A great last week!

This week has been awesome so far! On Monday night we were invited over to the house of someone in the ward for dinner and Family Home Evening. The man is a former mission president so he had some pretty cool stories. They live kind of up in the Bush and on our way there we saw a sign that said "Watch for Wildlife" We were wondering what we might see when all of a sudden we saw a wild kangaroo in the middle of the road. We just sat and waited for it to hop away before we kept driving but we were totally freaking out. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. Yeah, we saw them in a zoo but these were wild! It was awesome :D Anyway, for dinner they served us a typical Aussie dish. It was bbq sausages and apples in this gravy sauce. It was really good! They also made this Australian dessert called Rosewater Pavalova. It was fantastic! We also brought a dish to share with them. They asked us if we would bring Funeral Potatoes! Haha they say they have heard its a typical mormon dish, but have never really tasted them and really wanted to! So we brought funeral potateos and they just loved them. I just thought that was so funny!
Tuesday was great too! Britt and I were invited to a combined mutual activity Tuesday night at Freshwater Beach. They cooked sausages and we ate them with bread, onions, and ketchup. Apparently, its very Australian. Thats what the kept telling us. The kids were so nice they kept asking us all these questions to hear our "accents" and asked us silly questions about America. Then we played a pick-up game of touch rugby. It's been a great week so far!!

Surf's up!

Okay so I've got a few days to make up for. Thursday and Friday were just beach days again. I cannot get enough of it. The sunshine and warmth is just so relaxing to me! i love it! Saturday was also a beach day, but it was better than most! This time my dad got to come. He is usually working so he hasn't been to the beach much, but he came on Saturday and it rocked. Turns out...my dad knows how to surf! He's no Johnny Tsunami, but he's actually pretty decent and I was impressed. Well, instead of us blowing $100 on a lesson, we just had out dad teach us. There isn't as much to it as I would've thought! At first, I was really quite scared. I'm not afraid of many things, but deep water is one of them. My dad went through the basics with us on land, then just sent me out there alone. Once I talked myself into, I started paddling out there. Paddling out there is definitely the hardest part. You have to paddle hard and strong to get through the waves. After much failure, I finally did it! Once I got the hang out it, I didn't want to stop! Oh it was just so much fun! It resulted in sore muscles the next day, but it was totally worth it. Thanks Dad!!
Later that night my Dad took Brittany and I out for seafood. Since out recent cruise to Mexico, I discovered my love for seafood. Restaurants here are interesting. They never serve water with ice. We asked them for ice and it kind of threw their whole system off. It was funny! Also, the waiter never brings you your check. You have to ask for it. I think that's a rather polite way of doing it! All in all, it was a great weekend!!

I'm Caucasian

These last two days have been lazy days, it's been nice! I've done a little school work, but I've spent most of my time laying out on the beach! The sand here is incredible! It's so soft and fine...WAY softer than my bed ha ha. Thursday was a great boogie boarding day for me! I've mastered it completely! The waves got bigger and bigger as evening came and my brother Nicholas and I were having the time of our life. I haven't had that much fun in such a long time; nor have I had so much salt residue in my mouth either ha ha. It was fun nonetheless. That night Brittany and I went and got a movie at the Australian version of Redbox. We went out the back door of our apartment complex which is in this alley. We saw these two guys smoking and it freaked us out a little, but we just kept on walking, praying they wouldn't say anything to us. Then he hollered at us asking if we were twins. Because I'm stupid, I answered yes ha ha. We kept walking and then we hear him ask if we were Brazilian. (Brittany thinks he said "from New Zealand". If he did, he would've said kiwis ha ha) I told him we were American and kept walking. In my lifetime I've been asked countless times if I was Hispanic, and even Asian once (who knows where they got Asian from. Never Brazilian though. Brazilian women are gorgeous, so I took that as a compliment ha ha.
Today we ate at the Australian version of Burger King called "Hungry Jacks" It's exactly the same ha ha. Then we went to the beach again. I've just a little more than a week left here, and I really don't want to leave. Who knows when I'll ever make it back here again?

A day to remember!

Yesterday was a very very fun day; definitely one of the best! We decided to go to the Sydney Aquarium. But first we thought we'd see the sights of Sydney! We hopped on the ferry by our apartment and took it to the Sydney harbor which is about a 30 minute ride. It was early in the day and the wind was doing weird things and it was rocking the ferry pretty bad, but it was fun! When I say ferry, it might not be what your thinking of. I first thought it'd be like the old ones with a spinning paddle on the back; big and white like the ones you see at Disneyland. This is not the case. They are actually pretty big boats! They are two stories high and run like a ship would. Okay here is the funny story. Well the captain came on and announced that because of the wind, we would be hitting some high swells and we were guarenteed to get wet if we were sitting outside. My family and I was sitting outside in the front and assumed we would sprayed a little, but nothing too bad. Well, about 20 seconds after the announcement, the boat hits this wave. And I kid you not, we were all hit with a wall of water. It just kept coming and coming!! We got SOAKED!! I looked like I just got out of the shower. Then everybody stood up and was fighting to get inside. Oh my gosh. It may not be funny to read, but it was hilarious to experience!
It took all to dry, but oh well! When we got to Sydney we went and walked the Opera House! It's such a cool building. The structure you see is actually just the roof, the inside is underground a bit. Its cool!
The aquarium was awesome! We walked underneathe sharks and whales and all that jazz. It was neat! After the aquarium, we went and ate dinner at this authentic Chinese restuarent. Hardly anyone spoke English. I'm very much a fan of how we AMericans eat! We eat vey unhealthy food in ginormous portions! Well, not the Chinese! They eat small portions of extremely healthy food! So, it was a bit different, but very very good! They didn't have utensils at all, so I had to struggle and eat with chopsticks haha. All in all, it was a very fun day and I'm glad I got to spend it with my family!

Great weekend!

K well I just lived one of the best weekends of my life. Friday was a good day. It was really hot and humid and we couldn't stand to be outside much. We played inside until late afternoon then we hit up the beach! It was the best day at the beach so far! The water begins to get about waste deep then shallows out the further out you go, so even the little kids were jumping waves with us, it was so fun! Later that night Brittany, Zach and I went to a dance! It was great to party, we haven't done much of that since we got here!
Today I had an experience of a lifetime! We went with two other families to Featherdale Wildlife Park. It was AMAZING! We got to pet, feed, and play with kangaroos and wallaby's! We also got to pet and cuddle up to Koalas. They are such cute little things! We saw all sorts of wildlife that very unique to Australia. Afterward we ate at a Portugal restaurant. Have any of you had food from there? WOW! Its incredible! Today alone made the whole 16 hour plane ride worth it :) I will post pics as soon as I can. Thanks for reading my blog. Keep posting and commenting, I love to hear from my friends :)

Great weekend!

Temple Trip!

Yesterday was quite the adventure that really made me appreciate my life back home. We left out apartment at about 3 in the afternoon and headed for the Sydney, Australia temple. The temple is in a city called Epping. Its about an hour drive, but we had to take public transportation, which would take about 3 hours, one way. We left Manly and got on a bus to Chattswood to pick up my dad at his office. A very misleading sign resulted in us getting off at the wrong stop. ( A building sign sign Abode instead of Adobe...pictures to come!) We then had to walk to the train station which luckily, wasn't too far. We then took the train, and another bus just to get to the temple. It was a good experience to do baptisms with my family. It was Nicholas' first time, and I'm glad I got to share that experience with him. The Spirit was so strong! What a testimony builder it was to perform the same ordinances I do at home, half way across the world. The Church is true no matter where you are :)
Getting back was another adventure. First, we stopped and ate an Original Bondi Burger! Wow...they are great! Basically, it's like a hamburger from America but instead of beef, its a thin chicken breast smothered in Chili sauce. It's quite spicy, but very very good! Anyway, to get home we had to walk, take a bus, two trains, a ferry, and walk some more. A temple trip here takes much planning, and it was 8 hours round trip; a much different experience than driving a mile up the hill one morning before school. It was a good experience and really put things into perspectivve forme.

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days! The sun finally came out and I've been so busy playing outside. Back home in PG I had cabin fever hard core. I'm so glad I get this chance to burn it off :)
Well the past few days we've been at the beach all day. Manly is surrounded by so many different beaches, that we've tried a new one every day. It has been fun to mix things up a bit. The first day, I got totally fried. I'm not sure what I was thinking; apparently, I wasn't thinking. I laid out all day and forgot to put on sunscreen. I've been a walking tomato for the past few days haha.
Unfortunatley, one of the days at the beach my 7 year old brother Andrew got stung by a blue bottle while jumping the waves. Luckily, the tentacles didn't stick in him. We screamed it out for about an hour but now he's got a pretty sweet scar and a story to tell!
Another day at the beach, we tried to capture as many sea creatures as we could. We caught a hermit crab and built a little sand castle for him before throwing him back to the ocean. We also caught a jelly fish! That was a bit scarier and harder to catch, but so fun! Other things we do on the beach is play frisbee and build castles with my little brother and sister. It's been a good experience for our family to come closer together :)
We had a little party last night with some of my dads coworkers who have lived here for a while. I have now learned the real and Aussie way to eat a Tim Tam. Its called, The tim tam slam! I will have to bring some home and demonstrate when I get back. It pretty much tastes like heaven!

The sun'll come out...tomorrow?!

So I'm coming to you today from an Internet cafe next door to our apartment. There is no place to get free wi-fi, except the bar down the street. I probably will never make it there, so I will not be able to post pictures until I get back :( I'm so sorry about that! The bars here 18 and over, so maybe I'll make my way there later on this month. (Don't worry, I'll just get a Coke or something haha)
Saturday we moved to Manly! It's a cute high-class town with a beach on both ends of the city! Our apartment has a balcony that over looks the beach. It's only about 100 steps to the sand!! I can't say enough how beautiful it is here! I went on a run this morning along the beach and I have never seen such a beautiful place in my entire life.
Church yesterday was quite an adventure! We had to take a cab there because we don't want to drive while we are here. Everything is on the opposite side of the road...its pretty trippy. So I can now scratch "ride in a taxi" off my bucket list haha. We definitely were a walking skeptical with a family of 8. Families that size don't come aroud here often, even LDS families. Most of the ward was polynesian (with Australian accents :D ) It was a cute little ward. It was probably 1/8 the size of my ward back home, if that. But WOW they can SING! They tripled the sound of our singing, and there are fewer of them. I was blown away. They love to sing here! It was fast and testimony meeting. It was a good testimony builder to me to recognize that the Church is true, no matter where we are. I felt the Spirit, and I was thousands of miles from home. What a blessing the Church is in my life!
It's still a bit rainy today, but it looks like it will clear up soon! I'm ready to start a brand new week, Australian style! :)

Moving day...at last!

So there isn't too much to report for yesterday. I think I said before we were in a place called Charlingsford. Well, I lied. It's called Carlingford. It's a cute little town, but there is seriously nothing to do. I did however, get to try some vegemite. I will bring some home for you all to try, so I will not tell you what I thought of it, as to not sway your opinion ;) It's been stormy which limits us even more. So the fun hasn't really started yet. However, it will in about 2 hours! In 2 hours we are finally moving to Manly. Manly is the home to a world famous beach! My family and I get the chance to stay in a beach house for the remaining 3 weeks we are here! It's only about 15 minutes to Sydney and about 100 steps to the water :) Let the fun begin!

Important lessons!

Australia is so much more of a foreign country than I had realized! The weirdesr things go on here! For example, everything is in Celcius and Kilometers. The way they drive bout gives me a panic attack every time I'm near the roads!
Here is a few things I've learned on my adventure so far.
1) American obesity makes a lot more sense now. We ordered 3 large pizzas from Dominos to feed our family of 8. We thought this would be than enough. Well, are any of you familiar with those little frozen Totino's pizzas? I kid you not, that was the size of the large pizza. I was in shock! Guys, we need to lay of the food a little haha.
2) Never say the word "stuff" or "stuffed" in any context whatsoever.
3) The spiders aren't just harmless creatures here. In fact, they can be deadly, so, mind your distance!
4) Always carry an umbrella. It'll just all of a sudden down pour for a few minutes and than stop. The weather is very sporatic and unpredictable.

I've learned a lot more, but thats all I can think of so far! If you have any specific questions you want me to answer on this blog specifically, just email me at williams.tiffany91@gmail.com

Cheers!

G'day mates!

G'day mates! Today is Thursday, February 3! Sorry for the Australian lingo, but my dad is giving away $100 to the first person in our family who speaks the Australian lingo perfectly-including an accent. So I need all the practice I can get!
Well we're here finally! The plane ride was 14 hours of pure misery! :) Surprisingly however, the food was pretty decent. They fed us dinner as soon as we got on the plane. It was a chicken breast meal with plenty of side dishes! They also fed us a midnight snack which was about 7 hours into the flight. Also, we were fed a hardy brekky (breakfast :)) just before landing. We landed about 8 am Wednesday
morning. We went straight from the airport to our temporary apartment in a town called Charlingsford. Wow, is it small! Tomorrow is moving day and we will move to a bigger house right on the beach in Manly! Now, back to yesterday's events! We walked around a place called Darling Harbor. It was so beautiful. We saw the most amazing birds! Wild parrots and Cockatoos fly around every where. We then took a ferry across the harbor into Sydney where we saw the Opera House and Sydney Bridge. He Opera house is SO much bigger in real life than you would imagine! I also got a picture taken with an Aborigine putting on a street show playing is didgeridoo!
The electricity here is about 250 W as opposed to our 110. So, we accidentally fried our blow dryers. Our personal computers are dead until we can find a lower current outlet to charge the computers. So until then, I cannot post any pictures! I'll keep ya updated as often as I can!
Cheers!

Kickin it off!

Today was quite dull! We traveled from St. George, Utah to L.A. The only eventful thing that happened was this morning. We stopped to get some things on our way out of town. Brittany and I came across some cheap cardigans and kicks at Ross today. I'm sitting here in the crown room at LAX with a Miley Cyrus song stuck in my head, "I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan.....who's that chick thats rocking kicks, she's gotta be from out of town" well, I'm currently living that song! :) We stopped at a buffet in Vegas this afternoon and when we walked in the casino, my little sister said, "Hey, this is like a big Chuck E. Cheese!" It was cute! Well in about an hour we'll be on our 16 hour flight to Sydney! We'll land about 10 am Australian time on Wednesday which is 4 pm on Tuesday, Utah time. So, February 2, 2010 will never exist in my lifetime! Goodbye February 2, i'll never know of your joy!