sustain:if:able kiwi

it’s all a blur really: the Taylor’s 4 weeks on

The Taylor family have been in Adelaide, Australia four weeks as of yesterday. I have been using twitter and facebook to post a variety of personal news of the short, sharp variety. But in honour of the blur that has been the last four weeks, here’s a overview.

One – It’s amazing how when you migrate, things interlock – You can’t transfer money until you have a local bank account. You can’t buy a car without local money. You can’t look for a house (easily) without a car to get you around open homes. You can’t rent without a rental record, which is difficult to have when you own your own home in New Zealand … and so the interlocking bits roll on.

Two – Adelaide as a city is caught between beach on one side, hills on the other. It means the city is squished long and skinny. A downside is transport. An upside is that there are lots of suburbs by the sea, which increases supply and reduces price. It’s probably the only city in the world we’ll be able to afford to live close to the sea ….

The upshot (blurred) is that, thankfully we have a car (Ford Fiesta). And we’ve found a place to rent in Seacliff, about three minutes walk from the beach. Ironically the street name is Kauri, which is, yes, a New Zealand native.

Our belongings were freed from customs the day we took possession, and we have so loved re-finding our stuff and starting to unpack. The girls seem to be settling well at school, each in their uniquely personal way. My new office is almost fully functional (not enough room for all my books and course notes though!) and my courses are slowly starting to take shape.

I found to my surprise when I arrived that not only was I Director of Missiology, but was also the Postgraduate Co-ordinator, and so I’ve been enjoying getting my head around the Masters of Ministry programme, which is highly focused on practical theological ministry reflection and has huge creative possibilities. I’ve also scratched out two conference paper proposals, one titled “The art of gentle space-making: responding to a de/colonizing God” and another “When non-priests pray: A conversation between Sarah Coakley and Bono Vox.” All fun.

My vegetable garden is proving very profitable – basil, rocket, spinach, parsley on demand. Lettuce, peas and broccoli coming on well.

We’re still looking for a church home, but have given ourselves till Easter to simply enjoy looking and exploring, sampling the diversity that is the Uniting church of South Australia.