01.15.11

And just like that, the second week has gone by quicker then the first! Monday morning the girls left for Sydney. They came back home late Tuesday night. John also left on Monday too. He started a farm job out in Shepparton about an hour and a half West of Melbourne. He is helping to build fences for some guy who rounds up a bunch of back packers to do some hard labor for two weeks. The bad part is that he has to gone for two weeks, but the good news is that he will be making really good money! I am just sad I couldn't go with him.
On Wednesday we woke up early and headed to the Docklands for lunch. We visited St.Patricks Cathedral and did a quick walk of St.Kilda before getting stuck in the rain. We headed towards Zia's but stopped at Mina's son, Patricks, wine shop. Lisa bought a few bottles of wine and Patrick gave us a bottle of vodka to take with us to Laurie's and Angie's place that night for cocktails.
Liz was there with Zia, and Mary stopped by later on to say goodbye to the girls. We ate dinner with Zia and even got a chance to meet Nadia before they said their final goodbye. Zia was so sad to see them go. I swear it looked like she might cry, but she gave them both more kisses then I could count, and we slowly walked away.
Our final stop for the night was at Laurie's (Mary's son) and his wife Angie's place. Really just a few minutes from Zia's place; everyone got together for a night of cocktails. We nibbled on all the food and drank far beyond our limits. It was so nice to be with all the cousins and to laugh as hard as we did among each other.
We had called a taxi around 11 o'clock to come get us, but to our dismay, they didn't arrive until 2am. If it weren't for Angie, we most likely never would have left. She gave the taxi company a piece of her mind, wanting to know why the taxi never came. Apparently, if you don't call within 45 minutes of your first call to see if the Taxi is on it's way, they cancel it! I know, doesn't make much sense, but we did eventually get home. We were all so tired, that we all just went to sleep.
Lisa, April got up early so they could packed. I had to get up too because they were going to take home John and I's final suit case. John had it all packed up before he left, but I wanted to help the girls out in whatever way.
By 10 o'clock they were saying their good byes. I'm not going to lie, I was kinda teary eyed. I enjoyed seeing them, but it was even better to see how much the family enjoyed their company. Everyone has been so excited and happy; it's no wonder that we are all still full of smiles!
It was also strange to see them go and to no be leaving with them. I think it was at that moment that Australia started to feel more like home. It was an immediate coping process where I understood that this was where I would be for the next few months, I knew that John and I will be saying our final good bye's too, so I needed to take advantage of every single moment that we spent here from now on.
The house was silent and felt empty. Jen and I started cleaning and re-organized all the chaos that happened between the computer room and the guest room that the four of us were staying. We washed the linens, put away the air mattress, I cleaned up the guest room and the computer room, vacuumed and dusted. I must say it felt to good to be domesticated and get things done. I was sad most of the day, not sure if it was because the girls were gone or if I wished I had left with them. Not having John around didn't make it any better, but I just thought over the past two weeks and all the fun we had and reminded myself of how quickly the time will go by for John and I as well.
Having them come was a nice way to be in touch with his family back home, just the same as I was able to see my family for a quick minute when I went back home to be with my grandpa. Their departure marked the start of our final leg in our year adventure. Only 4 months left. I can't believe it. I feel like we have so much to do still, and am starting to feel anxious with the amount of time we have left.
The good news is that I did start working at the gym. I worked my second shift this week. The bad news is that they can't offer me more hours and the pay is considerably low. I spent the last few days applying to more jobs, hoping that the end of the holidays will mean a more eager hunt for those hiring. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.
One thing we are looking forward to is that Justine is planning on coming to America during her 5 week Uni break in June/July. Her parents already told her that they would buy her her plane ticket for her 21st birthday party, and she is already actively working towards putting money away in a savings. It will be so nice to have her in our home town and to show her how we do things in America. (Shes been to Ohio several times to visit the Trzop's but she was young/underage). It's an exciting thing for us all to look forward too, especially since I know John and I will be missing her terribly.
And that is that. What a great two weeks. I had so much fun, I dont know what else to say.
We both love you and miss you Lisa and April. We are so happy that we got to share these memories with you! What a wonderful way to start off the New Year. See you back home soon!

01.09.11

The first week of the girls being here has gone by so fast. New years day, Justine, John and I and the girls all took the train downtown. We walked up and down the Yarra River, took a quite detour to see what we were missing at Summer Dayze (a huge house/techno festival that we wanted to go to but was too expensive. Featuring David Guetta, my favorite DJ) and toured the outside walk of Crown Casino. We stopped for lunch before heading back to Epping.
On Sunday, Len and Jen had taken the 5 of us to Port Sea, about an hour and a half south of Melbourne for a Scuba Diving trip. It was his Christmas present to us all. Len dropped off the kids and he and Jen went out for lunch while we dove. The first hour was a quick scuba lesson and an intro dive in a pool. Then we went to a nearby pier to dive! We had to split into two groups of 4 so Lisa volunteered to be with the group of strange people and John, Justine, April and I dove in the second group. The main goal here was to see the Sea Dragons, which are the pretty sea horse-like creatures. I hadn't slept for days out of excitement, and apparently, Southern Australian oceans are the only place Sea Dragons can be found.
They really had us all suited up, with pounds of gear on our back and head to toe wet suits so that we could stand the freezing water. When we got in the water, Aprils mask broke, so the instructor took a minute to fix them back up. We all went down on our first decent, before realizing that April went back up. We to went back up, and realized that April was having a hard time breathing and was going to sit this one out. A few minutes later, the three of us now try and go down on our second decent, except this time, something was wrong with Justine. To make the story short, I believe we descended 3 or 4 times becuase Justine kept having a hard time adjusting. John and I just waited on the bottom, anxious to start swimming around. We found a hermit crab and jelly fish in the mean time. Eventually Justine made it down and we started to swim. We saw several blow fish and a star biscuit, but it wasnt long before she once again went back to the top. By the time she got back down again, we swam the few feet back to where we started and had to get back on the dock. John and I just looked at each other, obviously disappointed but having a hard time not laughing at the
To be completely honest, we all did so much, and the week went by so quickly that I barely remember all that we did! We did eat dinner at Mina's, and Liz and Frank's, went downtown severalmore times, saw Zia and the girls and Justine went to Apollo Bay with Lucy and Gray on Thursday and Friday and returned early Saturday. We ate at the Devlin's favorite Thai Restaurant and went to Trak on Saturday night.
John had worked two or three shifts that week, and I worked my first shift as well. The cafe is called Deganis and it is about a 20 minute bus ride from Epping. We were both elated to have found work so close to home. John was scheduled for more shifts, but when I worked they told me to tell him that they had too much staff and were going to give the hours to people who have been there longer. John had mentioned how they reacted when they found out he was 25 and we both knew that that was why they called him off and still haven't asked us to do any more shifts. (Out here, they pay you by your age, which is a good thing, if you live here. Being a traveler, its too hard getting a casual job because they dont want to pay 23 bucks an hour for a 25 year old when they can pay an 18 year old 15 dollars to do the same work.)
The only positive thing about him being called off is that he was able to go with all of us to the Healesville Sanctuary. Jen and Len have been trying to get me and John there since we arrived, but it never seemed to pan out. Luckily, a day opened and we all jumped into the van and went. The girls got to see the Yarra Valley and how beautiful the country side is, and I was just tickled pink to go and see some animals. We had visited a few wineries, tasted some local cheeses and went to Mina's for dinner that night.
We ended the week with a family get together at Zia's. This is when the girls got to meet most of the rest of the family, including the kids of the 10 kids, and even their third generation children. We ate tons of food and just sat back and enjoyed the company.
I'm exhausted and I really didn't do anything. I can only imagine how tired Lisa and April must be. We got so many great pictures, and they are still full of excitement to be meeting the family. I still can't believe that the first week has gone by so fast!

01.01.2011!!!

Right after Christmas, Jen, Justine, Len, John and I all hurried and helped to get the house clean and to have everything organized for Lisa and April to arrive. Len was borrowing a van from a friend so that we could all fit in one vehicle, Justine organized an air mattress and linens for John and I to sleep on, John helped clear out the computer room so that there was room for the air mattress, and Jen and I cleaned up the rooms and washed all the sheets. The weather has been iffy; some days its sunny and hot, others its overcast and rainy. Some days its over cast and rainy but then turns to sunshine and rainbows. I never thought this was possible, but the weather in Melbourne is far less predictable than even in Cleveland! I mean, you will wake up to gray skies and pouring rain, get ready and go outside and its sunshine and almost too hot to bear, and by 5 o'clock it feels like its going to snow! At least in Ohio it really snows, Melbourne doesn't have an excuse!
The girls were meant to arrive the 30th, but a big snow storm hit New York pretty hard and caused a huge domino effect of delays. They were stuck in Ohio for a few hours, before being told that they were going to miss their other connections. They were keeping all of us in Australia updated through Facebook, and we had all assumed that they may just cancel. The news was saying that people had been delayed up to three days, and we didn't think the girls would be any different. They did eventually make it to Chicago where they had to spend the night for their flight to LA early the next morning. At least they were being successful re-routed and made it into Australia by noon on New Years day.
John had woken up that morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed. He wouldn't have admitted it, but I knew he was excited to see his sisters. He and Len went to pick them up and Jen and I stayed back to help put together lunch. Before you knew it, they were at the front door, eager to begin their 2 weeks stay in Australia. It was so nice to have family from home, but what was even better was to see how excited the family in Australia was to have them. Jen exclaimed, several times, how wonderful it was to have all us of together and how excited she was for the next two weeks.
Lisa's luggage had been put on a different plane and wouldn't arrive until sometime the next day. I lent her some clothes and we all got showered and ready for our New Years celebration. (John, Jen and I all wanted to prank the girls with a vegemite sandwich, but I made them and apparently didn't do it right. Lisa and April both ate the entire thing without wanting to gag, so it looks like the joke was on us!) Jen was at her mom's (Zia's) for that night, so instead of going out, we decided that we would all go be with Jen and Zia to ring in the New Year.
Zia was beyond excited to see the girls, and them and John together meant the world to her. Lisa knew enough Italian to at least be able to communicate a little and they went on explaining how they were related. Sometimes Zia forgets. I showed her a picture that she had on her TV stand of the Trzop family (they were much younger) so she would recognize Gus and Mary, who had visited Australia and their family for their honeymoon. She just went on in her cute little Italian way, hugging and kissing everyone, full of smiles and laughter. She showed the girls the pictures she had on her wall of their Grandpa, and of all her 10 kids (although she did have a hard time remembering everyone's name). A little bit later, Mary dropped by. She was the first of the 10 cousins that they had gotten to meet besides Jen.
Justine and I started to make everyone drinks when the phone rang. It was Uncle G back in Ohio! He talked to Jen and Mary and even Zia. The best part was that we got her on video tape while she was talking to him. I swear, if Zia's smile got any bigger it may have just flown off her face. They wished each other 'Buon Anno' and we all gathered in the kitchen with photo albums in hand. Zia went on to show the girls each and every picture (John and I did the same exact thing when we first met her), before then speaking to the family in Coreno, Italy as well. Lisa even talked on the phone for a minute, though she admits she didn't understand what they said.
After the albums we had moved into the garage. It was a gorgeous night, but way too hot for all of us to be in a stuffy room. We got out all the drinks and put out the game 'Partini' for everyone to play. A few minutes before the turn of midnight, Zia, Mary and Jen came into the garage as well, filled our glasses with Champagne and we all cheered and danced our way into 2011!
They say that how you spend your New Years is how you will spend the rest of the year. Last year, John and I had spent New Years at the Coronese Italian dinner dance, with Mary, Lisa, April, Uncle G and all the Coreno families. This past year, John and I have been blessed to meet and stay with the extended family in Australia and it's so great that April and Lisa got to too. This New Years, we are all together again, celebrating the with the people that we love the most. So if the saying holds true, like it did for us last year, then I am so excited to see what 2011 has in store! HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!