Pearce Postings

Thanks to a faithful reader, I stand corrected.  It is the melting pot, not smelting... a bit different definitions.

Webster’s says:
Smelting:  to melt or fuse, as ore, for the purpose of separating the pure metal from extraneous substances; to scorify.

Posted by Erin at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments  

Ever heard this said of the United States?  I remember from my high school history books.  Well, Rodney’s about to be smelted in.  Just today we sent off the paper work to apply for his citizenship to the “U-nited States!”  Incidentally, he almost forgot to sign his application and had to go back to the P.O. and ask the post mistress for the envelope back so he could sign it!

Thinking of this reminds me of when we arrived back into L.A. from Brisbane.  To start off with, LAX Immigration is just now receiving a face lift it has needed for what I venture must be a couple of decades.  Travel weary passengers toddle off the planes, snake around in what becomes yards and yards of queues, grip their entry cards and passports with clammy hands and a tiny bit of trepidation as they settle into a blind stare at the unfriendly immigration agents.  Add to this the strikingly abnormal sound of foreign accents calling out, “U.S. Passport... lines 16 and 17!”  They are all too officious.  They aroused both curiosity and submission, these folk with accents thick from a homeland far from our shores.  Rodney and I looked at each other, ready to play one of our favourite games... Guess the Accent.  One was definitely Middle Eastern.  A couple might have been Asian, and a few were Spanish.  None of our first encounters were with native American speakers.  We chuckled.  Only in America do you deplane and encounter so much culture before you even enter the country (technically)!  By God’s grace, we’ll add an Australian-speaking American to the pot in a few months time!

Posted by Erin at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments  

For all you who are following our blog, just thought that I’d let you know that we’re home, safe and sound. We did have a couple of minor incidents, like misplacing my passport in the airport In Brisbane and having to run back to customs in search of it before we could board the plane (while Rodney was left with three kids to rifle through the bags again). It was enough to make us blanch, but by God’s grace it wasn’t a catastrophe. -- Note: when in the airport, never, never, never set your passport on a lounge chair... it might slip off and go missing.-- The flights were really excellent and though it’s never really a joy to fly internationally with small children, the Lord really blessed.

We’re home now and still not completely on North American time, but getting there. Our dear pastor offered before we arrived home to organize an all night welcome home party for us... you know to help with the jet lag. Ha Ha. Wednesday we were ready for it, though, as Adelaide didn’t go to sleep until 1:00 am, Henry not until 2 am, and Grace sometime after that.

Generally, we’re glad to be home, looking forward to Henry’s 3rd birthday on the 9th (Monday) and sweatin’ in the summer humidity of PA.

Keep checking in with us, I’ll try to do more posting now that I’m more familiar with it. Seems to be the easiest way to mass communicate

Posted by Erin at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments  

The winner of our sign guessing game is Sue Grim with the most correct answers!  Congratulations, Sue!

The official answers are as follows:
1.  Southern Moreton Bay Scenic Drive route markers  
        The animal on the signs is a dugong.  Go to  www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/conservation/natural_values/dugongs for more        
         info on the animal in particular.
2.  Give Way (yield) at the roundabout.  It is our opinion that Americans could use more of these ingenious traffic directors that are used in   
        place of stop signs and even traffic lights in some areas.
3.  60 km speed limit ahead.  On open roads, 100 kmph is the average.
4.  No dogs allowed, such as in a park or in downtown area, etc.

Thanks, everyone, for playing!

Posted by Rodney at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments