winter holidays

G’day!

I hope that this email finds everyone enjoying their summer.

July was quite an adventurous and exciting month because I travelled quite a bit, and my family came all the way over the Pacific Ocean to visit me here in Australia. I spent the first few days of July in Wollongong, a coastal city south of Sydney, where I strolled along the rugged beach and met some interesting backpackers at my youth hostel. One of the great things about travelling as a backpacker is that you meet people from all over the world who have unique stories and reasons as to why they happen to be in the same location as you are. For example, I met a guy from Taiwan who worked in Melbourne for 3 months, and then he decided to cycle around some of Australia. He apparently had cycled all around Taiwan and was now ready for a much bigger challenge. Also during my stay in Wollongong, I visited and briefly spoke at a Rotary Club. The principal speaker for the evening was a member of the Parliament who represented the constituents of the area. She spoke to the club about the transition from the Liberal to the Labor government, and some of the programs that the current government was working on. She was a very interesting dinner table companion, and the whole evening added to my knowledge of Australian politics.

Later in the week, I travelled to Sydney where I met my family at the airport. We spent a couple of days touring the Opera House, the New South Wales Art Gallery, Manly Beach, Darling Harbour…all the big stuff, and then we drove down the coast to Kiama. The drive is spectacular! Because my computer is dead, I can’t post any pictures for a while, but at some point I hope to show you the beautiful scenery of the South Coast. At one point, we drove over a bridge that was completely separate from the mountain and over the water! We spent the night in Kiama, a seaside town that’s famous for a blowhole that squirts water several meters high in the air. We were warned not to pass a certain point because occasionally an adventurous tourist will want to take a pretty picture, and he gets blown away when the water jets out between the rocks. From Kiama, we drove through some of the Southern Highlands, ate meat pies in Robertson, the town where the movie Babe was filmed, and finally arrived in Canberra. That night we all attended my host Rotary Club’s meeting, and my biological family got to meet my Rotary family. Over the next few days, we visited the Canberra Zoo and Botanical Gardens, and my host counsellor, Ian, gave us a great tour of the embassies, the Old and New Parliaments, and the War Memorial. I should mention that dad drove from Sydney to Canberra, and I drove the whole time while we were in Canberra. And driving on the left side of the road, although it requires a bit more concentration, is not at all impossible. On our last night in Canberra, we ate at the home of a Rotarian, and we had a great meal with wonderful people. I think that spending time with Australians in their home really helped my family to see the Australian culture at its best.

We left Canberra at the end of the week, travelled back to Sydney, and boarded a plane to Hawai’i, where we spent a week in the warm sunshine. Hawai’i is really as beautiful as all the pictures and movies show, so I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to take a vacation. We went snorkelling and surfing in some of the most beautiful beaches that you could imagine. We also visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Pearl Harbor memorial. It was just a spectacular vacation!

I arrived back in Canberra just a few days ago, and now classes have started back. The vacation was incredible, but I’m glad to be back in Canberra with my friends and a new semester to tackle.

I would love to hear about your adventures this summer, so please stay in touch. Thank you again for all of your encouragement and prayers.

Cheers