G'day

Well, I made it home and loved getting to spend all of Friday with Taryn and the kids. Now, as you can tell by the time of the post, I'm severely jet-lagged. Oliver woke up at 11:30 tonight and is still awake, so my 2 hours of sleep felt like a power nap and I can't fall back asleep.

Highlights from Down Under?
--Hearing the Dalai Lama laughing when he came on stage and was playing with the peace offering of the Aborigine leader
--Watching the Dalai Lama try to convince a 4 year old girl who was on stage to try to sit in his lap-he was unsuccessful
--Learning how to play "footy", Australian Rules Football from the pros of the North Melbourne football team
--Daily dialogue and wonderful sessions on media, climate, Pagans, and Intelligent Design/Creationism... ask me about it, I'll talk your ear off
--Having a great group from Luther Seminary to talk about our experience and to explore with
--Getting a surprise phone call at 5:15 in the morning from Taryn and Adina--Oli didn't talk on that call
--On our last night, we got to see baby penguins come to shore and feed by poking their heads through rocks on the shoreline, it was pretty cool to be five feet away from them
--Feeling like the rest of the world's religions have a lot more in common with how I believe than you might think--a desire for peace, love, and mutual understanding while accepting each others differences
--Getting home to Oliver and Taryn being awake at 1:30 in the morning, and then Adina giving me a great big hug in her sleep (it made the cold of the 4 degree temps melt away)


I'll post pictures this weekend, but it's time to try to get over the jet lag and get some more sleep.