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This weekend was quite nice. A girl from class invited us all over to her apartment for lunch on Saturday so we could get to know one another outside the bounds of the classroom. She lives in the Northern Shores area, which ended up being a pretty long drive from campus. I rode with another girl from class along with three other classmates. I was scrunched in the back, but I was happy to have a ride (and very glad that I didn't have to sit in the middle).
She lives in a very pretty area, away from all the bustle. She is part Chinese, so she cooked us lots of Chinese food. It was wonderful. English is her native language, but she can speak Chinese as well. She said she can't really read or write in Chinese, though. She said she did bad in her Chinese classes and joked, "That's why I moved here." We watched a couple of movies while we were over there. After our lunch had settled, she brought out the apple crumb cake that she had made. It, too, was wonderful. She likes to cook for groups because she said it relaxes her. And she seems to need it because she is always either at school or at work at any given time.
While we were watching one of the movies, I tried out her massage pad that was on the chair. Everyone took turns trying it out. It had two main settings: shiatsu and roller. It kind of hurt initially, but it eventually relieved the tension in my back. I can't remember when my back has felt better. I need to get one of those for my apartment now.
Once it was time to leave, she told us to take some food with us because she had prepared way too much. She even had little carry-out (they say "take-away" here) containers for everyone. She is super organized. Everyone wants her to be their producer because she is so on top of things, but she’s so busy with her own movie and work, she doesn’t have any more room on her schedule. We all stocked up on food and then headed back to the city.
On Sunday, I awoke fairly early in the hopes of making it to bible study at the church in Seven Hills. I left the apartment a little later than I had planned. While I was in the elevator on my way down, I realized that I had forgotten my bible. So I ran back up to my room to grab it. When I got down to the street, just outside of the building, I glanced around to make sure a bus wasn't coming. None in sight. "Okay," I thought, "No hurry." My iPod was playing "Walk, Don't Run" by the Ventures as I made my way to the bus stop, which is a block down from my apartment. And then I heard it. The bus zoomed by me. It was like something out of a cartoon. The moment I looked away, the bus must have turned the corner. I broke out into a run (in my dress shoes, mind you) as I watched it slow at the stop. One person exited the bus, and no one was waiting to getting on, so there was nothing to hold it at the stop. Just as I reached the back of the bus, it drove off. Missed it by seconds... again. I plopped down on the bench, exasperated. Was this Sunday going to be a repeat of last week? If I hadn't have forgotten my bible, I would have made it. I sighed. No worries, I'll catch the next one. At least it wasn't raining. It was actually a very beautiful day.
And so I waited for the next bus, which arrived shortly. I made it to central to find that I had missed my intended train, so I waited for the next one. I boarded the next train that came along and made the long trip to Seven Hills. I actually knew where I was going this time, so I wasn't so full of anxiety. I exited the train at the Seven Hills stop (not the Blacktown one this time) and quickly walked to the church, just two blocks from the station. I made it in the nick of time for the bible study. There was a break for tea in the warmth of the sun after the class. While I was enjoying the nice weather, I met an Australian woman, who invited me to sit with her and her husband during the morning service. Her name is Joy Anger. I think that is one of the funniest name combinations I've seen. Her disposition was very much like her first name, not her surname. Her husband, Gil, is nice as well. He's a missionary who travels the world. He has traveled extensively through the US and has even made his way through south Alabama. He said, "This is my home church, but I'm probably here only four times out of the year."
The experience this time was so much better than last weekend. It wasn't cold, dark, and rainy; instead, the sunlight flooded the church, making it bright and cheery. I recognized many faces from the previous week, so it wasn't so overwhelming for me. It can get that way when you enter a congregation of over 200 people and you don't know a single soul. But the people have been very friendly. I'm at a great disadvantage since they all remember me, while I'm struggling to memorize a bajillion names. Lucky for me, there are quite a few Roberts. But, knowing me, I'm going to end up calling the wrong people Robert.
After the service, I had planned to go back home and work on my presentation that was due on Monday. I hung around to chat with a few people, and Mrs. Anger came up to see if I wanted to join them for lunch. I gladly accepted the offer and piled into the car with her, her husband, and the Japanese girl that is staying with them. She is currently attending a language school to learn English so she can work on her PhD here. During the drive over to their house, Gil educated me quite a bit about Australia. I learned about their driving system, among other things. He told me that hardly anyone here owns a gun, unlike the US. He said the permits are quite expensive and they have to obtain several different ones. He told me about some guy from America who decided to send him a gun out of gratitude. He said he could have gotten in trouble for receiving the gun, but the guy shipped it in two different pieces, which saved his behind. He had to give the gun to his friend, who already holds the permits.
We arrived at their home after approximately a 45-minute drive. They live in a nice, fairly large apartment on the second floor, which is really the third story. Now would be a good time to mention this: they count their floors differently. They call the first floor the ground level, and the second story is numbered as the first floor, which throws off the numbering. (When I first moved in to my apartment, I was a little confused because I was on the third story, but the signs indicated that I was on the second floor.)
Mrs. Anger began preparing lunch while I helped her husband burn a CD with pictures from his last mission trip. He's leaving this Friday for Japan on another mission, which, coincidentally, is the same day the Japanese girl is going home to visit her family. After we finished up with the CD, we went to the living room to sit. Mrs. Anger asked me if I had ever eaten pumpkin on its own, not cooked in another food. I didn't recall ever eating pumpkin itself. She said they eat it quite a bit here and that she was cooking some for lunch.
Lunch was soon ready, and we all gathered around the table. There was fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed vegetables (including the pumpkin), and salad. I couldn't have asked for a better meal. This was the first time since I've been here that I had a sit-down meal outside of a restaurant. I thought, "How fitting: having a nice meal at Joy's after church." (We often go to aunt Joy’s house after church back home). This was also the first time since I left that I've had a home-cooked meal similar to good southern food. (Every other cooked meal I've had so far has been Asian). As if the great meal wasn't enough, she brought out an upside-down cake that was delicious.
After lunch, the Angers told me they would take me to the night service with them and that I could take a nap until then. So I took a much-needed nap on their couch, while they too got some shut-eye. Except for Mrs. Anger. She decided to call her son for a chat while everyone else slept. It was a great Sunday afternoon. Quite the antithesis of the previous one.
After the night service, the church had its monthly fellowship dinner. There was a good mix of food, and I was happy to find chocolate cake. I talked to some of the younger guys, and I am now confirmed to attend Robert’s “Bucks Night,” which isn’t at night at all. It’s going to be a Saturday morning. I’ve been invited to spend the night at one of the families’ house the night before the party. The mom works in an office that issues visas. Her son attends the Conservatory of Music, which is part of the University of Sydney. He is interested in helping with movie soundtracks, so I might get him to help me next semester. For my Italian doco (Aussie term for documentary) I’m going to use an Italian accordion player that I heard playing in the Italian forum, so I won’t need his help this semester.
I have things lined up with Sweet Lily’s for my movie now, and I’m supposed to meet with the owner of Gelateria de Luca on Thursday. Their shop is back open now, and it’s quite the charming little place. I’m excited to speak with the owner. He seemed nice on the phone when I called him. I have finally decided to just use my own camera to shoot this film, so I’m going to get my first footage this week. I like the school’s cameras better, but I don’t think the slight difference is worth the pain of trying to schedule my shooting dates around the cameras’ availability. I like being able to shoot whenever I need to. Next semester, we will have access to true HD cameras, so I will definitely take advantage of that equipment. I think I will be making a narrative next semester. I hope to work on the pre-production this summer so that I can be ready to shoot near the beginning of the semester. But then again, I’ll be making another doco over the summer. And I might get a part-time job with a studio or something. (Our teacher said he could help us get some positions). I guess I’ll see soon enough.
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