle Karl, Aunty Helen and the kids made for a great mid paris perk. From here on we travelled around together up the top of the Arch de Triomphe, into the Musée d'Orsay, and wandered the streets to find Crepes, the Eiffel Tower and NotreDame. Cati, Dad, Ryan and I had a brilliant boat trip upon the the Seine River which was quite magical as when we returned the Eiffel tower was lit us in all its glory!

After our busy city break, we picked up Dave from the Eurostar station and headed in two cars out to the french countryside, to the Champagne region. This being THE place where that special bubbly treat originated from. It was a totally delight to be welcomed by a huge converted abbey as our countryside abode. So much room, so warm and inviting and so beautiful.

The days to follow were filled with eating the best food ever (cheese, pastries, chocolate, wine, champagne, fish, pasta etc) visits to champagne houses, boulangeries, castles, vine yards and woods. Everything was beautiful, everything taste good and it was quiet and relaxing. Both uncle Karl and Ryan celebrated birthday champagne breakfasts here ;)

Our last night in Champagne uncle Karl treated us to a real french meal at a local restaurant. Totally divine! We all had snails and 6 courses in full. What an unbelievable meal!

I definitely, definitely want to visit France again! ... and am even considering, for the 2nd time, starting french lessons again! ;)

Belgium!

2007-10-26T17:23:00.000+01:00

Hello! Sorry for the long gaps between posts, I've been busy with an overwhelming amount of holidays ;) (well deserved I tell you!)

Last month, I went to Bruges (Belgium) and it was lovely, a much needed break! I was very blessed to be invited by the French's to crash their family holiday :) Thankyou!

Rory, Bronwyn, Dave and I drove in the oh so sexy transit van to Dover, and caught the ferry to France. (Its insane how many cars/truck/vans they can get on those tanks and still float!). At the other side, FRANCE :) we drove from Calais to Belgium. That is so cool!

It was lovely to be in Bruges, its so relaxing. It’s a tiny city in Belgium, so quaint and lovely. It was full of autumn leaves, cobble stone streets and canals. It is picturesque, everywhere you looked it was beautiful. We ate great food, drank CHEAP but quality great Belgium beer, frites, waffles and even a few chocolates ;)

You can walk from one side of the city in 1 hour, so everyone there rides instead of driving. I loved being outside, scooting around on the bike. We even rode to a near by town called Damme which was awesome! Windmills, farms, and pubs along the way :)

It was just so nice to sleep in, go out and wander. We also went to Brussels for the day and saw Crowded House play live!It was so cool, to have a taste of home(ish) in the middle of Belgium!

Sad, even very crappy news was that my house was broken into while I was away. This country certainly has given us a rough time! Thank the good Lord that Me, Sus and Dave were all away so we had all our cameras, computers, passports etc with us. Sadly Leonie was home and her computer and jewelery was stolen. They messed stuff up, went through our draws and mail and everything which isn't nice. They even kicked down the door down stairs and made a mess. Anyway, it could have been worse and we are all safe, but do need to get insurance it seems!

Dad and Ryan have been and gone :( and we had a brilliant time in London/Paris and France ... but more about that next!

Love x

Camden Canals

2007-10-13T15:43:00.000+01:00

This was one of my best days to date I think. Not sure why I got so excited about it; must have been because it was another day Dave and I had together, plus the sun was out, plus we ate great food (yumm vegetarian felafel's, couscous etc), plus I got to relax on a slow canal ride away from the hustle and bustle!

Dave and I went to Camden Markets a few weeks ago. I have never been there, but I remember that song by the waifs, talking about Camden Markets ;) Anyway, back on track; the place is a crazy mix of some many things! Gothic stores and lots of other tattoo and piecing places, as well as stalls galore of anything you can image, then there are these quite canal areas where all the food stalls are and the smells are amazing. Away from the main street there were quaint little shops and semi happy people ;) Markets are good for chilling and browsing, which was nice.

You can get around pretty much all on England by canals, and we took a ride from Camden to 'Little Venice' near Paddington. It was so relaxing! I loved it. The houses along the river were divine and it was so quite, green and lovely :) I think I would like to do it again :)

A special day

2007-10-13T15:24:00.000+01:00

Every now and again ... a very special day comes .. when the universe aligns in a way that allows Dave and I to spend a whole day together ;)

On this special day, we mozyied around town stopping at Trafalger square & checked out the National Portrait gallery, then we soaked up the sun (in our jumpers) at the Queens very own front lawn, St James Park :)

We were lucky enough on our travels around Leicester Square to get tickets to the debut night of Kelly Osborne in Chicago (she played Mumma Morton). We even got a glimpse of Sharon and Ozzy (who were sitting below us), as well as 'Spike' out of Noting Hill. And to top the star struck night off, Guy Sebatian go on the same train as us, alighting at Dave's stop in Putney.

This was our special day

x

My Cuz came to visit!

2007-10-13T15:12:00.000+01:00

Hello friends!

Sorry for the laps between updates, I have been a little behind you could say!

So the good times have started to roll. Summer got a bit summery (yay) and we had a nice few days to enjoy outside. This was lucky for my cousin Cassandra who arrive 6 weeks ago and was welcomed to London with super weather. We celebrated on this public holiday with a picnic and tea in the gardens at fulham palace ;) It was so lovely!

Cas stayed with us for a month, our humble home growing from 2 people to 5 in space of a week! :) It was fun times with Leonie, Cas and Megan (over for our friend Stacey's wedding) moving in. Good times, 5 girls, one shower and hey we are all still friends! Cas has moved on now to study down south a bit more (surrey) at Royal Halliday University. What a bout this, they have 3 bars and a nightclub! Not sure how much study is going on!

(Tea in the palace grounds)

(a cheeky drink on the Thames after a hard day shopping in Kingston)

(seeing the sights!)

Daves 26th Bday!

2007-09-05T15:58:00.000+01:00

Yes, Dave turned 26 in August and we celebrated up in London with the Aussie Crew and the Honorary Aussie Crew ;)

We had a meal at a cute little Japanese place Dave and I found once and liked. Good food, good company and a good vibe as it is in Chinatown. Dave was lucky enough to get a special Japanese donut as his B'day cake. A nice bean curd & rice sweet ;) I liked it!

A few drinks and a boogy were had at a Bar in Soho. Highlights = seeing everyone. Low lights = black sambucca.

Thanks for popping by x

A day out - finally!

2007-08-19T18:57:00.000+01:00

I was lucky enough to get off work 2 hours early to spend some time with Dave! It felt like a Christmas present ;) as we both have opposing timetables most of the time.

We went and checked out St Paul's again (it is one of my favourite places in London! I got past it each day on the bus) and then went to the Tate Modern to see an exhibition called Global Cities. It was amazing, yet so challenging and moving to see what the rest of the world lives like. It was a challenge for me moving from little Perth to a big city like London. Things aren't the same. Recycling doesn't work, you don't really talk to people, consumerism is insane, you can see into your neighbours rooms every time you look outside your window. But London is the least of it. This exhibition looked at other cities around the world also, comparing the size, density, diversity etc to that of London. Insanely interesting. Check out the short video link here http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/globalcities/default.shtm
to see a bit of what it was about. If it comes to Perth you should check it out.

Thats all for now, next update - Daves Birthday!

The telegraph

2007-08-19T18:55:00.000+01:00

This is us at our local. It was a nice day for once, so we seized the opportunity to sit outside! Its quite cool because we walk through the lovely woods of what I called 'the hundred acres', to find this place tucked away. Its lovely

Susannah and Melissa's residential adventure

2007-08-19T18:35:00.000+01:00

Hello all,

I know its been the longest time, there is a funny tale to tell about it all. If you have time you can read all about it below. If not, you can just look at the pics of my new place ;)

Love Mel x

The beginning. Susannah and Melissa’s residential adventure.
(this story was written in collaberation with Susannah, Melissa, Bronwyn and Leonie on a rainy day, when we all sadly, had nothing better to do!)

Having arrived in the country searching for accommodation, we found a fabulous two-bedroom apartment above friends. Could we have asked for more? Yes I think we could have. As it turns out we had moved in to non-existent flat. How did we do thins you ask? Don’t ask us, ask Erik. Hang on he wont answer his phone; we will tell it for you.

Our dental surgery on roehampton lane was sold off to a man name Erik, property developer of health field properties. Erik, what a man. In for the quick buck, he subdivide the properties but left us a half finished house, with a skip and construction site thrown in for fun. Our favourite game was to climb the mountain of rubble to get to the front door. As good law abiding citizens we felt it our duty to pay our bills, the many numerous bills that London has on offer. However, Erik didn’t feel this was an important part of the London Empire he was creating.

Firstly we couldn’t open accounts because we didn’t exist, apparently we still lived in a dental surgery or favorite chicken, it depends on whom you talk to. (Favorite chicken = low grade KFC. Fresh Steggels chicken, I don’t thinks so!.

Meanwhile, Erik has let us know that he will pay for our electricity bills until the time that he actually gives our flat is own meters - rather than system he currently had in place which involved siphoning the next doors dental surgery electicity supply.

However Erik again doesn’t seem to feel that 'actually paying the bill' is of such importance, and is happy to let us be threatened continuingly with warrants from the company to enter our homes and disconnect the power supply.

And so Erick continues to build is empire, of unfurnished flats and unplayable bills, leaving a path of broken dreams in his wake, with Igor his polish second in command incessantly drilling a path of destruction through our front yard.

Enter Marcus, the innocent looking, child like boy, from Walsall, young and naive. He brought a house, a sports car and many other luxury items, failing to realize that he is in a grown up world, and no Marcus, monopoly money doesn’t work here. Susannah with her homo pigeon / detective like brain was unsure of this deal and of this man being her future landlord, however we needed a home and fast.

Problems insured from day one. We had no blinds, so we brought them themselves, in hopes of Marcus adhering to the tenancy agreement and attaching them to the wall so that they could, in fact do their job, blocking out the light and the prying eyes of those commuters on the double Decker bus which frequented our front door every 15 mins. Alas this was a dream, we soon realized was turning into a nightmare.

There is more. I don’t know about you, but I like my clothes clean. A luxury that could not be afforded at $900 Aussie dollars a week! Our washing machine broke down and rather than doing the responsible landlord thing, Marcus skipped town to St Tropez. Unbeknown to us of course. We thought he could quite possible been imprisoned, as debt collectors we coming to the house to reposes his fancy sports car and our flat. Continual visits from these debt collectors and the absence of Marcus, blinds and a washing machine highlighted the need for us to perhaps 'get the hell out of here'.

We refused to pay rent, and Marcus not know the laws of the land, agreed for us to move out of the flat before the tenancy agreement was up.

To be honest, it really came too quickly. We were quite desperate to find a home. Enter, the unmentionable. I apologize for the lack of description of this person, however as you are soon to find out, his name will never be mentioned again.

We found, what we thought could be the perfect place. Its all blur really, like newly weds we ran into the bliss of our honeymoon believing all would be right with the world. We refused to let our experience with Marcus throw us into the depths of festering mistrust the London breeds. To our detriment, the bubble burst, the honeymoon was over. The unmentioned took our deposit and ran. We were, as one would say, ‘the victims of fraud’.

Disillusioned by our run in with another criminal, we decided to turn to our own criminal activities by squatting illegally in the vacant apartment next door to Bronwyn and Rory's. Each evening when night fell, we packed our rucksacks to venture into the dark, sleeping curled up together with one eye opened, just in case any prospective buyers were to find us in our secret location.

We continued to search for a new property to call our own. We found Tung. A young asian Englishman with what may have been alleged ties to the triad, perhaps, at some stage in his mysterious life. Dedicated from the beginning, riddled with guilt from a former life he took on our cause.

He found us Jeeders. Mr Majeed. A hard done by Indian muslim man in a dress, burned by the past. We viewed his apartment and found to our delight, a wooden floored, large bedroomed apartment, roughly in our price range, however, now we needed to secure the deal.

The day arrived. The deal was now or never. Jeeders had his bodyguard, another man in a dress. We had Tung and his manager Ricki, a big attractive black man with gold teeth.

Let it be said now that Jeeders seems oblivious to the desparate need for good dental hygiene, and his bodyguard? Well, lets just say deodarant wasn’t a high priority on his shopping list.

We came to the scene of the deal in a BMW convertible. Jeeders tells us the house is gone! We’re on the edge of our seats, wondering what could have gone down in the last few days to change his mind? After what seemed a lifetime of no fresh air while he told the tale and of us, breathing shallowly whilst trying to look meaningfully involved in the conversation, jeeders finally finished his indecipherable rant only to tell us that the house was still available and he had the keys…?

Jeeders takes Ricki to do the deal in his car. Tung is in the house across the road. Mel’s phone rings. It Tung. “Can you see me?” he asks. “What’s going on?”. Ricki’s doing the deal with Jeeders in his car. We notice the windows are all up… Enough said, poor Ricki. His bodyguard, B.O. hereafter, beckons us forth. The deal is done, we are to sign the contracts. As we reach the car we see Jeeders in the car clutching the steering wheel for dear life, a look upon his face as though a heart attack threatens his humble existence. Jeeders refuses to do any more deals with Tung and Ricki. He believes they are trying to rip him off. He flees with the contracts, B.O. in tow. We find out later that Jeeders has had a troubled past. Bouncing checks, fraudulent tenants. He is very fragile. His father reprimands him for his too trusting ways. Sorry, did I mention Jeeders is roughly 65 years old? The guy’s had a tough time.

But its all okay now. We finally have a home and Jeeders has finally found tenants he can trust. Praise God! Or Allah… (Bad taste? You can backspace that if you want)

So here it is, the new pad! Sorry the pics are so dark, but its been a bit dreary here! Susannah and I share the giant main bedroom which is sweet coz there is so much room in there it certainly doesn't seem a drag to share a room. We will be renting the second bedroom out very soon which will help. We only have one bathroom this time but that is ok. We are the second floor flat in a victorian conversion, so the one with the wooden blinds is ours. We share a hall way which is a bit not nice, becuase no one takes ownership to clean it and we dont have a vaccum cleaner. Need to sort that out. The streets is very quite and 5 mins walk to the train, tube and bus station. There is a nice park just around the cornor where we can play tennis etc. No problems so far, expect for a little mousey friend who has moved in. Gross! Need to fix that too ;)

The view from my window

2007-07-26T12:06:00.000+01:00

The view from my window, is a funny one. I mean its not hard to see what's going on below our flat, as we still don't have blinds! Sure I am nosey, that is true too :) Every time the door down stairs opens or closes I like to know who is coming in and out :) I think I will be one of those very annoying old people ;)

Anyhoo, soon - I say very soon, I will no longer get to see the hordes of police, packs of drunk uni students and numerous 'special' people who congreate under my house. We have been officially told we need to be out of the flat by 29th July. But praise the Lord, we came to find a great flat yesterday! Just in the nick of time ;)

Our flat mate jane left us last weekend (so sad! Its not the same without her!), Dish and Leonie move today, Al and Sandra have already gone and soon the Aussie version of Friends will come to an end :( Its been the best of times and the worst of times ... no just the best of times. What a pleasure it has been to have a family here that you can know will always be there for you, weather you need chilli power (like I did last night), or a chat because you are about to loose your mind, or to have a few drinks with at the local or to move a monsterous couch trough a teeny tiney hall way! Knowing I wont have this family in such close proximity for much longer, makes me home sick more than ever.

So, don't forget me please, do write - and I will let you know all about my new home v soon!

Love and hugs,

Melissa

p.s pictures of what I see out my window go here ... but I have to load them yet!

Life Update!

2007-06-16T10:54:00.000+01:00

Hey guys and girls,

Whats happening on your sides of the world people? Haven't heard from some of you for while! Do pop me an email, coz I am interested in what going on at home just as much as you are interested in my life here (I assume that's why you are here checking my blog! There is 3 new lovely posts for you to enjoy today!)

Ive been away from home 6months now! Wow, that went fast! I feel like I am settling into this place a little more, though for me it still an overwhelmingly crazy place! Ive came back home to London twice now after being away. Once from Edinburgh and then just yesterday from a overnight work trip in country England. I tell you as soon as your train arrives in any London station you get sucked straight into the most insane whirlpool of busyness ever!! i feel myself looking around and going 'is this really my home?!'. Its not that I don't enjoy some of the things here, London has its good points, its just I am aware more than ever of the things in life that make me happy eg quiet, nature, feeling free and safe and a sense of community. These are the things I miss here the most, or maybe its more true to say I am learning to have to 'find' them in different ways then at home.

A bit of an update maybe as I have not done one for a while

1 - Work
Well I am finally in full time permanent work, have been for about 4 weeks now. I work in a place called GFS Platform an international charity that has been working with young women since 1875. They are connected to the Anglican Church and do work in Australia. Some of you may have heard of them (though I hadn't!). My friend Bec who was just here with me and who I went to Edinburgh with, used to go to a GFS branch when she was young. I suppose you could liken some of the work to stuff like guides or childrens ministry etc.

Here in London however, they have two wings of work around England and Wales. One wing is called young mothers Projects and these support young women 15 - 25 who are pregnant or have children (big issue here!). There are 4 of these. They provided antenatal, sex education, school education, postnatal classes and support. They offer a fully operating nursery where the mothers can leave there children so they have time to focus on the class work. I visited 2 projects this week and they are really special.

The other wing is the branch work, which is run in church halls or community centres and is more preventative, working with girls from 7 - 15. They have a strong faith based content and work to provide a friendship group for girls where they can learn self esteem, skills, and educational stuff in a prevention theme. They are run by volunteers. There are 43 branches around England and Wales and it is my job to begin to revamp and oversee these branches! As you can imagine that is a huge task with the distance being insane! Add to the fact that most of the volunteers are really angry at head office (where I work) as they have been pretty much left to fend for themselves for years. So I have a lot of relationship and trust building to work on before we can more forward at all in increasing the quality of work and training being done in the branches. I feel pretty overwhelmed at the moment with it and am unsure of how much I will be able to accomplish at all. But I will give it a shot. I think it is a good job for me as it incorporates my faith (thought i am the only christian in head office!), as well as my heart to work with people as well as the fact that I do like problem solving and this whole area is a big of a massive mess! Only thing is my office is in north London and takes me 3 hours a day to travel there! (1.5 hours each way!)

2 - Home
Our little flat and house share family is going ok, but you wont believe it but we still don't have blinds or a working washing machine! Our landlord leaves a lot to be desired in terms of taking responsibility for his property and he has actually gone AWOL. We have not been able to contact him for 7 weeks and he does nothing we ask of him! Its a bit of a mess, but we are getting close to the time we can break lease so we will. But, now that that is getting close I am starting to like it here more and it feels more homely. Maybe its the knowledge that everywhere we go will be hard and at least this place is clean and new!. I really dread making the decision to search for a new house as well as deciding what area to move to (as i said I am travelling a lot from where I am to work). The area we live in is quite safe, no stabbings for a long time, where as other places closer to London and north are not so nice. So we need prayers as we make this descion.

Also, it meas our little 'friends TV sit-com' set up with Bron, Rory, Dave, dish, Leonie and Al living downstairs will be disbanded and we will all go our separate ways. Problem is the man I love goes with them! So we need a plan to figure out how we can still be close enough to see each other (as right now we are a set of stairs away from each other!)

3 - Church
Still not found a church which is a pain. With Dave working weekends its hard to go along alone. I mean I can and do at times, but I would like us to meet friends together you know. I am listening weekly to Mars Hill Church in USA, and feel a part of their growing online community. I really enjoy it and feel I am learning alot listening to the pastor there Rob Bell. So that is my interim church for now!

4 - Future stuff
Its now on the cards that my daddy and bro Ryan will be coming out here which so sweet! I am so excited. We will travel to Paris and the south of France to have some time with my Uncle Karl and Auntie Helen and my cousins who will be here too!! So exciting for me to know there will be family around!

Also, the French's (Daves parents) will be over for a big European holiday and I am lucky enough to join them on their little family holiday in Belgium with Bron and Rory and Dave, which will be totally fab!

Lots to look forward too.

5 - Prayer points
If I can just ask that you pray for Dave as he is has applied for a job which is really sweet. This job is really full time, varied and exciting for him and will allow him to free up his weekends. God has been good in providing more work at Apple Computers in the intrim, which he enjoys!

Also, we are suffering from hay fever here like you wouldn't believe. Its actually quite disabling and we are really concerned about the drugs we are on for them. I thought it would only last 3 weeks or so but apparently the hayfever season lasts for the whole of the summer. We really need some wisdom on what to do for it coz I just don't want to be popping pills all the time!

Thanks for reading through all my natter. I miss you all and hope life is keeping you well. Remember to make time to love each other and your families. They are so important and when you aren't with them you realise that more than ever! God Bless

Mel x

Bath Time

2007-06-02T12:00:00.000+01:00

Again, some photos from a while ago when we used our bank holiday to take a day trip to Bath. It is a lovely place, small enough to explore on foot and full of lots of lovely architecture. Truth was,in English tradition the day we went it rained!!! but we have a nice time all the same.

After getting lost on the first two steps of the directions we had ( i was responsible for that!) we arrived 2 hours later in bath. Its a gorgeous place, surrounded by 7 hills and filled with cream coloured Georgian terraces.

The history of the place dates back to Celtic times when a natural spring with 46 degree water was found. It was believed to have healing powers when apparently a herd of leprous swine where healed. As such when the Romans rocked up a bit later on, and they liked to worship pretty much everything, so they built a temple to the God there (who did the healing) and bathing complex on the site for the people to bath in, that still flows with natural hot water today. We were able to walk through the temple and see the bathing complex. We even touched the water and its really is warm!

We had high tea in the Pump Room, which over looks the baths and checked out the french markets and pretty buildings that were there.

The Bath Abbey Church

Roman Bathing Temple Complex

High Tea at the Pump Room Restaurant

And NO I didn't eat all that!!!

Take care, thanks for popping by

Mel x

London by Night

2007-06-02T11:52:00.000+01:00

Hello! A few pics from a while ago. I travel on the bus every day past Big Ben, St Paul's London Eye and all the sights, but realised I had not seen London by night! So we headed up to town for a bite to eat in Soho and a wander round the streets (Piccadilly circus, Trafalgar square and embankment) by night. It was lovely to see everything lit up and looking pretty! Hard to take photos of though if you shake around like I do!

Scotlando

2007-05-31T21:25:00.000+01:00

Hi again! So the second part of the journey with Bec, Andrew & E was to take a wee lil flight to Scotland, Edinburgh in fact.

Arriving there I realised how completely mentally busy London is! Scotland was a breath of fresh air. I was very blessed to share a lovely apartment on the Royal Mile (just mins from the castle) with the Logans! It was so sweet and so cozy all I wanted to do was relax, relax, relax!

We took it slow with a few drives and walk around town. We visited Lock Lamond, the biggest surface of water in Scotland, the William Wallace Monument, the underground vaults tour, St Giles Cathedral and lots of yummy places to eat and drink. A cool little shop called Chocolate soup was our morning stop for coffee! Sadly little E became unwell during our time here, so alas we didn't make it to the Castle, but I intend to come back. I found it a really easy going, beautiful city with lots of friendly people and a good vibe and real history, you can feel it. It was really refreshing and relaxing. Lovely to look at and stroll around in. (Please pray for Bec, Andrew and Ethan as the little one is quite unwell and they still have a lot of travel to go)

Ok well that is just a quick update for now as I must go to bed! Even though the sun just went down and it is 10pm!

Peace out

Mel x

A piece of Perth in London!

2007-05-30T21:49:00.000+01:00

This past week I have had the pleasure of having my very good friend Bec here in London. It was a whirlwind time as we did the tourist thing of London and then jetted off to Edinburgh .. but it was the best thing ever. Just what I needed! It was so refreshing to be with true friends. I felt encouraged, challenged, relaxed and safe to be me with this special family and I have been so blessed as a result!Truth was, when they left I was a bit down, as I realised how far away from the place I love and the people I love I am here! However, this is where I am at the mo, and there are times I love it. I suppose its about being content where ever you are! However, lots of love to you all as I do miss you!

Here is a bit of a picture story of what we got up to in London! Ethan, Bec and Andrews son is my new buddy! I does love him. Though he seems to think I am a bit weird at times. Laughs his head off whenever I blow my nose, which is a lot at the moment as it is hayfever season! As you can see I was a bit chuffed with him and took lots of photos of him. So cute! It was fun showing Bec, Andrew and Ethan around as I got to see a bit more of London myself!

Day one, We started the adventures on Portabello Road Notting Hill just near where they were staying. Note the scrummy cup cakes from Humming Bird cake shop in the back ground! They then booked on the London Eye for an over view of London and I baby sat :) Then since it was soooo hot for the first time since Easter we enjoyed a walk all around the monopoly board!

Day two, Andrew was able to score tickets to Becs long time dream show to go see on stage, so they went off the theatre and I got to babysit little E and paddington bear! Later that night we chilled in Hyde Park and Bec and I had a girls night in with a few bottles of wine ;)

Day three started with a bit of a hick up with both bec and I being late for our very lovely high tea at the ritz .. something to do with the wine the night before. Anyhoo, we had a lovely time. In the arvo the travellers needed to do a shop so we hit Oxford Street for some good old fashion London mental shopping!

Day four was tourist central with a trip on the 'on off red bus tour'. Special high light was attending Evensong at St Pauls and getting locked in the chior stalls! Dont ask ;)

After all that we packed and jetted off the Edinbrugh! More about that soon! x

2007-05-16T21:51:00.000+01:00

Heellllooo! Its been a while, thats because I have a new job and well i am busy travelling there 3 hours a day :)

I will write more about that soon, but at this time I just wanted to do a quick blog with the pics I have so that I get something on this page to keep you coming back! So this is Jane my south african flat mate :) Helps of you put a face to a name I think :) And a pretty face she is!

Also, good news I will be visited by my very good pal Bec Logan and her hubby andrew and their lovely (now 1 year old) son Ethan in less than a week! It is so exciting for me to have someone who is a Perthian here in my midst! I am lukcy enough to be travelling with them to Edinburgh for a long weekend so it will be great!

More about this and other exciting adventures in another update!

Much love to you all who visit this space

Mel x

T 4 2

2007-04-12T21:20:00.000+01:00

He he, Dave and I went to Fulham Palace a little while ago to have some afternoon tea. Its just near our house and it is a lovely little place to sit relax and enjoy :)

Spring has Sprung

2007-04-12T21:17:00.000+01:00

Hello there :)

Things looked really dead when I arrived in London - thats probabaly coz it was winter! (der). But over the past month, all the scarey dead looking trees and woods have come to life and its has been so lovely! Lots of colours and blossoms and lovely green leaves have been popping up all over the place. It looks quite pretty out my window these days!

Sorry to hear its been raining for you aussies. It might just be the time for you to pop on a plane to come and see me and enjoy an english summer! (please come to see me! anyone, anyone)

Ok, well I will go now and miss you all silently

Lots of love

Melissa

Me Birthdee

2007-04-12T21:12:00.000+01:00

Easter Monday saw me turn 26! Can't really believe it! Where does time go? I don't feel 26 but I suppose that is a good thing!

Lovely Dave had planned me a day out, a boat trip on the Thames up to Hampton Court Palace etc but bad bad apple mac computers stole his Easter Monday holiday and rostered him to work! Grr to them! So Susannah my flat mate stood in and we enjoyed the plans Dave made together. It was fun!

The palace has over 500 years of royal history, Henry the VIII and William III lived there, you can see the real Tudor Kitchens where they fed about 800 people a day. It holds an important part of the largest private collection of art in the world, the Royal Collection, the property of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

There is also a Maze! It was planted as part of the gardens laid out for William of Orange (nice name!) between 1689 and 1695 by George London and Henry Wise.

I had a lovely day here for nearly 4 hours and still didn't see everything. Definitely worth another visit!

In the evening everyone came up to our pad and Susy organised a little party for me :) There was even balloons and I got to blow out candles on a caterpillar cake!(never to old)

One of the great things of my day was being remember by family and friends back at home. Thanks for your cards, pressies, emails, and sms's. Very special to me :)

Keep in touch

Melissa x

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These photos aren't mine they are from the net but you weren't allowed to take photos inside and I capture any of the true awesomeness of the place! The bedroom one is a drawing of Queen Mary's State Bedchamber, its pretty sweet!

The Easter Weekender

2007-04-12T21:02:00.000+01:00

The Easter weekend here was the great! The sun was out for the first consistent time since I got here and there was a sense that 'life will be ok!' as we took time out from the business of work and enjoyed friends, the sun and some of what London has to offer!

Good Friday
Dave and I travelled up to town to St Paul's Cathedral to attend what is called the 3 Hour Devotion. It is an anglicanish thing to do, based on scripture which indicates Jesus was on the cross for three hours from midday till 3pm. Whatever the case, it is a time of 3 hours of reflection, bible readings, medication and hymns. It is run in 30min intervals for people to come and go. It was an amazing experience to sit in this brilliant building and to take time to reflect upon the gift of Jesus and the sovereignty of Gods redemptive plan. I am not sure how to put what I thought and felt into words, just to say I think it is a real blessing to be open to experiencing how others undertake worship and christian commitment. Its just great that we can all be so different yet still worship the same God. St Paul's is a must see if you are in London, it is so big! And full of the most intricate details, paintings, gold and art work. Although this day we were not to take photos in respect for the fact a service was going on so I will have to return another day to do the tour and walk through.

The Boat Race
On Saturday our little 'ol Putney town (where we live) was host to the beginning of the famous boat race.

"The Boat Race is a rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club. It is rowed annually each Spring on the Thames in London. The event is a popular one, not only with the alumni of the universities, but also with rowers in general and the public. An estimated quarter of a million people watch the race live from the banks of the river, around nine million people on TV in the UK, and an overseas audience estimated at anywhere from five million to 120 million. The first race was in 1829 and it has been held annually since 1856, with the exception of the two world wars

Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a "Blue Boat", with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue"

There you have it .. and excerpt from wikipedia says it all. Of course I had no real idea of the nostalgia of it all .. but it was fun to hang out with the crew on the banks of the river. Sadly a huge steam boat parked right in front of the spot we had been warming for hours, so we could see neither the huge screen or the boats themselves at the starting line .. but it was a good day!

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Easter Sunday
We attended Shepperton Church in the morning for the Easter service. Then, since the sun was still out! we packed a picnic and went to Richmond Park near our house. It was a brilliant day when we finally got to lay our rug on the grass (man it was packed!) and we just relaxed, ate, read parts of the paper and snoozed! Kinda felt like we were at home at Stirk park or something, except with deer and squirrels! (As you can see it was very exciting for some of us .. eg rory!)

Hope your easter break was lovely too.

Melissa x

Flat D Roehampton Lane

2007-04-12T20:56:00.000+01:00

Hello. Its been hard to keep updated, but I tell you what I have a backlog of photos waiting for you all .. so watch this space! Anyhoo, for now, due to popular demand I am posting some photos of my flat! I can only show my room (which I share with susannah in the bed in the sky) and not the second room which Jane has (as I didnt ask), so know there is another room not shown. So as you can see, we have a hallway (derr! which links my room (the room at the end) and the kitchen/dining room & lounge!). That is pretty much it, oh yeah and the bathroom and the phone which people from the street buzz! I love them!. So that is that! A bit of a glimpse of my world!

Much love to you all :) Thanks for popping by!

Melissa x

Hundred Acre Woods

2007-04-01T13:18:00.000+01:00

As it is staying lighter longer, dave and I go for walks every arvo to get some exercise and fresh air ... not this day though! The air was smoggy and misty all day. At my work our office is on the 9th floor and the 'whatever it was' that was in the air meant I couldnt see the houses or trees below! The people in the office said it was pollution that had blown over from Russia?! Hmm, could it just be the pollution for London? Better to blame someone else I guess! Anyhoo, it meant that the sunset was very iteresting ... the sun was completely bright orange.

Thats all I wanted to say. Here are some pics of the sun set and our walk in the park .. well its more like a woods, but they call it a heath. I like to think of it as the hundred acre woods :) Later dudes. Mel x

A wittle update

2007-04-01T12:11:00.000+01:00

Hi ya everyone,

Life happens and it keeps you busy, so sorry not exciting updates for a while! Though I am sure you have much better things to do than wait around for my updates!

So what to say, here are some things that have been happening here in London but in point form this time just to mix it up a bit!

- It snowed again for one random morning after a whole week of sunshine, cherry blossoms blooming and warmth that required only a light jacket when outside! I suspect that will be the last snow we see, but it was nice to have it fall on our heads one last time
- A kid got stabbed at Susannah’s school .. no such a highlight, but a very regular occurrence here. It is insane to say the least what is going on in the young people here. Out of control, who knows what this place will be like in 20 years.
- Dave got a sofa bed in his kitchen/lounge/bedroom which has replaced the blow up mattress he has been sleeping on the past 3 months! Its really nice and very comfortable, so I think that is a highlight!
- I am off to Scotland in May with my friends Bec n Andrew Logan and little Ethan! It will be so cool to see some of this country, rather than Roehampton lane that is! I am so excited!
- Its my little brothers 18th at the end of this week and my 26th! Crazyness
- My sister and brother in law have returned from the land of the rising sun, to their home in the great south land of the holy spirit! Yay, so good to know they are back in visiting for coffee distance (well not for me, but for the rest of my fam that has missed them muchly!)
- It is light till like 7.30 here now, so lovely. Dave and I go for a walk every afternoon before dinner
- Dave is off to NY, Switzerland and somewhere else to shoot for his friends perfume label! Till be a great adventure! He is working a weekend job at Apple Mac store at the mo, a bit of photo editing on the side at Wire Image, and seeking some weekday temp stuff to fill in the gaps before he leaves. He is lovely and doing well.
- I am still awaiting this job interview on April 12 which has been so long due to them moving office. It is working with a faith based agency helping young mums and their children that are experiencing exclusion. It would really help my experience for where I want to be in the future, so I need Gods direction on this (and quite frakly to kick butt in the interview) if this is where he wants me to be. Other wise back to the drawing board!
- I had tea in the drawing room of Fulham palace yesteday it was so lovely! Forgot the camera so no pics, but I did feel very smart indeed!

I think that is all for now.

Here as some pics from the tube .. just for something different!

mel x

Londonia

2007-03-22T20:59:00.000Z

Another day out on the town ...

It was a brilliantly sunny day when dave and I headed up town to use our chrissy present from the frenchs ... a ride on the london eye! Thanks guys!

Followeing the eye we visted the Queens pad, ye old Buckingham Palace. I dont think she was in this day .. and even more disappointing was the fact that there was a sign up saying 'no changing of the gaurds today' :( Sad news, will have to vist again as I want to see it. Dave is making fun of me, but hey you cant come to london and not see the weirdos in red wearing bearskin hats!

So since there was no song and dance at buckers, we strolled through the park (appropriately named green park) where all the lovely daffs are out now that it is warming up. It was so nice to feel real live sun rays on our skin!

Then we meandered around before catching the tube home ... here's a little sqwiz of what we saw :)

Well yall, short and sweet as I am sure you were over all my writing! Mostly pictures this time :) Lots of love to you

Melissa x

Pictures

2007-03-01T11:15:00.000Z

Just to let those who are more picture people than word people know, I have back dated some photos into my previous post :)

Its nearly March! Whats been happening!

2007-02-25T13:23:00.000Z

Hi everyone!

Its been a while, thanks for popping by again. I haven't written for a while, as I am very busy and important ..... being a temp in some of the most mundane jobs in the world :) lol

Work n stuff
I worked 1 week at South African Tourism answering phones etc and a few days in at some council borough, which reminded me of 'the office'. But more specifically the room of accountants in the office, I think he calls them the number crunchers or numbots. Hmm anyway, if you know the show you know what I am trying to allude to without saying it! Interesting characters.

I have put in a few other job applications this week.. one of which cost £10 pounds to fax. You do the math’s into Aussie dollars! Hmm, better get it! Actually God was good that day, coz the fax was to cost £10 but then the guy said 'oh we are having a half price sale on our internet and services today, so that will be £5'. Awesome coz that is all I had in me little purse!'

So still awaiting the right job and believing my heavenly father knows what he is doing! I have been encouraged, though coz I met some people a social worker and PR person, both qualified professional, who also struggled to find work when they arrived here. It took them about 2 months to find work so its not just me!

So a few highlights maybe? Anyone interested?
I find it easier to do highlights, otherwise I just write a rambling mess.

A new flat mate!
God has blessed us with a new house mate, to help share the cost of our very expensive home. Her name is Jane and she is from South Africa. It was a real answer to prayer for her, as she was being kicked out of her place where 9 people lived on Saturday and had no where to go. She wanted a Christian flat share, and her own bathroom (makes sense after sharing with 9 people!) and she wanted to live in Putney near her church! So God is good, He answered her prayers and ours! I now share a room with my original flat mate Susannah and we ordered a bed in the sky for her! Its not a bunk, coz it’s a stand alone bed high up on stilts and it sits above another bed or a computer desk or whatever underneath. My brother Ryan had one in his room, so you might know what I am talking about. Anyway that comes on Wednesday, so we wont have to share a bed for too long!

The Love Actually Church
I attended church with Jane and her friends this Sunday gone, to a Vineyard Church in Putney. It was a lovely service with friendly people and a really nice time of worship. I have always known vineyard Church's to be very deep and Christ centered in their worship and this was true of this church. I enjoyed it very much. The worship leader used to sing with Matt Redman, so you can imagine the lovely songs and guitar sounds.

And in fact ….this was exciting for me being a Love Actually fan ... the actual building that the service is held in is the same School Hall that is used in the movie, in the scene of the children's nativity play at the end of the film, where Hugh Grant and that chick (Natalie?) kiss behind the blue curtains :).

Of course the other highlight of being at church was that the Lord was there! I think I will go back their next week, however I am still attending Holy Trinity Brompton at night also.

Happy things in the family
It was my mums bday on the 22nd so Happy Bday to her. And my clever Dad had his graduation service for completing his CA qualifications, so well done Daddy! My sister and bro in packing down their life in Japan to return home soon, so I am sure they and the family is pretty happy about that! My brothers Bradley and Ryan are working very hard on their apprenticeship and pre- apprenticeship courses, growing to be very clever skilled young men I am sure!

Well I do hope to hear from you all! I was very happy to receive an email from my Auntie Debbie, Uncle Paul and the kids, as well as one from my Grandma and Grandpa Staer. Also a big parcel of goodies from Matt and Jess in Japan (yay my hairdryer!). Thanks guys! Thanks also to all my lovely friends who call, sms or write to remind me of my lovely life back home :)

You're all in my thoughts and prayers

Love Melissa

The monoply board

2007-02-13T15:41:00.000Z

Hi yall,

A few pics here from last week (when I had a very bad hair day) and Dave and I attempted to go on the London eye, but were scared off by the bizzililions of people who were also planning to go on! We were given some tickets as Chrissy presents from Dave's Mum and Dad which was great! But we want to use them on a special day when we don't have to be squashed in with so many others!

So, we changed plans and wondered around the monopoly board on London! We went to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Walked down Strand, Oxford Street and Bond Street. There are some seriously wealthy places around Bond Street and New Bond Street. We saw 3 Ferrari's parked up in a line outside some huge jewelery shop dripping with chandeliers and sparkles!

Being Chinese New Year there was a celebration throughChina town and these was lots of lanterns and buzz.

Dave took me to see his old workplace from when he was in London last, Selfridges. Very fancy, has everything you
could ever want, but not my cup of tea. London, is a very consumer orientated place and it kind of does my head in!

We wondered around till it was dark, then we caught a bus home which is so much nicer than having to get the tube! We even past Harrods, light up in all its glory, so that was nice.

So that is my story!

TTFN, Ta Ta for now!

Melissa

2 Weeks Highlights in 1 Post!

2007-02-12T15:58:00.000Z

Hi everyone

This week it is a double update, as I failed to get last weeks up on time!. Its my one month anniversary here in London on Wednesday! Crazy!

Sorry that its been a lot of words and not many pictures of late (however I have back dated some previous posts if you want to look). Its just I am using lots of internet café computers and they are the dodgiest machines ever! Cant seem to figure out how to make them consistently do what I ask them too! So bare with me .. and enjoy lots and lots of words in their place!

(Monday 29 Jan – Sunday 4 Feb)

The Park (Sun 4 Feb)
Sunny days were around this week in London, so there was lots of peeps out on the town. A highlight for me is always getting out of the house! Dave and I took a stroll on Sunday down to the Park near our house. It was so lovely to be outside, looking over the large expanse of greenery with midst in the distance and deer meandering around. There was a cute little lake that we sat near watching the swans and ducks (But I am weary of swans though, as one bit me when I was little! (Nasty thing!). Moving on from my repressed childhood memoires … the park was very nice and now that I know it is there I may visit it more often!

Parker Party (Fri 2 Feb)
My best friends husband Craig turned 27 on Saturday (on ya Criag!) and he is from London. His family love him so much that they threw him a party here in is honour with a b’day cake and everything. The whole lot of them, called him on Skype and sung happy birthday to him. I met the Parker family during the time they were in Oz for Dav and Craig’s wedding, and they were kind enough to invite us along to celebrate Craig. We had an amazing time with this wonderful family. Dave is best friends with Craig’s cousin Terry so there is lots of memories and laughs that go long back, and I worked with Darren who is Terry’s brother. So we are all connected in around about way! Its lots of fun!

We enjoyed the most amazing meal (I am talking about food again but this stuff is just too good!) with many varieties of curry. My favourite was the prawn and pumkin one! There was so many of us, it took 2 sittings around the table! It was truly amazing. We are so thankful to the Parkers for their kindness and hospitality!

Alpha & A Girls Night In (Sun 4 Feb)
I visited the real life Alpha church with Dishan and Leonie on Sunday. It was a really nice service, in a lovely old church. I have just loved being in the house of God while I have been away. It’s like a sanctuary, it feels like home in a place where everything is so not home! I love that God is universal. He is for all of us no matter who we are or where we are. The service talked about perseverance and faith, something I am aiming to keep hold of during this time of unsureness about what is happening for me here in London. I felt God encouraging me that His word is true and his promises are real. It is not a lie, that he has good plans for me life and that he has created me in Christ Jesus with work he planned for me to do in advance. So this is a time of faith and perseverance for me, to trust believe and wait for what God has for me here.

The night was topped off brilliantly with a girl’s night in (the boys went off to watch some band or something). Leonie, Dishans wife, is a lover of old films, and showed us her favourite ‘Sabrina’. We sipped champagne with strawberries and ate amazing Harrods truffles (each was a little work of art!) Yay for girl’s nights! It was so relaxing, Just what I needed. I have been missing them!

Other Stuff
Now I know it might seem like I am not doing any job hunting, but a lot goes on on the side ok?! Sadly didn’t get the Tearfund job I was hoping for, but that means that God has something else. I have registered with 3 agencies at this point, 2 of which can hopefully get me some temp work this week. The other one is a youth work agency. I will continue to search for youth work jobs independently. A few applications are going in this week. Applications here are quite an exhaustive process. They can take 2 – 4 hours to do! If nothing pops up by Friday, I will hit the streets with my hospitality resume and see if I can pick up anything at all - need to earn the pounders!

Just want to say thanks for all your love and prayers so far, and if you would, please continue to stand with me in prayer for direction in the job arena! Please also continue to keep my family in mind as my dad and aunty recover and the rest of them as they do life together. Please also keep Dave in your prayers as he tackles the very competitive arts market here.

You’re all brilliant, thanks for keeping up with my long posts! Miss you heaps! Write soon

Love Melissa x

(Monday 5 Feb - Sunday 11 Feb)

Job Hunting
Job hunting has been the main focus of the week gone. One of the temp agencies came off for me this week, and I start a little reception job on Monday. So thank God I will have some money soon!

Snow (again!) and The Natural History Museum (Thurs 8 Feb)
I try to do one touristy thing a week, being here in London you know! Once I am earning more, maybe some extended travel but for now just the freebies!

It seems to be a pattern now that whenever Dave and I want to do a tour, it snows! We should do touristy things more often! We woke again to snow this week, but this time it kept snowing all morning until 10am! That was so exciting this time to have it falling on us! After it stopped we ventured out for our day on the town.

Dave and I visited the natural history museum which was fantastic (I thought so anyway). Just walking into the building was breathtaking. It was a huge, beautiful historical building. The museum holds a vast array of exhibitions; we only got through one wing of the 4 wings and 2 floors! We saw the dinosaur exhibition and the human body one. I just love things like that, where you look, touch, see and learn something new. I need to visit again, to do the rest of it. Just next door is where the Kylie Exhibition is being held. A tribute to her career showing her gowns, videos etc, us girls are really keen to go! Maybe this week!

Rory B’day (Fri 9 Feb)
Dave’s brother in law Rory turned 30 this week! With our three flat house arrangement, the 2 down stairs flats were open for the party Friday night, with mine and Susannah’s top flat operating as the food prep area. It was a great night, and I think Rory had a good one!

He was lucky enough the next day to have to get up nice and early … but it was ok because he and Dave travelled to Manchester to see Man United! They sat right near the pitch and next to the player’s seats. I think it would have been like a dream come true for him and dave!

Not must else at this stage. I think I can say I am finally settling in. Missing my family muchly, lots of love to you Mum, Dad, Ryan, Brad, Matt and Jess.

And of course lots of love to you, who made it to the bottom of this gigantic post! Well done!

Mel x

A trip to the seaside

2007-02-01T11:42:00.000Z

Hi yall,

Hope your enjoying the sunshine and beach in oz! Well, im not jealous at all coz I went to the beach the other day too! Brighton beach infact lol.

Terry and his girlfriend Becca were kind enough to take Dave and I on a little road trip to the sea side. Not like the sea back home at all, but fun all the same. Its so nice just to get out of the house!

The beach has a pier decked out with all rides and entertainment and stuff. Alot was closed this day as it is winter time, but we got a few rounds of daytona in anyway (yes dave beat me!). The beach is, as everyone says, truly ALL pebbles, no sand! And not small ones either. It is like walking on rocks. It was nice all the same to get down to the coast .. couldn't see much as it was very misty ... but I liked it.

Lunch was greatly anticipated by all, a feed of famous english fish and chips! Good stuff. Finished off with hot doughnuts, great on a cold day!

We ended our little day trip with a hot coffee looking over the marina. It was a real nice relaxing day. After our long drive home, we popped into Terry's Nan and Grandad. They welcomed us in and were so kind, sitting us down to a traditional Burmese dish called ... (mohinga?), hmm I cant remember now. It was a seafood, noodle soup with and egg and corriander. Very yummy! Kind of a mix of indian and thai falvours. As we finished, the rest of the family slowly rocked up bit by bit. Daz, then Cherry and Jeff (Criags parents), then Noleen, Chase, Jen and Nev was cooking in the kitchen. I couldn't believe nan had cooked up that much, she was just like 'eat,eat!'

It was such a nice time to see them all again after meeting them over the Craig and Davinia's wedding. They are so welcoming and kind and it was a nice to be around a family again (as I am missing mine alot!). We chatted, shared a few drinks and then Uncle Nev let us taste the master piece dessert he had been cooking! It was divine! A fench tart with plums and a creamy custard cheescake like topping. So lovely.

So we had a really special day and feel very blessed (so thanks for sharing your family craig :) and happy bday for this weekend!)

Lots of love

Melissa

Week #2

2007-01-29T16:12:00.001Z

Hey yall,

Hope you had a super long weekend enjoying Australia Day. Heard it was a hot one! Aus day was not the biggest deal for us here (though there were folks with blow up surfboards in green and gold on the cold town!) but we were happy to remember home all the same!

So, another week has passed. I am entering my 3rd week here in London and my prayers are getting more and more constant to the Lord. Even before I wake up, my spirit is sending prayers to the heavens. I am ready to work and find my place here. I believe God has me here for a reason ... the faith bit..... is allowing Him the time to unravell this, without me taking over!

So, in the mean time, how about some highlights of the past week?

1 - A visit to Roehmapton hospital
Yes, I took a little day trip to the 'minor injuries unit' on Friday (Aus day!) after doing my favourite trick ..'the cut your hand on the glass washing up trick'. This is the second time I have performed this trick of late, The first being the day before my final exam for my whole entire degree, which left me unable to write for a whole month!

Being a true pro at this, I grabbed the tea towel covered my bleeding hand and did what any other normal person on the other side of the world would do .... I called my mum! Everyone needs their mum when something goes wrong!

In our block of flats there is ALWAYS someone home. Out of 8 of us, one is always around. Except for this day. No one was home and no one would be home for hours. I was all alone, bleeding in a foreign country with no idea what to do! (sob sob). I called everyone I knew (which isn't alot) and found their was a chemist down the street. I walked there with my tea towel and all, and was greeted by an uninterested lady eating her lunch. "Alright?" she asked. I replied, "Im bleeding, Im from Australia and I dont know where to go, can u help me?". She told me to walk to the hospital. Not where the hospital was, how long it took, what side of the road it was on or anything. Ahh, helpful London. Anyhoo, I got the details I needed and walked myself to the hospital. There I was helped quite quickly and easily, without any ID or money. No stitches this time, just gauze straps to hold skin together, bandages and 1 week water free.

2 - Sunday Lunch
The whole sunday lunch thing is big here, its just what you do on a cold, lazy sunday arvo. We (me, dave, sus, bron and rory) were invited to Dub and Tanya's house for lunch after church sunday. (Dub and Tanya are good friends of Bron and Rory, as their parents are old friends of Rob and Jill Anderson
from old days when they lived in London. Got it?). So yeah, we rocked over to their lovely 'little' home and sat around a great cooked ham with vegies, spuds, the lot. Amazing pudding followed, and at the end we were all very happy campers! Food has become a real highlight for me!

I've already mentioned the snow and sights, so I think that is about it at the moment!

Hope you're all well. Please let me know.

Love Melissa

Snow n Sights

2007-01-25T12:57:00.000Z

Guess who woke up with snow on their door step yesterday?

Ok, well its not that hard to guess .. that's right ... me! Little 'ol Roehampton looked quite nice, with soft snow covering the trees, streets and cars. We awoke like excitited kids on Christmas day and ran out the the park, to take photos before it all melted.

While we unemployed Aussies were having fun in the winter wonderland, half of London was trecking through the snow on their way to work, as tubes and trains were severely delayed. The papers were up in arms about it. 1 inch of snow and the whole on London stops. Its a bit of a joke hey! Truly a crazy place.

Dave and I were not detered by the chaos in our plan to do a walk of the south side of the Thames. Sure it was cold, sure it was crazy but we did it! And I truly was so glad to be out of the house! I was going mental!! With my London lonely planet in hand (big thanks to Craig for this very helpful gift :) and lots of layers we ventured out. The aim was just to have a sqwiz at some of the sights. I hope to go back and do some tours at a later date, when I am earning some ponders. But it was so nice, just to enjoy the out doors. Its a bit surreal seeing Big Ben, Tower Bridge etc. Feels like I have been here before, but I think it is just all the photo's I have seen of others little journeys to the mother land!

It was a lovely day, finished off with a nice curry and a bottle of red at home.

Thinking of you all on the eve of Australia Day. We are a blessed nation. Keep praying for our great south land, that they Holy Spirit will continue to be an evident force in our communities and nation. We still have hope! London feels very hopeless and Godless. May we not follow in their footsteps!

Go the green and gold

Love Melissa

What to say of London?

2007-01-22T13:51:00.000Z

The difficult thing in writing about London is everyone has their own story to tell.

Most people can say, ‘I didn’t find that about London’, or ‘London is the best place ever” or ‘maybe they didn’t live in the right area’, or ‘my mothers, brothers, convict friend who made tea for the Queen loved it in London’.

Every person has a different story to tell. This is my story, written here on my blog. So, my preface to the beginning of my blogging about my adventures here in London, is to ask that you keep an open mind as you follow me through my times here. I’ve never been here, so it might be a bit up and down at times, but that’s the adventure!

1 - The number one thing
I think the number one thing that has surfaced for me here in London, has been my relationship with God. Everyone says it - travel stretches you. It exposes your need for him, and reminds you that he truly is your everything. Its like Psalm 23, its in the valley times that you become very aware that he is ‘with you’. It can be dark around you, you feel lost and your not sure what’s coming next, but you feel and know in a deeper way than ever … God, is right here next to me. He is ‘comforting me’.

Being away for the past 3.5 weeks, has brought all of these things up for me. But I have been very aware that he is good, faithful and sovereign. I have so much to be thankful for and so much hope for life here and now. So being a new year, my focus for 07 is to remind myself that “great is thy faithfulness’ (oldie but a goodie!). The song itself is so true for us as his kids.

I have been really blessed by a resource that my very interesting and clever brother in law matthew introduced to me. They are like 15 min reflective teachings that I have found very very encouraging, challenging and life brining! I love that the truth, like the real truth of Christ (not religious teachings or rules) is so inspiring and life bringing that you can actually feel freedom, peace and joy when you partake of it! If you are interested in checking some of these out please go to www.nooma.com. The teaching called "dust" is very good!

2 - My house & area
So my house, is a two bedroom 2 bathroom flat in a block of 4 in Roehampton. The other 2 are occupied by dish, leonie, al, bron, rory & dave and the third is free at the mo. It is newly renovated, so its all new which is nice. But it was done a little on the cheap (it’s the thing to get Ukraine people in, pay them a pittence and get them to build houses, but maybe not the best idea since skills and standards differ). Anyhoo it will do for now. Me and Susannah are currently tyring to set up house a bit, though going very basic. We have nice big windows that look over the street and a red couch!

Right at our door step is a 24hr bus that takes us to Putney tube station, there are 24 hour shops 100 metres from our house, library, internet café etc and then in Putney everything else we need is there.

I have found it difficult to do any walking or physical activity here, as everything is right near! In Japan, we did lots of walking and riding around, but here everything is right at the door! (good and bad!). I will be looking at the rec centre for some physical guidance soon and I’d like to get a bike to maybe ride to the station instead of getting the bus. It really really really is true that there is a Heathrow injection! I feel like I have put on weight already (not joking!) and its only been a week (I am scared matt!).

3 - The first 7 days
Has consisted of getting my head around the neighbourhood and getting used to this place. It really was a shock from Japan. Here, my experience of people so far is that they are rude and aggressive. The trick seems to be to keep ones head down and not make eye contact. Not really my cup of tea. Things are a lot more disorganised than home or Japan, and it is definitely dirtier. People don’t seem to have the same respect for their country, public services etc. However, I did go out into Shepperton and things were different there, so I suppose it is like any city verses suburb culture. My first experience of the tube, left a lot to be desired after the wonderful, clean, kind and fast services in Japan. It was dingy, old, dirty and the lights flickered on and off like an eerire horror movie. It broke down 3 times during the very slow journey and the announcer said they would let us know what the problem was, and never did. I did get to my destination though, so that’s something I suppose. Weather, hasn’t been as cold as Japan, but it rains, not much though yet. Since being here I have been able to get my bank account open, get an NI meeting organised, applied for a job, attended church and sleep in!

4 - My job hunting
I have been a bit up in the air about what I actually want to do here. Originally I wanted to do youth work, but I have been kinda scared off this in terms of 1:1 casework. So God will have to speak to me quite clearly if this is exactly what he wants me to do. I am also having thoughts again about coming back and studying more in Australia. But something you can pray for me about, is a job with Tearfund that have applied for. I think I would really like it, and it brings together my love for youth, justice, and my skills in administration and networking. Also it is a Christian agency and coming from Fusion I would really love that! So, God willing I will get a job pretty soon and can get working! I think then I will see a different side of London, meet some people etc!

I will be applying at a temp agency this week to, in order to do something on the side if this doesn’t come through.

5 - My friends and community
It’s a pretty big blessing to arrived at this new place and to have people around me that can be of help and support. Bron and Rory invited me to Shepperton Community Church on Sunday and that was really lovely. Totally like Forrestfield a few years ago, it felt like home and that was so nice. They have some good friends there who were very welcoming and we had a lunch together after church. I hope to attend the cell group with Dave on Thursday. Those in the other flats have been very helpful to me and sus, offering us things that we don’t yet have and inviting us over for dinner. The band guys have a van too, and kindly took us to Ikea for an arvo so we could get the stuff we needed. So much to be thankful for in regards to genuine people, with listen, offer support and give us a helping hand.

Thanks for prayers for my family; dad is home now but still got a long road of recovery. He will continue to need your prayers and love.

Please keep me updated in your worlds.

Miss you all lots

Melissa x

Next stop .. London

2007-01-17T11:26:00.000Z

Hi everyone!

Hope lots of fun things are going on for you :)

Thanks for reading my blog, and special thanks to bec for being my most active commentor! Woohoo :)

So, just a real quick one to let you know I have arrived in London. Quite a rude shock compared to Japan (which I loved so much).

Its not been as cold here as in Japan, but it rains so a bit sloppy! I am living with an old church friend Susannah and we have a nice little pad in a 4 apartment block. Very good frieds of ours rent the other two apartments so it is like a real life version of 'friends' here!

May I just ask you, as my friends at this time to keep my family in your prayers at this time.

I will write again soon

Love melissa x

Highlights of Japan!

2007-01-13T16:38:00.000Z

Here are some highlights of the past week for you to enjoy! Hope you're all well!

1 - Skiing and Snow!

The three of us flew up north to Hokkaido, apparently world renowned for its powder like snow! Jessica’s cram school sensei’s and good friends the Ohnama’s had helped to planned an awesome holiday for us.

Unlike us Aussies who pack the day before and have a ‘she’ll be right’ mentality to travel, Japanese people research everything! The best places to eat, the famous places to see, the special produce of the area that must be tasted! The key is not to miss out on anything!

So, with our print outs, maps, coupons and directions from the Ohnama’s we set off to see the snow, eat the famous mutton of the area (they call mutton Genghis Kahn!), drink the famous Sapporo beer and taste the chocolates & ice cream made from famous Hokkaido milk!

Day one, we wondered lost in the snow. It was pretty cool, to have real snow falling on my head. But particularly annoying when it gets in your eyes! We visited the Sapporo beer museum and had tastings. So cheap, $4 for 3 middies! Matt was a happy man.

Day two we waited in the lobby in our ski (space like) clothing and were told our ski field was closed due to too much snow! Thankfully they took us to another ski field and it was open. It looked like a winter wonderland. I have never seen snow falling so it was so cool! We had a 1.5 hour lesson, thankfully the trainer could speak some English so matt and I didn’t have to stand their looking stupid! It was such fun. A few falls here and there, but after our lesson we tackled rainbow course all on our own! We made it down the 20min track and felt like pro skiers! It was such a blast, covered from head to toe, with only our noses showing, trekking through the snow. Definitely want to do it again!

The last day, we caught a train to Otaru. It was -3.3 there and snowing like crazy. It is a more ‘touristy’ place. We spent most of the day inside a beer house that resembled the Sherwood Forest, home to Robin Hood. The staff were dressed like Maid Marion etc. It was pretty fun! So we were there eating and drinking for about 3 hours. Firstly for relief from the cold and secondly because we forgot money! We sent matt out in the crazy weather to find us cash (no one does eftpos in Japan).

We had a fun little adventure away & got quite comfortable with one another sharing a room in the hotel! lol

2 - Tea Ceremony

One of Jessica’s friends took me out to her grandma’s place to see traditional tea ceremony. I sat there in the seiza position (my legs going dead!) and watched the very graceful and beautiful process of making the tea. With the very green and bitter tea, sweet sweets are served. It is an art that Japanese people study for their whole lives. This lady has been a teacher for 50 years. She says the process is about beauty. Everything is to be done in a certain way e.g. only three step moves are allowed in order to go forward to receive the tea, and you must turn the bowl to the right before drinking. Also remember not to step on the blue line in the tatami mat!

It was a lovely experience and the lady was very kind to take the time to teach me.

3 – Visiting Jessica’s School

I was the first and only special guest Jessica has had to actually attend her classes! Thursday saw 6 classes back to back with 35 – 40 students and Friday 4 classes. Jess began the lesson with the students asking me questions in English. After they stopped shrieking and staring at me (asking if jess and I were twins?) the questions started. Number one most common question was ... ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’ When I answered “yes”, they all screeched and clapped! It was lots of fun, they are lovely girls but it is very tiring. Jess works hard, and does well being the cultural experience educator at the school. We then did a group work challenge, in which I got to go round and speak to some of the students to help them. This was fun.

I attended the junior school two days, because it had to be ‘fair for all students to get the chance to have an English speaking guest. Fair is very important in Japan. I also looked around the senior high school that Jess works at, and was a previous student at when she was on exchange. Very eye opening to see her desk and think of her in class with a whole bunch of Japanese people for a year, eating her home made lunch box of rice etc every day! Jess is a very talented and wonderful teacher here!

4 - Going Drinking

Sounds dodgy but its not! In Japan there are drinking houses called ‘Izakaia’s’. They are small shops, usually attached to someone’s house. There is a hostess, the shop owner who serves you for the night. They are warm, welcoming and homely places. When you arrive a small bite size dish is served, so you don’t get affected by the first drink J. You order your drink and right before you, the hostess prepares it. You then order off the menu and the same lady gets to work on your food. It is truly amazing food, so tasty, so fresh and prepared with such love! The lady who owned the shop was the sweetest most hospitable lady I have ever met!

We were taken to this drinking house Jessica’s cram school teacher friends and it was such and enjoyable night! We shared dish after dish or delicious food, had a few drinks to warm us up and enjoyed the company.

It was so fun. I also tasted hot sake for the first time .. and fried oysters! All good J

I leave for London on Monday, and God has been good as I have a house all sorted out, right near some good friends and some of Dave’s family!

Keep safe y'all

Melissa

Meijijingah Temple – New Years Day

2007-01-06T03:04:00.000Z

In Australia, on New Years Day we normally go to the beach to chill out. Not religiously but often. But in

Japan

, people spend the first day of the New Year visiting the temple.

We visited a temple in order to see what this looks like and I suppose to see how dedicated or involved people really are to this tradition. We traveled to Harajuku and awaited the line at Mijijingah Temple (the lanterns on the right looked amazing as we walked down the big long entrance .. but don't be fooled, its just fancy advertising! Cool hey!)

Sure there were a lot of people and the line was long and wide, but we thought hmm maybe an hour and we will see the temple. But….once we joined the line we had no idea what we were up for! 2 hours and 45 mins later we left the temple! It was insane! The line that we thought was entering the temple was only half the length and it was the same length again around the corner (that we could not see from where we were!). Once we were in the sea of people, police man on mega phones announced “once you’re in the line please do not turn back”. So we were stuck! And in Japan you don't break the rules :)

Crazily everyone waited quietly and calmly, seemingly not phased by the wait. However, they do line up for cold stone (like our cold rock) in 7 degrees for 50mins to receive their ice-cream! (The other day we looked at the Krispy Kreme line and it indicated with a sign you will wait over 1 hour to get to the counter!)

At the temple the Japanese people who have been waiting so long, move to the front to throw money at the shrine and say a prayer. They then move on into a side show area where they do the following things. 1 - Write their prayers or wishes on wooden blocks and hang them in on big boards. Of the ones we read, they ask for things like health, family protection and world peace (one person asked to become ‘the best’). These wooden cards are blank on one side and have a picture of a boar on the other as it is the year of the boar. 2 - Following this, they go to another area in the temple where they buy things. Not quite sure what they do but they are arrow like things and small ornaments which are symbolic of something to do with the New Year. 3 - They also buy a ‘good luck card’. It comes on a small piece of white paper and it predicts your luck for the year. It would really suck on the first day of the year if you got a bad one! 4 - After reading them, each person ties it to a string line and leaves.

It was an interesting experience, and I don’t think I can really explain what I thought about it at this time.

I suppose one thing we can learn from this, is the value maybe of starting the New Year before

God. Reflecting on the year that has been, bringing our heart desires and prayers before Him. Taking time out, to put aside the New Year to Him. The good thing is, we do not have to line up for 2.5hours with 1000’s of others to be near Him! Nor do we need to buy his love. He is

personal and He already paid the price! He lives with us everyday, showing His commitment, love and desire to be known by us, through the sacrifice of his son Jesus. He is good, loving and faithful. May we all know this a bit more in 2007!

I hope you are all well,

Melissa

Akemashite Omedetou

2007-01-01T05:21:00.000Z

Akemashite Omedetou, “Happy New Year” to you all

My second day in Japan fell on New Years Eve. Being a Sunday, Matt and Jess took me to their church. We trekked there on foot and train today, leaving the bikes at home. We walked along the Edo Gawa (the river near their house) where a few homeless people live. They create tents on the river, fishing and washing in the river. They are very clean apparently, upholding normal traditions like having tatami mats in their tents and never wearing shoes inside. Many of these people became homeless after the ‘bubble’ (an economic boom during the 1908’s) broke and there were no jobs available anymore. Many people became unemployed and there is a large shame associated with this. Suicide is an option that occurs a lot, as families at least receive insurance payments. However, some people just withdraw from the family and live alone. Along the Edo Gawa we could also see the Tokyo Skyline and a few of the local birds.

We caught the train then to church, grabbing Starbucks along the way. The church matt and jess attend is a bit of a mix with roots in Baptist and Lutheran. They describe it as ‘bible centered worship’. It was very refreshing to walk into this little down stairs room where the piano was being played and people were reflecting on the verse on the screen Ps 80. There were about 10 people in total (the biggest service they have had!). It is encouraging to realize that all around the world people are worshiping Jesus in their own ways. The service follows a clear guideline with interesting things I had never seen before such as the Catechism questions and the Doxology. Each week they read a chapter from the old and new testament (which matt and jess read out this week, big words and all!) and there is a short message after each. It was a very ‘meaty’ way to learn and I found it encouraging. We had a quick meal at “Yoshinoya” which is like traditional Japanese fast food, my meal of beef, rice and salad cost $4.80. Nice.

Matt took us to his studio at MLS where he works with Japanese children from age 2 -14 ‘teaching English through drama’. It was cool to see a bit of his world!

Being NYE in Japan we were to be eating at home, as it is a time for family and reflection. Jess invited her neighbor Haruko over for dinner. On the way home we went to the shops and markets to get food. It was busy and loud. Food is very expensive! Rice, being their staple is $10 for 2 kg! Go figure! $20 will get you two small pieces of meat, or a small packet of grapes or a rockmelon. However alcohol is cheap as, 4L of whiskey is $30. Great if you are an alcoholic, but it certainly doesn’t fit in a brown paper bag!

We shared “Shabu Shabu” for dinner. A gas plate is placed in the middle of the table, and a pot of boiling water on top. Vegetables and meat are placed inside by those at the table and taken out when cooked, then dipped in sauces and placed on a bowl of rice. It’s a nice sharing meal.

We greeted the New Year with champagne and kitted up in Eskimo clothes to go into the 1 degree cold to do fireworks! Matt showed me how and I did a few which was fun J we then trekked to a Shintu Temple, where many people were out getting blessings. There was music, sake to drink and a fire to keep warm by. We had lots of fun with Haruko who showed us the way.

I hope your New Years Eve was great fun and that you enjoyed celebrating with family and friends!

Welcome to 2007 people! God bless

Melissa

Konichiwa!

2006-12-31T11:29:00.000Z

Hi there!

I am sitting in Matt and Jess’s (my sister and husband check out www.mattandjess.blogspot.com for their adventures in Japan) awesome little place looking out the window onto the real Japan :) It’s really beautiful where they live, right near an awesome garden. It’s very peaceful and surprisingly quiet since I arrive. Their house is small but so lovely. Its very new and has lots of mod cons (to me anyway!) like an awesome temp selection controlled heated bath (which I used last night for my 43 degree soak!)

My flight was ok, an overnighter which has pro's and con's. Was sitting next to a old Japanese man and it was a bit uncomfortable as I was trying to be really aware not to end up leaning on him!

Leaving home was weird; I have been to the international airport so many times for friends, church and others that I felt like I was there for someone else not me! I was in the end, able to get my head around this thought "yeah ok, I am going on a holiday to Japan to see my sister" but sitting on the plane I was still not able to fully comprehend this thought "I am relocating for a year and not going to be seeing my family and friends for ages!". That thought might take a long time to get used to, so for now I will deal with one country at a time ... starting with Japan!

Since arriving in Japan, jess and I caught the train to Ichikawa which is her town and then a taxi to her house. It took about 1.5 hours. The trains were ok this day as it was Saturday as they were surprisingly quiet, in relation to the people but not the trains themselves! Everything has a sing song when ever anything happens. The doors are closing and it’s not just a beep or ding, it’s like a whole song and dance! What’s more, they have sounds to allude to thing that aren't there e.g. birds singing (which I fell for at the train station). I stopped, and jess was like "what is it Mel?". I said, "I am just looking for the little bird up there" (i have an interest in animals and at times like to talk to them!) Moving on, I felt a bit silly.

Driving in the taxi, the man didn’t even help us with the bags. Thought we were silly gaijin (foreigners), then jess prattled off in Japanese (its so cool!) and he began to change his tune. That is he got out of the car to shut the boot after we lugged all the stuff out! Nice. The roads are so small and are unmarked. It’s like a rabbit warren and you just need to know where you are going! Crazy driving and no seatbelts! (Though they have the strap there for them so it is kind of just teasing!)

I got to matt and jess’s and had a shower, only to find I couldn't open my bags! My lovely cousin Cas had done lots of my packing while I raced around like a crazy person and I did not over see how the combo locks worked. Anyway, Matt broke into them by listening out for the clicks in the numbers (nice and secure hey!) and the numbers were actually different to those we had programmed! Go figure. Anyway, matt the Houdini saved the day.

Then it was off on the bikes to a lunch thing. All they have is bikes for transport and I truly love doing active things like riding, so yeah it was great! It was cold, 7 degrees. Its weird coz its cold but the sun is out and there is no rain. So just cold. (I have a weirdness that rises in me when we put the heater on during the day, as I can hear mum saying 'you can’t have the heater on in the day when the suns out! Put on another jumper’ Maybe this is true in Perth, but not here!’ Sorry mum x

So it’s cold, I have the whole kit, you know gloves, jacket, scarf and hopefully soon a beanie as my ears sting on the bikes as we ride! We went to Jessica’s seni's house for the graduation of her cram school students. They were to practice their English by teaching me how to do Takoyaki (its a weird kind of ball shaped pancake tasting thing that you make in a special communal pan with lots of dipped holes). It was fun with three rooms of people, about 25 in total. They were so cute and lovely. I ate fermented bean curd, go me!

Not so much of a highlight on my first day was getting groped by a Japanese man while riding my bike. I got off to go around a corner and he just grabbed my butt. I yelled out, "how bout you don't grab my ass" (sorry kids don't repeat). Jess was going to have a go at him but we were all so shocked and it was a bit of a kafuffle of a situation as we were lost and trying to turn around and not get hit by cars and he walked off. Apparently it is a real problem here. Hmm, pretty dodgy. Next time I will just kick them where it hurts! (Maybe)

We watched the bright red sun set next to Mount Fugi at 4.30pm and it was dark at 5pm. It was a magnificent sight! I enjoyed a hot (nearly passed out it was so hot) bath and then lay it bed for a while. Well, a long while as jess returned from the shops with tea and I was sleeping still. Like a great sister she rugged me up and left we to sleep! I feel very refreshed now!

I do not know what today holds, as matt and jess are still Zzzzzzzzzzzzing but I am sure it will be fun! It is New Years Eve which is exciting, however in Japan, this is more of time to be indoor with family, than to party hard. I think we have a dinner planned with some neighbors. So, Happy New Year to you, I pray you have safe celebrations tonight and that 2007 is a great year for you all!

Will keep you updated, and will post some pics when Houdini matt, who is also very skilled at computers gives me a lesson. :)

Much love to you all

Melissa

Bye! Love Mel x

2006-12-29T08:40:00.000Z

Hi folks,

Just wanted to say “bye, I will miss you!”, as I am officially leaving Perth today. Very weird experience, as I am totally not comprehending that I am really going (and for a while too!)

Thanks to all those peeps that made it to the cott on wed night. I enjoyed your company!

Will update soon!

Keep safe and keep in contact

Love Melissa x

Count down!

2006-12-23T03:56:00.000Z

Hi folks,

The count down is on. Only 6 days to go! I need to squeeze in to that time Christmas celebrations, finishing up my job, shopping for last min things, seeing special folks before I go and packing ... I am sure I will be busy!

I leave December 29 for Japan and will celebrate new years there with my sister and brother in law. I will then arrive in London on Jan 15 to my new home for the next year or so! (And I will finally getting to see Dave after 6 or so weeks :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas time with family and friends. And that you take time to reflect on the reason for the season, Jesus Christ. He is truly amazing.

Much love

Melissa x

Exciting times

2006-12-18T04:17:00.000Z

I think this time of year is exciting! Looking back on the year that has been, seeing all the successes, struggles, blessings and areas of growth that have occurred! Its that whole, ‘hindsight thing and I love it because you can see where you have walked and where God has been with you. For me, I have so much to be thankful for and I suppose, knowing I am leaving soon (11 days in fact!) these things are more heightened! I have had the privilege over the past few weeks to see all that I have been blessed with and how God has answered the prayers of my heart all throughout this year. Even areas where I thought, “I’ll pray, but I am not sure if it will do much!” standing here at the end of the year, I can see HE HAS done so much and I forget sometimes His strong, faithful and faultless love and promises.

So, since this is my blog and well I can do what ever I want on it, here are some things I have realised I am have been so blessed with! (yes it will be long, but worth it!)

My family; who are all together at present with my sister over from Japan for a whirlwind tour. Talk about full house! My brothers are awesome guys who I am so proud of. Bradley, my little yet BIG brother, graduated year 12 last week and starts his apprenticeship in carpentry in 2007. Brad is so kind and such a joker! Ryan is kicking butt working hard laboring, using his skills earlier this year to work of “Habit” building houses in Mongolia. His heart is still there to bless that place, with plans to go back and I so respect that. They are the funniest people and I always love to have a laugh with them. My sister and brother in law are the bravest people ever, living a whole year away in Japan! They are so committed to Gods call on their lives, to teach English and be a light in Japan. They are a beautiful couple who I have a lot of respect for.! And my parents wow. Celebrating 28 years of marriage, as their kid I couldn’t ask for a better example of love. They together are the most welcoming and serving people I know, and separately each has the most brilliant gifts that they daily offer in their personal and professional worlds. I love being able to tell people “these are my parents!”

My extended family also rock my world, I have cousins coming out of my ears and each of them is a total gem. I love each of them muchly and pray for them lots as they grow! My aunts and uncles offer much support, love and example in my life and I treasure all that they put into me in words, prayers and deeds. And my grandparents. There is something so special about grandparents. You don’t get to see them much, but you just know they are always there praying for you and cheering you on. Mine, are some of the most Godly, serving people I know. I am completely privilege to come from a family who loves and honors God.

My friends: Last week I was sitting at a table with 3 of my old school friends and I was so overwhelmed with Gods goodness. In each of our lives we have struggled and grown and God has faithfully keep us on track. Bec, Kel and Bek have done a significant part of life with me and I love them to pieces. We are all at different places in life, but get us together and we still laugh our heads off like we are still in year 9! Go the stanians!

And what a privilege it has been to celebrate the last month of wedding festivities with my closest friends Davinina, Kyla, Tanya, Cassandra. These girls are the one who share my every day and they are the best! The ones that help me laugh and deal with stress, the ones who help me keep on track and who believe in me. I will miss them a million times over!

My job; working at Fusion has been one of the best gifts God has given me I think. It has been a place where I have just had the space and love to find my feet. After finishing uni things were all up in the air personally and professionally. Fusion has grown me, challenged me, loved me and helped me get an awesome perspective on life which allows me to ‘build people up and help people grow, because people matter!’ (well at least try to!). The people I work with (especially Adam and Rose) with have been so encouraging, trusting and inspiring and I am truly thankful for them! Add to that the brilliant live in staff who make up the Hillview Team (Adam, Jeff, Keren & Thirza)! They the most amazingly giving, reliable, welcoming young adults I’ve met. They are the glue of the Fusion Student Housing Service and I take my hats off to these guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to serve, they truly are brilliant! I will miss my fusion family muchly!

Add to this mix my very fabulous boy Dave who is out trekking the depths of Peru as we speak. Clearly he is one special guy and I love him lots! But I am not going to tell you all about that coz its private lol!

And then there is a mix of amazing people who I would not be the same without! They have walked with me through life, helping me grow and always standing by. My amazing friend and second mum at times Jill, my youth pastor Grant who I just love!, Emma who ‘just gets me’, Hazel and Richard who have totally welcomed me as I am, Pat Davey who has been a Godsend to me this year and so many others.

This is starting to sound like a speech, but as you can tell I am just so thankful for Gods faithfulness to me through these people!

Also financially with just money for my trip, my car still survivin after 7 years! (Go Effie!), the chance to move out this year into an awesome house etc!

So, with 10 days to go for me till I start something new, and for you who is reading 13 days till the start of a new year, I just want to totally echo to you that God is good, and faithful! Look back this year, see all that He has done and know even if there are still things that aren’t quite there yet, that he will complete the work!

May you find so much joy in knowing He is good and faithful and may it be something that resounds for you all of 2007!

Much love

Melissa x

'Goodbyes'

2006-11-05T13:44:00.000Z

There have been lots of goodbyes this week

Saturday 25th saw the marriage of my best friend Davinia to Craig parker, it was a wonderful day. There was a goodbye as my best friend and roomie and I won’t be living together anymore and good byes as they jumped on the plane for their honey moon. As I am moving home there is goodbyes to my other house mate and cousin cascading Cassandra and to our baby Cerdric (our cat!).

There were final good byes between Davinia and Craig and Dave as he has now left for Peru and London and wont return for a year. Obviously that is a big goodbye for me!! Dave is away for 6.5 weeks until I meet with him again in January 2007 for a year in sunny London!

I also, will be saying goodbye to Perth and you all myself on December 29 as I fly to see my sister for 2 weeks in Japan, then meet up Dave and some friends from Perth who I will be living with for the next year during my adventure in London.

That leaves 4 and a bit weeks!

And now I end with goodbye ... till next time

Melissa x

It's the thing to do

2006-10-12T10:23:00.000+01:00

Its the thing to do isn't it? .....To create a blog when you go away? I mean that is why I am doing it! I don’t want to be left out! ;)

With a blog you see, everyone can take a little sneak preview of your life, feel involved and connected to your world and experiences (then of course update others of all your deep thoughts and challenges) .... and they don’t even have to contact your personally to get the info! Cheeky!!

Well I hope that is not true of you my blog reader friend! I mean, sure I hope you read all my fantastic entries and tell everyone how brilliant a time I am having (I hope!) .... but please don’t leave it there! Do email me (you'll find my address in my profile) and keep me up to date with your life! I might get lonely over here and need an email from you to brighten my day :)

Where am I going, that warrants this blog you may ask? Well I am off to Japan on December 29 to visit my very wonderful sister and her lovely husband, who, by the time I get there I would not have seen for a whole year! I cant wait to get a glimpse of their world (check out their very exciting blog at mattandjess.blogspot.com) Each of them has been teaching English during their time in Japan.

After 2 weeks with Matt and Jess I will fly to London to live in a house with 5 teachers from lil old Perth. One of whom is a close friend Tanya who I know through church. Dave, my boyfriend will be in London during this time seeking work and we hope to have lots of adventures together! He will arrive before me after spending a month in Peru traveling the Inca Trail! I aim to get work in London, God willing as a youth worker. I certainly need your prayers!

Anyhoo, that’s my first entry done! Gee this is essay :) .... Not that I ever had a problem filling spaces with words (written or verbal!) just ask my mother or anyone who has ever received a birthday card from me!

Anyhooo, thanks for dropping by ... stick around, because there is more exiting installments to come!

Melissa :)