Out and About in Melbourne

Hi everyone, I can't believe we have now been living here for 3 weeks! Time flies when your'e having fun. Unfortunately the flu lurgy continues to plague me (Naomi) and is hanging around like a bad smell but the Codral has meant I have managed to get out and about with the family a little. I thought I'd tell you a bit about it, and include our observations about Melbourne while I'm at it!

Firstly the school run each morning. We are able to ride bikes to school which is fresh and invigorating in the mornings.....5 degrees yesterday! We follow the bike track under 2 bridges one of which houses a homeless guy that Tom especially finds difficult. We get free bread from Brumbys Monday night here at SAH (St Andrews house, which we also call  The Institute for cross cultural learning for safety reasons for our muslim friends) so Tom had the great idea to give this man a bag of bread each week to help him. Anyway, we then ride across the park where Carlton footy club has their practice ground, and across Lygon st known for cafes, and then to school. Along the way we constantly reinforce they stay on the left of the path because heaps of Melbournites cycle to work, and they go hammer and tongs and you don't want to get in their way - you'll be run over! Then there are lots of joggers too all out early exercising. I am dying to join the throngs exercising if only i can get over this bug.But this bike path at 8.30 am feels like Rundle Street!!
Another outing we took was to the Vic Markets which is 3 tram stops down the road. Thankfully it was nearly closing so not terribly busy, but the kids still weren't very impressed with the crowds and smells. They thought the fish section was disgusting but got some free oranges in the market and you could throw the peel under the mans stall so they thought that was fun. Then we saw live ducklings, chooks and pigeons for sale. It took a firm word for them not to buy the cute fluffy ducks! The markets were also a good reminder just how multicultural Melbourne is. We could barely hear English!! The trams to get there though are fantastic. Unlike Adelaide public transport which is few and far between the trams come every 5 to 10 minutes. The cars have to wait for the trams too, so you can just step off one and the cars will let you cross the road, unless its a SA driver called Shane who forgot to give way to tram disembarkers and almost took out 3 uni students and an old man!!! Ooops.
The boys another night went with Shane to Etiard stadium to see the crows play but considering they went dismally and had a world record lowest score ever, it may not be kind to mention it!! In fact Oliver at half time asked Shane 'do we have to stay longer?' The massive size of the stands and crowd really hit the kids. They thought it was great. Again the whole tram thing there and back was easy!
The final outing I thought I'd tell you about was part of our cultural course. We had to go to specific parts of the city - mine was little Vietnam - and have lunch, eating something we've never had before. So the girls and guys split up and while we hit Vietnam, they went to Turkey!! We saw Asain shops and noticed everyone sold toilet paper and tissues right by the front door!!! They all had gold good luck cats on counters, and sometimes little alters with offerings to the good luck gods. For lunch we only had one disaster - a prawn and beef rubbery gelatine mix wrapped in banana leaf and deep fried. After 2 chews the gag reflex set in, and there was no way it was going down! Shane on the other hand had total success in the food dept. Yummy dip with beetroot,quail ocre and chicken tavuk. He wasn't real impressed with his drink of yogurt, milk and SALT, but after our bad entree I opted with the girls for Diet Coke - found everywhere in the world and very multicultural!
Pick any nationality or type of food here and you'll find it somewhere! Choose any religion, and  you'll find a meeting place for them. Choose any language, and you'll find somewhere to learn or speak it! Thats my main observation of Melbourne so far....MULTICULTURAL. That and BUSY. There is always traffic on the roads, people on trams, shops that are open (the medical clinic I went to was open 8am to 12am 7 days a week with a chemist attatched). No wonder people say Adelaide is a sleepy little country town!!

A FUN footy outing???C'mon Crows

Chips for lunch - very multicultural

I quite miss that little town and the people attached to it. I'm glad in 5 months we return to Adelaide for awhile. However until then I'll keep you updated with happenings here! Until next time.

A Day of Firsts

Well today my baby went off to kindy for the first time. After almost 11 years of having a young one by my side each and every day (sometimes 2 young ones and for a short time 3 young ones!!) it felt really surreal to drop Maxie off and walk out the gate alone. When we woke him up this morning he cried and told us he didn't want to go to Kindy. My mothers heart cried on the inside too, and part of me didn't want him to go either, but another side of me knew it was time. He needs to socialize more, have interesting things to do, and Shane and I need to do our learning and prep for Ethiopia without him, so it was perfect timing really!
So instead of going out with the 'girls' for coffee, or going home to read a book, or heading to a gym class (all things I may have imagined doing on this momentous day) I raced back to St Andrews Hall with Isabella (her son Tim goes with Max to kindy.......having a friend to go with made all the difference for Max! Thankyou God for that provision) and we began our first day of 'mission training'. Lots of information, head is spinning, feeling quite inadequate considering I realised yesterday I've never even spoken or had personal contact with a Muslim. Had dark moments when awake in the night an wondered what are we thinking of doing?
The other 3 kids all headed off for the 1st day of school where they haven't known anyone. Our last school move had their beloved cousins and it was exciting to go, but this was just plain scary. As I watched their faces get ready for school, and I saw them ride off, I wanted to cry for them, and save them the anxiety. Perhaps having 2 bad nights of sleep also made this worse, but it was the most nerve racking morning and I felt each one of their feelings.......so I got it x3 as bad. Who would be a Mum???
However the first day is over and thankyou God I got 3 smiling kids back and great reports about school!! Tom's teacher is the 'coolest' in the school, and called Mike. He had PE first up, and they don't have to sit at desks.....so Tom chose to work and sit on a lounge all day!!! School aint what it used to be! Oli's got 3 teachers, the best is Tommo, there are no desks, he sat or lay on the floor all day, and they only have one workbook for everything (I guess there's less to lose!!!) Lucy had a relief teacher which made it a bit harder, but she did have a boy in her class who wore a Michael Jackson wig all day!!!
So there you have our first day of routine for Melbourne living. We all survived it, in fact the kids enjoyed it, so I can at last sleep well tonight knowing the unknown!!

We made it to Melbourne

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Rubies first ever blog, as we journey to the other side of the world! This will be our own family diary that we would like to share with you, as we experience new things and keep you up to date with all things Rubie in nature!

So firstly we wanted to let you know we arrived in Melbourne! We packed up our lovely house in West Beach, with many thanks going to family and friends who helped us out particularly in that last chaotic week. If any of you know how to make those last few days easier then let us know. No matter how organised we think we are, the last few days are always crazy. Then we headed down to Victor and spent 2 days sleeping it off while my lovely parents took care of us! I would call it a moving hangover!! Suddenly realised I had to say goodbyes at this stage which was a bit sad. I think I was so busy packing that part of it slipped my mind. Never being good at these they were quick, but I felt quite daunted at thinking what it will be like in a years time when we say goodbye for 3 years. Saying see you in 6 months was bad enough. Again, any hints at how to say goodbye with the least amount of pain would be gladly accepted!!
So Monday morning we left with our trailer at 7.15am from Victor and then arrived in Parkville Melbourne at 6pm that night. Surprisingly the time went quickly and all went smoothly except arriving in peak hour traffic was slightly hairy! We had downloaded google instructions to get here and they were really helpful. I recommend to anyone travelling, and behind the times like us without owning a GPS!
I had broken down activities in the car to half hour time slots, so the kids didn't get bored, and also to cut down on the computer game playing which tends to make them all stir crazy!! We played eye spy, guess that song, spot the..., did drawings, read jokes, and of course ate plenty of food!It was a good day actually, and we stopped occasionally to stretch our legs. We had a running race at Aararat wild life park, where Dad nearly did his hammie, trying to catch Tom. Our bodies aren't what they used to be!
So at last we arrived at St Andrews House our new home for the next 5 months. Someone had suggested our appartment would be like a shoe box, but thankfully its a shoe box for Shanes size 12 EE width shoes! We have 3 bedrooms, sep toilet and shower, and all in one kitchen dining, lounge. It's warm, cosy and cute. I personally think large homes are over-rated. This way I have less cleaning, less place for clutter, and I've discovered many benefits of close living. Our table is so small you don't have to say pass the sauce, everyone can reach everything, if we need more cutlery, the person at the top of the table swings back on their chair and can reach anything in the kitchen, and deliveries of clean clothes to the kids rooms just takes a well aimed throw from the lounge room!
After arriving Monday night I spent all day Tuesday unpacking, decorating and making a home, and was done late afternoon. I figure one days work was worth it for 5 months living here. I'm so glad I bought the kids quilt covers and a few things from each of their rooms eg Maxs ladybird money box, Lucys bunting, Toms posters, and a few of Oli's fav photos, because they have all made this place their home. In fact Lucy has already told me she loves it here, and wants to stay for a long time!! While unpacking though we also had to clear out clutter left here by the last set of missos, or perhaps the ones before them, or the ones before them?? Obviously past tenants didn't want to throw anything out, but after down sizing like I have the past 18 months that was no problem for me! We found one black rubber car mat, a new gold outdoor tap, (I didn't chuck this but passed it on to caretaker) copious plastic containers - NONE with matching lids, and a childs pink little broom, with most of the bristles missing!! All handy things one needs when moving to Melbourne!!
So now we're in Melbourne, and have had a week to explore, rest and settle in. Unfortunately not all has gone to plan. I'm actually writing this in bed, where I (Naomi) have been for the past 2 days! Lucy, Max, Oli and I have all had a virus, although it seems I've fallen hardest (I wonder why that is??) We've drunk our way through a whole bottle of Panadol and Neurofen, as the virus is fever, body aches, tummy ache, cough. Only Dad and Tom have been left standing, but we're thankful it was now, and not next week as school starts monday.
Chow for now (as my sister Sonya always says!!)
love Rubies