Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1942-08-27

! ! aNF
think more and more that life
doesn't, offer what you think you
are most suited for, but something,
about opposite and then gives you
the opportunity to do as well with
what is at hand as you can. (Just
little of my home-brewed cogni-
tation). Anyway since l left home
so much has happened and now we
have safely arrived in Australia and
it doesn't seem far from home at
all, yet I think about you all and
just put out of mind the thought
that it will take days to hear from
you. X
Everyone has been SO nice and
has made us feel welcome. It is
good to be on land again, although
/ really enjoyed being out where
there was only water and sky to
look at The country here seems a
great deal like home, in that there
are rolling hills, and lots of trees,
and grasshoppers. 1t is autumn
here and the leaves are falling.
/ (This letter was written in March,.
We are right above continuous
beach, and there is a footpath on
the bank above the sand that ex-
tends a long way so that we can
FOL fo
We have breakfast at 8:30-cer-
cal, prunes, sausage or eggs (once
it was kidneys-Eureka!D and tea,
toast, and jelly. AT 1890 p. m,
we have dinner which is the big
meal of the day; and then at $3.50,
tea, and tea again at $50 p. m.
At first we had quite a time getting
accustomed to their money, but it
isn't very difficult when we spend
it as fast as We have been. We
have been paid once in Australian
money,-pounds, shilling, and
pence. We have gone into town
number of times since we have been
here, to shop and attend the teas to
which we have been invited / have
been in one home for high tea (the
same as dinner to us). There are
lots Of interesting places to go;
are many parks and they are filled
with flowers. Everyone here has
flowers and they look SO nice. The
homes are small and every front
yard is bordered and filled with
flowers They have them every
where-petunias, zinnias, nastur-
tiums, weet-williams, and pinks.
The homes are neat; the streets
are clean. Everyone is friendly
and welcomes us. Some of the peo-
pie are really hard to understand.
Their accent is so different from
ours. They dress much the same
as we do, and their stores are sim
liar, but they seem to care less for
makeup and style, and appear to
believe in being natural and in en-
joying themselves.
"
Stores close at / p. m. Saturday aft
ernoon. They come out in the even
ing all dressed up in evening clothes
and they have lots of dances. On
Sunday everything is still and clos
ed,-dead. There are very few res
taurants. They are called cafes.
Hotels won't serve meals to any
outsiders on Sundays. Neither do
they have theatres, dance halls or
amusements open on Sundays.
People travel on the train here a
lot more than they do at home. The
trains are different,-divided into
small compartments and each one
opens to the outside. Fare is very
cheap. There are lots of bicycles
too.
The hardest thing to get used to,
besides the different money, is the
traffic which is the reverse of our
system. You walk on the left side
of the street, cars have the steering
to the left side of the road. Cross
ing a city street is really a hazard,
for We always look the wrong way
first.
Since we had to go somewhere I
am glad we came here We like
the people and they make us feel
and at home.
/ think we will be going to work
pretty soon. We are anxious to be
doing something, for, although we
are enjoying so much leisure time.
we are all feeling like we want to
be busy since that is what we are
here for. (More recent letters
have implied that their base hos
pital has been established, for they
now have permanent quarters and
Miss Allison has been on night
1uty).