"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." --Mark Twain
Ever since I started thinking about moving to Australia, one of the events I had been most anticipating was celebrating New Year's Eve in Sydney. And why not? I had been dreaming about it for years, had read multiple articles about it, had seen several exciting videos online, and had been told by more than a few individuals that if I was going to be bringing in the new year in Australia, Sydney was the place to do it. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Except that there was a "but" when I made the decision to live in Melbourne first: But will I be able to make it back to Sydney for New Year's Eve if I have to work?
For that reason, I delayed making any official plans of celebrating the holiday in Sydney, watching the flights become increasingly expensive as the airlines took advantage of those crazy enough to have the desire to join the massive crowds filled with people who wanted nothing more than to catch even a glimpse of the fireworks over the harbour bridge and opera house on New Year's Eve. Anyone who knows me is well aware of my terrible procrastination and indecisive habits so it should be of no surprise that I waited until only a few weeks before the 31st of December to come to the inevitable conclusion... with someone's help [thanks, Ryan! :o)]:: I'll only live once and this will most likely be the only time I'll have the opportunity to do this so I had better seize the day and just go for it. No regrets, no thinking twice.
A view from the Royal Botanic Gardens
After making that important decision and talking to my manager, my next step was to book my transportation and accommodation. By this time, flying from Melbourne to Sydney was far too expensive and due to a massive railway sale, the train was sold out, so my only option was to take the coach again. Twelve hours cramped on a bus wasn't sounding ideal, but I knew it would be worth it in the end. I was just thankful that it was affordable for me to return to Melbourne by airplane since the flight is less than two hours. When I started to look for accommodation for just a couple nights, I was only finding hostels that required a minimum stay of ten nights and hotels that cost a fortune; however, I was lucky enough to be able to stay with a friend I had met when I was in Sydney back in October. I guess it turned out that those two and a half weeks at the beginning of my trip had a real purpose, but I've always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Honestly though, I don't know what I would have done without her help.
In just twenty-four short hours, I'll be on my way to Sydney to bring in 2012. It's hard to believe that 2011 is drawing to an end. There isn't a doubt in my mind that it's been simultaneously one of the best and worst years of my life.
However, one thing is for sure:: I wouldn't change a single thing about it.
Since we're well into summer down here, I was quite aware that the odds were stacked against me in terms of having the opportunity to enjoy a white Christmas. There was no mystery as to whether or not I would wake up and find a peaceful blanket of snow outside, but I was more than excited to be experiencing my first summer Christmas.
The day started off with my going to church in the morning, which marked the first time I've ever attended a Christmas Day service. I had wanted to go to St. Jude's in Carlton because I knew a lot of people who were going to be there; however, I fell asleep too late the night before to not want tostay in bed for at least a half hour longer so I ended up going to the service in Parkville, which is a satellite of St. Jude's and where I've been going for the past few weeks anyway. I wish I would have made it to Carlton, but the Parkville service was nice as well.
After church, I traveled to the house of some friends in Footscray to attend a lovely Christmas barbecue. I had known that the weather reports were predicting some afternoon showers and unfortunately, as soon as I stepped off the bus, they proved to be accurate as it started to rain pretty steadily. When I arrived at the barbecue, everyone was moving the food, tables, and chairs indoors; however, after a while, the rain stopped
so we were able to sit outside for a little bit. All the food was delicious, including the stingray, which I had never even thought about eating before two days ago.
In a bizarre turn of events [okay, so maybe not that bizarre for this city], as we were eating the gingerbread house, large chunks of hail started falling from the sky, thus granting me a "white" Christmas after all.
Every year for as long as I can remember, my family and I have attended the Christmas Eve service at our home church in Bethlehem. Without a doubt, it has always been my favourite one to go to because of all the carols, the candles, and the annual pageant, the latter of which is something I was even a part of years ago. And without fail, it has always been a beautiful service with a grand message.
Even though I'm on the other side of the world, my Christmas Eve was spent where it has always been spent:: church. Tonight, I decided to check out a different Anglican church I had heard about last week or so called City on a Hill. I loved the name from the moment I heard it because I love the verse of the Bible where it comes from; plus, I thought it sounded so picturesque and even magical. I can't help but smile at the way the name rolls off my tongue in such a poetic way. More importantly, it turned out to be an awesome church that I would definitely like to return to mostly due to the fact that I absolutely loved the pastor's sermon and the atmosphere of the entire place. When he gave his sermon about one of the stories in the Bible, he was expressive and lively, neatly integrating his personal experiences into it and showing us how we could relate the story to our own lives as he spoke. By the time he was finished, I just felt really content and fulfilled for some reason. Maybe it was a little premature, but even before the service had concluded, I had decided that this church just felt so right.
In terms of style, it seems like the perfect balance between St. Jude's and Planetshakers and is the closest church to Holy Trinity Brompton in London, which I still miss. Vibrant but not showy. City on a Hill isn't as massive as HTB or Hillsong, but the atmosphere felt like it was on fire tonight. Very inspirational. I'm so excited to go back and see what it's like on an evening other than Christmas Eve. Based on what I witnessed just hours ago, I'm sure it will be just as amazing.
After enjoying the City on a Hill service, I took a tram up to Carlton to go to St. Jude's Christmas Eve service. Since it made more sense to go straight there instead of going home in the opposite direction first, I ended up being uncharacteristically early; however, it turned out to be blessing because I was able to see some of the children's pageant, which brought back memories from my childhood, and to meet the first American I've come across in Melbourne. She's from California and is studying at the University of Melbourne. Talking to her really made me think about graduate school again, but I don't know if I'm ready to commit to that at this point. St. Jude's service was enjoyable and it was good to be able to catch up with some friends. This entertaining video was shown during the service and I would like to share it with you.
Afterward, a few of us tried to get Chinese food for dinner, but the restaurants were closed so we settled for Domino's, which was more than fine with me because I had been craving pizza for weeks!
With the holiday season right upon us, a number of different activities have been taking place around the city. It's a shame that so many of them have been scheduled for the same nights because it's difficult to choose what to do. However, this evening, I was fortunate enough to be able to enjoy two of them.
Earlier today, I met several friends from Cross Cultures at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, an outdoor music venue in Kings Domain that's near the Royal Botanic Gardens, to watch the Carols by Candlelight rehearsal. Carols by Candlelight is a massive musical event that has been held on Christmas Eve since the late 1930s and features numerous performers who sing various Christmas songs. It's broadcast live not only all across Australia but also to New Zealand, parts of eastern Asia, and certain Pacific Islands. Although
the main event is held on Christmas Eve, the rehearsal that occurs the day before that is open to the public for a fraction of the cost of the actual show. It was a ridiculously hot day, but I had a lot of fun taking part in this wonderful tradition that Melbourne has had for so many years. I'm hoping to catch a little bit of the real event on television tomorrow night or maybe even head down to Federation Square to watch it on the big screen.
After spending several hours at the Sidney Meyer Music Bowl, I said good bye to my friends and took a tram to Carols at Docklands, a Christmas event that Planetshakers hosts every year. Since I had decided to stay at Carols by Candlelight until everyone else left for dinner, I ended up being quite late for Carols at Docklands. It was extremely loud and crowded so I wasn't able to contact the two
friends I had hoped to meet there; however, I was lucky enough to randomly run into two people I knew from the beach barbecue I had attended not too long ago. Carols at Docklands turned out to be a pretty awesome experience, equipped with amazing musical performances, especially "The Prayer," which sent shivers down my spine, and an entertaining fireworks show.
Earlier this week, several people from Cross Cultures met at the church to bake gingerbread. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible for me to join them, but I was able to attend the regular weekly dinner and Bible study. When I arrived today, the tables and chairs were arranged to accommodate the anticipated larger crowd for our Christmas dinner and there was a bon-bon at each place setting. Since they’re not a popular part of the Christmas celebration in the US, the first time I had ever heard of bon-bons [or Christmas crackers] was when I was in the UK. They’re basically cardboard tubes with colorful paper twisted around them in such a way that they look like massive Tootsie Rolls. There are different versions of the game, but in essence, a different person grabs each end of the bon-bon and pulls until it breaks. In one version, whoever has the largest piece empties the contents from the bon-bon, which is normally a colored paper crown, a toy, and a joke of some sort.
With Christmas just around the corner, we naturally discussed the story of Jesus’ birth and how it’s the true meaning of this time of year. I felt like it was a really important discussion because even as a Christian, it’s so easy to get swept up in today’s commercialization of the holiday. It was even mentioned that while many people gather around the Santa-themed window displays at Myer, hardly anyone pays attention to the last one that features the Nativity scene. Shamefully, my first thought upon hearing this was ‘There’s a Nativity scene?’ Wow, talk about guilty as charged! Sometimes it’s just good to step back and remember why we’re celebrating in the first place.
In addition to our study, we ate a hearty traditional Australian Christmas dinner that consisted of turkey [I think, but being a pescetarian, I have to admit that I wasn’t paying much attention to that portion of the meal…] and then rice, salad, and other vegetables. We also decorated the gingerbread figures that were baked earlier in the week with icing and different types of candy. I ended up with a gingerbread man, a star, and then a kangaroo that someone said resembled a dinosaur :o) Later on in the evening, we had plum pudding for dessert, which was pretty delicious.
It may not be snowing, here or at home, but Christmas is most definitely in the air..... and I LOVE it. On Sunday, Kat and I met at the Icehouse in the Docklands to see a Christmas ice-skating performance. Although it was geared more towards children, I suppose, it was still fun to watch because who doesn't enjoy a holiday-themed skating performance? It was certainly entertaining and some of the skaters were as young as five years old, which was quite impressive.
The performers skated to different popular songs from this year along with ones from earlier decades, like one of my all-time favourite Christmas singles, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You." The show even included songs from various musicals that I love, such as Moulin Rouge and Wicked, and ones I have yet to see, like Burlesque. At the very end, there was a nice tribute to Michael Jackson, during which the skaters moonwalked on the ice, warranting huge cheers from the crowd. Pretty awesome.
Last week, Kat had invited me to attend a Christmas concert that the Salvation Army was sponsoring and giving to the city of Melbourne as a gift for its contributions to the organization, but unfortunately, it was on the same day that St. Jude's was holding its annual caroling event in Carlton. It's a shame that they conflicted with each other because I would have liked to have
attended both, but since I had heard so much about the carols at both church and Cross Cultures, I had been looking forward to St. Jude's event so that's where I decided to go.
The caroling program was meant to take place outside in the beautiful gardens; however, due to the inclement weather, it had to be moved to the church. I had just gotten off my second tram when it started to pour so I was more than happy to have my raincoat with me, but I still need to purchase an umbrella. I feel like being without proper rain gear in Melbourne is just as bad as being without it in Dublin, which I didn't expect when I first came here. Anyway, when I first arrived at the church, I didn't see anyone I knew, but after i sat down and the program officially started, I spotted some familiar faces on the other side of the church so I switched seats inbetween songs. We sang almost two hours worth of Christmas carols, but there were, of course, some readings, poems, and other random talking in between. It was unfortunate that it had to rain that day because the gardens are really
pretty and the perfect venue for such an event, but holding lit candles indoors during some of the songs had a pretty fantastic effect that would have been lost outside since there was still some daylight.
The next day, I met one of the girls from my Urban Life group for hot chocolate at a cafe in the city. She's originally from Vancouver, but she's done a lot of traveling and living abroad, calling many different places, like St. Louis, London, Brisbane, and Melbourne, home. As it turns out, we actually attended the same church in London, Holy Trinity Brompton, which was an awesome discovery because we both absolutely loved going there every week. Although I've attended several other charismatic churches since then, I haven't quite been able to find one like HTB, but it hasn't been due to lack of trying.
Jennifer told me that if she were my age, she would rather be in London [or Europe, in general] because there's a lot more to do and see there than in Australia. I feel like Australia is a massive and diverse country so there's plenty to see, but it's also hard to leave because of its size. The east
coast is pretty well connected as you can take buses and trains up and down, but as far as going to other parts of the country, I would have to do some research; I think you would most likely have to fly.
Europe is just a unique place because you can enter a whole new country, experience a whole new culture that only involves traveling for a short few hours. You just don't have that luxury in Australia since, with the exception of New Zealand and Fiji, it's far from everything, especially Melbourne and Sydney, which are in the southern part of the country. I would imagine that if you were up north in Cairns, which is the tropical region of the nation, it would be easier to travel to at least Asia.
Although I love Australia, I would definitely be lying if I said I wasn't feeling nostalgic for Europe.
Before moving down here, I had heard numerous stories about these apparently amazing beach barbecues that are popular all over Australia. On Friday evening I experienced my first one and I can
confirm that they are indeed spectacular, but I guess it helps when the people you're with are awesome.
Since we were running late, my friend Kat and I met at the train station near Elwood Beach, which is about a half hour from the city centre by public transportation, and then walked to the barbecue area to meet everyone else. It was our first time doing anything with this particular Urban Life group, but the leader of the group had contacted me last week or so and invited me to attend their end-of-the-year barbecue at the beach. It seemed like a good chance to get to meet more people at Planetshakers so I decided to go and invited Kat along because she was interested in learning more about the church.
As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I've never been a huge fan of the beach, but I could never deny the natural beauty one finds there. Since the barbecue was in the evening, it was the perfect time to go to watch the sunset over the ocean. Magnificent shades of pinks, purples, and oranges
splashed across the sky as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Even though photographs could never do it justice, I tried my hardest to capture the moment anyway.
After dinner, everyone exchanged gifts and even though Kat and I were new to the group, we were given glasses filled with Lindt chocolates, which was sweet and unexpected. I ended up meeting a couple who's going to be spending an entire month traveling around a few American cities. They were asking me about places to eat and to visit in New York City and Washington D.C since those were the only two places they're going that I've visited or lived. They're also planning to bring in the new year in the one and only Times Square so I was able to give them a few tips based on the time my friends and I celebrated New Year's Eve there several years ago.
I suppose the "honeymoon stage" of my trip is coming to an end because I'm pretty sure I felt a twinge of homesickness when they were telling me about what they had planned for their American holiday.
The weather has been so random lately, which I suppose is typical for Melbourne, sometimes cool enough to have to remember to bring a jacket with me every time I leave my apartment, other times warm enough to be able to go outside with only a tank top. Luckily, today was a prime example of one of those latter days, which was surprising since it was quite cool in my apartment. Fortunately, that does leave me optimistic for even hotter temperatures later this year because perhaps it won't matter that our place isn't equipped with air conditioning after all.
Two weeks ago, I paced up and down the sidewalk, huddled in my jacket as I willed the tram to come sooner after my Urban Life group; however, this evening, it was easy and even a pleasure to sit outside and wait for the public transportation as it was the perfect summer night. Speaking of that time of year, prior to coming down here, I had thought that Australia's seasons were the exact opposite of America's, starting during the third week or so of the month, so I thought we had another couple weeks of spring, but I've learned that that's not the case. Australia's seasons start on the first of the month so summer has been here for a week already!
It's still taking some adjusting to the fact that Christmas and New Year's Eve will be celebrated in the summertime, but I'm excited about the new experience. It's just routine, but when I was thinking about going to Sydney for New Year's Eve, my mind automatically started wondering how cold I would be outside as I waited for the fireworks and whether or not my leggings would keep me warm enough. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was and that no, I wouldn't have to worry about the temperature. Tonight we had our last Urban Life group of the year and we spent it with a nice Christmas party [my first official Australian barbecue :o)], which, funny as it may sound, on some level made the holiday season more of a reality for me.
This weekend, St. Jude's is hosting a caroling event near the Carlton Gardens, which should be a lot of fun and will further get me into the Christmas spirit. I don't know that I've necessarily been lacking it in any way, but despite the decorated window displays and holiday music, my mindset is stuck on one thing:: totally in awe that summertime is here.
