Life Down Under

I am saying good-bye to Australia today...and I will miss feeling like a real Sydneysider alongside my hosts Liz, Logan, Reid, and Porter (yes, officially this little guy has a name)! 

Not only have I been learning about the land down under, I have also been experiencing Newborn-Landia.  Seeing the life of a baby, day 1 to 5, in all his ittie bittie 6.5 pound adorableness, has been a gift.  His little feet, miniature toes, teensy nose, all perfectly shaped and ready for exponential growth rates to come!  In the past month, my world has literally been turned upside down: from preparing people for the end of life to welcoming a new one into the world.  Life is practically overflowing from this household, with a 2 year old and 2 working parents.  Here is a photo of their first park outing with Porter, day 2.  

Alongside this rather stark juxtaposition, the land down under has been full of interesting distinctions from home. The season was late Summer, and is now Autumn.  The sports played here, rugby and cricket, only faintly resemble American baseball and football, but have their own incredibly complicated rules and are quite avidly followed.  The coffee culture is fabulous (definitely rivals Seattle in strength and surpasses Seattle in number of coffee shops per city block - I believe there are 3 within 1 block of Liz and Logans house).  But the coffee is different in size (no such thing as a grande or venti size) and terms (Flat White, Long Black, Short Black, Latte, and Cappuccino).  It has taken me about a month to figure out the difference between a Flat White and a Latte (key: its the amount of froth, ie. flat vs. foamy).  The money coinage  seems counterintuitive (they have $ .50 $1 and $2 coins, their sizes ranging in this order from largest to smallest).  Perhaps the most disorienting of all is the general mode of operation "on the left."   Walking, driving, biking, and just moving around - all on the left side takes a bit of reorientation.   The simplest acts of walking down a busy sidewalk, stepping onto a bus, or looking both ways before crossing the street...could quickly become disastrous if I allow auto pilot to kick in.  Perhaps my left handedness has finally come in handy.

Another chapter of this trip is closing. I leave for Hong Kong this evening.  Here is another poem by Hafiz, that anyone who is parenting may also appreciate:

Children

Can easily open the

Drawer

That lets the spirit rise up and wear

Its favorite costume of

Mirth and laughter.

When the mind is consumed with 

Remembrance of 

God

Something divine happens to the 

Heart

That 

Shapes the hand and tongue  

And eye into

The word

Love.