Ode to Oscar and Jules

Don't get me wrong moving across the world is a big deal and while we have had a few bumps in the road it has been a relatively easy move.  The bumps are mainly because of US banks...don't even get me started…that is a whole conversation that maybe I will blog about after some wine. I think (now I have probably jinxed it) that our American Citi account was unfrozen today, fingers crossed. 

But this post is about family and friends that are basically family. Here is my family at the beach in New York saying bye to us the day we left - miss you guys!

Not gonna lie, this photo got me a little teary at the airport!

Moving on to the friends that really are just like family. We can credit the ease of moving here to the Australian welcoming committee - Oscar, Jules and their families! From our very first day we were taken care of, picked up at the airport, given a place to stay on a mattress FedExed from the States for a mere $2,500 (that is not a joke), scenic drives & walks, brunch with friends. On our first day we had drinks with Greg, Katina and Poppy (Oscar’s family) and a visit and dinner with Nick, Chris, Ammalie, John, Judy and Oscar The Cat, who really acts like a dog (Jules family). Full disclosure, by dinner on our first day Chris and I were almost falling asleep in our food.

Oscar took us on a walk - can you believe it Jules?!?!?!

Jules started work right away, so we got to hang out with chef Oscar in his brand new kitchen. Who knew he was such a great cook, I didn’t. Over the 2 weeks we lived with them we benefited greatly from his cooking! He hates photos but I managed to get one!

This stew was AMAZING! 

We somehow have weaseled our way into a delicious, family, home cooked meal every Sunday we have been here. We even got ot meet Tilly, Oscar’s younger sister. She just got into exchange at Georgetown for a semester! I'll be calling on my BMaryland family to make sure she is taken care of in the States! Although Jammi might scare her away :) 

Greg even wore his Chicago shirt for us, he must really like us :)

We also moved into our apartment with literally nothing. Well not nothing, the 9 bags of mainly clothes and shoes we came with. We also have nail polish and a strainer, cause those are necessities. Greg and Katina lent us their camping mattress; Oscar and Jules their pillows, sheets, blanket and towels (how did we not think to bring any of that?!?!?); and my mom’s gift of sleeping bags came in handy! 

Our set up for the first few days in our apartment! 

But seriously, Oscar and Jules you guys are the best! Thanks to you and your families for welcoming us to Sydney! You’ve made us feel right at home! We look forward to crashing your family and friend outings for years to come!  

Robbie also had us over for dinner with his family before he left Australia to travel all over the place. I am pretty sure the Sandigs are the nicest people in Australia! We met the whole fam, all the siblings, parents and even Nanny.  I still regret not taking a photo of the massive display case of Sandig sibling trophies and medals, next time!

Road Trip: Day 5 - Uncle Raymond and Aunt Susan's

Today we packed up the car and left my cousin Layla and Jeff's place headed for Ray and Susan's in Virginia, near Harrisonburg - its about 5 miles from the West Virginia border, way out there. It is out there - like no cell service 4 miles from their house out there!

But not before a 5 AM workout....I slept in the car later

I was really excited to visit Ray and Susan. I haven't spent a lot of time with Ray and Susan but they are some of my favorites in Chris' extended family. They never disappoint with entertaining banter, new experiences and just a general good time. I have a soft spot for people who march to the beat of their own drum and they fit the bill. I got to thinking on the drive there about this soft spot of mine and wondering where it comes from, I'm still not sure, but it lead me down a funny internal thought process that I will try to share. I consider myself pretty normal, whatever that means, then I realized I am probably not that normal. After all, I am moving to a country across the world that I have never been to, definitly not normal. Anyway, we knew we wanted to visit Ray and Susan as soon as we started planning the road trip!

Since we had the whole day and only a 3 hour drive we took a detour. We stopped off in Charlottesville to check out UVA. It is a beautiful campus!

The room where Kappa Sigma was founded off the lawn at UVA - they were my sororities neighboors at Arizona

Ian's favorite bar, but sadly it was closed :(

Once we got to Ray and Susan's, we grilled out - can't beat steak and potatoes and then took a tour of the property.

So peaceful and green! 

And then comes the new experience part, Ray is a very talented blacksmith. He just fired up the gas forge and started making something out of a 16 penny horse shoe nail. 

The forge

Uncle Ray hammering the nail into something

Clamping the hot metal and pounding into something cool 

The end result on the anvil, a heart that got turned into a necklace!  

We had a great time! It was great to see Susan and Ray! Now off to Charlotte, NC to fly to Mexico city on Wednesday for Alejo and Marcella's wedding with 6 Kellogg friends!  

Road Trip: Day 4 - Family Brunch and Exploring DC

Today started with a family brunch in Bethesda, MD. It's always great to see family and I am so glad we were all able to get together! You know there will never be a dull moment with Uncle Jimmy, or as I like to call him, Jammi. He also calls me Jammi, even though it is his name not mine....no one understands, but we still love him.

Jammi, the volleyball legend himself! Mom, do you notice the spice rack in the back...you made it! 

Reason #472 we love Jammi, as we sit down to brunch, mind you we have been hanging out for 30 minutes, he calls my Mom in Arizona to "do the face time" only to tell her we will call her back in 20 minutes....wait you called me, hahaha! 

The whole gang, minus Mary Beth (I don't have one with MB, someone send me one!) - Kathy, Anthony (about to be 30!), Jammi, Marissa, me, Layla, Jeff and Chris

Nanny, still strong at 91! I learned at brunch I have a Great Great Aunt Kathleen who was a nun in Sydney, not the first in my family to live in Australia!

After brunch we headed to DC to meet up with Alex, a first year at Kellogg, I guess now he's a second year, weird. Big fan of Alex, we hit it off immediately as we share the sense of humor of 11 year old boys. Alex was on the KWEST trip we lead though Kellogg last year and will be leading the bike trip this year. Thanks for keeping' it alive :) In just a short year he's become a lifelong friend, I tear up a bit thinking of missing his and Lynette's wedding...anyway. 

Alex was in the Army and spent two years in the Honor Guard in Arlington, VA. I will never be able to remember exactly what his title was or any of that, but I just like to think of him as overall Badass. I will leave it at that for the sake of Lynette, his fiancé, he has enough self-confidence :) He was in DC for the weekend so offered to hang out and take us around Arlington Cemetery as I had never been. So glad we didn't have to say goodbye in Evanston and got to see him again! It was an awesome day and he pointed us to lots of special sites and gave insight to how it all works. It was an unforgettable experience - thank you Alex for your service and for showing us around!  

Obligatory out the car window pic of the Australian Embassy

View from Lee's house 

Lockerbie Memorial - 1988 terriorist bombing, I didn't know much about it and had to look it up, I was only 6 but don't remember this at all - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103  

Abner Doubleday's grave, complete with some baseballs, fitting 

Changing of the Gaurd's - they are so precise!  

Alex's favorite place as there a so many hidden graves of heroes that many just walk past 

In that same section, a famous SAE and medal of honor recipient - Chris got to drop a little knowledge on Alex 

Walk though area 60, which is where many of the recent fallen soldiers of Afghanistan and Iraq have been laid to rest. It is shocking how many there are and how young so many of them were - not even able to buy a drink at a bar and paid the greatest sacrifice. 

Gravestone in the tree stump  

Since our tour didn't include water or snacks, we were starving. We headed around the corner for Pupusa's. They were delicious! They are an El Salvador staple described as a mix between a dumpling and quesadilla. Definitely go here!

Final pic with Alex - we will miss you!  

Can't even tell Alex is wearing short shorts :)

Next up - Chris's Uncle Raymond and Aunt Susan's in Virginia (not exactly sure where). It's only a 3 hour drive so we might explore a little more in DC.