There's nothing quite like looking out over the city of Adelaide at night from the hills that tower above the city's skyscrapers. The city literally twinkles, and it's one of the only cities in the world that does so. It's a special place due to it's location where the warmth of the ground creates an upward convection current of air, which refracts the 'twinkling' lights (for all you science nerds out there). If you look out over lights at night, it's as if the city is winking at you from thousands of different eyes, and let me tell you; it's spectacular.
Mid-semester break is approaching in just 7 days, and we have a two week trip planned to visit Sydney, The Great Barrier Reef and the Fiji islands (you know, where they make that delicious water that costs $5/bottle). It should be a great time to experience some of my favorite things: beaches, friends, exploring, reflecting and food. . . lots of good food.
Summer is on its way here, and as the seasons are changing, so are the reasons why I thought I was moving here. I have loved my time in Australia, and as in any place one goes, there's always something to learn. Just as one discovers why he loves home when he leaves it, one also discovers home is not all there is to this world we call 'home.' Here are a few things I've learned from this 'Land Down Under' culture that I've been grateful to experience:
1) No time around the dinner table is time wasted
There is something to be said for sitting around a table as a family and sharing a meal. Sure, the meal may only last 20 minutes and the food might just be frozen pizza, but we may sit there for two hours. The meal itself isn't the point. The point is the people, the family. The dinner table is a special place where time just melts away. As stories, advice and jokes are shared, family is formed and love happens. My family valued the time around the dinner table, and I'm stoked to say the family I'm living with here values it just the same. Remember: round, square, short or tall, tables are precious to us all, especially dinner tables.
2) Stop and smell the roses
If there's one thing I struggle with, it's struggling to find something to do with my hands. I'm the type of guy who's always on the go, always looking for something to do and always trying to be proactive; however, it's about time I've learned to stop and smell the roses. Sometimes it's okay to chill, sometimes it's okay to have a lazy day, and sometimes it's okay to 'piddle.' It shows a great deal of selfish pride to believe I have to do everything myself and that the world will fall apart if I don't. God made it, He takes care of it, and if I don't check my email every day, the world isn't going to go to hell in a hand basket. Let's slow down on this journey of life and sniff a flower or two along the way.
3) Holidays for days
I don't know if it's because Aussies live hundreds or thousands of miles away from any other civilization, or if it's because they just love to travel, but forreal; Aussies have the best holidays (vacations). They know how to rest well and not make work their entire life. It seems most everyone I talk to here seeks to travel and see the world, and their culture allows for it. It's not uncommon for folks to take months off of work to visit Europe or America and broaden their world view. I've loved hearing the stories of folks' travel experiences and their thoughts on why work isn't life and life isn't work.
4) Short words are more fun
If you want to change a word to Australian slang, just take off the last three to five letters of it, and add an 'ies.' That's right, they shorten everything over here, and honestly it just makes everything seem a little more fun as you say it. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Sunnies - Sunglasses
- Uni - College
- Millie - Our family's dog
- Brekkie - Breakfast
- Barbie - Barbecue
- Lollie - Candy
Use one this week, and see how many weird looks you get.
5) Choose to smile
A huge thing I've learned since I've been here is that you can choose to smile, or you can choose to frown. Most people I've met choose to smile. Regardless of the day I've had at work or how bad traffic was on the way home, I can actually choose to walk through the front door with a smile and love those inside to the best of my ability and not take whatever 'bad' happened in my day out on them. It's true it's not good to fake it, and if something's wrong, something's wrong, but it's also true that the action of love starts as a choice, not a feeling.
Here's to learning life's lessons together from the 'Land Down Under.'
- Cliff
Cliff's Note: Just as one discovers why he loves home when he leaves it, one also discovers home is not all there is to this world we call 'home.'