As you might imagine, we spent most of Saturday assembling furniture. The whole day was a bit of a blur, to be honest. A combination of jet lag and over-assembly... all I know is that I poured my first glass of wine around 7, felt tipsy by 7:15, and was passed out by 7:30.
Which brings me to today... a much more (I guess you could say) normal day in the lives of two and a half expats. Keller and I woke up early and went for a walk/to breakfast. We picked up the hubs shortly after and headed downtown in search of a cell phone store. (In case you were wondering, getting a new phone and Internet service in Australia is exactly like getting a new phone in the states; torture! It took two trips and over an hour in the store, but thank the good Lord I have a "mobile" number and Internet access once again. Welcome back to planet earth, right!)
So, furniture,check. Phone/Internet, check... which meant it was time to have some fun! We went for lunch in the "CBD" (Melbourne's central business district) and then headed over to the Australian Open. The pic below is of Keller in his size 6T Ausie Open t-shirt. We had to buy the kid some new clothes after he used the bathroom all over himself while we were enjoying our meal. It was either this or a pink "cuddle me kangaroo" onesie. I feel like, if he could talk, he'd be pleased with our selection.
I wish I could say we got tickets to the men's final (which is actually still going on as I type), but we did not. We wandered around the grounds for a bit, and then over to an Australian football field (which is round if you've never seen one), and on to the Victory v. Sydney soccer match. Then, would you believe it, we went back to Ikea. Ha! The house needed a few finishing touches... or maybe my new, domesticated husband just could not stand to be away. :)
We don't have a car yet, and we were on foot (i.e., no car seat), so we decided to turn our afternoon stroll into a workout and jog the 2.7 miles to the Swedish furniture Mecca. About a mile and a half into the journey we took a wrong or perhaps fateful turn (considering Mike and I were both sucking wind) and found ourselves smack in the middle of a Chinese festival celebrating the lunar new year. The pic below is of K and me with one of the many street bands. Slightly like fish out of water, but we had a good time.
We eventually made it to Ikea, packed another cart full of stuff, and logged a few more hours assembling toys and furniture. The last pic below is of Keller and his new walker. Watch out ladies, this little pseudo-Ausie is on the move.
A few things I have learned/experienced in our first three days:
- They don't just drive on the left side of the road, they walk on the left, too.
- Diapers = nappies
- Stroller = pram
- To go = take away
- Everything is "no worries"
- They like to call me "darling" (but the "g" is not silent like in good 'ole NC)
