perth practical life

so tomorrow, thursday 14th of august,

i will have been home for two weeks exactly. 

many people have asked me 

"so how does it feel like to be home?"

so much so, that i will answer it here too..for future purposes ;)

it feels great.

in two weeks, i have used less than 1/4 tank of petrol.
i bike ride everywhere.

i make danish food

i go over some favourite danish notes

and i've gotten all arty and crafty to sort through all my travel memories

that above is actually a map of aarhus' suburbs.
this photo was taken to send to a friend, so it was taken a bit carelessly and upside down !

i've reconnected with old friends to share old favourite recipes

and reconnected with my perth treasures for coffees, brunches, lunches, dinners and anything else which requires hygge.

i also forget that i'm not travelling anymore, i don't have to put a camera in front of friend's faces and tell them proudly it's for "blogging purposes".
but it's fun transitioning out of it.

last week was spent sorting out everything that was stolen in barcelona:
cash, cards, mobile phones, travel insurances ..
recieving post cards from friends travelling the middle east and bike riding  to coffee shops to write my own post cards ..

...and also getting rained in on and delaying riding home.

then i remembered  : " I LIVED IN DENMARK. I GOT DRENCHED MID BIKE RIDE
ALL .THE .TIME before arriving to a coffee date or important meeting!

i am danish. i can do this.

oop.

but there's nothing like getting home, drying off and sitting down with a mug of hot chocolate to watch a metaphorical c.s.lewis film.

and constantly sending and recieving photo messages with your danish friends about what you're doing at any given time!
it's cool, keeping up with friends on the other side of the world, who are coincidently doing exactly the same thing as you!

!!

it's interesting bike riding 'round my little suburb of ocean reef.

you think you're all good on the road bike lanes,
until the lane ends.
but then you get to traffic lights and you have your own set of lights.
i can't figure out whether perth council wants me to cycle or not!

i don't think cars are  used to driving next to cyclists like they are in scandanavia,

i feel myself looking over my shoulder alot,

and cars stay far from me!

since i will be catching the train to my practical fieldwork placement all semester,

i rode to the station last saturday to scope out where i could park my bike.

it didn't look too promising. 

but i've parked it there every day and i haven't had any problems!!

i now spend alot of time on the train devouring old books from my little bookshelf.

after living in a tiny dorm room for 5 months, 

and then staying in the dirtiest, oldest hostel buildings for the last month,

i am still taken by the luxuries of a big, firmly soft, bug free bed

and a huge bathroom sink.

it took me a few nights to stop taking my toiletries to the bathroom with me!

it's been awesome to combine my favourite danish and aussie foods together for dinner.

i can proudly say that i've been converting memebers of my family to rye bread. 

or rugbrød as the danes would say.

as i say ;)  

dad offered to take me out to breakfast on saturday morning,

and i told him i'd see him on the bike!!

poor thing - i thought he might pass out on the way there.
we'll have to work on his danish legs.

i went to visit my pop last sunday, 

and he still had my birthday present in the fridge for me!

the same present for the past 10 years ... cadbury chocolate with a money note inside.
he's so sweet.

cool story but!

i had ridden to my pops house after i had done some grocery shopping,

but my dad had driven there.

as we both prepared to leave,

dad offered to take my shoulder bag with all my groceries.

so i gave dad my bag, but one minute after he had driven away,

i realised he had taken my bike lock keys with him.

dad is NOTORIOUS for not answering his phone.

just like me. 

so i made another coffee and hung out with my pop for an hour while i waited for dad to see my zillion missed calls which had failed to reach his ears. 

while i was waiting for him to call me back,

pop's elderly next door neighbor came over to have a beer with my pop.

the neighbor asked me about my bike parked out the front, 

before he proceeded to tell me about a bike riding club he is in where he and 50 others cycle the suburbs of perth for 30km every fourth sunday.

he then asked me whether i would i like to join him in his cycling club!

well so i am now in a bike riding club, and every 4th sunday we will cycle 30km around perth.

!!

thanks dad!!

i have decided that it's not me, i'm not that bad a cook, it's my agressive oven.

so since monday 12th august, i've been on practical fieldwork for social work.
which means choosing professional yet bike riding outfits


 riding to the station,

catching the early train,

and settling into and learning the ropes of my new social work practice at a children's counselling centre!

i haven't done anything too practical just yet, but i've shadowed and i love it.
love love love it.

on my lunch breaks, it's always a treat to talk to my danish friends who are keeping me updated in their thoughts and activities!

i miss them so so much!


and that's about as interesting as my perth life is right now!

usually it takes between 4-6 hours to complete a blog ...

and this was NOWHERE near as long! 

it's funny - because i really didn't know whether i would keep writing post travel.

but i loved to do it before i left,

it was more pensive thoughts kept private ...

but i dunno, maybe i'll combine pensive thoughts with my little perth life
but i don't know if i'll keep it public and on facebook.

i think i've settled in quite well -

apart from the inital cannonball landing into my family which created tidal waves to the steady equillibrium,

things quickly smoothed over and i've settled in comfortably to my new perth life again.

same me, a little wiser, a little more savvy, a little more calm and experienced.

in the past it's been really tough for me to come back and figure out how to live in perth again,

but not this time. 

i've got some ideas and dreams that were deposited into my heart in aarhus,

and

i'm excited to see how they will all flesh out here in perth.

 i feel the wind beneath my sails and i'm loving every day.

the bike rides, 

the friends,

the social work,

the church.

like aarhus, but perth's. 

cept a warmer winter.

win win really. 

 

 “

You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.

 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

Isaiah 55

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