I can’t believe we are really in Oz.The flag is planted. The Paredeses are complete! Been here for about 4 days now while Lydia and Ala have been here 11 days since they left a week earlier. It was a good idea that we arrived in two installments because by the time we arrived, things that had to be settled were more or less done already. The house is pleasant and airy with white walls and carpet all over. It ‘s a good place to have a safe landing in a new country. Well, except for one thing: we REALLY need a car to go anywhere since the suburbs here are really sprawling. I hope to get a sedan by early next week so we can be more mobile. So far, the great thing is people we have just met are volunteering to drive us everywhere. We have been blest with people of goodwill. There’s Rod Santos, APO’s ex-producer whom I called in 2001 when we got approved for migration. I called him then just to ask where I could get a hotel room for my family while we had a look and see if we liked Oz. Since then we have become great friends and he and his family have helped us a lot and continue to so in getting us settled.

Then there’s Obet Dioniso, a fellow Atenean who has been driving us around and going out of his way to ease our problems. Yesterday, our next door neighbor Paul Nelson offered to drive us while we did errands. And so many more have been calling us and offering their time and assistance to us. It’s simply amazing! It seems to be true that when one opens one’s eyes, one sees that God sends us nothing but angels! It’s as if the Universe is telling us that our decision to move was not ours alone. I find everything that’s been happening wonderfully synchronistic.

There are so many more things we need to do and get done. Getting a car is my priority this coming week. Mio and I will be interviewed for his new school on Monday. We’ve figured out transportation for him if he ends up in Kellyville High School. He will also be on the batch that will be the first ever graduates of this relatively new school.

So far our spirits are holding up. Lydia and Ala have been cooking and the rest of us do the other chores. Our common task is taking care of Ananda who seems forever hyper in this new place. Must be the Terrible Two’s!

Tomorrow we go on a picnic with some people we have just met. I am excited about meeting new people and every little discovery I make. Every transaction we do with anyone seems to make some sort of impression on me as I try to figure the ins and outs, and both the speaking and the silent language that is used in this milieu. I fantasize sometimes that I am a spy who is ordered to zealously gather as much information as I can in the hope of fitting in and become indistinguishable from the natives. Or at least when I want or need to be!

Our furniture has arrived in Sydney and we are expecting delivery in 7 to 14 days. When the happens, it will be a giant step towards normalcy for us although I know that we still have quite a long ways to go.

Meanwhile, I am thankful for everyone who appears every time we need help in this family adventure story that we have embarked on. In the back of my mind, I know that in every hero’s adventure, a Gandalf, an angel, a Yoda or an Obi Wan Kanobi shows up each time one seems stuck. We just have to recognize them when they show up!

So far so good!