We love your accent

Canadian's love the Australian accent. Many people have told me they love my accent. I don't why, i just say "thank you, i have been working on it for 35 years."

Today i was asked at Bible study, "Do Australian's really say fair dinkum." I told the lady that although there are hundreds of slang terms they are not all part of everyday language.

For the dinkum Aussie at heart, the pastor at the other Lutheran Church in Desboro is called Pastor Sheila! Another name that is a little odd to my ears is Randy. I just tell myself, "Remember Adrian, Randy is his name, not a reflection on his personal character."


Some of the sunsets here are as good as any i have seen. I took this photo from my house a couple of days ago.

XO Adrian

Roundabouts and winkels

I have been on the famed ‘roundabout’ at Waterloo. The driver didn’t use it as it should be used. A car was almost on the other side of the roundabout and we waited for it to exit before we entered. In time, I’m sure they will learn.

What is a winkel? A meeting of pastors. We would call it a pastor fraternal. This was a meeting of the pastors in this circuit (6 pastors) to discuss pastor things. It was ok, one of the retired pastors is the funniest man and he made the day go a whole lot faster.

You know you are in Canada when

• People eat pie (the generic term used to describe any fruit pie) with a slice of that orange cheese on it. And they rave about pie with cheese. Haven’t they heard of cream?!

• You are reading your devotion in bed and hear Coyotes howling in the background? It was a little spooky, but pretty cool all the same.

Bye, love Adrian

Oh the colour

Autumn is starting and the colours are fantastic. The locals are saying that this year the colours are lacking intensity because of the dry spring and summer. It all looks good to me and I’m getting some good photos. The nicest thing is that the whole tree does not change colour. So one tree can have a few branches orange and the rest is still green. The contrast is brilliant.

New experiences abound. In this area there are about 55 Mennonite and Amish families, and many more in the south of Ontario. This means that last week I passed a horse and black buggy on the road. Many times I have been in the church office and heard the sound of horse hooves pounding on the bitumen. I race to the window to see a scene of technological clash: a horse and buggy sharing the road with a gravel truck. These people are well respected in the area. Sure their simplistic way of life has some attractions. But it is their hard working, wholesome lifestyles that earn them much admiration. They also offer unique skills such as making simplistic and functional furniture made to order.

I think there is a little bit of Amish in most of us. Don’t we all want our lives to be a little simpler. I’m sure you girls don’t want to wear a long dress and bonnet everyday (only navy blue is allowed, no colours) . But to have nothing making demands on our time but another human would be nice. No blog, facebook, emails, mobile phone, telephone or tv would free up a lot of time for people; and after all, is that not the better thing (Luke 10:42).

Blessings for your day

Adrian

The fun of it all

The time has arrived for the next instalment of

You Know You Are In Canada When...

• You walk to the right hand side of your car to find that the steering wheel is on the other side, oops
• You get behind the wheel of your car and reach over your right shoulder for the seat belt, oops again
• The big news everyone is talking about is the roundabouts that are coming. And everybody knows that they have a roundabout at Kitchener, 1 1/2 hours south of here.
  At the moment they have cross roads with four stop signs. Everyone has to stop and the first car there that is not turning goes first. (bring on the roundabout)
• You live on the county line. I live on the Grey Bruce county line. Go Dukes of Hazard
• You can buy Baked Beans with maple syrup. I will let you know how they taste
• You are told by pastor that "On Thursday we are going to the winkel at Hanover." Stay tuned to find out how my day at the winkel turns out.

Blessings to you all as you live to the glory of his name and in his glorious presence.

Adrian XO

Friends

I have always appreciated my friends and acknowledged the import role they play in supporting and encouraging me. Coming to Canada and being without my friends affected me more than i would have realized. I didn't have any de-brief time like going down to the bakery with Luke and Paul, or throw the frizbie with Joel, a cuppa and chat with Rach, drop in on Chels to see how the teaching student world is ticking, or any of the other things i do with my friends that help me relax, be stimulated and be re-charged to face the world . I deeply appreciate the things you did to mark my leaving Australia. I love you all and cherish you very much.

Little things in my day remind me of you. For example; i live 10 km for Desboro so everyday i drive on the David McNicol Highway, go Lauren. Or when i prepare my veges at night i use the peeler i was given before i left Australia. Who would have guessed that the house had everything thing i need for cooking except a peeler. Thanks Rach

I must go, a fight between a couple of bears has broken out over some cans of salmon. I couldn't possibly send pictures. It would be to much to bear, and you would all grizzle.

Love, Adrian XO

The mystery solved

For those of you who have been with bated breath a $2 coin in Canada is called a toonie.

What a day yesterday was. I preached and it was the most nervous i have been for a while. Thankfully the second service went better. Then the congregation had a 'potluck' lunch, what we call a shared lunch, including a Welcome Vicar cake (see photos). After lunch the annual Klages Memorial Shoe Toss was held. The aim of the game is to throw a horse shoe thing around a steel peg 40 feet (14m) away. I was paired up with the champ of the last two years and after 21/2 solid hours of competition we won. I also got an individual trophy for the first and last 'ringers' of the day (a ringer is when you get the shoe around the peg).

This is Katie tossing showing her style.

The champions Bill Kuhl and me.


Me and one of the locals posing with my cake.

Thank you for all your comments. I am refreshed every time i read my blog. I can hear your voices in your words.

God's blessings to you all

love, adrian

XO

Internet at last

Sorry about ignoring my blog. The church has just upgraded from dial up (almost impossible to blog on), to highspeed 100 mbps. That is super fast.

Im planning to have a regular spot called "You know you're in Canada when... "

So for my first installment

You know you're in Canada when

• A squirrel runs out of the church garden
  
• You have to drive around raccoons on the way home from a ladies guild meeting
• The cheddar cheese is orange (apparently it is colouring, right)
  

• The vicar car is a V8 gangster looking machine

• 8 of the 12 preset stations on the radio are country! Yeeeeeeee Ha
  
• A dollar coin is called a 'loonie' of course the $2 coin is called a ...
• Your church has a snow shoveling roster
• Your house has a basement, and so does everybody elses
  

There has been degree of culture shock. Mainly that everything looks similar but is slightly different or has a different name. Get this; the jug on the altar that holds the spare wine is called a flagon. The worst is I miss spending time my friends. But you were travelling with me, see:


Love, Adrian

In Desboro

After 27 hours travelling from my unit in Adelaide i arrived at my hotel in Toronto. Was that a good sleep. Unfortunately i picked up a cold along the way which makes me even more tired than i would have been just from the flying.

Desboro is a pretty place and the church has the most beautiful surrounds. Pastor Dunlop and i get along real well sharing many good laughs already. The house they have prepared for me is an older building, but but more than adequate for the job. I will be installed on Sunday and preach the following week, the 16th.

After much planning and uncertainty about if i would make it to Canada, vicarage has finally started. I am feeling more comfortable by the day with my new surrounds and i'm excited at teh prospect of ministering fulltime.

I will send photos when i'm not on dial up.

God's blessings to you all

Love Adrian

PS Thanks for setting up my blog Rach, miss you lots

PPS thanks for the chocolate frogs Chloe, they helped pass the time from Auckland to LA.

From LA

I have made it to Los Angeles.

Approaching Auckland I discovered why NZ is called the 'Land of the Long White Cloud'; it was covered in one big white cloud. Thankfully we made it through the white mass and landed at Auckland airport at “ten past sex.” That was the short leg of the trip.

After the 11.5 hour trip to LA I’m hoping that my bum regains feeling before I encounter the sub-zero temperatures of Canada. Otherwise frost bite might set in and I suffer from frostius maximus.I have a 2.5 hour break before the last leg. A 4.5 hour flight to Toronto where a hotel bed awaits me. YAY for sleep!!

This photo will put you in the picture about the shape of this blogger.

The journey begins

Finally there is writing where it is supposed to be.

My trip to Canada is about to begin. This morning i packed my bag and it was only 16kg and I'm allowed 23kg. Time to be extravagant and pack things i thought i would have to leave behind. The first items added were two bottles of wine; one as a gift for my pastor and one of my best reds. Other items will be extra clothes and photos.

Desboro, Ontario will be my home for the next 9 months. Check out the church's website.