brief update

It has been almost two months since we first arrived in Sydney. So far, we really like it. We haven't seen as much as we could. I think that's the danger when you move to a new place--you always think you have plenty of time to see everything. But, we will definitely explore this city much more.

Sadly, we still don't have all our things that we shipped out here. We're hoping we get everything by mid-January--but no one can predict customs and quarantine. Even more sadly, the furniture that we temporarily rented is going to be taken away on Wednesday. (Basically, our apartment building has a furniture package we could rent. We said we didn't want the furniture--but our manager allowed us to rent the furniture until someone else needed the furniture package. We thought our stuff might get here before someone else needed the furniture--but the timing wasn't quite right.) So, we'll be sleeping on the floor. And probably picnic-ing in our living room.

The weather here takes some getting used to. When we first arrived, it was HOT and HUMID. And we would be wandering around the streets, looking for an apartment, in the blazing sun. I can completely understand why Australia has the highest incidents of skin cancer in the world--the sun stings here.

As I was walking around, I felt like I was sweating immensely and radiating heat--while everyone around me looked so cool. I don't understand how the women here wear make-up. I am sure I would sweat everything off--and end up with smeary black eyes.

Then, the weather changes. It would get slightly overcast. Then stormy clouds would brew. Then, it would suddenly rain. Hard. No gradual build-up. From zero to downpour in two seconds. I've learned to always carry an umbrella--because you just never know.

So, I'm not sure if I'll get used to the weather. There are, of course, other things to get used to. But I'll write more about that later. In the meantime, here are some pictures from Sydney.