Yes, I'm still here!

Yikes, it's been nearly a month since I last posted anything here. Well, I do have a valid excuse -- we've been without internet access at the house for over three weeks and I've spent my precious hours online checking email or doing work, so haven't had time to post anything. Sorry folks.

So, what have the Kiwi and I been up to? Well, I've applied for school in Brisbane and have been accepted to two of the three schools I've applied to. I heard from the one I wanted to go to most within two weeks, which I thought was pretty amazing, considering I'm in the UK, my "permanent" address is in the US and the school is in Australia. I'll be going for a Masters in Information Technology at Central Queensland University. So, I'm pretty psyched about that.

I also started some volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and have met some interesting folks there. I've especially enjoyed meeting an Iranian refugee woman who volunteers with Habitat. It's been interesting hearing about her experiences and views of the world. Today, I learned that she watched the "Six Million Dollar Man" on TV as a child in Iran. Who knew? I also learned about how they bury people to their shoulders and then stone them to death for converting to Christianity in Iran. So, as you can imagine, she's quite happy to be living in the UK and hopes to get a permanent visa in the next few months. I hope it goes well for her.

Our recent weekend excursions include: going to West Kirby and walking out to Hilbre Island, which was quite lovely. We also went back to the Lake District with Jo to go hiking. In the Lake District, we spent the night at a Youth Hostel in Langdale (which we nearly got locked out of for being out past the curfew which we knew nothing of) and two days of quite nice hikes. We also tried some famous gingerbread in Grasmere, which is somehow a crumbly, somewhat chewy concoction that looks a bit like graham crackers, but is much yummier. Last weekend, we went to visit Susan's relatives in West Mersea, not far from Colchester and then I spent a day in London by myself before returning on a convoluted series of trains (really, the train system here is quite maddening and expensive!) due to my discount ticket.

I'll post some photos a bit later, once I get caught up...