Hug the right stay on left

2/27/11

I taught this morning! Yay. It was good. I enjoy meeting the students and learning the little intricacies at the different studios. I also took my first class here in Perth. Humid! Although everyone tells me it's normally very dry. Then I drove! Some of you may be asking yourself why I am emphasizing driving so much... because it's on the opposite side of the road then I have been driving for 10 years! Scary.... I was taught to hug the right side of the road, but obviously stay on the left - turning is the most confusing part...

I am having so much fun with my new friends here. Heidi is another visiting teacher, who I am currently living with, and Del and George are the extremely kind, loving parents of Jen (the studio owner) who welcomed me and Heidi into there home. Here is a picture of Del (on the left) and Heidi. Lots of laughter and smiles fill the house. We went to the market today and got fresh fruits and veggies. It's true - everything is SO expensive here. I spent over $100 and I got a lot of food, but in the states it may have only cost me $60. Anyway, I am on the schedule for 9 classes this week! I'm excited to teach, make money, make friends and learn to live and thrive here in Australia! What a gorgeous place. 

I've arrived!

2/26/11 ~ I think

I guess if my fingers are only bones then I can’t consider myself a vegetarian anymore. I have arrived in Perth! Wow. It feels good. I was picked up by this gorgeous lady Jen (studio owner), who helped me cram my keyboard, 2 suitcases, and me, into her compact car. She asked me about my flight as I gazed lovingly outside the window at the beauty of this Continent. She needed someone to teach the 8am class tomorrow, so I jumped on the opportunity! I might be crazy, but its fun J. I also came home (my new home in Perth – Jen’s mom’s home) to, not 1, but 2 checks from Life Force International!!! I love my business. Ok this is a short one, because I really have to shower! I am an oily mess!

~ a couple hours later….

2/24/11 

I can’t stop eating the bag of Trader Joes cheese popcorn. I’m beginning to notice a pattern here. I like Trader Joes. Will I be able to survive in a place where it doesn’t exist? I don’t want to think about that right now. It doesn’t just taste like cheese; it tastes like home. Can it be I miss it already? This elevator music is adding a perfect dramatic effect to my travels. “Un-break my Heart” has never sounded so comforting. My ass is squashed flat on the cold floor, just so I can be close to a plug to energize my electronics. I could use some of that energy. Where is my plug? I like watching the people’s faces as they walk by. Sometimes I wonder if they are questioning how old I am. I might act younger than my age sometimes, but I don’t care – I’m having fun. I think a lot of people have forgotten how to have fun. Sometimes I want to just run up to a random person and start tango-ing with them. But then I run the risk of being put in an insane asylum. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. Sometimes bouncing around a heavily padded room is exactly what I need. I keep running around in my head, making sure I packed everything I need. Then my Mami’s words pop into my mind “Die Heimat ist in unseren Herzen” (“Home is where the heart is”). Danke fuer dein Brief Mamichen. Ich hab dich so Lieb.

I feel good. This is right. I don’t want to expect anything from this experience, but I have a feeling that I’m going to get a lot more from it then I bargained for. I think I feel…ya…I think I feel peace. 

It begins...

2/24/11

Here I am. Sitting. Waiting. What am I waiting for you ask? Apparently I am waiting for a pair of wings to take me away. Far, far away to a place where I will start a new. I’m scared – not of what lays ahead, but of how what lies ahead will disrupt what lay behind me. My stomach is bothering me. Nerves? Maybe it’s just the pounds of fries I scarfed down before I sat down to write this… oh lord. I’m pissed off at the reception here at LAX! I have only 2 bars. I guess I would find anything to be pissed off about right now… Leaving my Mami was hard. I won’t lie. Ariana also came to send me off; sweet thing. I couldn’t stop the tears as I walked into the bathroom. Man I had to pee. I’m so impressed by the generosity of all my friends and family! I had an amazing last week in the states. Got everything done I could to prepare – I think. Saw most of the people I wanted to. Spent all the $$$ I didn’t want to ;)

I’m already envisioning arriving in Perth and seeing my name on a sign “Nora Pirsch” – I’ve always wanted to see my name on one of those signs. And maybe there is no sign, but it’s good for me to think about what could happen to help keep my mind from going too crazy. I want peppermint ice cream. That Candy Cane Joe’s ice cream was SO good. Wish I could have taken it with me – they haven’t really found a good way to transport ice cream to keep it cold enough. Maybe I should spend some time inventing something like that. Then I would be so smart and someone would want to dissect my brain, like they did with Einstein’s brain. I heard that on a podcast that my Mami and I were listening too last night. The topic was, “Is there a difference between a smart brain, like Einstein’s, and an average brain?” I think the conclusion was no, but I have an average brain, so maybe if I had a super smarts brain I would have gotten more out of that talk. Woah, ok, back to reality…maybe….actually, let’s stay here a moment…..