Chinatown and Sydney Fish Market

Last weekend we had a very fun tourist day. We started by lunch in Chinatown where we got to see a wonderful display of the Chinese dragon. The "dragon" basically went from door to door doing a very frenetic dance. We tried to take a picture, but it was hard since there was so much movement.

Next, we went to the Fish Market and bought some ingredients for a yummy dinner. On the way, we saw a pretty large bird in the parking lot. We don't know these people who were walking up to it.

The fish market was amazing. So many good fresh fish. We took it home and had a great dinner. On the way home we saw an opportunity to take a shot of the city.

We'll post some pictures of our rental soon. Miss you all!

Friends and Family

Along the lines of this favorite things topic, of course, family and friends are at the top. This week we have been missing our family and friends, wanting to call in the evenings, and then realizing that it is the middle of the night! In addition, we've made some new friends. We had a wonderful time on Sunday with our new friends, J., and P. (not sure whether people want their names shared here) and their kids. They came by the apartment, brought us some WONDERFUL goodies, stocked our fridge, and then took us out to yum cha (Australian for dim sum). We learned tons about culture from our new younger friends. We learned how to play some games with their daughter on the iTouch - including Truth or Dare and Fit or Fugly. Apparently, I am fit and am an '8,' not sure what is keeping me from a '10,' but nevertheless. In addition, their son taught us a bit of Mandarin. Anyway, it was a great first day. We really appreciated it and felt very welcome.

Then, on Wednesday, we met with some of the "Yanks Down Under," http://www.yanksdownunder.net/ who arrived on the same flight we did, E and T. Anyway, we went to meet for coffee and then they came over and Dan cooked dinner. It looks like we may meet up with them and another friend we met online on Sunday evening. And, finally, we are even invited to a party on the 27th to learn how to make pierogis! My book club starts on the 2nd of September.

Now, for a few of the random bits that I know our friends and family are all after...on the news the other day, they kept talking about "hoons." We had no idea what this was so finally googled it. Turns out they are hooligans who drive wildly and swerve on the road! Also, I'm attaching some pics of our little temporary apartment for you to see. Very spacious actually, and we had enough closets! The dryer is tiny and steams the room. We just ordered pizza and it has arrived. The food here is great. We have capsicum on the pizza (or peppers for you Americans).

I'll post again soon. We are looking for rentals tomorrow. Wish us luck. We miss you all!

Hello

So, this is my first post on our blog. Dan and I decided to do this to document our journey to Sydney from Atlanta, Georgia for our friends and family and for those who are also looking to make a significant move like this. So, why the title? The best suggestion I had for a title was, "things that can kill you in australia." I initially liked the idea, but then thought that it seemed a bit negative and wasn't quite sure where the theme would go from there. There sure are a lot of things we have learned that can kill you here, but not sure that's what we wanted to write about...

We just landed yesterday, and this is our first full day in Sydney. I've already started work and we have started to settle into a temporary sort of existence until we find permanent housing. In preparing for this move, one thing we had to do was to prioritize what we would bring to use immediately, use in 2 - 3 months, sell, give away, etc. This process led us to really prioritize what our favorite things were, and suprisingingly they did not include doorbells or brown paper packages tied up with strings. Based on what was most important to us, we had to decide what to do with our things. That's why we have called this blog A Few of My Favorite Things. We will talk about things that we loved at home and hopefully, as we come to know Sydney, things we love here.

For now, I am incredibly jetlagged, and will just say that our favorite things include our friends, family, and of course, our furry friends too. We look forward to going on this journey with you.

Mollie and Dan