Living in Australia

There are some really bad things about living in Australia (some of these may apply only to Adelaide):

No Crisco. Or any type of shortening for that matter. The closest thing they have comes in bricks in the refrigerated section. When you melt it turns straight into liquid. I don't know about you, but when I make cookies I need my ingredients at the right consistency.

One culture. Sure, you've got the aboriginal culture, but apart from strange names for everything, how have the aboriginal people recently shaped Australian culture as a whole? This place is anything but a melting pot. If you ask me it's a bunch of white potatoes all thrown in a pot and cooked into a big mush. A little bland. There are a few spices thrown in on top though, and I think there's hope as long as they start mixing them in.

There are some really good things about living in Australia (some of these also may only apply to Adelaide):

It it easy to get places. You can bike, you can drive, you can even walk sometimes. You can leave your house 10 minutes before church starts and get there on time. You can drive from one side of the city to the other in half an hour. There are bike lanes on many of the major roads. Bad traffic here is waiting 5 minutes to get through a light. There are good mountain biking trails in the mountains onle 10 minutes from the city. It's great.

People are pretty cold on the street, but if you have any reason to be talking to someone or asking them questions they are friendly and helpful.

Holy Trinity Church. It's a great place. Humble people. Sound doctrine. Good fellowship.

Good food. Although certain ingredients we are used to using are non-existant, most of the produce and groceries here are top notch. The dairy products are especially tasty.

Natural beauty. Not only is always close, there is vast amounts of it. I think it was a great time to be given a camera and to pick up photography as my hobby. We've got the sea on one side and the hills on the other here. Hiking, camping, swimming, mountain biking and surfing spots are all within a two hour drive or less.

Good weather. We're in the middle of winter and it hasn't gotten below freezing once. Some days are in the Farhenheit 60s and sunny. I'll give you an update once I've experienced summer.