Stuck in a Beautiful Place

Hello One and All,

I write now on the eve of one of the most important days in American culture - Super Bowl Sunday. Or I should say Super Bowl Monday as is the case Down Under. Jury is still out on whether or not I'll be able to watch the game, but that's an entirely different matter, just keeping my fingers crossed . . .

So, three weeks to the day after my arrival in Australia, I'm. Still. In. The. Exact. Same. Place. A week ago I either lost or had stolen my wallet at a local farmers market, and I've been waiting ever since for my "emergency" replacement ATM and credit card to arrive. One bank has confirmed delivery will be tomorrow (that's good), while another can't even confirm whether it's been sent or not (that's not). The banks don't seem to be treating it like it's an emergency, that's for sure. Nevertheless, I'll do my best to give an accurate description of what I've been up to.

I arrived on the Abode to stay at the home of Bill LePage. Staying in the house and on the Abode already were Greg, Kaelin, Emma and Jacob - four Baba devotee Aussies, save Caelin, who's from Oregon - who have been working on the construction of a new book shop for the Abode. All between the ages of 21 and 24 (I believe) they are a good spirited bunch who welcomed me and made me a part of the household. They generally take their meals together, which has been nice to be a part of.

Also here visiting is/has been been Elizabeth Rarrick, a Baba lover friend from the US. She for the most part has been staying with the Foley's, a dynamic Australian family who live right down the road from the Abode. I puttered around for the first 5 days, which included a day trip up to Noosa National Park and beach, about an hour north of here. An absolutely beautiful beach and community, it's no wonder Noosa has the highest land value in all of Queensland. Then, the preparation for the Australian Youth Sahavas got underway.

For those of you who don't know, I have been involved now for a long time with the Youth Sahavas youth retreat that happens every summer at the Meher Center in Myrtle Beach. Well, this is more or less the Australian version of that, just on a smaller scale. This year there were 12 participants (I think). I took on the role of counselor (well, sort of) to the 4 male participants, volleyball coach (eat your heart out Kleiner!), and general helper. With the group so small all the staff had a broader array of responsibilities than they would at the US event. It was a fun and lovely time, truly. The spirit of the event was light and festive - probably the best for an American newcomer. Big ups to Pete and Josh, my new 12 year old hommies. I can't mention everyone as I'm sure I'll leave someone out, but to all my new Sahavas and Meher Baba friends, thank you for a wonderful time.

After the Sahavas, another trip back to Noosa with Khadija, my new Australian friend currently living in London.

This time I was hell bent on finding a Koala. We did! Right when we arrived in the Park. The only one for the day however, and I wasn't able to get up close enough to really snap a good pic. See if you can spot it in the photo.

Later that night Khadija and her parents hosted me for a lovely night of drinking, prawn curry, making fun of FoxNews and spirited discussion about Barack Obama. I often feel an instant camaraderie with folks from England given that my parents are Brits as well. It was a fun gathering, that's for sure.

The very next day, the wallet turned up missing. Between the last fruit stand and the parking lot, it disappeared, never to be found again. To quote the Dude, "That's a bummer man!" Yeah, for sure. So, I've just been hanging more or less. I've helped work on the bookshop a bit, had a nice dinner with Bill LePage and his wife Diana, had another nice dinner with new friend Kendra and her father John. Hmmm, this being stranded thing hasn't been too bad after all. A couple of days ago Charmagne Foely dropped Elizabeth and I off in Brisbane for a tour of the city. It was nice, though our visit was limited to a local city center and a shopping area. Yesterday, I went with Elizabeth and the Foley's to an Aboriginal festival called the Bunya Festival. Bunya's are a nut that come from a large pine cone which can get as big as a pumpkin! They were an important food to the Aborigines for many years they held sacred festivals based on the versatility of the bunya. The festival occurred at a regional park next to a large reservoir. We ate, played traditional games (I came in third in the bunya carrying contest! - for which I won a gift certificate) and watched traditional dancing. A lovely festival indeed.

All that more or less brings us to today. With any luck I should be able to continue my travels sometime in the next few days. I'll keep you posted, as well as ad a few pics to the blog to flavor it up a bit. I've found a quicker connection that affords more reasonable upload times.

All the best from Down Under.

J