Hittin' the trail

Hey everyone....
Just wanted to send a little note letting y'all know I'll be out of town this weekend (because I'm sure you were just about to buy the plane tickets and come visit). Going to the Australian Alpine mountains for the next three days... will be near the highest point in the country. It's a backpacking trip for my recreation leadership class... I don't know what tent I'm in yet because everyone I was going with got too sick to go, but I'm sure we'll get it sorted out...should be a hoot... right now I'm exhausted from working on the craziest assignment I've done in a while... and it is finished! Woot! Will post pictures and share stories when I get back.

love,
mn

ps-things I'm thankful for today:
-a conversation I had with Tams that ended in an invitation to her family's organic farm... and more importantly, a bit of a friendship offer... she's a really cool chica who has been looking for a lot of the same connections I have... how energizing it was to find her!
-free food, woot!
-small conversations with mama when she starts her day and I end mine
-Iron and Wine music
-sleeping bags that cuddle you
-anticipation/excitement that keeps you up at night

a morning reflection...

Hey everyone... I promised more details of this morning's wonderful start... and they are below in a reflection I wrote for my class "People and Places"... there is a Daniel Quinn quote that I've already posted a few months ago, but I think it's worth another go..... thanks to everyone back home who keeps reminding my heart how to live...

I woke this morning early to a phone call from the other side of the world. The vibrant voices of friends woke me, not just literally, but deeply. Old friends have the power to remind you who you are and what your goals are in the world. They have the ability to fully pull you into the present faster than you might wander there on your own. They can remind you that no matter where you are, you are not lost. I'm reminded of a quote from Daniel Quinn's Tales of Adam, "The second gift of wisdom is the gift of tracking, of discerning the true course of things... the journey embeds us in the cycle of life, in the fire that burns forever. In it we find out place. In it, we live. A tent is not our shelter. Rather the journey is our shelter. The journey is the song we make of our lives...we are seekers of holy places...wherever life moves, the hang of god is under it, so no step can be off the path. When you stumble on the mountainside, that is part of your path... when you wander hungry in the desert and cannot find your way, you are not lost, you're on your path... Remember too that the person standing in your track is you... the tracks you make are your own. Stand in them bravely."

I am seeking holy places, and from my perspective sacredness is in the eye of the beholder. We are surrounded with the burning fire of life, and remembering that this is constant woke me up today. I felt so alive inside my skin, dancing down the red dirt road grinning bright as the sun. Absolutely full-up, yes, full and spilling over with life (like Paiger's love poem). Just completely overflowing with joy, love, and presence; sharing my morning excitement with everyone, beaming to the world. Announcing that yes, I am in Australia; not just physically here, not just transplanted, but that I felt nourished from these roots that have begun to sink into the burnt earth that is this place. That my heart felt open and elated instead of naked in this barren landscape. You don't really know a place until you've seen it in the pink glow of dawn and met it in the morning.

This has been one of the most vivid experiences I have had in this landscape. For me it feels as if I know the landscape better today, as if we have communed and shared energy. Getting to know places for me is much like becoming acquainted with people. At first there is entertaining small talk, but at some point it boils down to a different feeling of companionship than what I'm used to. Like it or not, there will always be a moment of comparison of the new place to where I have come from, where I last felt surrounded in the life of a place. At some point, some communion will be shared that shows a new side of the person or place, one which I had no idea I was missing until that very moment. At that point it's likely that a part of my being has been altered that will remain with me far after my actual location separates us.

Goodmorning with the Records! Spent this early morning talking to the Record family over skype... felt so happy afterwards I went for a long walk and danced down a red dirt road listening to my life soundtrack cd (available upon request)... was too excited to write, I was afraid of missing a moment of sunshine... when I finally slowed down to sit at a picnic table when my music batteries died, I realized how tired I was and that I only had an hour left till class.. went home for a nap... have been a tiny bit dazed since... it feels like I lived an entire day this morning.... am off to class in town this afternoon.... will share more about the morning later.
the sun peeping through my window (that's the water tank on the left)

The footy game last week
House one at the Commonwealth games... the Commonwealth of Twister

The tiniest bridge... Leanne and I ride over this on our way to the river.
Oak trees in the Botanical Garden
Skyduster palm tree... what a name

start now

Hey y'all...
Hope your lives are going well (please share your stories with me)... This week has been a bit of an adventure. After being here for a little over a month I decided I should no longer allow myself to notice that I'm still looking for real connections, haven't found a spiritual home, etc... I should stop noting these absenses and start taking responsibility to fill these spaces, even if I do it independently of others. So the motto of the week has been "start now"... based on this I went to a Uni Bible study, a detour club meeting, Thursday night dinner at a local church, the horse races, and did everything I could to put myself out there this week. I saw a sign in Albury that people were looking for a roommate to seek the enlightenment of Ishmael with... so I called them, not because I was looking for a room, but because they must be interesting people if they reference Ishmael on a flyer looking for a roommate... When I got ahold of them they told me they had filled the room, sorry, and goodbye... dang... oh well. Interestingly though, I was talking about the sign to a kid on campus who did know Daniel Quinn... so that was comforting. Slowly but surely, people are becoming more and more real. So over this week of putting myself out there, I have fallen on my face a good number of times when I ask what people think about spirituality or how their heart is and get only odd looks, giggles, or silence in return... but at least I'm being more honest about the sort of friendships I'm craving.
The biggest source of joy this week has been breathing well... how amazing it is to just do anything and not worry as much about breathing... :) I'm hoping to get back into running again soon.
Just got back from an 18 mile bike ride into the city and back. It's official, that is a fine commute for singing. Went to my favorite Botanical garden... there was a wedding going on and I was in a small way disappointed because I went there longing for a silence away from the city bustle... I was hoping for a quiet so still a tiny breeze could take center stage and calm me... So I popped on the headphones with my favorite mixed cd and created my own little haven for reflection and writing under an oak tree with sun slipping past me into patterns on the lawn. I wrote myself a small note that you may enjoy (or if you're wondering how I'm feeling, here it is)

Dear Megan,
Feel this breeze and sunshine... just feel today. Feel your heart as it fills with joy for freedom and breezes and adventures. Feel the identity and comfort from the music of a place you have fully been and use that stability to balance in the present on the edge of here and there... noting the pivitol nature of this moment as every minute has... this chasm about to be crossed.. this step about to be taken.... stop... breathe in this place...relax...gather your heart... and start now.

So.. that's the update on my heart... hope you are well...
much love,
Megger

ps-My skype is up and working so if anyone wants to talk to me for free you're welcome to do so, just download skype for free and look up my user name "megger714"

a fine weekend on the res...

Hello everyone,
I hope that you are well :) The last week has been a tiny bit rough with my asthma being a tiny bit out of control... I should be alright soon though. I found out this (the Albury area) is the asthma capital of Australia... wish I would've found that out before I came here.... but if I make it here, I know I can make it anywhere

Hope everyone had a lovely St. Patty's day. We went to a footy game and then out dancing... always good stuff.

This weekend on res. we hosted our own version of the common wealth games. The real games are going on in Melbourne right now. Any country under the Queen of England's reign is eligible to compete... we just went as house teams. I'll be honest, my house didn't win one athletic medal (that's a bit hard to do considering there were 5 events, only 6 teams, and three medals for each event)... but we did walk away with a set of smiley face juggling balls for the spirit award. We spent this afternoon practicing cheers, it was hilarious! Oh yeah, our team went as the "Commonwealth of Twister". Our mascot was Ellie, our housemate who is a second year and loves to yell at us all the time... we made her a crown that said "Twisted Queen", which we all thought was really appropriate. The entire day was quite a hoot. Our motto was just "aim for style points", I can't say we came away with anything but... but, hey we had a blast. The funniest thing was when our RA was doing the slip-n-slide contest, he just about lost his costume... quite the riot. I got some good photos and will share them as soon as my camera dries out enough to turn on. House four folks got into a wild water fight and got my camera in the mix. They assure they'll replace it if need be. (I think they would... they're good folks, even if their house does smell).

Had a good bit of fun (seriously, we laughed and then I coughed... it was a hoot) in an Australian emergency waiting room with a friend Suzi... we went in because my asthma kept getting worse and we couldn't get into a doctor on Sunday and I can claim emergency room visits on my international student insurance... anyway, we learned a good bit. Some of the best lessons in our four hour endeavor were:
-Avoid talking to the nurse, if at all possible, she's not happy
-If you've had a pack of smokes left inside you as a result of bad surgical practices, you have priority over two smiling girls
-the average patient treatment rate is 1/45 minutes; most people in the waiting room just give up and leave
-don't eat or drink before you see the doctor (if they see you snacking on chocolates and crackers, they won't call you in)
-they want you to leave, really, just give up!
-long delays are unavoidable!!!!!
-the TV volume has been specially selected to be just unclear, just distracting if you're trying to read a textbook
-departure time is 10 am daily
-the bathroom tap will likely spray your entire front and the floor
-don't use hospital water fountains. Think about it.
-the chairs are in two's so the sick can only get one other person sick
-make sure you sit in the chairs in the back of the room, so you can lean on the wall to go to sleep (sound familiar mom?... maybe, like sitting in a corner in the back row?)
-bring snacks, you will need them
-if you're having an asthma attack, don't worry, they'll get you in in a few hours
-if you're Suzy's bra strap-beware: random falling apart may be possible; perhaps it is because of the nearby x-ray machines
-"Dr. Death" near Thurgoona campus keeps this place in business
-if you have a child, feel free to put them in the children's cage at the front of the room

Overall... recently, I often feel moments freeze snap-shot style in my mind and I feel that I am coming out the other side of the homesickness I had a while back... feel excited that memories are building here. I feel some sense of community growing here.

Thought of those amazing moments in conversation with some of you out there when I read this in a textbook:
[referring to communication as union] "It implies a moment of inspiration shared by two people as their communication reaches a level of meaningfulness that unites them, albeit for an instant, in a moment that may have almost mystical quality... This is truly communion, a meeting of two people who are at that moment whole in themselves and their encounter with each other...The moment of communion is usually followed by silence, any further interchanges being unnecessary or, at most, nonverbal." -Trevor Tyson

Kudos to moving conversations with friends :)

Thankful list for today (and of course, the smile list mixed in):
-hospital visit with Suzy
-sunshine
-those end of the summer season river swims where you all deny it's getting colder out
-slip-n-slides
-vegetables
-strawberry soymilk
-twister
-sleep
-apple cider vinegar

Much love and joy to all :)
mn

the moon through the eucalyptus trees... goodnight

sunset on the way to the weir yesterday

the rainbow I was talking about... look closely (by the telephone pole)

a few more things...

I'm also thankful for:
-the moonlight over water
-rainbows
-the smell of rain (even if it didn't actually rain)
-clouds
-cartwheels on the beach

A hot one!

Hey everyone...
Just wanted to let you know it's about 115 degrees here (honestly)... it's not humid, so that's nice and there's actually a bit of a breeze. I have officially caught the blasted "res" cold. Feeling a bit better though, after some tea, oranges, and apple cider vinegar. The highlight of this week has been getting the bike working, woot! Went for a ride yesterday to the river on this dodgy path then went for a float and a swim upstream to get a bit of a workout with my friend Leanne. It felt like we were twelve on a summer day riding our bikes through this crazy path, almost falling off the tiniest bridges over little dried up creeks...laughing all the way... and swimming in the sun with little kids around... it was just absolutely wonderful!

Last night I went to a free concert by a Kylie Manoge impersonator (she's the lady that sung the locomotion song in the 80s and has had a few hits since then). It was quite the show! I took my camera to get some good shots for the blog, but when I got there realized the batteries were dead... dang... Patrick took a few pictures on his camera that I'll try and get up soon.

Then I went out dancing with Nikki and some other folks on res, it's really nice to have this sense of community here. The dancing was good fun, despite the oncoming cold. Someone told me they could tell I was an exchange student because I didn't dance anything like Aussies... but they said that was a good thing...so that's alright I suppose... I'm not sure if I dance like Americans either (but I didn't mention that, let 'em think I'm not crazy, just American) Meant to go to church this morning, but when my alarm went off I realized my entire head was congested and my throat was screamingly sore.. so I passed. Oh yeah, another highlight was finding this little farmers' market... Got some killer deals! Spent about ten bucks (7 American) and I got 5 huge zucchinis, 5 oranges, 6 peaches, a cucumber, and a dozen free range eggs all local and organic... score! Then today at a garage sale I found a little muffin tin so I can make some zucchini bread muffins :)

Today is a day for the river, and I'm sure we'll go at some point. Might put in some recharged batteries and take some river shots for y'all.

Life is good.

love,
mn

ps-things I'm thankful for today:
-breezes on hot days
-Apple Cider Vinegar
-Billie Holiday music
-ice cold water
-dancing
-swimming

the news for the day... my new wheels!

That's right... my news is that I now have a bike. I got it for five bucks at a garage sale (including the silly skateboarding helmet). We worked on it a lot tonight on the res. We've got it mostly ready, the only problem is that the back wheel starts to come off when you ride it... minor detail... I'm sure we'll get it sorted out when we actually find some tools that fit. The reason this is such a big deal to me is that I'm on my way to having another of my three "feel at home" needs... with a bike I can find a place away from res that I feel connected to. I could even ride into town and visit my favorite botanical garden :)

oh yeah, I turned in my first Aussie uni assignment today... we'll see how it goes...

things I'm thankful for today:
-e-mails from friends that make you laugh out loud
-floating down the Murray river
-The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama (a good book to read when you miss the last bus out of town and have to wait for a ride)
-this woman in the grocery store wearing a bright orange striped moo-moo (really, she had style and courage)
-PMA (positive mental attitude)
-my prof Penny, who is cute as a button... and really loves her job
-enough food to eat
-composting toilets
-my bike!

a side note...

I get frustrated at times that people seem to only want to ask me things about America. They want to talk about cultural differences so much. I'd like to get past this stuff and move onto what we have in common, and how we're all sharing this human experience.

Things I'm thankful for today (and/or things that made me smile):
-a mixed cd made for me by Kate (a girl in one of my classes)
-checking out the movie Napoleon Dynamite
-The international student orientation binder Suzi made us (the section about cultural adjustment stages... I suppose it's normal for me to be a bit of a grouch at this point)
-the coolest postcard in the world (if I have your address you might be getting a copy soon)