Well, we returned safely to the states on Thanksgiving Day. We would have both loved to stay, but that wasn't really an option. Some may be disappointed that the trip was such a success and others may be happy, yet others are quite amused at the whole joke. So here are a few questions that may be asked and our attempts to satisfying them.
Why move?
The "why" question is classic example of ten most asked question. For some, it is asked with assumption that we are living in heaven to begin with, or something very close to it. As was mentioned in an offline way, the answer is multifaceted. Religious, economical, political, and personal preferences led us to choose Australia, although there were other things happening surrounding the time that we decided to pursue an old vision of ours. The things that happened were fortunately or unfortunately interpreted as signs from God, which would suggest the next question. (Of course, from all the spokes that were already in the wheel of decision, visiting Australia added a few more to the wheel.)
Is this venture really a missions trip? Are you planning on moving back?
I'll answer that with a question. Is living in Lancaster County a missions trip? Are you going to move somewhere else? From a missional standpoint, the first obvious characteristic about Australia is the oncoming post-Christian generation. In other words, major steps have been taken to secularize schools and public institutions. They have succeeded in many ways. Very few people attend church. Religion is almost a non-issue in some respects. But you are respected even if you are religious. However, if you pray in a restaurant, you may get some boos, but more often stares and snickers. So call it a missions trip if you'd like, but we understand from others experience that the label "missionary" is not helpful. (How would you feel if Muslims tried to convert you, or better yet, be funded by Al-Qaeda to live in our communities?) If we do move, our view of doing missions does not allow us to be supported by a mission organization as such. We understand God's call on our lives in particular ways, and that caused us to pursue this venture. Again, we really don't know if we are moving. The future in God is characterized by endless possibility. In that sense, we are not programed robots with predetermined futures.
What did you gain visiting Australia?
Most importantly, we gained a connection with the people, especially the Hutterite style Christian community in Northwest Tasmania, and the Christian community in Gympie, Queensland, where Jason Kauffman and his family live. The contacts made will greatly assist in immigration, establishment, and spiritual support. To be blunt, we feel drawn to the place. Secondly, we gained the feel of some of the country's culture -people and society, economics and arts, media and politics. We aren't totally clueless as to what is legal and illegal, or how to mobilize ourselves, or where to get things that are needed.
Was it like you imagined it to be?
Somewhat. I didn't try to expect too many things in fear of being dissapointed. We were pleased with what we saw, especially in Tasmania with the local weather patterns, land, housing, job opportunity, and community.
When do you plan to move? And what are the red lights?
The flat answer is we don't know when. What is holding us back has more to do with our personal responsibilities to our workplaces and our homestead. We also want to care for our grandmother who lives with us. An old peoples' home is not the place for the elderly who have taken excellent care of us.
How difficult is immigration?
Obviously, immigration can be an annoying hassle. There is a Russian who immigrated from Germany into Australia many years ago who has helped dozens of people gain permanent residency. He has an excellent knowledge of how the agency works, what buttons to push, and which strings to pull. He is a conservative Christian man who graciously hosted us for one night. It is not impossible to jump a few hoops, only hard work.
Are there job opportunities?
We were told that one of the easiest ways to gain permanent residency or at least a worker's visa is if the immigrant can prove that there is a job opening in Australia that has been advertised for at least six months and hasn't been filled and that he or she is capable of filling that. In northwestern state of Tasmania, which is the area we have been interested in, there are many such opportunities especially on dairy farms and with seasonal orchard work. There are proffessional skills which are in demand but in order to prove that you are a skilled worker, you must have a certification or some sort of college diploma. Even if you can weld, they will only consider those who have been in a trade school apprenticeship program and/or have a certificate.
I will be posting a picture gallery to upload a few more pictures. Feel free to ask questions on the comments page.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tasmania
We got up Wednesday morning with plans to drive to Melbourne. There were three main vinyl companies that we wanted to visit. Since daddy works with a vinyl fencing company in US we had ideas to possibly set up an export/import deal. To get a visa into Australia, you need to prove that you will be an asset to economic growth. And that's quite difficult if you don't have an education or don't have money. If you can establish a business or become an agent of a company importing goods into Australia, establishing permanent residency will be a breeze. So with those motives in the back of our heads, we decided it was worth a try. The vinyl industry is slowly catching on, especially in horse fencing.
But before we had the chance to leave we found ourselves deep into a discussion with Rhonda Daly about spirituality. For those that don't know me, it's one of my favourites. The conversation went from Jesus to Buddha to community and commitment, to the inspiration of Scripture. We talked about good and evil, re-incarnation, and institutionalized religion. We soon found that the clock was moving as fast as our mouths. Finally, after a few hours, realizing more and more how much we actually disagreed, and yet finding each other extremely entertaining we managed to move ourselves out to the car.
We drove clear into Melbourne that afternoon. It was frightening to be the one in the passenger seat on busy streets. The carpet was worn through by the time we were done with the car because I kept stamping on the brake pedal that wasn't there. After all, I WAS the backseat driver. We stopped at a motel for the night, ate at the local bistro and went to bed. We slept in to nine the next morning and by ten o'clock we set out to find the vinyl companies with the help of the lady inside the GPS thingy. It was quite stupid of us to not call the offices before we started driving because the first one we stopped was closed. We found out there was an equine show where that company had set up an exhibit. We found out by calling the others, that they were at the same show. By the time we had driven around to all the places we had wanted to visit it was time to get a motel again, so we got one close to the equine show grounds. The one owner of the vinyl company that we had contacted was that excited about us that he told us he'd pick us up at our hotel and use his exhibitors pass to convince the showground staff that we were helping him with his exhibit so we could get in early.
Friday morning at eight he picked us up and smuggled us into the showground facilities. To make a long story short, we found we could very possibly begin to export to Australia some unique products. But that was all boring to me. After that was taken care of, we stayed at the horse show of course, which was now open to the public. I was almost bored out of my skin so I didn't take any pictures of all the events. There is a website you can take a look at if you're desperate. That night we sat in an indoor/outdoor coffee shop and did what we often do... sit and stare at people.
Friday night we went home feeling very good about the things that were accomplished and decided to fly down to Tasmania on Saturday instead of waiting till Sunday. Now Tasmania is one beautiful place, but I don't feel like talking about it. But again, if your desperate to know about Australian geography and culture just grab an encyclopedia. I'll skip Saturday's events except for the meal we had at the inn we're stayed at. See, Australians shun spoons. You eat with an upside-down fork in your left (which suited me, since I'm left handed) and you hold a knife in your right. After locating the food on your plate, you cut it in small pieces and I mean very small. The money you give in exchange for the food is not primarily for the FOOD but for the beauty of it and the time it takes to wait for it. So you must enjoy the sights and smells and sounds and the delicateness of it to eat a meal. It's not exactly how you want to eat if you are ravenous. Nevertheless, we left the table satisfied because eye fillet steak with potatoes is very good eating.
Sunday we ate a continental breakfast. While daddy hung around town, I rented a bike to tour the country. It was a nice road bike. But the seat was a mile high. That particular difficulty was solved by riding at intervals. Slide off the seat and pedal for all your worth, then coast and enjoy the wind and the slight upward grade as they stop you almost immediately. Hop off and pedal. Climb up and coast. Hop off and pedal. Climb up and coast. That was wonderful to be like a kid again trying to ride dad's bike. However, the joy of that was soon threatened by the rubbing of the clip-in shoes against the back of my heal. At the same time my helmet got very uncomfortable. I was afraid that blisters would develop so I stopped to take the shoes off, and snap a few pictures. Now with my shoes off I couldn't pedal too hard for fear my feet would slip and stub themselves. I can only imagine how it looked. Barefoot with a backpack and a string around one pant leg. Hop off, pedal. Climb up, coast. Hop off, pedal. Climb up, coast. Once I stopped to take a look at some cows. Before I could say anything, they all started bawling like a full blown bag pipe orchestra. So I did get my praise and worship session in. It was Sunday afterall. I ended up biking around the block which turned out to be over twenty miles.
But before we had the chance to leave we found ourselves deep into a discussion with Rhonda Daly about spirituality. For those that don't know me, it's one of my favourites. The conversation went from Jesus to Buddha to community and commitment, to the inspiration of Scripture. We talked about good and evil, re-incarnation, and institutionalized religion. We soon found that the clock was moving as fast as our mouths. Finally, after a few hours, realizing more and more how much we actually disagreed, and yet finding each other extremely entertaining we managed to move ourselves out to the car.
We drove clear into Melbourne that afternoon. It was frightening to be the one in the passenger seat on busy streets. The carpet was worn through by the time we were done with the car because I kept stamping on the brake pedal that wasn't there. After all, I WAS the backseat driver. We stopped at a motel for the night, ate at the local bistro and went to bed. We slept in to nine the next morning and by ten o'clock we set out to find the vinyl companies with the help of the lady inside the GPS thingy. It was quite stupid of us to not call the offices before we started driving because the first one we stopped was closed. We found out there was an equine show where that company had set up an exhibit. We found out by calling the others, that they were at the same show. By the time we had driven around to all the places we had wanted to visit it was time to get a motel again, so we got one close to the equine show grounds. The one owner of the vinyl company that we had contacted was that excited about us that he told us he'd pick us up at our hotel and use his exhibitors pass to convince the showground staff that we were helping him with his exhibit so we could get in early.
Friday morning at eight he picked us up and smuggled us into the showground facilities. To make a long story short, we found we could very possibly begin to export to Australia some unique products. But that was all boring to me. After that was taken care of, we stayed at the horse show of course, which was now open to the public. I was almost bored out of my skin so I didn't take any pictures of all the events. There is a website you can take a look at if you're desperate. That night we sat in an indoor/outdoor coffee shop and did what we often do... sit and stare at people.
Friday night we went home feeling very good about the things that were accomplished and decided to fly down to Tasmania on Saturday instead of waiting till Sunday. Now Tasmania is one beautiful place, but I don't feel like talking about it. But again, if your desperate to know about Australian geography and culture just grab an encyclopedia. I'll skip Saturday's events except for the meal we had at the inn we're stayed at. See, Australians shun spoons. You eat with an upside-down fork in your left (which suited me, since I'm left handed) and you hold a knife in your right. After locating the food on your plate, you cut it in small pieces and I mean very small. The money you give in exchange for the food is not primarily for the FOOD but for the beauty of it and the time it takes to wait for it. So you must enjoy the sights and smells and sounds and the delicateness of it to eat a meal. It's not exactly how you want to eat if you are ravenous. Nevertheless, we left the table satisfied because eye fillet steak with potatoes is very good eating.
Sunday we ate a continental breakfast. While daddy hung around town, I rented a bike to tour the country. It was a nice road bike. But the seat was a mile high. That particular difficulty was solved by riding at intervals. Slide off the seat and pedal for all your worth, then coast and enjoy the wind and the slight upward grade as they stop you almost immediately. Hop off and pedal. Climb up and coast. Hop off and pedal. Climb up and coast. That was wonderful to be like a kid again trying to ride dad's bike. However, the joy of that was soon threatened by the rubbing of the clip-in shoes against the back of my heal. At the same time my helmet got very uncomfortable. I was afraid that blisters would develop so I stopped to take the shoes off, and snap a few pictures. Now with my shoes off I couldn't pedal too hard for fear my feet would slip and stub themselves. I can only imagine how it looked. Barefoot with a backpack and a string around one pant leg. Hop off, pedal. Climb up, coast. Hop off, pedal. Climb up, coast. Once I stopped to take a look at some cows. Before I could say anything, they all started bawling like a full blown bag pipe orchestra. So I did get my praise and worship session in. It was Sunday afterall. I ended up biking around the block which turned out to be over twenty miles.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
tuesday wednesday
This whole week flew by pretty fast even though we covered a lot of ground and accomplished more than we expected. Monday morning Jason Kauffman carted us to Brisbane Airport and we were so distracting that he missed his exit. Thanks to his faithful GPS we got there. On time. We flew to Sydney and ,with a connecting flight, to Albury in New South Wales. It was a two prop tin lizzy over the Great Dividing Range and in an hour and twenty minutes we landed in Albury at an airport about the size of Smoketown.
Tuesday morning we drove seven hours touring the country. In the meantime, we saw these cockatoos or w/e they are. I think they're almost like starlings or sparrows or something because there are so many of them. So after swerving to and fro trying to please the lady inside the GPS thingy (while staying on the left side of the road) we ended up at Rhonda and Bill Daly's four thousand acre farm. We had a wonderful supper of steak and potatoes and salad and uh water. The next couple pictures are obviously landscapes... it's what it looks like in that part of the country.
On Wednesday we visited their son James' farm. He keeps racing horses for the Arab Emirates. These are some of the yearlings.
These horses are some of the mares he is holding that are worth anywhere from $50,000 to $1 million.
This is a picture of the wheat fields and vineyards in the background. I think I was either bored or extremely interested, or maybe I was doing some kind of Mennonite yoga. I'm not an anthropologist, linguist, or social psychologist; neither do I have a masters metaphysics so I can't really tell what's happening in this photo. I mean "who can know the intents of the heart?"
We had made reservations to rent a car, but daddy had lost his credit card *clears throat* and they wouldn't take just the credit card number. They needed the physical card... and no, they wouldn't take cash either. Great. Just Great. Ok, so after renting a motel room for the night, we gained access to wireless Internet. Then, following one of his brilliant ideas, daddy created a company letterhead signed by the "owner" of the business and used that to authorize the credit card number.
We were feeling jovial, so we walked to a local shop and nibbled pizza and sipped soda. The black and white squares that chequered the floor and the music and Hollywood memorabilia decorating the walls and ceiling made you feel like it was the 1960s all over again.
Tuesday morning we drove seven hours touring the country. In the meantime, we saw these cockatoos or w/e they are. I think they're almost like starlings or sparrows or something because there are so many of them. So after swerving to and fro trying to please the lady inside the GPS thingy (while staying on the left side of the road) we ended up at Rhonda and Bill Daly's four thousand acre farm. We had a wonderful supper of steak and potatoes and salad and uh water. The next couple pictures are obviously landscapes... it's what it looks like in that part of the country.
On Wednesday we visited their son James' farm. He keeps racing horses for the Arab Emirates. These are some of the yearlings.
These horses are some of the mares he is holding that are worth anywhere from $50,000 to $1 million.
This is a picture of the wheat fields and vineyards in the background. I think I was either bored or extremely interested, or maybe I was doing some kind of Mennonite yoga. I'm not an anthropologist, linguist, or social psychologist; neither do I have a masters metaphysics so I can't really tell what's happening in this photo. I mean "who can know the intents of the heart?"
Monday, November 17, 2008
saturday, sunday...
Ok, this is like Tuesday night and I finally have enough time and connection to scribble a few disoriented phrases and photos.
Friday night I put a load of wash through since our hotel was so conveniently equipped with a laundry room. After shutting the lid on the washer I hopped into bed. Just as I was falling asleep, I had this hunch that we’d forget about the clothing and let them in the drying machine the next morning. So like a gracious mother, I sacrificed dear time of peaceful rest to drag the clothing out onto the floor. I chuckled to myself then… thinking about what my dear sis or mom would say about that. (No, I had no clue how much detergent to pour in. I just poured some in and forgot about it. The wash turned out just right. You know, all wrinkly and smelling that weird just-got-washed smell)
Saturday morning, daddy brought breakfast up for me. Bacon, toast, eggs, and coffee hit the spot, if I ever had one. Oh, the coffee down under is simply gorgeous. Nothing like the watered down see-to-the-bottom-of-your-cup tea that we often endure back home.
Anyway, after visiting the Opera House we hailed a taxi… well, actually, the taxi saw us standing by the sidewalk with our bags unlike anyone else and stopped so we hopped in and headed for the Sydney Airport. We flew to Sunshine Coast nearby Brisbane where we were met by Jason Kauffman and his wife and two of his kids. They took us to their part of the country into a small town named Gympie. Their one story house sits beside a train track on the east side of a hill overlooking ten acres of land with a nice sized garden and a creek running by. Daddy and Jason talked for a couple hours about immigration and everything else. And I, well, I was just me. Shy and bashful and just listening.
This is a view of the land surrounding Gympie just before we arrived at Jason's place.
And it was stress relieving to sit on the porch and stare at the tree for a while. I didn't get a picture of Jason's family but there is one over at their website. The little guy named Christopher and I hit it off really good. He's a fanatical fireman. I think he's put out eighty imaginary fires around the house in one day. I guess I was like him when I was a kid. ALWAYS wanting me to look at books with him. So that was alot of fun.
This is the view from the front of the house with a little vegetable stand beside the large garden. I didn't get a picture of the front of the house. Daddy got one of the back side, but I figured that wasn't appropriate and maybe a little vulnerable to post a picture of the backside of a house. And pictures aren't going to capture all the experience down here.
On Sunday morning a few families arrived for church. It was a beautiful time of singing and just listening for while. There was dinner for all the folks and the ladies made some wonderful coffee again. Ah, I think I might fly up there again for a cup sometime.
Sunday afternoon one of the men took us to visit his home. We stopped inside for a cold glass of juice and then toured his 10 acre property. He grows strawberries as a source of income.
They are a very sweet couple. He is a very laid back stable fellow and she's a firecracker if I ever saw one. So that made for some very interesting times.
Believe it or not, the sun is so hot... (ha, I'm a poet and don't know it) This is a picture of a water heating apparatus. They have it on the roof so it doesn't get stolen. Just Kidding. It is actually a solar water heater that works 360 days of the year, in other words when it's sunny. Amazing. Down here almost everybody catches the rain water from the spouting when it rains and stores it in tanks to be used to drink and wash... for almost everything. It is somewhat dry but they collect rain water mostly because the well water is brackish.
This is the storage tank for the rain water used for the couple thousand strawberry plants that he tends.
We stayed to enjoy a candlelit supper. And that came about when there was a fierce storm that cut off the power. That wasn't so enjoyable for those not "romantically inclined" as my dad put it. And since I'm not romantically inclined I didn't enjoy the candles at all. (just kidding there too!)
Sigh. It's probably bedtime for me. There will be more boring pictures and thoughts coming later for Monday and Tuesday.
Friday night I put a load of wash through since our hotel was so conveniently equipped with a laundry room. After shutting the lid on the washer I hopped into bed. Just as I was falling asleep, I had this hunch that we’d forget about the clothing and let them in the drying machine the next morning. So like a gracious mother, I sacrificed dear time of peaceful rest to drag the clothing out onto the floor. I chuckled to myself then… thinking about what my dear sis or mom would say about that. (No, I had no clue how much detergent to pour in. I just poured some in and forgot about it. The wash turned out just right. You know, all wrinkly and smelling that weird just-got-washed smell)
Saturday morning, daddy brought breakfast up for me. Bacon, toast, eggs, and coffee hit the spot, if I ever had one. Oh, the coffee down under is simply gorgeous. Nothing like the watered down see-to-the-bottom-of-your-cup tea that we often endure back home.
Anyway, after visiting the Opera House we hailed a taxi… well, actually, the taxi saw us standing by the sidewalk with our bags unlike anyone else and stopped so we hopped in and headed for the Sydney Airport. We flew to Sunshine Coast nearby Brisbane where we were met by Jason Kauffman and his wife and two of his kids. They took us to their part of the country into a small town named Gympie. Their one story house sits beside a train track on the east side of a hill overlooking ten acres of land with a nice sized garden and a creek running by. Daddy and Jason talked for a couple hours about immigration and everything else. And I, well, I was just me. Shy and bashful and just listening.
This is a view of the land surrounding Gympie just before we arrived at Jason's place.
And it was stress relieving to sit on the porch and stare at the tree for a while. I didn't get a picture of Jason's family but there is one over at their website. The little guy named Christopher and I hit it off really good. He's a fanatical fireman. I think he's put out eighty imaginary fires around the house in one day. I guess I was like him when I was a kid. ALWAYS wanting me to look at books with him. So that was alot of fun.
This is the view from the front of the house with a little vegetable stand beside the large garden. I didn't get a picture of the front of the house. Daddy got one of the back side, but I figured that wasn't appropriate and maybe a little vulnerable to post a picture of the backside of a house. And pictures aren't going to capture all the experience down here.On Sunday morning a few families arrived for church. It was a beautiful time of singing and just listening for while. There was dinner for all the folks and the ladies made some wonderful coffee again. Ah, I think I might fly up there again for a cup sometime.
Sunday afternoon one of the men took us to visit his home. We stopped inside for a cold glass of juice and then toured his 10 acre property. He grows strawberries as a source of income.
They are a very sweet couple. He is a very laid back stable fellow and she's a firecracker if I ever saw one. So that made for some very interesting times.
Believe it or not, the sun is so hot... (ha, I'm a poet and don't know it) This is a picture of a water heating apparatus. They have it on the roof so it doesn't get stolen. Just Kidding. It is actually a solar water heater that works 360 days of the year, in other words when it's sunny. Amazing. Down here almost everybody catches the rain water from the spouting when it rains and stores it in tanks to be used to drink and wash... for almost everything. It is somewhat dry but they collect rain water mostly because the well water is brackish.
This is the storage tank for the rain water used for the couple thousand strawberry plants that he tends.
We stayed to enjoy a candlelit supper. And that came about when there was a fierce storm that cut off the power. That wasn't so enjoyable for those not "romantically inclined" as my dad put it. And since I'm not romantically inclined I didn't enjoy the candles at all. (just kidding there too!)
Sigh. It's probably bedtime for me. There will be more boring pictures and thoughts coming later for Monday and Tuesday.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Sydney, Australia
An old lady took this one. We are very enchanted by the whole ordeal, so everything looks so nice and beautiful to us. Sometimes change looks beautiful when it is still new. So don't ask me what I think about Australia until I hate some parts of it. But anyways, this is what we look like, gawking up and down Martin Place (a street) in Sydney, Australia. We get stared at a little, because we are foreigners, for God's sake. You could've seen us poking our heads into underground shops and food courts, mentally translating the Australian numbers on the restaurant menus featuring roasted duck and barbecued suckling pigs. It's a different world.
The first thing we did was activate our bank account and get a credit card along with a cell phone. This is a picture of daddy signing his life away on some papers at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. I just tag along and take pictures and giggle inside when the Aussies laugh at daddy's funny questions. It's nice to have him along. LOL
There are alot of Asians. This is a picture of violinist performing performing with an accompianmetn. (Oh, all the photographers out there, um... yeah, sorry if I step on anybody's toes for saying this, but I am a strong believer in unedited pictures.)
Here's another picture. Whether it's about the bank in the background or the couple in front, I already forget and don't really care.
Meet our new friends who we'll call Bill and Rhonda Daly, our agricultural business contact. We had a lengthy conversation with them over a small snack. Check out their Living Soil website.
This our view this afternoon at 4:30 friday afternoon while you guys in Eastern Standard Time should be in a deep sleep at 12:30 Friday morning. And I didn't invert the picture, they DO drive on the opposite direction on the same side of the road or the same direction on the left side of the road (which ever you prefer). And our electronic brains were throwing some major sparks in shorting problems when we discovered that the taxi driver was on the weird side of the car. Now THAT'S something I have a conviction against.
(and a you aviation freaks. We got to ride on the new Quantas A380)
P.S. the truth about the reason I like unedited pictures is the fact that I'm too lazy to edit them myself.
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