I said I'd let you in on the fiasco in my next blog. I suppose I should do that now. I have so much to report on, this trip certainly has had its' ups and downs!
So, I'll bring us back to Sydney on December 1st. Mom and I were checking in with Pacific Blue at the airport. We figured we had 4 hours between flights, we had lots of time. (ha! you know what assume means) anyways.. mom got through ok this time.. it was ME... First off, my passport. It is set to expire on March 15th 2010. We are in New Zealand from December 1st to December 19th 2009. The problem is that New Zealand wants visitors to have a passport that is valid 3 months beyond their departure date. If you look at the date on my passport, it is 4 days less than the 3 month requirement. The check in lady at the airport did not want to let me on the plane. I had to change my return ticket to be December 14th in order to fly into New Zealand. Of course, with the type of ticket I have, she could not do that at the desk, I had to get out of the queue and use the phone to call the airline to change my ticket... at a cost of $50. argh! So I finally got that done, and mom had thankfully stood in the line again to get me back to check-in, when I got there, they didn't want to ok my leaving because my travel change was not on an official ticket, but a number scribbled on a paper while I was on the phone. AHHH! They DID finally accept it, then we weighed my large backpack which was 22kg (they only allow20 I think) then... they weighed my CARRY ON luggage! can you believe it!? It had to weigh only 7kg... mine weighed 15kg. So I had to empty out my carry on into my already bursting backpack and pay the difference! (which meant to do the switching I had to get out of line again!) INCREDIBLE! So, finally after paying $30 for overweight luggage and $50 to change my return flight they gave me my boarding pass!
The flight was uneventful, bit bumpy, but overall, it was fine. Got to Auckland at about 11:30pm where we stood in line at customs for about 1 hour. The customs' line I picked was 3 times as long as mom's. Again he looked at me funny with my scribbles for my return flight but wished me a warm welcome.
Finally got to mom and she'd collected our luggage.
Oh! I forgot to mention! Mom got bomb searched at the airport .. too funny. At 11:30pm they searched my mom for bombs.. lol.. they were good sports as was mom and they wished us a good trip :)
So finally in Auckland to settle in to sleep at the airport. We saw the check in counter and figured we could find a place to rest our heads for 4 hours before checking in. We each got a 4 seat bench to stretch out on. There were several people doing the same thing. We didn't get too much sleep though, there were people working on a machine they kept on backing up with the "beep beep" sound, and a floor polisher that sounded like a jet engine beside us. At least we weren't stuck in a wee seat on a plane! :)
We got up every once in a while to go for a walk around the airport. Some things were open all night, like the little corner store and a food place. I was starting to get my cold at this point, which wasn't good.
At about 4am, mom decided to get herself some breakfast (a cafe just opened) so she got herself a coffee (late) and a savoury muffin. Thinking it a good idea, she brought it to our seat on a tray. Not noticing how unstable her drink without a lid was on such a contraption. Well in trying to sit down, she managed to topple the entire late all over my backpack and splashed her luggage our seats, pillows, and floor in the process. WHAT A MESS!!. I quickly tried to remove as much of the coffee from my backpack as possible, I had some extra napkins in my purse and quickly got to work... my backpack wasn't quite waterproof so somethings got damp inside it from the coffee, but nothing serious.. though I have to say it's probably the backpack's last trip... and I'm quite happy it's black!
We decided that we'd been there long enough and it was time to check in for our flight to Christchurch. We were both exhausted and trying not to be miserable. I think we did a good job. Neither one of us bit each other's head off, though I'm sure there were many times we both wanted to... especially mom wanting to take my head off for putting her through sleeping in an airport. We survived though, thank god!
So we went to check in, only to realize we were at the wrong airport!!! we were at the international airport and we needed to check in at the domestic airport! sigh. Luckily, it is only a 10 minute walk away from the international airport. Mom and I felt we needed the walk and fresh air after a night at the airport.
So at 4:40am we walked over to the other airport. It only opened at 5am (glad we didn't go there right away.. we would have been sleeping outside!!) I have to admit, it was pretty neat. We checked ourselves in, weighed our own luggage, put it on the conveyor ourselves! very neat. Then we had to wait for security to open at 5:30am to catch our 6:15am flight. The flight was excellent and it was raining when we got to Christchurch, but we had a driver waiting to bring us to the hostel.
That's enough for another episode... I'll write more in a bit!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Mom, Southern WA, Adelaide and now NZ
Hi Everyone...
oh my goodness. lots has happened since I last wrote.. I hope I'll get it all in!
So mom arrived safe and sound, though with badly blistered feet. We stayed with Hossein and Linda, though Linda left on Saturday morning (mom arrived Friday November 20th at 8pm).
Saturday was a day of laundry and packing then a dinner with Anka. She's so lovely. I am missing her already. She and mom got along peas and carrots!
Sunday Hossein was our tour guide... after a large breakfast, he brought us to a flea market then we visited Kings Park and did a mini tree top walk. Mom loved it and her feet survived!
Monday we were off to Augusta in the south of Western Australia. What a lovely trip! we meandered down, stopping at many little towns. We managed to get to one cave, Mammoth Cave. It was lovely, but I have to say the 342 345 626 754 stairs to get out of the place was definitely a workout! Our room was amazing. The Bayswater (I believe). For a hostel.. listen to this.. we had our own room with a balcony over looking the ocean. Our room had a tv, a fridge (with chilled wine glasses in it and ice cubes in a tray), we had a kettle, a toaster dishes, an ensuite... it was the ritz!
Tuesday Nov 24th, we made our way up to another cave, Jewel Cave. It was lovely and also had many stairs. From there we visited Margaret River and we went to a cheese factory and a chocolate factory.. YUM! We stayed in Walpole that night in a hostel. I was tired of driving by this point. It was beautiful... the uber tall trees and winding roads... but doing that at 90-110km/hr... my knuckles were a bit white by the end of the day.
The hostel in Walpole wasn't as fancy.. I think I spoiled mom too much on her first experience. It was like a little cottage room with a sink and two single beds. We had to share the washroom with other guests. We did have fun getting to know the others at the hostels though.
Wednesday Nov 25th, we got up early and went to a climbing tree... hmm.. starts with a G... anyways.. there are these wee little posts sticking out of a really tall tree that you're supposed to climb to a look out above. I got to the 4th rung I think before I turned back. Mom didn't make it past the second rung I think! lol We walked around in the forest then made our way to the Tree Top Walk. Man, that was really neat. The walkways were swaying with the wind, we were way up off the ground... they said over 40 meters.. whatever that is.. :)
From there we went to Pemberton which was our stop for the night. It was good to just have an early night for a change. We were in a cottage across the street from an IGA. The cottage was shared by others.. strangely enough.. others from the other hostels we were staying at! We met up again! That was fun. The room was good and facilities shared.
Thursday Nov 26th we did a little tour on the Pemberton Tram. We saw an emu and its' baby on the track so the conductor had to slow down. It was a great little ride, though really cold! mom was shivering! We left there and drove back to Bobbi and Wayne's for a good-bye dinner.
Friday we went to my offices to introduce mom to the crew... no one told any bad stories about me, so I think it went alright! We then went to Fremantle to check out the market and the cafes, have dinner and then on to our torchlight tour of the Prison. That was well worth it! what a blast! we had bodies falling down on the suicide mesh, actors playing the parts of convicts and ghosts... lots of fun.
Saturday we left for Adlelaide where Les (Mavis's ex-brother-in-law) greeted us. We had dinner and a tour of the city.. rainy and cold! lol. (so far, mom's not too impressed with the weather! lol)
Sunday Nov 29th (happy birthday to Aunt Shirley and Brenna) we went to a wildlife sanctuary where mom got to hold a koala and pet walabys and kangaroos. She was VERY happy about that! After that we did what all self respecting tourists did... visited yet another cheese factory and chocolate factory! Oh.. forgot.. we went to a little touristy german town for lunch... Handorf or something like that..Michelle & Keeleigh and Kaycee (sp?) and Lynette THANK YOU FOR TAKING US OUT!! I had such a blast! and Paula and Bella, thank you for joining us! it was loads of fun!
Monday Nov 30th we spent the day in downtown Adelaide. We walked around the botanical garden and then to a coffee shop for our obligatory morning coffee. We walked to the Dulwich Centre (the heart of Narrative Therapy) Where they were holding a session. (I'd have loved to have been part of it.. it's held every 2 years) Slowly David Denborough and Cheryl White's memories were jogged as to who I was and what our connection was. Mom came with, and we got to meet a great lady who goes by Auntie Barb. What a beautiful woman! She allowed us to sit in on her session on Lateral Violence.. VERY interesting. Mom also got to learn about the Stolen Generation of Australia. There were 2 Canadians taking the course, one of which I'd met earlier this year in Toronto. It was good to catch up and everyone was really friendly. We then met Jane (Les's wife, with whom we were staying) at her work and came home quickly to change before going out to dinner with the whole family.
MAVIS: WHAT A HOOT! your family certainly knows how to show people a good time! We went to a pub/hotel for dinner and got to meet Lynette's husband and Michelle's husband and of course everyone else was there. It was great to be able to make the connection of how the family tree is shaped. I was able to put faces to names as I'd already visited with Damien and Jo earlier on.
I know mom and I felt really welcomed and as a part of the family. THANK YOU!!!!
Lynette and her husband brought mom and I to the airport on Tuesday morning. Again, the generosity of your family, Mavis.... it has no ends. Such WONDERFUL people!
So we safely left Adelaide, and got to Christchurch via Sydney and Auckland. I will save that fiasco for another post!
Tired and sick hugs (got a cold... all part of the next post)
Till next time!
oh my goodness. lots has happened since I last wrote.. I hope I'll get it all in!
So mom arrived safe and sound, though with badly blistered feet. We stayed with Hossein and Linda, though Linda left on Saturday morning (mom arrived Friday November 20th at 8pm).
Saturday was a day of laundry and packing then a dinner with Anka. She's so lovely. I am missing her already. She and mom got along peas and carrots!
Sunday Hossein was our tour guide... after a large breakfast, he brought us to a flea market then we visited Kings Park and did a mini tree top walk. Mom loved it and her feet survived!
Monday we were off to Augusta in the south of Western Australia. What a lovely trip! we meandered down, stopping at many little towns. We managed to get to one cave, Mammoth Cave. It was lovely, but I have to say the 342 345 626 754 stairs to get out of the place was definitely a workout! Our room was amazing. The Bayswater (I believe). For a hostel.. listen to this.. we had our own room with a balcony over looking the ocean. Our room had a tv, a fridge (with chilled wine glasses in it and ice cubes in a tray), we had a kettle, a toaster dishes, an ensuite... it was the ritz!
Tuesday Nov 24th, we made our way up to another cave, Jewel Cave. It was lovely and also had many stairs. From there we visited Margaret River and we went to a cheese factory and a chocolate factory.. YUM! We stayed in Walpole that night in a hostel. I was tired of driving by this point. It was beautiful... the uber tall trees and winding roads... but doing that at 90-110km/hr... my knuckles were a bit white by the end of the day.
The hostel in Walpole wasn't as fancy.. I think I spoiled mom too much on her first experience. It was like a little cottage room with a sink and two single beds. We had to share the washroom with other guests. We did have fun getting to know the others at the hostels though.
Wednesday Nov 25th, we got up early and went to a climbing tree... hmm.. starts with a G... anyways.. there are these wee little posts sticking out of a really tall tree that you're supposed to climb to a look out above. I got to the 4th rung I think before I turned back. Mom didn't make it past the second rung I think! lol We walked around in the forest then made our way to the Tree Top Walk. Man, that was really neat. The walkways were swaying with the wind, we were way up off the ground... they said over 40 meters.. whatever that is.. :)
From there we went to Pemberton which was our stop for the night. It was good to just have an early night for a change. We were in a cottage across the street from an IGA. The cottage was shared by others.. strangely enough.. others from the other hostels we were staying at! We met up again! That was fun. The room was good and facilities shared.
Thursday Nov 26th we did a little tour on the Pemberton Tram. We saw an emu and its' baby on the track so the conductor had to slow down. It was a great little ride, though really cold! mom was shivering! We left there and drove back to Bobbi and Wayne's for a good-bye dinner.
Friday we went to my offices to introduce mom to the crew... no one told any bad stories about me, so I think it went alright! We then went to Fremantle to check out the market and the cafes, have dinner and then on to our torchlight tour of the Prison. That was well worth it! what a blast! we had bodies falling down on the suicide mesh, actors playing the parts of convicts and ghosts... lots of fun.
Saturday we left for Adlelaide where Les (Mavis's ex-brother-in-law) greeted us. We had dinner and a tour of the city.. rainy and cold! lol. (so far, mom's not too impressed with the weather! lol)
Sunday Nov 29th (happy birthday to Aunt Shirley and Brenna) we went to a wildlife sanctuary where mom got to hold a koala and pet walabys and kangaroos. She was VERY happy about that! After that we did what all self respecting tourists did... visited yet another cheese factory and chocolate factory! Oh.. forgot.. we went to a little touristy german town for lunch... Handorf or something like that..Michelle & Keeleigh and Kaycee (sp?) and Lynette THANK YOU FOR TAKING US OUT!! I had such a blast! and Paula and Bella, thank you for joining us! it was loads of fun!
Monday Nov 30th we spent the day in downtown Adelaide. We walked around the botanical garden and then to a coffee shop for our obligatory morning coffee. We walked to the Dulwich Centre (the heart of Narrative Therapy) Where they were holding a session. (I'd have loved to have been part of it.. it's held every 2 years) Slowly David Denborough and Cheryl White's memories were jogged as to who I was and what our connection was. Mom came with, and we got to meet a great lady who goes by Auntie Barb. What a beautiful woman! She allowed us to sit in on her session on Lateral Violence.. VERY interesting. Mom also got to learn about the Stolen Generation of Australia. There were 2 Canadians taking the course, one of which I'd met earlier this year in Toronto. It was good to catch up and everyone was really friendly. We then met Jane (Les's wife, with whom we were staying) at her work and came home quickly to change before going out to dinner with the whole family.
MAVIS: WHAT A HOOT! your family certainly knows how to show people a good time! We went to a pub/hotel for dinner and got to meet Lynette's husband and Michelle's husband and of course everyone else was there. It was great to be able to make the connection of how the family tree is shaped. I was able to put faces to names as I'd already visited with Damien and Jo earlier on.
I know mom and I felt really welcomed and as a part of the family. THANK YOU!!!!
Lynette and her husband brought mom and I to the airport on Tuesday morning. Again, the generosity of your family, Mavis.... it has no ends. Such WONDERFUL people!
So we safely left Adelaide, and got to Christchurch via Sydney and Auckland. I will save that fiasco for another post!
Tired and sick hugs (got a cold... all part of the next post)
Till next time!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The time is nie... or near?
Hello everyone!
I have SURVIVED the cockroaches! muahaha! they will not defeat me!
Mrs L. arrived on November 6th and has since taken on the duties of bug killer in the house. If there's been another dirty filthy creepy cockroach, she has spared me the knowledge of it. I have seen lots of ants and daddy long legs. Those, I seem to be able to tolerate... ish.
Saturday Nov. 7th, Bobbi (Mrs. L's daughter) and Wayne (son in law) had a first birthday party for their youngest son, Aiden. What a pleasure to be part of a family party, delicious food, delightful people and the weather was perfect.
Sunday was Aiden's dedication at church. Mrs L and her family are Baptist. I didn't know very much about this denomination when I first arrived. Though I did witness two baptisms that Sunday. It was fascinating. I'm used to the Catholic baptisms, where you have little babies dressed in white frilly robes at the baptismal font with mom, dad, god parents and priest. The priest dribbles oil and water on the child's forehead and voila, ceremony is done.
This ceremony, however is quite different. First off, you must be an "adult" to be baptized. (what the cut off age is, I'm not sure.. but it has to be your choice, not your parents who decide). So there were two ladies, a mother and daughter, who chose to be baptized that Sunday. It is done during regular mass, not as a separate ceremony for family and friends. They sat down at the altar on a comfy couch which looked like a late night talk show stage at this point. There was the minister sitting with a mic and interviewing the women. Both women spoke to how God has played a role in their lives and answered the questions. After this interview, the minister and the women stood up and they asked for the pool to be opened.
I was thinking .. pool? where? why? aren't they going to just have a bit of oil and water dribbled on their foreheads? um, not quite.
So the electrical equipment was removed from the centre of the altar and two men pulled up the floor (guess there was a trap door) to reveal a pool the size of a hot tub! (though I was told that the pool water is freezing.. not quite as "hot tub" like as it seemed from the pews.)
The woman stepped in, as did the minister. He said a few things then when she said she was ready... he dunked her! She laid back in his arms and completely submersed herself in freezing water! I was impressed. So she got out, soaked to the bone and shivering then her daughter repeated the process. Sure made me think that the Catholic way is pretty wimpy. They soak themselves.. in front of the whole congregation as adults.. none of this as a little baby and not knowing what's going on and little dribbles of water. They were thankfully escorted out of the room, I assume to change and dry off, and the floor was put back and then Aiden was dedicated.
The dedication was simply that the parents and congregation vowed to raise him to learn about God and the religious beliefs and such. Very simple, to the point and Aiden behaved beautifully.
The past two weeks have gone by fairly quickly. I've finished up everything at work and today is my last day. Carol has completed my review and they are throwing me a farewell party in a few hours.
Mom left home on Tuesday and arrived safely yesterday in Sydney. She called me to tell me of her adventures. She raved about how helpful everyone has been, especially when she got lost trying to get back to her hotel.
She said she was going to go to Paddy's Market today to buy a jacket (locally known as a jumper er.. jumpah) as she forgot hers on the plane. She won't be needing it in Adelaide who are still suffering a heatwave, though it might be good to have in NZ.
I am anxiously waiting to pick her up at the airport tonight. I can't wait to see mom and hear about her flights and her time in Sydney and start our own travels together!
I'm sure I will have many more exciting adventures with mom on our trip. So you'll have to have patience through some of these more, pedestrian blogs.
For all, Mom and I will be home on Dec 21st.. likely sleeping the day away!
Till next time!! bye!
I have SURVIVED the cockroaches! muahaha! they will not defeat me!
Mrs L. arrived on November 6th and has since taken on the duties of bug killer in the house. If there's been another dirty filthy creepy cockroach, she has spared me the knowledge of it. I have seen lots of ants and daddy long legs. Those, I seem to be able to tolerate... ish.
Saturday Nov. 7th, Bobbi (Mrs. L's daughter) and Wayne (son in law) had a first birthday party for their youngest son, Aiden. What a pleasure to be part of a family party, delicious food, delightful people and the weather was perfect.
Sunday was Aiden's dedication at church. Mrs L and her family are Baptist. I didn't know very much about this denomination when I first arrived. Though I did witness two baptisms that Sunday. It was fascinating. I'm used to the Catholic baptisms, where you have little babies dressed in white frilly robes at the baptismal font with mom, dad, god parents and priest. The priest dribbles oil and water on the child's forehead and voila, ceremony is done.
This ceremony, however is quite different. First off, you must be an "adult" to be baptized. (what the cut off age is, I'm not sure.. but it has to be your choice, not your parents who decide). So there were two ladies, a mother and daughter, who chose to be baptized that Sunday. It is done during regular mass, not as a separate ceremony for family and friends. They sat down at the altar on a comfy couch which looked like a late night talk show stage at this point. There was the minister sitting with a mic and interviewing the women. Both women spoke to how God has played a role in their lives and answered the questions. After this interview, the minister and the women stood up and they asked for the pool to be opened.
I was thinking .. pool? where? why? aren't they going to just have a bit of oil and water dribbled on their foreheads? um, not quite.
So the electrical equipment was removed from the centre of the altar and two men pulled up the floor (guess there was a trap door) to reveal a pool the size of a hot tub! (though I was told that the pool water is freezing.. not quite as "hot tub" like as it seemed from the pews.)
The woman stepped in, as did the minister. He said a few things then when she said she was ready... he dunked her! She laid back in his arms and completely submersed herself in freezing water! I was impressed. So she got out, soaked to the bone and shivering then her daughter repeated the process. Sure made me think that the Catholic way is pretty wimpy. They soak themselves.. in front of the whole congregation as adults.. none of this as a little baby and not knowing what's going on and little dribbles of water. They were thankfully escorted out of the room, I assume to change and dry off, and the floor was put back and then Aiden was dedicated.
The dedication was simply that the parents and congregation vowed to raise him to learn about God and the religious beliefs and such. Very simple, to the point and Aiden behaved beautifully.
The past two weeks have gone by fairly quickly. I've finished up everything at work and today is my last day. Carol has completed my review and they are throwing me a farewell party in a few hours.
Mom left home on Tuesday and arrived safely yesterday in Sydney. She called me to tell me of her adventures. She raved about how helpful everyone has been, especially when she got lost trying to get back to her hotel.
She said she was going to go to Paddy's Market today to buy a jacket (locally known as a jumper er.. jumpah) as she forgot hers on the plane. She won't be needing it in Adelaide who are still suffering a heatwave, though it might be good to have in NZ.
I am anxiously waiting to pick her up at the airport tonight. I can't wait to see mom and hear about her flights and her time in Sydney and start our own travels together!
I'm sure I will have many more exciting adventures with mom on our trip. So you'll have to have patience through some of these more, pedestrian blogs.
For all, Mom and I will be home on Dec 21st.. likely sleeping the day away!
Till next time!! bye!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
From Ballet to Cockroaches to Poppies
Hello everyone,
Sorry for the time between blogs. I have been finding it more and more difficult to blog as my time in Perth draws to a close.
I only have 2 weeks left before mom arrives and my placement is officially done.
Swan Lake was beautiful, and I'm looking forward to Sleeping Beauty on Dec 19th with mom at the Sydney Opera House.
My placement has kept me hopping. I've been quelling emergencies, arranging for VISAs, helping with housing and English lessons! I had my mid-term Assessment and Carol (my supervisor) says that I am doing very well! (yippy!)
I've been enjoying the use of the company car when I can get it. (I use it to visit clients, I cannot bring it home nor use it for personal errands). I am getting well practiced in driving on the wrong side of the road! :)
Halloween is not observed here, and so I spent the 31st in relative quietness. I had to get up really early on November 1st to be ready for a 3.5 hour drive down south for an outdoor baptist service recognizing the Burmese community in the small rural town (pop. 4000). I was up at 5am for the long drive, then we arrived back home by about 7:30pm, just in time to unwind and get to bed to start the week the next morning.
Speaking of the next morning, on Mondays, I have been working in a Community Care Centre for aging immigrants. I usually worked with the Italian group (who showed me how to play Briscola and Scopa.. I'll have to teach everyone when I get home) Though Monday Nov 2nd and the previous Monday, I worked at the Indian group. Both are really lovely to work with, the Indian food is just superb!
Then on Tuesday, I accompanied a colleague to a house where they were complaining of two infestations: cockroaches and rats. YUCK! I thought myself rather brave to follow my colleague into the house, though I was very careful not to touch a thing!
Just to show that it can happen to anyone, that same evening, sitting curled up on my chair at home typing away to mom in an email what do I see that decided to crawl out under my legs?.... a cockroach!
needless to say the blood curdling screams that came next and the jumping onto the furniture and the rest of the chaos. All the while, this little disgusting twitchy bug just sat there as happy as can be twiddling its antennae at me. I managed to get to a phone, I believe without stepping on the floor, which is somehow death-defying in itself, and called my landlady's daughter. She informed me of a magical little spray can that they keep under the sink in the kitchen that with a few quick squirts applied directly on the offending creature will promptly make it decide to take a very very long nap lying on its back with all of it's gross and disgusting legs in the air. I followed her instructions as she stayed on the phone with me, though I believe I was quite liberal with the spraying. So much so, that when I went to check on the little magic can's handy work, I nearly slipped TWICE on the wet tile floors (due to the spraying). By this time I was completely mortified, in tears and freaked out beyond the point of being consoled, and my dear saviour on the other end of the phone was laughing so hard at me she had to pass the phone over to her husband. I chose at this point to give up my lifeline and try to brave the circumstances on my own.
I've never witnessed a cockroach in the wild, let alone in a house. Anyone who knows me can attest to my aversion to the creepy crawlies. It was at this point, where I was pacing back and forth on the spot, shaking and my face streaked with tears that a second cockroach decided to arrive near the same place as the first. (thankfully at this point I was standing with my back against the wall facing the menace rather than being within inches of it) So I took the little red magic can and repeated the assault onto the grievous creature. It did not take as long to take it's final resting position.
By this time, I was in a grave panic that the house was being invaded by cockroaches. I was in complete terror. Images of movies filled with bugs, people who had cockroaches and other disgusting creatures pouring out of their mouths and ears and other orifices came to mind. I wanted out of the house. I wanted out of the city I wanted out of the country... I wanted to go home!
So I called a dear friend, Eric. He once had the title of being my bug killer, and thought he would be most understanding of my current situation. He was. He actually managed to calm me to the point of being able to move from the spot where I was frozen and to my room where I barricaded myself and tried to prepare myself to sleep. (by the way.. I didn't sleep that night.. when I did doze for a moment, the images of cockroaches crawling on me and coming out of me came to mind and quickly woke me up). I was still quite shaken the next day. Though it helped that I'd not come across any more since those two made the deadly decision to cross my path.
I will continue to sleep with one eye open clutching the magic red can, though at least now, the terror has at least subsided.
Something tells me I may have a phobia of bugs... hmm.. what do you think?
And now, onto the Poppies. It is quickly approaching November 11th and in Australia they have a specific day when they start selling poppies, which is today, November 6th. Their poppies are gorgeous compared to the awful things we get back home. These actually still look like flowers! They are little silk flower poppies and are quite pleasant. I purchased mine this morning and it is adorning my purse.
Otherwise, at the office, they are already preparing for my departure, making plans for a dinner with the immediate staff I've worked with at MAITRI, and another party on my last day, Friday November 20th to have cake and celebrate my time here with all of the Multicultural Services Centre staff that are able to attend! (I have to remember to bring my camera!)
I will be going home with many memories of the beautiful people I've met while working here.
Fingers crossed that this will not be my last entry, but that I will be able to write again, especially during my visit to New Zealand with mom!
Sorry for the time between blogs. I have been finding it more and more difficult to blog as my time in Perth draws to a close.
I only have 2 weeks left before mom arrives and my placement is officially done.
Swan Lake was beautiful, and I'm looking forward to Sleeping Beauty on Dec 19th with mom at the Sydney Opera House.
My placement has kept me hopping. I've been quelling emergencies, arranging for VISAs, helping with housing and English lessons! I had my mid-term Assessment and Carol (my supervisor) says that I am doing very well! (yippy!)
I've been enjoying the use of the company car when I can get it. (I use it to visit clients, I cannot bring it home nor use it for personal errands). I am getting well practiced in driving on the wrong side of the road! :)
Halloween is not observed here, and so I spent the 31st in relative quietness. I had to get up really early on November 1st to be ready for a 3.5 hour drive down south for an outdoor baptist service recognizing the Burmese community in the small rural town (pop. 4000). I was up at 5am for the long drive, then we arrived back home by about 7:30pm, just in time to unwind and get to bed to start the week the next morning.
Speaking of the next morning, on Mondays, I have been working in a Community Care Centre for aging immigrants. I usually worked with the Italian group (who showed me how to play Briscola and Scopa.. I'll have to teach everyone when I get home) Though Monday Nov 2nd and the previous Monday, I worked at the Indian group. Both are really lovely to work with, the Indian food is just superb!
Then on Tuesday, I accompanied a colleague to a house where they were complaining of two infestations: cockroaches and rats. YUCK! I thought myself rather brave to follow my colleague into the house, though I was very careful not to touch a thing!
Just to show that it can happen to anyone, that same evening, sitting curled up on my chair at home typing away to mom in an email what do I see that decided to crawl out under my legs?.... a cockroach!
needless to say the blood curdling screams that came next and the jumping onto the furniture and the rest of the chaos. All the while, this little disgusting twitchy bug just sat there as happy as can be twiddling its antennae at me. I managed to get to a phone, I believe without stepping on the floor, which is somehow death-defying in itself, and called my landlady's daughter. She informed me of a magical little spray can that they keep under the sink in the kitchen that with a few quick squirts applied directly on the offending creature will promptly make it decide to take a very very long nap lying on its back with all of it's gross and disgusting legs in the air. I followed her instructions as she stayed on the phone with me, though I believe I was quite liberal with the spraying. So much so, that when I went to check on the little magic can's handy work, I nearly slipped TWICE on the wet tile floors (due to the spraying). By this time I was completely mortified, in tears and freaked out beyond the point of being consoled, and my dear saviour on the other end of the phone was laughing so hard at me she had to pass the phone over to her husband. I chose at this point to give up my lifeline and try to brave the circumstances on my own.
I've never witnessed a cockroach in the wild, let alone in a house. Anyone who knows me can attest to my aversion to the creepy crawlies. It was at this point, where I was pacing back and forth on the spot, shaking and my face streaked with tears that a second cockroach decided to arrive near the same place as the first. (thankfully at this point I was standing with my back against the wall facing the menace rather than being within inches of it) So I took the little red magic can and repeated the assault onto the grievous creature. It did not take as long to take it's final resting position.
By this time, I was in a grave panic that the house was being invaded by cockroaches. I was in complete terror. Images of movies filled with bugs, people who had cockroaches and other disgusting creatures pouring out of their mouths and ears and other orifices came to mind. I wanted out of the house. I wanted out of the city I wanted out of the country... I wanted to go home!
So I called a dear friend, Eric. He once had the title of being my bug killer, and thought he would be most understanding of my current situation. He was. He actually managed to calm me to the point of being able to move from the spot where I was frozen and to my room where I barricaded myself and tried to prepare myself to sleep. (by the way.. I didn't sleep that night.. when I did doze for a moment, the images of cockroaches crawling on me and coming out of me came to mind and quickly woke me up). I was still quite shaken the next day. Though it helped that I'd not come across any more since those two made the deadly decision to cross my path.
I will continue to sleep with one eye open clutching the magic red can, though at least now, the terror has at least subsided.
Something tells me I may have a phobia of bugs... hmm.. what do you think?
And now, onto the Poppies. It is quickly approaching November 11th and in Australia they have a specific day when they start selling poppies, which is today, November 6th. Their poppies are gorgeous compared to the awful things we get back home. These actually still look like flowers! They are little silk flower poppies and are quite pleasant. I purchased mine this morning and it is adorning my purse.
Otherwise, at the office, they are already preparing for my departure, making plans for a dinner with the immediate staff I've worked with at MAITRI, and another party on my last day, Friday November 20th to have cake and celebrate my time here with all of the Multicultural Services Centre staff that are able to attend! (I have to remember to bring my camera!)
I will be going home with many memories of the beautiful people I've met while working here.
Fingers crossed that this will not be my last entry, but that I will be able to write again, especially during my visit to New Zealand with mom!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Plans are brewing!
Hello!
On the traveling front, I've not done much traveling since arriving in Perth. I've visited around the area, Fremantle and Serpentine Park and such, but not much further.
I will be going to Swan Lake this weekend, and that's got me pretty excited!
I've seen only one ballet before, and that was in Paris at l'opera Garnier. It was lovely, but didn't really have that much of a story to it, more of a few short vignettes so to speak.
So I'm excited that I'll have seen my first Opera (Aida) in Sydney, now Swan Lake and when mom arrives, on our last day, we will be seeing Sleeping Beauty!
Though, when mom does arrive, I'll be done my placement and I plan on visiting the southern part of Western Australia with her. It's considered to be Wine Country. So we will likely visit vineyards along the Indian Ocean coastline. Sounds gorgeous! Also there are caves along that coast that I'm looking forward to exploring as well.
Despite being in the most isolated city in the world (Perth), I'm finding ways to keep busy, discovering as I go along.
I can't wait to get home and bore everyone with my pictures! I think I've taken over 2500 so far! (and that's not including when mom'll be here and when we go to New Zealand!) muahahaha!
I'll *try* to keep the photos down to a minimum. I may even do a montage in a book, like Randy Smith did. I'll have to get the information from him on how he did that.
It was a beautifully bound book that I think was part of a website where you can write what you like and paste pictures and get it all together submit it for publication and voila, you get the product delivered in the mail!
I think that would be best, my scrapbooks of Europe took me ages!
Bye for now!!
On the traveling front, I've not done much traveling since arriving in Perth. I've visited around the area, Fremantle and Serpentine Park and such, but not much further.
I will be going to Swan Lake this weekend, and that's got me pretty excited!
I've seen only one ballet before, and that was in Paris at l'opera Garnier. It was lovely, but didn't really have that much of a story to it, more of a few short vignettes so to speak.
So I'm excited that I'll have seen my first Opera (Aida) in Sydney, now Swan Lake and when mom arrives, on our last day, we will be seeing Sleeping Beauty!
Though, when mom does arrive, I'll be done my placement and I plan on visiting the southern part of Western Australia with her. It's considered to be Wine Country. So we will likely visit vineyards along the Indian Ocean coastline. Sounds gorgeous! Also there are caves along that coast that I'm looking forward to exploring as well.
Despite being in the most isolated city in the world (Perth), I'm finding ways to keep busy, discovering as I go along.
I can't wait to get home and bore everyone with my pictures! I think I've taken over 2500 so far! (and that's not including when mom'll be here and when we go to New Zealand!) muahahaha!
I'll *try* to keep the photos down to a minimum. I may even do a montage in a book, like Randy Smith did. I'll have to get the information from him on how he did that.
It was a beautifully bound book that I think was part of a website where you can write what you like and paste pictures and get it all together submit it for publication and voila, you get the product delivered in the mail!
I think that would be best, my scrapbooks of Europe took me ages!
Bye for now!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Mild Panic T Minus 22 days left of placement
Hi Everyone!
Yeah, it's starting to sink in that I'm past my half-way point on my journey. My placement is supposed to be 60 days and I'm already on day 38, leaving only 22 more days of placement, roughly one month.
I'm really feeling like part of the team at work. I am getting to know the local organizations, the acronyms and the people. I am able to provide information to others and understand what they are talking about. It's a really good feeling.
I have settled in with visiting clients at their homes, bringing them to their appointments, working with translators, and getting clients referrals to other organizations who can help them.
What I have not been working on as much as I would have liked is the immigration issues facing Australia. They are quite heated here at the moment. The official opposition is grumbling (kind of like they do back home about anything the government does) about how this current government has relaxed the rules and regulations around "boat people" and immigration in general to a point as to essentially have open borders. I really don't see that, as Christmas Island, the detention centre, is filled to the brim with people awaiting visas. So much so, that they had to bring in something like 200 supplementary bunk beds.
It is my belief that the upsurge of asylum seekers has more to do with the current political unrest in the world, rather than the Australian Government's policies.
I have even heard about a ship off of Vancouver filled with asylum seekers. Yet the article didn't say where they were being held or what was to happen to them. I guess the Canadian government likes to keep such things quiet, whereas, at least here in Australia, people may or may not agree with it, but the media tells of how many people were on the boat, what happened to the boat and where they came from and that they are going to Christmas Island for "processing".
All very interesting, but I've only been keeping an ear open for information rather than collecting it, as I felt I would be doing. Perhaps, as my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, I've tried to bite off more than I could chew.
I'll leave it at that for now.
Hugs to all back home!!! I miss you very much!
Yeah, it's starting to sink in that I'm past my half-way point on my journey. My placement is supposed to be 60 days and I'm already on day 38, leaving only 22 more days of placement, roughly one month.
I'm really feeling like part of the team at work. I am getting to know the local organizations, the acronyms and the people. I am able to provide information to others and understand what they are talking about. It's a really good feeling.
I have settled in with visiting clients at their homes, bringing them to their appointments, working with translators, and getting clients referrals to other organizations who can help them.
What I have not been working on as much as I would have liked is the immigration issues facing Australia. They are quite heated here at the moment. The official opposition is grumbling (kind of like they do back home about anything the government does) about how this current government has relaxed the rules and regulations around "boat people" and immigration in general to a point as to essentially have open borders. I really don't see that, as Christmas Island, the detention centre, is filled to the brim with people awaiting visas. So much so, that they had to bring in something like 200 supplementary bunk beds.
It is my belief that the upsurge of asylum seekers has more to do with the current political unrest in the world, rather than the Australian Government's policies.
I have even heard about a ship off of Vancouver filled with asylum seekers. Yet the article didn't say where they were being held or what was to happen to them. I guess the Canadian government likes to keep such things quiet, whereas, at least here in Australia, people may or may not agree with it, but the media tells of how many people were on the boat, what happened to the boat and where they came from and that they are going to Christmas Island for "processing".
All very interesting, but I've only been keeping an ear open for information rather than collecting it, as I felt I would be doing. Perhaps, as my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, I've tried to bite off more than I could chew.
I'll leave it at that for now.
Hugs to all back home!!! I miss you very much!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Long time no talk!
Hi!
Going to have to make this one short.. I'm on my way out the door.. just thought that an article I read from the Globe and Mail might be of interest for those of you who are following my asylum policy and procedures work.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/deportations-surge-50-per-cent-in-a-decade/article1321037/
I have also another article on how the UN has touted that Canada has the best immigration policy in the world. Interesting.
I'll get that link up here as soon as I can!
Gotta jet...
As you can see, I survived driving on the wrong side of the road.. and no one was harmed by my driving either!
Bye
Going to have to make this one short.. I'm on my way out the door.. just thought that an article I read from the Globe and Mail might be of interest for those of you who are following my asylum policy and procedures work.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/deportations-surge-50-per-cent-in-a-decade/article1321037/
I have also another article on how the UN has touted that Canada has the best immigration policy in the world. Interesting.
I'll get that link up here as soon as I can!
Gotta jet...
As you can see, I survived driving on the wrong side of the road.. and no one was harmed by my driving either!
Bye
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Glorious Sunshine!
I can hardly believe it! THREE days IN A ROW of sunshine forecast for today, tomorrow and Sunday!
I'm so excited! Lots of great news today...
First: because of key issues, I get to go home at 3pm! early start to the long weekend!
Second: My supervisor told me that the Executive Director will let me use company cars to do site visits with clients! I get to DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD! tee hee.. watch out Perth! here I come! (also very good because she's so busy and it's been a pain for her to have to "babysit" me because I couldn't drive to meetings on my own. This helps everyone.
Third: I'm going to the Perth Royal Show tomorrow! Get to see lots of cute animals and enjoy a festival atmosphere!
Fourth: Sunday Anka is treating me to a day out in Fremantle! She said we can even stop by a bookshop.. her favourite.. sigh.. I don't know if she realizes what it means bringing me into a bookshop.. lol..
Fifth: Monday's a HOLIDAY! (raining, but still a day off!)
Sixth: THREE DAYS OF SUNSHINE.. did I mention that? lol
anyways.. in just over an hour, my long weekend begins! I'll tell you all about it next week!
Cheers!
I'm so excited! Lots of great news today...
First: because of key issues, I get to go home at 3pm! early start to the long weekend!
Second: My supervisor told me that the Executive Director will let me use company cars to do site visits with clients! I get to DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD! tee hee.. watch out Perth! here I come! (also very good because she's so busy and it's been a pain for her to have to "babysit" me because I couldn't drive to meetings on my own. This helps everyone.
Third: I'm going to the Perth Royal Show tomorrow! Get to see lots of cute animals and enjoy a festival atmosphere!
Fourth: Sunday Anka is treating me to a day out in Fremantle! She said we can even stop by a bookshop.. her favourite.. sigh.. I don't know if she realizes what it means bringing me into a bookshop.. lol..
Fifth: Monday's a HOLIDAY! (raining, but still a day off!)
Sixth: THREE DAYS OF SUNSHINE.. did I mention that? lol
anyways.. in just over an hour, my long weekend begins! I'll tell you all about it next week!
Cheers!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Record number of days with rain...
Well, almost.
From what the news said last night that so far of the 23 days this month, 22 of them have had rain. It has also been one of the coldest Septembers in about 50 years, definitely the wettest in almost 100.
So, here I thought it was just me, and my imagination that there was so much rain, well it isn't. They are announcing 3 days in a row of sunshine though! I'm very excited about that as it is going to be a long-weekend here in Western Australia, the only one while I'm here. It is also the Perth Royal Show starting this weekend. I am happy to report I will be going on Saturday to watch the sheep sheering competition and see the cute cuddly alpacas and the cat show, rather than stay home and watch the Footy Finals with Mrs L. As much as Aussie Rules Football is interesting, I think the Perth Royal Show will captivate me a little more! :)
In regards to my research, I am most definitely feeling overwhelmed. I'm still at the beginning stages, trying to sort through the history of the issue, the different countries' stances, what current practices are in theory and practice and what it all means.
I am reading up on some articles that were written in the past 3 years about the subject here in Australia. The one I'm currently reading is about the values that the governmental decision makers hold to when deciding on the laws which govern immigration.
At the base of their values is the well being of the Australian people. So from a big picture or macro level, they are interested in keeping the people safe and happy. It is their belief that when there is plenty of work to go around, the Australian people don't mind immigrants coming in, though when jobs are slim, they're not so happy. So the powers that be feel they must walk a tight line, controlling the flow and type of people that come into the country. It is in Australia's economic interest to bring in people who are qualified in fields of demand here. That makes sense.
I do have a question though, aren't general labourers almost always in demand? I say this because further in the article, it talks about how refugees usually tend to make excellent employees due to their desperation. They have a lack of options, and so they have to make the best of their situation here and end up throwing "their heart and soul into anyone who will take them and they'll do their best to integrate [because] they are people who don't have a choice".
So if that's true of asylum seekers, then why is the perceived public opinion of them so bad? I don't know.
Another thing that was brought up by the ministers questioned for the article was the idea of limitations. They seem to feel that only a certain number of people can arrive into Australia and that if more money is diverted to asylum seekers, in particular boat people, less places or finances will be available to help other immigrants coming through other ways. I don't understand this logic, myself. Sure I can see that there is likely a budget for the immigration department and it can only go so far. That would bring me to want to use what resources are available more effectively. It is apparently costly to house people in detention centres. I'm wondering if it would be less costly to provide them with accommodations within the urban areas and grant them the ability to work while waiting for visas to clear. This would have them become tax paying productive members of the community, help ease the burden on the mental and physical health care (as being locked up in detention centres has been proven to cause mental health deterioration, as well as physical health problems)and the people could then afford to buy their own food, rather than costing the tax payers, yet again. With this kind of savings, and the lack of need of such elaborate detention centres, a great savings could be made to thus allow more people in, without costing the Australian people any more money. Eh, just a quick though, though it does nothing to work out the question of safety, and the principle of "queue jumping" and "fairness".
So I'm trying to figure out at the moment if I should take a big picture look at the situation, or if I should take a more micro stance and look at the treatment of the individuals in question.
I have a distinct feeling that what policies are written at the top level may get a bit altered by the time they get down to the individuals concerned. It sounds like the members of parliament are interested in everyone's best interest, in fairness and security for everyone, but it just sounds like playing telephone, the message gets jumbled somewhere in between.
Eh, to continue my research, if anyone has any comments, thoughts or suggestions, I'm eager to hear them as I feel it could only help me with my research, growth and knowledge!
From what the news said last night that so far of the 23 days this month, 22 of them have had rain. It has also been one of the coldest Septembers in about 50 years, definitely the wettest in almost 100.
So, here I thought it was just me, and my imagination that there was so much rain, well it isn't. They are announcing 3 days in a row of sunshine though! I'm very excited about that as it is going to be a long-weekend here in Western Australia, the only one while I'm here. It is also the Perth Royal Show starting this weekend. I am happy to report I will be going on Saturday to watch the sheep sheering competition and see the cute cuddly alpacas and the cat show, rather than stay home and watch the Footy Finals with Mrs L. As much as Aussie Rules Football is interesting, I think the Perth Royal Show will captivate me a little more! :)
In regards to my research, I am most definitely feeling overwhelmed. I'm still at the beginning stages, trying to sort through the history of the issue, the different countries' stances, what current practices are in theory and practice and what it all means.
I am reading up on some articles that were written in the past 3 years about the subject here in Australia. The one I'm currently reading is about the values that the governmental decision makers hold to when deciding on the laws which govern immigration.
At the base of their values is the well being of the Australian people. So from a big picture or macro level, they are interested in keeping the people safe and happy. It is their belief that when there is plenty of work to go around, the Australian people don't mind immigrants coming in, though when jobs are slim, they're not so happy. So the powers that be feel they must walk a tight line, controlling the flow and type of people that come into the country. It is in Australia's economic interest to bring in people who are qualified in fields of demand here. That makes sense.
I do have a question though, aren't general labourers almost always in demand? I say this because further in the article, it talks about how refugees usually tend to make excellent employees due to their desperation. They have a lack of options, and so they have to make the best of their situation here and end up throwing "their heart and soul into anyone who will take them and they'll do their best to integrate [because] they are people who don't have a choice".
So if that's true of asylum seekers, then why is the perceived public opinion of them so bad? I don't know.
Another thing that was brought up by the ministers questioned for the article was the idea of limitations. They seem to feel that only a certain number of people can arrive into Australia and that if more money is diverted to asylum seekers, in particular boat people, less places or finances will be available to help other immigrants coming through other ways. I don't understand this logic, myself. Sure I can see that there is likely a budget for the immigration department and it can only go so far. That would bring me to want to use what resources are available more effectively. It is apparently costly to house people in detention centres. I'm wondering if it would be less costly to provide them with accommodations within the urban areas and grant them the ability to work while waiting for visas to clear. This would have them become tax paying productive members of the community, help ease the burden on the mental and physical health care (as being locked up in detention centres has been proven to cause mental health deterioration, as well as physical health problems)and the people could then afford to buy their own food, rather than costing the tax payers, yet again. With this kind of savings, and the lack of need of such elaborate detention centres, a great savings could be made to thus allow more people in, without costing the Australian people any more money. Eh, just a quick though, though it does nothing to work out the question of safety, and the principle of "queue jumping" and "fairness".
So I'm trying to figure out at the moment if I should take a big picture look at the situation, or if I should take a more micro stance and look at the treatment of the individuals in question.
I have a distinct feeling that what policies are written at the top level may get a bit altered by the time they get down to the individuals concerned. It sounds like the members of parliament are interested in everyone's best interest, in fairness and security for everyone, but it just sounds like playing telephone, the message gets jumbled somewhere in between.
Eh, to continue my research, if anyone has any comments, thoughts or suggestions, I'm eager to hear them as I feel it could only help me with my research, growth and knowledge!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Canada, a few tarnishes around the edges
Hello Everyone!
I've developed a team who is working on the issue of asylum seekers both here in Australia and back home in Canada. I am interested in finding out how this issue is treated back home.
From what I can gather, the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11 had a great effect on asylum seekers entering Canada.
Before, we were known as a very open country for those who sought refuge within our borders. Our decisions and practices were carried out by our department of citizenship and immigration. This department has the people's best interest at heart.
Since the fateful day, we have hardened up our borders, and more of the decision making process of allowing asylum seekers in, has been placed in the hands of the Canadian Border Services Agency, which is more concerned about security and detention, than what people have gone through who felt their only choice was to come to Canada.
I have found out that the United States has detention centres and is very hard on asylum seekers, which is why many opt to come to Canada, which has a reputation of being more open, and understanding.
Unfortunately, to help out our southern neighbours, we have opted to take on some of their tactics in immigration. As a wise person pointed out, the stronger tactics were not any better than ours, as the tragedy still took place, regardless of their use of detention centres and other means.
So why make things more difficult, and at times traumatic for asylum seekers? It's a good question. We were not equipped with detention centres separate for asylum seekers, and so we have used our prisons for men, women and of all atrocities, for children.
This is what I have found out has been the practices just after 9/11. I have not seen what is presently being done in Canada. I do hope that we have stopped with this backward step and have continued on with a more humane way of treating people who have suffered war, trauma and persecution who are looking to Canada as a place of shelter.
I've developed a team who is working on the issue of asylum seekers both here in Australia and back home in Canada. I am interested in finding out how this issue is treated back home.
From what I can gather, the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11 had a great effect on asylum seekers entering Canada.
Before, we were known as a very open country for those who sought refuge within our borders. Our decisions and practices were carried out by our department of citizenship and immigration. This department has the people's best interest at heart.
Since the fateful day, we have hardened up our borders, and more of the decision making process of allowing asylum seekers in, has been placed in the hands of the Canadian Border Services Agency, which is more concerned about security and detention, than what people have gone through who felt their only choice was to come to Canada.
I have found out that the United States has detention centres and is very hard on asylum seekers, which is why many opt to come to Canada, which has a reputation of being more open, and understanding.
Unfortunately, to help out our southern neighbours, we have opted to take on some of their tactics in immigration. As a wise person pointed out, the stronger tactics were not any better than ours, as the tragedy still took place, regardless of their use of detention centres and other means.
So why make things more difficult, and at times traumatic for asylum seekers? It's a good question. We were not equipped with detention centres separate for asylum seekers, and so we have used our prisons for men, women and of all atrocities, for children.
This is what I have found out has been the practices just after 9/11. I have not seen what is presently being done in Canada. I do hope that we have stopped with this backward step and have continued on with a more humane way of treating people who have suffered war, trauma and persecution who are looking to Canada as a place of shelter.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Human Rights and Responsibilities
Hello Everyone,
I hope all is well, as my family does the final preparations for Julie (my cousin)'s wedding. All my warmest wishes and it stinks that I'm going to miss such a great party with great people! My thoughts will be with you!
I've been deeply immersed in the plight of asylum seekers and aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders since my arrival, but most deeply, since my meeting Linda Briskman.
I've stared to read her book: "Human Rights Overboard: Seeking Asylum in Australia". It is heart wrenching. Most of the book takes place during the previous' government's stay in office, though it seems changes have been made since the new government took office, in late 2007 I believe. The book covers from 1999 to roughly early 2008 or late 2007.
The plight that I'm currently focusing in on, is that of the asylum seekers most commonly known as boat people. It is the people who arrive to Australia seeking asylum by boats owned by what the government has deemed "people smugglers". The media has shown what these "boats" look like. They look like little fishing boats at best that saw their prime, oh probably about 30-40 years ago and are barely kept afloat. The sad truth is, many don't stay afloat. There have been several boats that have not made it from Indonesia to Australia. Many lives have been lost, in the hopes of being able to live without fear of persecution.
Linda's book retells first-hand accounts of navy ships keeping these leaky boats at bay, because their orders were to not allow these people to set foot on australian soil. There were even times when boats sank right in front of them and their orders were not to save them, that those are the perils of the open sea, that those people took willingly. Seafaring laws do state that if people are at risk of drowning, that the nearest boat/ship is to help out and so at that point, the navy can intervene, but not before everyone, man, woman, child and newborn is treading water trying to survive.
From what I've been reading, these people are treated as criminals, as queue jumpers, or worse suspected terrorists. They are forcibly detained, incarcerated indefinitely, their only wrong doing is wanting a safer life. I have not yet come across a single case where an asylum seeker was indeed a threat to the Australian people.
From what I understand, the Australian government wants to send out the message that coming to Australia without a valid visa does not mean you automatically get in. The problem being, that very few people outside of Australia know about the detention centres and the process that they have in place. So as a deterrent, this system has failed. What I have heard from Australians is about the cost these detention centres cost the tax payer. These are huge multimillion dollar detention centres, particularly the one on Christmas Island which was built in 2001 I believe. They are heavily guarded, have barbed wire fences and cells in which detainees are kept. The longer they are kept, the higher the costs. There's got to be a more economical and expedient way to process individuals' claims.
There are several of these centres both on mainland Australia and offshore.
The good news is that many of them are being closed down and alternatives are being found to the detention centres. The alternatives are that families are kept together in types of detention housing, still separate from the rest of the community, some are actually permitted to live within the community, particularly unaccompanied children, and there is currently a type of bill or motion being decided upon in parliament in regards to allowing asylum seekers who are in the middle of having their claims processed access to medical care and being eligible to work.
Changes are being made, which I am glad to see, but the changes need to continue. To have met people who were in the detention centres, in a small 2 meter by 2 meter cell in a storage container with 4 others, not knowing where they were, or what was going on, what day it was, no access to a phone, to email or even regular mail and being in such conditions for years, is inhumane. It seems that the thought behind such treatment is that perhaps these people would think their situations better in their home countries and not apply for refugee status in Australia. Obviously, these people's desperation for a better life persevered over the conditions in which they were placed.
I am still reading about what things were like in the last 10 years, and am not fully versed as to how things are now. I am doing research into the subject and am also very curious as to how things are done back home.
We may not detain our asylum seekers in jails, but I am aware of us deporting them and sending them back to the countries where they face persecution and often death, which, in my opinion is just as bad.
Human Rights is a very touchy subject. No one wants to admit to purposefully and willfully harming another human being, but it's sad, when people can hid behind archaic policies and procedures, consider themselves righteous in upholding laws, when their hearts tell them it's wrong. I am saddened to hear people hide behind "safety and security of the people" when reasoning why such horrors are happening.
I don't know what role I can play in helping these people, but maybe even just bringing awareness to their stories and not hiding from this in ignorance of what is happening, maybe it is that small part that I can play.
I hope all is well, as my family does the final preparations for Julie (my cousin)'s wedding. All my warmest wishes and it stinks that I'm going to miss such a great party with great people! My thoughts will be with you!
I've been deeply immersed in the plight of asylum seekers and aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders since my arrival, but most deeply, since my meeting Linda Briskman.
I've stared to read her book: "Human Rights Overboard: Seeking Asylum in Australia". It is heart wrenching. Most of the book takes place during the previous' government's stay in office, though it seems changes have been made since the new government took office, in late 2007 I believe. The book covers from 1999 to roughly early 2008 or late 2007.
The plight that I'm currently focusing in on, is that of the asylum seekers most commonly known as boat people. It is the people who arrive to Australia seeking asylum by boats owned by what the government has deemed "people smugglers". The media has shown what these "boats" look like. They look like little fishing boats at best that saw their prime, oh probably about 30-40 years ago and are barely kept afloat. The sad truth is, many don't stay afloat. There have been several boats that have not made it from Indonesia to Australia. Many lives have been lost, in the hopes of being able to live without fear of persecution.
Linda's book retells first-hand accounts of navy ships keeping these leaky boats at bay, because their orders were to not allow these people to set foot on australian soil. There were even times when boats sank right in front of them and their orders were not to save them, that those are the perils of the open sea, that those people took willingly. Seafaring laws do state that if people are at risk of drowning, that the nearest boat/ship is to help out and so at that point, the navy can intervene, but not before everyone, man, woman, child and newborn is treading water trying to survive.
From what I've been reading, these people are treated as criminals, as queue jumpers, or worse suspected terrorists. They are forcibly detained, incarcerated indefinitely, their only wrong doing is wanting a safer life. I have not yet come across a single case where an asylum seeker was indeed a threat to the Australian people.
From what I understand, the Australian government wants to send out the message that coming to Australia without a valid visa does not mean you automatically get in. The problem being, that very few people outside of Australia know about the detention centres and the process that they have in place. So as a deterrent, this system has failed. What I have heard from Australians is about the cost these detention centres cost the tax payer. These are huge multimillion dollar detention centres, particularly the one on Christmas Island which was built in 2001 I believe. They are heavily guarded, have barbed wire fences and cells in which detainees are kept. The longer they are kept, the higher the costs. There's got to be a more economical and expedient way to process individuals' claims.
There are several of these centres both on mainland Australia and offshore.
The good news is that many of them are being closed down and alternatives are being found to the detention centres. The alternatives are that families are kept together in types of detention housing, still separate from the rest of the community, some are actually permitted to live within the community, particularly unaccompanied children, and there is currently a type of bill or motion being decided upon in parliament in regards to allowing asylum seekers who are in the middle of having their claims processed access to medical care and being eligible to work.
Changes are being made, which I am glad to see, but the changes need to continue. To have met people who were in the detention centres, in a small 2 meter by 2 meter cell in a storage container with 4 others, not knowing where they were, or what was going on, what day it was, no access to a phone, to email or even regular mail and being in such conditions for years, is inhumane. It seems that the thought behind such treatment is that perhaps these people would think their situations better in their home countries and not apply for refugee status in Australia. Obviously, these people's desperation for a better life persevered over the conditions in which they were placed.
I am still reading about what things were like in the last 10 years, and am not fully versed as to how things are now. I am doing research into the subject and am also very curious as to how things are done back home.
We may not detain our asylum seekers in jails, but I am aware of us deporting them and sending them back to the countries where they face persecution and often death, which, in my opinion is just as bad.
Human Rights is a very touchy subject. No one wants to admit to purposefully and willfully harming another human being, but it's sad, when people can hid behind archaic policies and procedures, consider themselves righteous in upholding laws, when their hearts tell them it's wrong. I am saddened to hear people hide behind "safety and security of the people" when reasoning why such horrors are happening.
I don't know what role I can play in helping these people, but maybe even just bringing awareness to their stories and not hiding from this in ignorance of what is happening, maybe it is that small part that I can play.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Dinner at Linda's
I had dinner at Linda Briskman's last night. How perfectly lovely. I showed up FAAARRRR too early (trying to navigate the bus system and all). I got there before they were even home. Her husband, Housein (you'll have to pardon the spelling of names if I spell them incorrectly, we were only introduced, and I didn't get the spelling for everyone's names) and Linda came home, as they had gone out to have lunch with their japanese colleague who is staying with them for 2 weeks, Mariko and Amir, a young gentleman who is in the midst of getting a visa to stay here for humanitarian reasons. Amir, unfortunately doesn't speak any English, and so it was awful trying to communicate. Housein had to translate all the time. So to begin with, that was our lovely little party.
Mariko is here to conduct research on immigration practices in Australia. It's part of a larger research project, with others in other countries doing the same.
Linda is just a lovely woman, very down to earth and full of heart and passion. She is a professor at Curtin University and has spent a considerable part of her career advocating for asylum seekers landing in Australia and their very sad stories.
I am learning about Australian Detention Centres. You see, back home, detention centres is just a fancy word for a prison, to house those who have been convicted of criminal acts. Here, however, the detention centres are for innocent people seeking asylum from horrors in their own home country. Under the previous government, some of the detainees were being held, without word of their case, without pen and paper or phone to contact their loved ones, held captive for years before a decision was made for them if they could stay or if they must be deported. Housein was in a detention centre for over 3 years, and another guest was in the same centre for over 5 years. To hear their horror stories, and to know that these things have taken place and are still taking place in Australia, it's just horrific.
These people have done nothing wrong, but flee their country for their very survival, and in doing so many didn't have legal documents, found their way onto a boat and hoped to land in Australia to seek asylum. Little did they know that they would lose 3 to 5 years of their lives in doing so. I'm not just talking adults, but everyone, families, women, children, fathers, families were sometimes split up, children left to fend for themselves in a prison-like environment. It's really unbelievable.
So we spoke at great lengths about this very topic, as I believe it was the uniting factor of the evening. There were still many guests to arrive, some I unfortunately didn't even get the opportunity to speak with. We must have been about 17 people. It was a full house! So full in fact that we couldn't all eat at one table together so we were to make our up our plates and either find a chair or part of floor to eat off of. John (I believe) and I and a few others opted for the floor as a safer place to eat than try to balance on our laps. John also works at Curtin and researches popular music. We had a great long discussion on the history of pop music and 19th century middle class respectability.
The food was just amazing. Linda doesn't cook, so it was Housein and Mariko mostly in the kitchen. Housein had bought an 11lb salmon and stuffed it with a delicious mixture of I have no idea what and baked it in the oven. It was a HUGE fish, that was very tasty. He also made an olive, walnut and pomegranate tapas prior to dinner. there were two salads, lasagna, naan bread, rice, and something else for dinner that is right now escaping my mind. We also had white chocolate and hazelnut ice cream, strawberries, baklava, indian sweets, and a few other treats for dessert.
Just delicious spread.
I had such a wonderful night. We left at about midnight, my buses, of course long gone. So Housein's friend Jaffa (the gentleman who'd been in a detention centre for over 5 years) offered to drive me home. I greatly appreciated it and accepted. He is a very lovely man, good natured and seems quite happy, despite his hardships. He said he landed here he was 30 years old, and was 36 by the time they granted him his VISA and was permitted to be free on Australian soil. That struck a chord with me. I couldn't imagine this country, right now, at my age, take away the next 5 years of my life. He just said that he'd like to forget about it and move on and be happy. He told me that he should be a full official citizen by the end of the year. Then, he doesn't know what he will do, if he'll stay here or travel elsewhere. I don't know how generous I'd be toward a country that has essentially stolen 5 years of my life.
in any case, Linda gave me a copy of her latest book "human rights over board: Seeking Asylum in Australia". I plan on reading that cover to cover, to get a better idea of how the system works here.
Linda has also mentioned the possibility of going to volunteer on Christmas Island for a few weeks. Christmas Island is Australian and is where they try to steer boat people (asylum seekers who arrive by boat without proper documentation) to the detention centre there.
If you are interested, go onto www.youtube.com and do a search for Christmas Island and detention centres.
Well I'm off to read, till next time!
Mariko is here to conduct research on immigration practices in Australia. It's part of a larger research project, with others in other countries doing the same.
Linda is just a lovely woman, very down to earth and full of heart and passion. She is a professor at Curtin University and has spent a considerable part of her career advocating for asylum seekers landing in Australia and their very sad stories.
I am learning about Australian Detention Centres. You see, back home, detention centres is just a fancy word for a prison, to house those who have been convicted of criminal acts. Here, however, the detention centres are for innocent people seeking asylum from horrors in their own home country. Under the previous government, some of the detainees were being held, without word of their case, without pen and paper or phone to contact their loved ones, held captive for years before a decision was made for them if they could stay or if they must be deported. Housein was in a detention centre for over 3 years, and another guest was in the same centre for over 5 years. To hear their horror stories, and to know that these things have taken place and are still taking place in Australia, it's just horrific.
These people have done nothing wrong, but flee their country for their very survival, and in doing so many didn't have legal documents, found their way onto a boat and hoped to land in Australia to seek asylum. Little did they know that they would lose 3 to 5 years of their lives in doing so. I'm not just talking adults, but everyone, families, women, children, fathers, families were sometimes split up, children left to fend for themselves in a prison-like environment. It's really unbelievable.
So we spoke at great lengths about this very topic, as I believe it was the uniting factor of the evening. There were still many guests to arrive, some I unfortunately didn't even get the opportunity to speak with. We must have been about 17 people. It was a full house! So full in fact that we couldn't all eat at one table together so we were to make our up our plates and either find a chair or part of floor to eat off of. John (I believe) and I and a few others opted for the floor as a safer place to eat than try to balance on our laps. John also works at Curtin and researches popular music. We had a great long discussion on the history of pop music and 19th century middle class respectability.
The food was just amazing. Linda doesn't cook, so it was Housein and Mariko mostly in the kitchen. Housein had bought an 11lb salmon and stuffed it with a delicious mixture of I have no idea what and baked it in the oven. It was a HUGE fish, that was very tasty. He also made an olive, walnut and pomegranate tapas prior to dinner. there were two salads, lasagna, naan bread, rice, and something else for dinner that is right now escaping my mind. We also had white chocolate and hazelnut ice cream, strawberries, baklava, indian sweets, and a few other treats for dessert.
Just delicious spread.
I had such a wonderful night. We left at about midnight, my buses, of course long gone. So Housein's friend Jaffa (the gentleman who'd been in a detention centre for over 5 years) offered to drive me home. I greatly appreciated it and accepted. He is a very lovely man, good natured and seems quite happy, despite his hardships. He said he landed here he was 30 years old, and was 36 by the time they granted him his VISA and was permitted to be free on Australian soil. That struck a chord with me. I couldn't imagine this country, right now, at my age, take away the next 5 years of my life. He just said that he'd like to forget about it and move on and be happy. He told me that he should be a full official citizen by the end of the year. Then, he doesn't know what he will do, if he'll stay here or travel elsewhere. I don't know how generous I'd be toward a country that has essentially stolen 5 years of my life.
in any case, Linda gave me a copy of her latest book "human rights over board: Seeking Asylum in Australia". I plan on reading that cover to cover, to get a better idea of how the system works here.
Linda has also mentioned the possibility of going to volunteer on Christmas Island for a few weeks. Christmas Island is Australian and is where they try to steer boat people (asylum seekers who arrive by boat without proper documentation) to the detention centre there.
If you are interested, go onto www.youtube.com and do a search for Christmas Island and detention centres.
Well I'm off to read, till next time!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Life in Perth, so far...
Well it's been two weeks since I landed in Perth. I've settled in, of a fashion.
Mrs L's daughter Bobbi and her husband Wayne came to pick me up at the airport with their youngest son Aiden (he's 9 months old). I was very excited to be able to put down my bags for more than 3 days! We then went to pick up their oldest son, Ethan, from daycare before heading to their home. Mrs L was working, so she was going to join us after work.
We had a lovely home-made pizza dinner in a lovely relaxed home environment. Mrs L and I went home after dinner where she showed me my room. I unpacked and slept. Mrs L had to work the next day (she has to work on Saturdays) so I slept in (she leaves at 6:30am) I continued to organize my room a little and then if I remember correctly, Bobbi came over helped me with the washing machine, and then came back with Wayne who hooked up the wireless internet for me. We had lunch, and waited for Mrs L to come. I think that was the day that we went to Hilary's harbour (about 4 km away). So I got my first close up view of the Indian Ocean! Sunday we went to a chocolate factory, which was lovely.. (they give out free samples!) then we went to have a coffee at a winery.
One thing I've found curious in Australia is the chooks (also known in other English speaking countries as Chickens). They were roaming loose at the winery and it is perfectly normal for anyone to have up to 4 chickens in their backyards. So in the middle of the city, people have up to 4 chickens, though they're not allowed to have roosters. So they get fresh eggs every day. I'm pretty sure we're not allowed “farm animals” in urban areas in Canada. Mrs L's neighbour even has a pig! (or so we hear.. I've not seen it yet)
So other than the farm animals in the city, it also seems that most people also don't have dryers. Everyone seems to hang their clothes to dry. It was like that when I went to France. I didn't know if it was because clothes smell fresher off the line, or it's more economical, or what, but I have to say, with all the rain we've been having, it's been hard to do laundry.
I think I'm adapting well to life in Australia. I have had to learn to turn on electrical outlets before using them, and pressing light switches down turns lights on and little things like that.
I'm finding taking the bus a bit of a challenge while here in Perth. Their streets are not in a grid, like back home. So bus routes are all over the place and don't go in a straight line for very long. They also have lines that go up to 400 +. I've not figured out how the numbering system works or if it's all willy nilly. I just miss driving I guess and being able to go where I want directly rather than take a bus across town to take a train downtown to take a bus back up again to another location. One thing I do like about taking the bus is seeing the city. I sit back and check things out and know that the driver knows where he's going and will let me off at the right stop (I let him know where I need to get off and he drops me off there).
As for the Multicultural Services Centre where I'm working for the next 10 weeks, I have to say they seem to do a lot of good work for people. They have 6 different locations across Perth, I've only visited 4 of them so far. They do all sorts of great things like helping to find housing for individuals, helping people get ready for the workforce (over the age of 45 I think), they help find funding for training, they help with a seniors day centre, and where I work most of the time at their mental health location.
I work at the seniors' day centre on Mondays. I help with their Italian group. The day is divided up with morning tea, exercises, a morning game, a 3 course lunch and cards, afternoon bingo, then afternoon tea, then they go home (or are driven home).
Tuesdays to Fridays I work at MAITRI the centre for mental health. I have started well, been able to observe my supervisor, as well as start my own client!
Otherwise, it's been mostly rainy here since I've gotten here. From what people tell me, that's a good thing, as Australia is a very dry country and it's abnormal to get this much rain. So people seem to be happy about it. From what I've been able to gather, Australians rely heavily on water that's been damed from outlying rivers to provide water for their major cities. Those dams have not been up to capacity in years. Depending on whom I speak with, the percentage of water in the dams are different, though everyone agrees that they are very low. When they get below a certain level, say 25%, I think that they said that the drudges start to come into the water system. They talk of other systems, such as desalinization plants, and using used water, cleaning that and re-using it. I thought that we had the water recycling plants back home. In any case, this real terror of running out of water is something completely new to me.
Well, I should get ready to go meet professor Linda Briskman (the lady through which I got my placement, I think) I'm going to her place for dinner tonight.
Oh! I meant to say, if anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, tips or other that they'd like to add to the blog, please do under comments. I'd love to hear from you, to know what your thoughts are about my experiences and such. Mom and I tried it out yesterday and I think you can do it without being a “blog follower” though I'm not sure how. Just try typing I guess.
Take care!
Mrs L's daughter Bobbi and her husband Wayne came to pick me up at the airport with their youngest son Aiden (he's 9 months old). I was very excited to be able to put down my bags for more than 3 days! We then went to pick up their oldest son, Ethan, from daycare before heading to their home. Mrs L was working, so she was going to join us after work.
We had a lovely home-made pizza dinner in a lovely relaxed home environment. Mrs L and I went home after dinner where she showed me my room. I unpacked and slept. Mrs L had to work the next day (she has to work on Saturdays) so I slept in (she leaves at 6:30am) I continued to organize my room a little and then if I remember correctly, Bobbi came over helped me with the washing machine, and then came back with Wayne who hooked up the wireless internet for me. We had lunch, and waited for Mrs L to come. I think that was the day that we went to Hilary's harbour (about 4 km away). So I got my first close up view of the Indian Ocean! Sunday we went to a chocolate factory, which was lovely.. (they give out free samples!) then we went to have a coffee at a winery.
One thing I've found curious in Australia is the chooks (also known in other English speaking countries as Chickens). They were roaming loose at the winery and it is perfectly normal for anyone to have up to 4 chickens in their backyards. So in the middle of the city, people have up to 4 chickens, though they're not allowed to have roosters. So they get fresh eggs every day. I'm pretty sure we're not allowed “farm animals” in urban areas in Canada. Mrs L's neighbour even has a pig! (or so we hear.. I've not seen it yet)
So other than the farm animals in the city, it also seems that most people also don't have dryers. Everyone seems to hang their clothes to dry. It was like that when I went to France. I didn't know if it was because clothes smell fresher off the line, or it's more economical, or what, but I have to say, with all the rain we've been having, it's been hard to do laundry.
I think I'm adapting well to life in Australia. I have had to learn to turn on electrical outlets before using them, and pressing light switches down turns lights on and little things like that.
I'm finding taking the bus a bit of a challenge while here in Perth. Their streets are not in a grid, like back home. So bus routes are all over the place and don't go in a straight line for very long. They also have lines that go up to 400 +. I've not figured out how the numbering system works or if it's all willy nilly. I just miss driving I guess and being able to go where I want directly rather than take a bus across town to take a train downtown to take a bus back up again to another location. One thing I do like about taking the bus is seeing the city. I sit back and check things out and know that the driver knows where he's going and will let me off at the right stop (I let him know where I need to get off and he drops me off there).
As for the Multicultural Services Centre where I'm working for the next 10 weeks, I have to say they seem to do a lot of good work for people. They have 6 different locations across Perth, I've only visited 4 of them so far. They do all sorts of great things like helping to find housing for individuals, helping people get ready for the workforce (over the age of 45 I think), they help find funding for training, they help with a seniors day centre, and where I work most of the time at their mental health location.
I work at the seniors' day centre on Mondays. I help with their Italian group. The day is divided up with morning tea, exercises, a morning game, a 3 course lunch and cards, afternoon bingo, then afternoon tea, then they go home (or are driven home).
Tuesdays to Fridays I work at MAITRI the centre for mental health. I have started well, been able to observe my supervisor, as well as start my own client!
Otherwise, it's been mostly rainy here since I've gotten here. From what people tell me, that's a good thing, as Australia is a very dry country and it's abnormal to get this much rain. So people seem to be happy about it. From what I've been able to gather, Australians rely heavily on water that's been damed from outlying rivers to provide water for their major cities. Those dams have not been up to capacity in years. Depending on whom I speak with, the percentage of water in the dams are different, though everyone agrees that they are very low. When they get below a certain level, say 25%, I think that they said that the drudges start to come into the water system. They talk of other systems, such as desalinization plants, and using used water, cleaning that and re-using it. I thought that we had the water recycling plants back home. In any case, this real terror of running out of water is something completely new to me.
Well, I should get ready to go meet professor Linda Briskman (the lady through which I got my placement, I think) I'm going to her place for dinner tonight.
Oh! I meant to say, if anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, tips or other that they'd like to add to the blog, please do under comments. I'd love to hear from you, to know what your thoughts are about my experiences and such. Mom and I tried it out yesterday and I think you can do it without being a “blog follower” though I'm not sure how. Just try typing I guess.
Take care!
Friday, September 4, 2009
First, I'm sorry for being away for so long. The week I've spent in Perth has been rather busy.
Second, Internet access in The Red Centre (Uluru) was about $1/6 minutes online, so.. I didn't stay online very long.
I am glad to say that I have safely arrived at Mrs L's in Perth. She is a lovely woman who lives on her own with a one eyed, almost blind dog named Jackson.
Before I go on to tell you about the rest of my travels I do want to give you a bit of an explanation as to why I've not kept up, other than being busy. I'm having computer problems. What they are exactly, I'm not sure. I can type, but it comes out a bit messed up, and it also seems that I'm no longer able to upload photos. So, those of you who were following the pics on facebook, well, all I can say is, I'll do what I can.
Dates: from August 25-August 28th
Back to Melbourne. man alive it feels like about 100 years ago! So I left there on August 25th for Uluru. The flights were uneventful, which is always the way you want flights to go. Got to Yulara (the resort/village about 20km away from The Rock) and settled into my bed in the 20 bed female dorm room. That evening, I climbed up on the local sand dune (with a bunch of other recently arrived tourists) to watch the sun set on Uluru. I was supposed to go and see the stars afterward, but the guide said it was too cloudy, and that I'd have to try the following night. Uluru is quite lovely and rather majestic I have to say. It's kind of like seeing Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon for the first time. It's impressive and beautiful. What I also found impressive was the red sand. It wasn't dirt. it's sand in the centre. It really is red.. the photos I took really don't do it justice.
That night I met my co-bunkie a lovely german woman in her mid 20's and her new found travel buddy another german girl of 18. Both were lots of fun and we went to the nightly entertainment at our resort together. it was really basic, but really great. It was a guy named Mark, on a stage with a guitar and some kind of electronic gadget that changed the sound of his guitar, singing and playing for the crowd. We all loved it. He played all the good dancing tunes. Everyone had a great time.
Off to bed, the next morning I had free, and in the afternoon, I went to learn how to do aboriginal dot paintings, by an aboriginal artist. She was lovely. She taught us the meanings of some of the symbols in the artwork and then got us to try out our own paintings. (well, they looked like they were all paintings by non-artists) but we all had fun. I painted (I should take a picture of it and try to post it) my journey as I saw it: I'd crossed a large body of water, then landed and saw lush green lands where I saw a sea turtle (in Cairns) and Koalas (in Brisbane and Kuranda) and Kangaroos (Brisbane and Kuranda). Then travelled again to the red centre. So, I don't know.. I think it was ok for a first try.. lol, though I think I'll be able to do a better job with a bit of practice.
So again, that night, which was, I believe the 26th, I tried again to see the stars. The sky had a few little clouds, and the guide cancelled. sigh. Though.. He DID show us the Star of Bethlehem, also known as Jupiter! yeah.. a great big Orange thing in the sky.. very neat. Then he showed us Scorpio, and the southern cross.
The next morning was an early one for me, as I was scheduled to see the sunrise on Uluru. Woke up at 5:30am for this sunrise.. The tour bus was late in picking us up, then when we finally got to the base of the rock, (I had signed up for the 14km base of Uluru walk) we still had to walk another 15 minutes or so (at a good pace mind you) to get to the Sunrise point. That, we missed. The sun was already up by the time we parked the van. Oh well. What we did get was great descriptions of the animals and plants and a bit of the aboriginal stories about the rock.
There are some great formations on the rock face. the first thing I thought of when I saw it was that someone covered a mountain with wet red sand that dried. There were patches that we could see through the red sand cover to the rock underneath.. It was interesting. It was in these formations that we could see images, kind of like looking at clouds and seeing shapes. Well, those shapes had stories by the aboriginal population that lived there. Only problem being that some of the shapes and stories were so sacred, that the uninitiated (us) are not allowed to know them. We got to see cave paintings and all sorts of fun things on the rock. There were even some water holes around the base of the rock. Rather impressive in a desert. In any case. The brisk walk was done by about 11:00 am then we headed back into town. I had booked a second trip for the day to see Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). I actually liked this trip better than the speed walk around Uluru. This was 1 hour or so to casually walk about 2.4 km on my own into the gorge between the rocks. This was just beautiful. There were great water spots and greenery .. it was just beautiful. What was also interesting was hearing rocks falling around when we reached the end of the gorge (impass). I told our driver about this and he said he'd not heard rocks falling in there in something like hundreds of years. So it was quite the privilege to feel terrified that we were deep in a gorge surrounded by massive rocks that were tumbling in on us crashing making sounds like gun shots being fired. lol. great! :)
What was very interesting though, was on the way back from Kata Tjuta, we drove by Uluru, where (because of the clouds showing a possibility of rain) we got to see a rainbow over Uluru! (don't know how well that turned out in the pictures)
That night we got a pretty decent rain, again, no chance for the star show.. so I got a refund... (very frustrated).
Then the next day I was off on another plane.. this time... To Perth!
Second, Internet access in The Red Centre (Uluru) was about $1/6 minutes online, so.. I didn't stay online very long.
I am glad to say that I have safely arrived at Mrs L's in Perth. She is a lovely woman who lives on her own with a one eyed, almost blind dog named Jackson.
Before I go on to tell you about the rest of my travels I do want to give you a bit of an explanation as to why I've not kept up, other than being busy. I'm having computer problems. What they are exactly, I'm not sure. I can type, but it comes out a bit messed up, and it also seems that I'm no longer able to upload photos. So, those of you who were following the pics on facebook, well, all I can say is, I'll do what I can.
Dates: from August 25-August 28th
Back to Melbourne. man alive it feels like about 100 years ago! So I left there on August 25th for Uluru. The flights were uneventful, which is always the way you want flights to go. Got to Yulara (the resort/village about 20km away from The Rock) and settled into my bed in the 20 bed female dorm room. That evening, I climbed up on the local sand dune (with a bunch of other recently arrived tourists) to watch the sun set on Uluru. I was supposed to go and see the stars afterward, but the guide said it was too cloudy, and that I'd have to try the following night. Uluru is quite lovely and rather majestic I have to say. It's kind of like seeing Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon for the first time. It's impressive and beautiful. What I also found impressive was the red sand. It wasn't dirt. it's sand in the centre. It really is red.. the photos I took really don't do it justice.
That night I met my co-bunkie a lovely german woman in her mid 20's and her new found travel buddy another german girl of 18. Both were lots of fun and we went to the nightly entertainment at our resort together. it was really basic, but really great. It was a guy named Mark, on a stage with a guitar and some kind of electronic gadget that changed the sound of his guitar, singing and playing for the crowd. We all loved it. He played all the good dancing tunes. Everyone had a great time.
Off to bed, the next morning I had free, and in the afternoon, I went to learn how to do aboriginal dot paintings, by an aboriginal artist. She was lovely. She taught us the meanings of some of the symbols in the artwork and then got us to try out our own paintings. (well, they looked like they were all paintings by non-artists) but we all had fun. I painted (I should take a picture of it and try to post it) my journey as I saw it: I'd crossed a large body of water, then landed and saw lush green lands where I saw a sea turtle (in Cairns) and Koalas (in Brisbane and Kuranda) and Kangaroos (Brisbane and Kuranda). Then travelled again to the red centre. So, I don't know.. I think it was ok for a first try.. lol, though I think I'll be able to do a better job with a bit of practice.
So again, that night, which was, I believe the 26th, I tried again to see the stars. The sky had a few little clouds, and the guide cancelled. sigh. Though.. He DID show us the Star of Bethlehem, also known as Jupiter! yeah.. a great big Orange thing in the sky.. very neat. Then he showed us Scorpio, and the southern cross.
The next morning was an early one for me, as I was scheduled to see the sunrise on Uluru. Woke up at 5:30am for this sunrise.. The tour bus was late in picking us up, then when we finally got to the base of the rock, (I had signed up for the 14km base of Uluru walk) we still had to walk another 15 minutes or so (at a good pace mind you) to get to the Sunrise point. That, we missed. The sun was already up by the time we parked the van. Oh well. What we did get was great descriptions of the animals and plants and a bit of the aboriginal stories about the rock.
There are some great formations on the rock face. the first thing I thought of when I saw it was that someone covered a mountain with wet red sand that dried. There were patches that we could see through the red sand cover to the rock underneath.. It was interesting. It was in these formations that we could see images, kind of like looking at clouds and seeing shapes. Well, those shapes had stories by the aboriginal population that lived there. Only problem being that some of the shapes and stories were so sacred, that the uninitiated (us) are not allowed to know them. We got to see cave paintings and all sorts of fun things on the rock. There were even some water holes around the base of the rock. Rather impressive in a desert. In any case. The brisk walk was done by about 11:00 am then we headed back into town. I had booked a second trip for the day to see Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). I actually liked this trip better than the speed walk around Uluru. This was 1 hour or so to casually walk about 2.4 km on my own into the gorge between the rocks. This was just beautiful. There were great water spots and greenery .. it was just beautiful. What was also interesting was hearing rocks falling around when we reached the end of the gorge (impass). I told our driver about this and he said he'd not heard rocks falling in there in something like hundreds of years. So it was quite the privilege to feel terrified that we were deep in a gorge surrounded by massive rocks that were tumbling in on us crashing making sounds like gun shots being fired. lol. great! :)
What was very interesting though, was on the way back from Kata Tjuta, we drove by Uluru, where (because of the clouds showing a possibility of rain) we got to see a rainbow over Uluru! (don't know how well that turned out in the pictures)
That night we got a pretty decent rain, again, no chance for the star show.. so I got a refund... (very frustrated).
Then the next day I was off on another plane.. this time... To Perth!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sovereign Hill
August 24, 09
Had the room to myself last night.. strangely, it took me a while to get to sleep because there was no one to worry about and I was worried about that.. lol go figure.
got up just before 6am this morning, got to make all the noise I wanted, which was great. Then met up with Bruno after breakfast. He's the guy I took pictures for on the Great Ocean Road tour because his batteries were dead. He tried to add me to Facebook, but we couldn't find me.. so I'll have to remember to add him to mine.. Bruno Costa, easy name to remember. :) (now that I've written it down in any case!)
Got on the bus to do the Sovereign Hill tour and it was the same driver that picked me up yesterday! he had no problems finding me today... yesterday he missed me completely! lol.
Again, I was the first picked up, at 7am, then my bus didn't leave till 8:30am...I had time to kill. So I walked around Federation Square and took pictures. It started to rain.. not too promising for the day... bus got there.. I got the front seat.. again! but it was pouring rain... so not much to see. Though on the way there was a lovely rainbow. I really liked the town of Ballarat. It was pretty and not too big and had lots of lovely buildings. Sovereign Hill was absolutely worth my day out. The day was overcast, threatening, very windy and quite cold. there were fire pits set up all over town to give us a chance to warm our fingers a bit. The little town was almost empty of tourists. there was a school group after a bit, but really, the volunteer play-actors outnumbered us tourists.. it was great! I was one of the first to walk up the main street from our group and a gentleman in a bowler hat (I think.. don't know my hat styles very well) invited me to a game of darn... the name of the game escapes me at the moment. I figured, eh, why not? so I followed him and the game turned out to be a type of pool game. there were 9 cups/holes at the end of the table, one black ball, two red balls and 6 white balls. We each got a red ball and flipped a coin to see who went first. The object of the game was to get the black ball into one of the cups. The middle cup (as they were set in a circle of 8 and the 9th cup was in the middle of the circle) was worth 9 points, and the others were respectively worth 1 through 8 points each. The black ball I was told doubled your score, as did getting the red ones in. The white ones were only worth face value of the hole/cup you got it into. I got whooped in all 3 games I played, but it was a fun game that could easily become addictive!
I continued on my way down to the mine tour. I had to pay an extra $6, but it was well worth it. it was a guided tour, and there were only three of us on the tour. we went down on a type of tram, similar to the one I went down in Sydney in the Blue Mountains called the Red Devil. This time, though, it was done in the dark to get us down the mine shaft. very cool. The guide explained the mine to us and going for gold and what the conditions were like. Great tour, then we took a bit of a roller coaster ride on a rail cart back to the beginning, lots of fun..
From there I went and checked out the old bowling alley, what a hoot... the gutters are larger than the alley, though there's a bit of a curve in the alley so it's easy to keep the ball on track. The alley is about double the length of our modern alleys and you can only bowl through your legs, two handed and not one handed.
From there I saw the shop where they made coffins, then candles, then headed to the gold pouring show. the man showed us how to melt gold, told us the temperature it melts at and so on. He poured it and told us that the little bar he poured was worth about $800 000 I think, something like that. He let a little school girl hold it so that her school friends could take photos of her with the gold before he put it away in the safe.
I had lunch then went to the post office, sent mom and dad a post card from Sovereign Hill just as the firing squad was walking behind me on the road, drums rolling. I then went on the self-walking tour of a mine, that wasn't as good as the guided tour, but still fun and interesting. They have holograms telling stories, so that's pretty neat.
After the mine tour I went to the chinese part of Sovereign Hill, they were forced to be camped in tents in their own area, segregated from the rest of the settlement. There was quite the discrimination at the time toward the chinese, large fees to be permitted to mine, even being beaten to death by other miners when the other miners were down on their luck. It's quite the history.
I went to the Gold museum after that and got to see some Canadian coins, that was fun.
Had the room to myself last night.. strangely, it took me a while to get to sleep because there was no one to worry about and I was worried about that.. lol go figure.
got up just before 6am this morning, got to make all the noise I wanted, which was great. Then met up with Bruno after breakfast. He's the guy I took pictures for on the Great Ocean Road tour because his batteries were dead. He tried to add me to Facebook, but we couldn't find me.. so I'll have to remember to add him to mine.. Bruno Costa, easy name to remember. :) (now that I've written it down in any case!)
Got on the bus to do the Sovereign Hill tour and it was the same driver that picked me up yesterday! he had no problems finding me today... yesterday he missed me completely! lol.
Again, I was the first picked up, at 7am, then my bus didn't leave till 8:30am...I had time to kill. So I walked around Federation Square and took pictures. It started to rain.. not too promising for the day... bus got there.. I got the front seat.. again! but it was pouring rain... so not much to see. Though on the way there was a lovely rainbow. I really liked the town of Ballarat. It was pretty and not too big and had lots of lovely buildings. Sovereign Hill was absolutely worth my day out. The day was overcast, threatening, very windy and quite cold. there were fire pits set up all over town to give us a chance to warm our fingers a bit. The little town was almost empty of tourists. there was a school group after a bit, but really, the volunteer play-actors outnumbered us tourists.. it was great! I was one of the first to walk up the main street from our group and a gentleman in a bowler hat (I think.. don't know my hat styles very well) invited me to a game of darn... the name of the game escapes me at the moment. I figured, eh, why not? so I followed him and the game turned out to be a type of pool game. there were 9 cups/holes at the end of the table, one black ball, two red balls and 6 white balls. We each got a red ball and flipped a coin to see who went first. The object of the game was to get the black ball into one of the cups. The middle cup (as they were set in a circle of 8 and the 9th cup was in the middle of the circle) was worth 9 points, and the others were respectively worth 1 through 8 points each. The black ball I was told doubled your score, as did getting the red ones in. The white ones were only worth face value of the hole/cup you got it into. I got whooped in all 3 games I played, but it was a fun game that could easily become addictive!
I continued on my way down to the mine tour. I had to pay an extra $6, but it was well worth it. it was a guided tour, and there were only three of us on the tour. we went down on a type of tram, similar to the one I went down in Sydney in the Blue Mountains called the Red Devil. This time, though, it was done in the dark to get us down the mine shaft. very cool. The guide explained the mine to us and going for gold and what the conditions were like. Great tour, then we took a bit of a roller coaster ride on a rail cart back to the beginning, lots of fun..
From there I went and checked out the old bowling alley, what a hoot... the gutters are larger than the alley, though there's a bit of a curve in the alley so it's easy to keep the ball on track. The alley is about double the length of our modern alleys and you can only bowl through your legs, two handed and not one handed.
From there I saw the shop where they made coffins, then candles, then headed to the gold pouring show. the man showed us how to melt gold, told us the temperature it melts at and so on. He poured it and told us that the little bar he poured was worth about $800 000 I think, something like that. He let a little school girl hold it so that her school friends could take photos of her with the gold before he put it away in the safe.
I had lunch then went to the post office, sent mom and dad a post card from Sovereign Hill just as the firing squad was walking behind me on the road, drums rolling. I then went on the self-walking tour of a mine, that wasn't as good as the guided tour, but still fun and interesting. They have holograms telling stories, so that's pretty neat.
After the mine tour I went to the chinese part of Sovereign Hill, they were forced to be camped in tents in their own area, segregated from the rest of the settlement. There was quite the discrimination at the time toward the chinese, large fees to be permitted to mine, even being beaten to death by other miners when the other miners were down on their luck. It's quite the history.
I went to the Gold museum after that and got to see some Canadian coins, that was fun.
Great Ocean Road and Puffing Billy Train
Aug 22 and 23
I have no idea how to begin to describe the Great Ocean Road. All I can do is say that it is spectacular, splendid, superb and sublime. The whole day was spent in a coach bus driving and stopping along the road from Melbourne to what is called London Bridge then making our way back to Melbourne inland seeing tons of sheep and cattle in some of the most beautiful countryside of rolling hills. Just gorgeous. The day started at 7am and ended at 10:15pm. a very long day, but very much worth it. I got to see a southern right whale (sp?) and some crimson rosellas (red and blue birds) another bird that I don't know how to pronounce, but is part of the king fisher family, a koala, some ducks... Fabulous!
I think my favourite spot though was the loch ard gorge. Breathtaking for sure. The gorge was the site of a shipwreck back, oh, about mid 1800's, I think. The site is just beautiful. There's a bit of water with what seems to be a cave start, and turn around and it's a little bay /alcove hidden from the ocean. Just so pretty.
The 12 apostles were pretty to look at though with the sun in the position it was, it was very difficult to do them justice in the photos. The London Bridge was great. Our driver told us the story of how it used to be, not 20 years ago, people were able to walk on the arches of the rock bridge. But one day, a group of about a dozen people as they were walking back off the end, passed a couple who were walking toward the end and not 10 seconds later, the middle of the first arch collapsed, leaving the couple stranded on the second arch. The group went running back to town to try and get help for the couple, so running into the town pub yelling that London Bridge had fallen down.. they were laughed at and told “we've heard that one before”. It wasn't until about the third group came in and said it, that the locals finally believed them and went to check.. sure enough.. it was true. There was of course a media frenzy around the bridge falling and the two stranded on the other end. The couple though, were rather camera shy, hiding their faces and such. We later found out why... this gentleman had told his wife that he was going on a business trip. As the media found out, this trip was not for business, despite the fact that the woman with him was, indeed, his secretary. oops. :)
So as any good tour, there were lots of great stories to go along with the beautiful sights.
Got back in to the hostel to find that I had a new roommate, or more precisely, a lump under covers and new bags messed about the room. So I tried to be as quiet as possible getting into bed, but that meant that I'd be a bit louder at 6 am getting ready for the Puffing Billy tour. So I just quickly showered and got into bed.
6am came WAY too early. it was painful getting up. I was still tired from the Great Ocean Road. But, the trooper that I am, I got up and quietly got dressed and got breakfast.
The driver picking me up missed the hostel and walked back to find me. He was a nice enough fellow, we were early to pick up the next guests (my head was thinking about how I could have slept in) so he chose to show me around the city a bit. (GREAT!) he showed me the original Melbourne Gaol where the famous Ned Kelly was finally hung. We also went to the monument that signified the very point where the 8 hour day was invented. (bless those hearts who thought of that!)
the mini city tour was over, and we had to go and pick up the two other passengers. We got to the area for the tours (by Flinders Station) and I had to wait for the Puffing Billy bus (another ½ hour or so)... so if all the waiting time was added up, I could have slept in an extra HOUR!! sigh... I got a light nap in the bus. I do suggest to anyone who chooses to do the Puffing Billy Train ride, to make it out to Belgrave on their own with the public train system, then take the train for as long as they like.. I think it's cheaper and you'll likely get more out of it. We had to get off at the first stop to continue on this bus tour... it kind of felt like a rip off.. I signed up for a Puffing Billy ride, I'd want to take it the full way, not just to its' first stop.. sigh. oh well. we then continued on to a village called Sassifrass. lovely little tourist trap full of quaint little shops selling antiques, puppets, candles, teas, etc.. great little village. I, of course, bought tea! I can't wait to try it. I may, though, wait to try it... the last thing I want is a bunch of loose leaf tea all over the inside of my backpack.
Then, that was the end of the tour. It was about 12, noon then we made our way back into town, I took the free tourist tram back to my hostel, took pictures of the hostel and here I am.
I'm going to make myself available, as there was a fellow traveller, Bruno Costa from Brazil who is here on business and was also on the Great Ocean Road tour with me who needs my photos. His batteries didn't fully charge before we went on the trip, so I offered to take whatever pictures he wanted with my camera and that he could just download them after. He agreed and so now.. I have to get out there so that he can find me to get the pictures.
Tomorrow is Sovereign Hill... great old mining town, done up like it was back in the day.
Take care,
C
I have no idea how to begin to describe the Great Ocean Road. All I can do is say that it is spectacular, splendid, superb and sublime. The whole day was spent in a coach bus driving and stopping along the road from Melbourne to what is called London Bridge then making our way back to Melbourne inland seeing tons of sheep and cattle in some of the most beautiful countryside of rolling hills. Just gorgeous. The day started at 7am and ended at 10:15pm. a very long day, but very much worth it. I got to see a southern right whale (sp?) and some crimson rosellas (red and blue birds) another bird that I don't know how to pronounce, but is part of the king fisher family, a koala, some ducks... Fabulous!
I think my favourite spot though was the loch ard gorge. Breathtaking for sure. The gorge was the site of a shipwreck back, oh, about mid 1800's, I think. The site is just beautiful. There's a bit of water with what seems to be a cave start, and turn around and it's a little bay /alcove hidden from the ocean. Just so pretty.
The 12 apostles were pretty to look at though with the sun in the position it was, it was very difficult to do them justice in the photos. The London Bridge was great. Our driver told us the story of how it used to be, not 20 years ago, people were able to walk on the arches of the rock bridge. But one day, a group of about a dozen people as they were walking back off the end, passed a couple who were walking toward the end and not 10 seconds later, the middle of the first arch collapsed, leaving the couple stranded on the second arch. The group went running back to town to try and get help for the couple, so running into the town pub yelling that London Bridge had fallen down.. they were laughed at and told “we've heard that one before”. It wasn't until about the third group came in and said it, that the locals finally believed them and went to check.. sure enough.. it was true. There was of course a media frenzy around the bridge falling and the two stranded on the other end. The couple though, were rather camera shy, hiding their faces and such. We later found out why... this gentleman had told his wife that he was going on a business trip. As the media found out, this trip was not for business, despite the fact that the woman with him was, indeed, his secretary. oops. :)
So as any good tour, there were lots of great stories to go along with the beautiful sights.
Got back in to the hostel to find that I had a new roommate, or more precisely, a lump under covers and new bags messed about the room. So I tried to be as quiet as possible getting into bed, but that meant that I'd be a bit louder at 6 am getting ready for the Puffing Billy tour. So I just quickly showered and got into bed.
6am came WAY too early. it was painful getting up. I was still tired from the Great Ocean Road. But, the trooper that I am, I got up and quietly got dressed and got breakfast.
The driver picking me up missed the hostel and walked back to find me. He was a nice enough fellow, we were early to pick up the next guests (my head was thinking about how I could have slept in) so he chose to show me around the city a bit. (GREAT!) he showed me the original Melbourne Gaol where the famous Ned Kelly was finally hung. We also went to the monument that signified the very point where the 8 hour day was invented. (bless those hearts who thought of that!)
the mini city tour was over, and we had to go and pick up the two other passengers. We got to the area for the tours (by Flinders Station) and I had to wait for the Puffing Billy bus (another ½ hour or so)... so if all the waiting time was added up, I could have slept in an extra HOUR!! sigh... I got a light nap in the bus. I do suggest to anyone who chooses to do the Puffing Billy Train ride, to make it out to Belgrave on their own with the public train system, then take the train for as long as they like.. I think it's cheaper and you'll likely get more out of it. We had to get off at the first stop to continue on this bus tour... it kind of felt like a rip off.. I signed up for a Puffing Billy ride, I'd want to take it the full way, not just to its' first stop.. sigh. oh well. we then continued on to a village called Sassifrass. lovely little tourist trap full of quaint little shops selling antiques, puppets, candles, teas, etc.. great little village. I, of course, bought tea! I can't wait to try it. I may, though, wait to try it... the last thing I want is a bunch of loose leaf tea all over the inside of my backpack.
Then, that was the end of the tour. It was about 12, noon then we made our way back into town, I took the free tourist tram back to my hostel, took pictures of the hostel and here I am.
I'm going to make myself available, as there was a fellow traveller, Bruno Costa from Brazil who is here on business and was also on the Great Ocean Road tour with me who needs my photos. His batteries didn't fully charge before we went on the trip, so I offered to take whatever pictures he wanted with my camera and that he could just download them after. He agreed and so now.. I have to get out there so that he can find me to get the pictures.
Tomorrow is Sovereign Hill... great old mining town, done up like it was back in the day.
Take care,
C
Arcades and Dali
Friday August 21, 2009
Today was my first full day in Melbourne, after my first full night sharing a room with strangers. They arrived last night at about 11pm, I was already in bed. They were as quiet as could be expected and then they went back out for a night on the town. I have no idea when they got back in... I was asleep. I got up at about 6:45am, to shower and get myself ready for the day. They were still sleeping. I tried to extend the same quietness for them, but it's hard to flush a toilet or have a shower silently. I did the best I could.. but I was a bit annoyed.. I had my clothes in plastic bags.. no way to keep them from crinkling and making a hell of a noise.. though by 8am, people were being noisy in the kitchen behind our room and there was a guy vacuuming just outside the door.. by then, I didn't feel as bad having to come back in to blow dry my hair. They finally started to rouse at about 8:45, and I left at about 9am for my walk about the city. Before I did that though, I booked my excursions for the next three days. I am doing the Great Ocean Road tomorrow which goes from 6:50am to 8pm, then on Sunday I'm up at 7am for Puffing Billy, then finally on Monday I'm going to be up at 7am for Ballarat and Sovereign Hill. That'll be all my time in Melbourne then I'm off EARLY on tuesday to the RED CENTRE. (I'm so going to need a job in Perth!!)
So my trip into the city... I walked down Nicholson st (where the hostel is) passed the Melbourne Museum (showing “a day in pomeii”), the IMAX, and the Royal Exhibition Bldg. kept going till I ran into the VICTORIA PARLIAMENT HOUSE. very pretty, looks like an official building. Continued on my walk down to Little Collins St (Collins St was a larger street beside it). Eventually, I found my way to an information desk (VERY HELPFUL IN MELBOURNE, as a homeless man instructed me to find) and the volunteers were very helpful. They gave me a route to follow through the arcades down to Southbank and the National Gallery of Victoria that was showing an exhibit on Salvadore Dali. GREAT!
The weather, being what it is in Melbourne, (unpredictable) began to shower. They've had a drought here for the past several years... I show up.. it rains! go figure! so the kind volunteer lady pointed me in the direction of what was essentially a dollar store. I got some provisions for the day and I was set to make my way through the quaint alleys and court yards and arcades. First stop was a great chocolaterie. YUM! bought one chocolate, just to say I did it! lol. Just a little ways down from the chocolate shop was a wiccan store, so naturally, I went in! It was filled with wonderful things. different coloured candles, incense, pendulums, cards, books, ingredients for spells, crystal balls, lots of great stuff. So naturally I bought a few things.. lol I got some Australian totem animal oracle cards and a few gifts for my aunt.
The ladies there were obviously practitioners of the Craft, as when I asked to see the library, she wanted to show me a particular book, (of which they were out) about the different celebration days here in Australia. As Wicca was started in the Northern Hemisphere, all the “feast days” are different in the South (season reversal and such). So this book she was explaining to me, did all the conversions for you. I thanked her for the information, and didn't tell her that I'm not a practicing wiccan in any case. So I left the lovely store and continued my route through the arcades.
I found several other chocolate places, even a HUGE store that sold Lindt (though out of my price range.. esp. after having bought the oracle cards). There were lots of old book stores too.. ooh.. they were tough to get me out of them! Not all the arcades and alleys were what you'd consider dodgy.. some had stores with crystal chandaliers and marble floors. Others, were little food places with the walls filled with graffiti. It was an odd area, but I just loved it. I didn't know what to expect around the next corner. Sadly, I made my way to the end of the fun and quirky arcades and out onto some of the main streets. Though I was greeted with the Flinders St Railway Station. Lovely building. so I continued along side the station, and over the bridge. I should have stopped to take a picture of the city while on the bridge.. but it was sooo bloody cold, the wind in some spots of the city is just unbearable. So alas, I didn't take the picture. I went on to the Salvadore Dali exhibit.
The exhibit was well done, I got an audio guide to help me through and below all of the items there was a really good explanation as to what was going on in Dali's head when he painted/created the item. The man, I have to say, was twisted. He and one of his buddies, made a movie in which he slices open a woman's eye, and his friend has ants crawling out of his hand. He continued a fascination with eyes and ants, I noticed, through a good deal of his career. He was also fascinated with sex and death. pretty messed up combination. I have to admit, he's done some cool stuff, particularly his short movie with Disney, but on the whole.. the guy was messed up. It was interesting to note his relationship with his wife, who was 10 years his senior and russian and also married when they met. Guess that didn't last because he and she Gala (I think) were married for 53 years or something, then she died in 1982 and then he died in 1989..I think. Crazy to think I was around while he was still walking the earth. He also had a thing for Freud, thought he was a genius (many agree). In his paintings, he depicts Freud as a snail with the goop as brains I think.. something like that.
I took a brief look around at the rest of the gallery which is free, then decided it was time to start meandering back home. I retraced my steps, stopping at a few churches and a creperie for dinner/lunch.
Finally walked back home, did laundry and am now relaxing and preparing for tomorrow.
Today was my first full day in Melbourne, after my first full night sharing a room with strangers. They arrived last night at about 11pm, I was already in bed. They were as quiet as could be expected and then they went back out for a night on the town. I have no idea when they got back in... I was asleep. I got up at about 6:45am, to shower and get myself ready for the day. They were still sleeping. I tried to extend the same quietness for them, but it's hard to flush a toilet or have a shower silently. I did the best I could.. but I was a bit annoyed.. I had my clothes in plastic bags.. no way to keep them from crinkling and making a hell of a noise.. though by 8am, people were being noisy in the kitchen behind our room and there was a guy vacuuming just outside the door.. by then, I didn't feel as bad having to come back in to blow dry my hair. They finally started to rouse at about 8:45, and I left at about 9am for my walk about the city. Before I did that though, I booked my excursions for the next three days. I am doing the Great Ocean Road tomorrow which goes from 6:50am to 8pm, then on Sunday I'm up at 7am for Puffing Billy, then finally on Monday I'm going to be up at 7am for Ballarat and Sovereign Hill. That'll be all my time in Melbourne then I'm off EARLY on tuesday to the RED CENTRE. (I'm so going to need a job in Perth!!)
So my trip into the city... I walked down Nicholson st (where the hostel is) passed the Melbourne Museum (showing “a day in pomeii”), the IMAX, and the Royal Exhibition Bldg. kept going till I ran into the VICTORIA PARLIAMENT HOUSE. very pretty, looks like an official building. Continued on my walk down to Little Collins St (Collins St was a larger street beside it). Eventually, I found my way to an information desk (VERY HELPFUL IN MELBOURNE, as a homeless man instructed me to find) and the volunteers were very helpful. They gave me a route to follow through the arcades down to Southbank and the National Gallery of Victoria that was showing an exhibit on Salvadore Dali. GREAT!
The weather, being what it is in Melbourne, (unpredictable) began to shower. They've had a drought here for the past several years... I show up.. it rains! go figure! so the kind volunteer lady pointed me in the direction of what was essentially a dollar store. I got some provisions for the day and I was set to make my way through the quaint alleys and court yards and arcades. First stop was a great chocolaterie. YUM! bought one chocolate, just to say I did it! lol. Just a little ways down from the chocolate shop was a wiccan store, so naturally, I went in! It was filled with wonderful things. different coloured candles, incense, pendulums, cards, books, ingredients for spells, crystal balls, lots of great stuff. So naturally I bought a few things.. lol I got some Australian totem animal oracle cards and a few gifts for my aunt.
The ladies there were obviously practitioners of the Craft, as when I asked to see the library, she wanted to show me a particular book, (of which they were out) about the different celebration days here in Australia. As Wicca was started in the Northern Hemisphere, all the “feast days” are different in the South (season reversal and such). So this book she was explaining to me, did all the conversions for you. I thanked her for the information, and didn't tell her that I'm not a practicing wiccan in any case. So I left the lovely store and continued my route through the arcades.
I found several other chocolate places, even a HUGE store that sold Lindt (though out of my price range.. esp. after having bought the oracle cards). There were lots of old book stores too.. ooh.. they were tough to get me out of them! Not all the arcades and alleys were what you'd consider dodgy.. some had stores with crystal chandaliers and marble floors. Others, were little food places with the walls filled with graffiti. It was an odd area, but I just loved it. I didn't know what to expect around the next corner. Sadly, I made my way to the end of the fun and quirky arcades and out onto some of the main streets. Though I was greeted with the Flinders St Railway Station. Lovely building. so I continued along side the station, and over the bridge. I should have stopped to take a picture of the city while on the bridge.. but it was sooo bloody cold, the wind in some spots of the city is just unbearable. So alas, I didn't take the picture. I went on to the Salvadore Dali exhibit.
The exhibit was well done, I got an audio guide to help me through and below all of the items there was a really good explanation as to what was going on in Dali's head when he painted/created the item. The man, I have to say, was twisted. He and one of his buddies, made a movie in which he slices open a woman's eye, and his friend has ants crawling out of his hand. He continued a fascination with eyes and ants, I noticed, through a good deal of his career. He was also fascinated with sex and death. pretty messed up combination. I have to admit, he's done some cool stuff, particularly his short movie with Disney, but on the whole.. the guy was messed up. It was interesting to note his relationship with his wife, who was 10 years his senior and russian and also married when they met. Guess that didn't last because he and she Gala (I think) were married for 53 years or something, then she died in 1982 and then he died in 1989..I think. Crazy to think I was around while he was still walking the earth. He also had a thing for Freud, thought he was a genius (many agree). In his paintings, he depicts Freud as a snail with the goop as brains I think.. something like that.
I took a brief look around at the rest of the gallery which is free, then decided it was time to start meandering back home. I retraced my steps, stopping at a few churches and a creperie for dinner/lunch.
Finally walked back home, did laundry and am now relaxing and preparing for tomorrow.
Flight day between Cairns and Melbourne
August 20, 2009
Got up this morning, knowing that I had to leave Cairns. Didn't sleep well, knowing that it was my last night in a room to myself in a tropical paradise. eh, got up at about 6:45... finished packing and went down to put my stuff into storage while I went back up to Kuranda for one last hurrah.. I got the bus without a problem.. the bus was only $4 each way... hmm.. and three days prior I spent $93 to get up to Kuranda... eh.. guess you learn these things along the way. Though, I think that the skyrail and scenic train were worth the extra money, they really made the trip to Kuranda. in any case, got up to Kuranda, some stuff was just opening. I went to see the bat hospital, but it was closed, so I took a picture as well as I could from the gate. I didn't go down the rain forest trail like the other day, as I didn't have the time.. I wanted to re-trace my steps as best as possible to get the pictures I'd lost. So I went to the Koala lady and the kind soul that she is, pitied me, and let me go in to the park to quickly grab a few pictures. I didn't get one of the baby boy koala, he was too tightly curled into his mum, but I did get some other pictures while I was in there.
I then went to the Kangaroo Fur lady.. she was great too.. she let me take pictures of the Roocycling... scrotum items.. and g-strings.. she was fun, but I had to keep going. I wanted to visit the artist that really touched me and wanted to buy a piece, alas, when I got to the store, it was still closed. So I ended up walking around for a bit (still closed) grabbing a meat pie for brunch and having to catch the bus back to Cairns in time to catch my ride to the airport. All went well, the plane was so full that some of us ended up in the seats for premiere class (without the service of course) but at least the seats were comfortable and we had more leg room. I had an aisle seat and 3 of us in the row. It was a lovely couple who had just finished a tour of the northern tip of Queensland... quite lovely people. We talked about travelling, Aussie movie stars.... my dearest darling Hugh Jackman.. mmm! lol
Plane landed, it was 5:30ish... was dark by the time I got out of the airport, caught a bus into town, then waited at a station for a tram to my hostel. While I was waiting there.. I saw a young guy sit down on the bench and thought I'd check with him on the price and if I could pay the driver cash or if I needed a ticket. He told me I could ride for free... I just had to follow him.. He had a horribly strong accent.. Turns out he was Irish and travelling about Australia for almost the last year. He told me that he spent about $8000 in 6 weeks in Sydney.. by the sounds of his stories.. it was mostly spent in the pubs.. lol.. he was now working here in Melbourne (past 6 months) to make up a bit of money to move on. He and another gentleman helped me to get off at the right stop and I made it to the hostel.
The hostel seems ok so far. I'm across the hall from reception and out my window I can hear the sounds of the kitchen. I'm still waiting for my roommates.. they're supposed to arrive tonight and it's already 10:20pm...
I went out for dinner.. of which I was a bit trepidatious...I'm in a strange city, at night, in the dark, all alone, walking the streets... hmm.. eh, well I found a nice little internet cafe.. spent $2 on a half hour then found a nice little italian restaurant that was filled to the brim (figured it had to be good) dinner .. a plate of Prosciutto Penne and a tea came up to $16. Not a bad meal. I walked a little further and found a 7-11 and bought some groceries. Walked around the corner only to find a grocery store. sigh. oh well. I want to do a bit of laundry and from what it looks like, it's $4 to wash, $2 to dry and $1 for soap. $7/load.. I may just end up doing some essentials...
Anyways, that's about it for now.. I'm tired and I may just watch an episode of Bones, or something... who knows.. I'm not sure if they all made it onto my iPod.. shoot darn!
Got up this morning, knowing that I had to leave Cairns. Didn't sleep well, knowing that it was my last night in a room to myself in a tropical paradise. eh, got up at about 6:45... finished packing and went down to put my stuff into storage while I went back up to Kuranda for one last hurrah.. I got the bus without a problem.. the bus was only $4 each way... hmm.. and three days prior I spent $93 to get up to Kuranda... eh.. guess you learn these things along the way. Though, I think that the skyrail and scenic train were worth the extra money, they really made the trip to Kuranda. in any case, got up to Kuranda, some stuff was just opening. I went to see the bat hospital, but it was closed, so I took a picture as well as I could from the gate. I didn't go down the rain forest trail like the other day, as I didn't have the time.. I wanted to re-trace my steps as best as possible to get the pictures I'd lost. So I went to the Koala lady and the kind soul that she is, pitied me, and let me go in to the park to quickly grab a few pictures. I didn't get one of the baby boy koala, he was too tightly curled into his mum, but I did get some other pictures while I was in there.
I then went to the Kangaroo Fur lady.. she was great too.. she let me take pictures of the Roocycling... scrotum items.. and g-strings.. she was fun, but I had to keep going. I wanted to visit the artist that really touched me and wanted to buy a piece, alas, when I got to the store, it was still closed. So I ended up walking around for a bit (still closed) grabbing a meat pie for brunch and having to catch the bus back to Cairns in time to catch my ride to the airport. All went well, the plane was so full that some of us ended up in the seats for premiere class (without the service of course) but at least the seats were comfortable and we had more leg room. I had an aisle seat and 3 of us in the row. It was a lovely couple who had just finished a tour of the northern tip of Queensland... quite lovely people. We talked about travelling, Aussie movie stars.... my dearest darling Hugh Jackman.. mmm! lol
Plane landed, it was 5:30ish... was dark by the time I got out of the airport, caught a bus into town, then waited at a station for a tram to my hostel. While I was waiting there.. I saw a young guy sit down on the bench and thought I'd check with him on the price and if I could pay the driver cash or if I needed a ticket. He told me I could ride for free... I just had to follow him.. He had a horribly strong accent.. Turns out he was Irish and travelling about Australia for almost the last year. He told me that he spent about $8000 in 6 weeks in Sydney.. by the sounds of his stories.. it was mostly spent in the pubs.. lol.. he was now working here in Melbourne (past 6 months) to make up a bit of money to move on. He and another gentleman helped me to get off at the right stop and I made it to the hostel.
The hostel seems ok so far. I'm across the hall from reception and out my window I can hear the sounds of the kitchen. I'm still waiting for my roommates.. they're supposed to arrive tonight and it's already 10:20pm...
I went out for dinner.. of which I was a bit trepidatious...I'm in a strange city, at night, in the dark, all alone, walking the streets... hmm.. eh, well I found a nice little internet cafe.. spent $2 on a half hour then found a nice little italian restaurant that was filled to the brim (figured it had to be good) dinner .. a plate of Prosciutto Penne and a tea came up to $16. Not a bad meal. I walked a little further and found a 7-11 and bought some groceries. Walked around the corner only to find a grocery store. sigh. oh well. I want to do a bit of laundry and from what it looks like, it's $4 to wash, $2 to dry and $1 for soap. $7/load.. I may just end up doing some essentials...
Anyways, that's about it for now.. I'm tired and I may just watch an episode of Bones, or something... who knows.. I'm not sure if they all made it onto my iPod.. shoot darn!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Running around Cairns
G'Day Mate!
Just finishing up my last half hour in Cairns... Love the place, the people are just amazing.
I don't particularly have a great deal of time to tell you all that I've been up to the past 5 days, but I have been keeping notes on the little Netbook I've got... I'll get those up as soon as I can.. Maybe in Melbourne.
What I did want to mention though is the kindness of the people up here in Cairns. My tour guides have been outstanding, and even in Kuranda... can't ask for better. I'll give you a few examples of their hospitality. I had an amazing day in Kuranda two days ago, the skyrail up over the rainforest canopy is outstanding. Then, once in Kuranda, I saw an ad for cuddling with a koala for $15! BEAUTIFUL! so I ran up and got my ticket and went over and cuddled with Hogan.. cute, eucalyptus smelling 30lb Koala. I also got to see a gorgeous little baby koala snuggled with his mom. I took tons of pictures. Even at lunch I took pictures of the newspaper (great story on the catamaran I went on having spotted whales and another on an elephant that was fitted with an artificial limb after having stepped on a landmine).. any case.. no one seemed to think I was strange.. or at least they kept their comments to themselves. :)
From there I went through the shops where I met a lovely lady with a great sense of humour selling kangaroo pelts in various items. I bought postcards from her and asked if I could take a picture of her Roocycling... (even using roo scrotums as pouches!) She even sold Roo G-strings.. lol.. she and I had a great laugh at all that.
Then later, after a rainforest walk, I took the scenic train back down to Cairns. I got seat 13, and had a great view all the way down the mountainside!
Any case.. long story short.. Got home to download all my pictures, I didn't flick the tiny switch to lock my little memory card and before I could blink or even touch a key... my entire card.. 1500 + pictures.. wiped out. My entire day was GONE. I was devastated.
I tried to get out of my tour yesterday.. couldn't do it. So.. I went back today.. for an hour.. (bus was $8 returen rather than $93 via skyrail and train)and met up with the koala lady who let me in to try and take a picture of the baby (no luck.. mom was hiding him) and the other lady with the roo fur also let me take more pictures!
GREAT people!
Well gotta run.. catch my plane!
Just finishing up my last half hour in Cairns... Love the place, the people are just amazing.
I don't particularly have a great deal of time to tell you all that I've been up to the past 5 days, but I have been keeping notes on the little Netbook I've got... I'll get those up as soon as I can.. Maybe in Melbourne.
What I did want to mention though is the kindness of the people up here in Cairns. My tour guides have been outstanding, and even in Kuranda... can't ask for better. I'll give you a few examples of their hospitality. I had an amazing day in Kuranda two days ago, the skyrail up over the rainforest canopy is outstanding. Then, once in Kuranda, I saw an ad for cuddling with a koala for $15! BEAUTIFUL! so I ran up and got my ticket and went over and cuddled with Hogan.. cute, eucalyptus smelling 30lb Koala. I also got to see a gorgeous little baby koala snuggled with his mom. I took tons of pictures. Even at lunch I took pictures of the newspaper (great story on the catamaran I went on having spotted whales and another on an elephant that was fitted with an artificial limb after having stepped on a landmine).. any case.. no one seemed to think I was strange.. or at least they kept their comments to themselves. :)
From there I went through the shops where I met a lovely lady with a great sense of humour selling kangaroo pelts in various items. I bought postcards from her and asked if I could take a picture of her Roocycling... (even using roo scrotums as pouches!) She even sold Roo G-strings.. lol.. she and I had a great laugh at all that.
Then later, after a rainforest walk, I took the scenic train back down to Cairns. I got seat 13, and had a great view all the way down the mountainside!
Any case.. long story short.. Got home to download all my pictures, I didn't flick the tiny switch to lock my little memory card and before I could blink or even touch a key... my entire card.. 1500 + pictures.. wiped out. My entire day was GONE. I was devastated.
I tried to get out of my tour yesterday.. couldn't do it. So.. I went back today.. for an hour.. (bus was $8 returen rather than $93 via skyrail and train)and met up with the koala lady who let me in to try and take a picture of the baby (no luck.. mom was hiding him) and the other lady with the roo fur also let me take more pictures!
GREAT people!
Well gotta run.. catch my plane!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Cairns: Tropical Paradise!
August 15, 2009 Cairns, North Queensland.
Cairns is a town that caters to tourists. The hostel I have chosen is quite beautiful and clean, so far. I have a lovely veranda off my room, I would recommend this place to anyone (so far) The staff, Candice, has been amazing. She brought me to my room, helped me out with using the phone (credit card blocked because it was used in a foreign country so I had to call to unblock it), with booking tours, with using the internet, she was very helpful.
I have booked myself in to do 4 excursions while I'm here, which all start painfully early! lol, I'll survive.. I hope!
I can't believe I have to leave here in 5 days to go to Melbourne where it's currently rather COLD. I can hardly bare how hot it is in my room ( which is why I'm currently flung in a cozy wicker chair on the veranda).
So here's the Cairns itinerary:
Sunday 16th: Pick up at 6:50am for Cape Tribulation and Daintree Safari. For $159 I will be spending the day in a rainforest habitat, getting a walk through a gorge, getting a 5 star buffet lunch, going to cape trib beach, doing a walk along a botanical boardwalk and then enjoying a river wildlife cruise to get back at about 6:30pm.
Monday 17th: Pick up at 7:30am for my Passions of Paradise Snorkel and sail out on the great barrier reef. I will be going on a catamaran with sails, full lunch and small group! be back home for about 5pm
Tuesday 18th: I will be doing a tour to Kuranda. I will be taking a skyrail cableway up to the hippie town full of quaint shops then the scenic train back down to be home for about 5pm. Kuranda is 328 meters up. The train must go through 15 tunnels, over 37 bridges, and around 98 curves.
Wednesday, 19th : I will be getting picked up at 8am to visit the falls and the forest. I'll get a guided tour of the rainforest, get to go for a swim in the falls... as the brochure says: we'll be walking, talking swimming, rocksliding, singing in waterfalls, floating in a volcanic crater lake, platypus spotting and enjoying a two course lunch and two snacks. I'll be getting home at about 8:30pm.
Sounds good? it does to me!!
Cairns is a town that caters to tourists. The hostel I have chosen is quite beautiful and clean, so far. I have a lovely veranda off my room, I would recommend this place to anyone (so far) The staff, Candice, has been amazing. She brought me to my room, helped me out with using the phone (credit card blocked because it was used in a foreign country so I had to call to unblock it), with booking tours, with using the internet, she was very helpful.
I have booked myself in to do 4 excursions while I'm here, which all start painfully early! lol, I'll survive.. I hope!
I can't believe I have to leave here in 5 days to go to Melbourne where it's currently rather COLD. I can hardly bare how hot it is in my room ( which is why I'm currently flung in a cozy wicker chair on the veranda).
So here's the Cairns itinerary:
Sunday 16th: Pick up at 6:50am for Cape Tribulation and Daintree Safari. For $159 I will be spending the day in a rainforest habitat, getting a walk through a gorge, getting a 5 star buffet lunch, going to cape trib beach, doing a walk along a botanical boardwalk and then enjoying a river wildlife cruise to get back at about 6:30pm.
Monday 17th: Pick up at 7:30am for my Passions of Paradise Snorkel and sail out on the great barrier reef. I will be going on a catamaran with sails, full lunch and small group! be back home for about 5pm
Tuesday 18th: I will be doing a tour to Kuranda. I will be taking a skyrail cableway up to the hippie town full of quaint shops then the scenic train back down to be home for about 5pm. Kuranda is 328 meters up. The train must go through 15 tunnels, over 37 bridges, and around 98 curves.
Wednesday, 19th : I will be getting picked up at 8am to visit the falls and the forest. I'll get a guided tour of the rainforest, get to go for a swim in the falls... as the brochure says: we'll be walking, talking swimming, rocksliding, singing in waterfalls, floating in a volcanic crater lake, platypus spotting and enjoying a two course lunch and two snacks. I'll be getting home at about 8:30pm.
Sounds good? it does to me!!
fun-loving Aussies!
well here I am at another airport, waiting for another flight.
For this blog, I'd like to comment on Aussie hospitality. It is VERY early on Saturday morning, and I was kindly dropped off by Jo, lady of the House. (guess she lost the coin toss).
She and Damien treated me last night to a good 'ol Aussie bbq. What a laugh. I got to meet more of the “locals” lol, had a great time. They have a tendency to “take the piss” of their “mates” and from what I was told by some of the guests, that it is particularly traditional to heavily “take the piss” of the host. So dear Damien really got a few good ribbings. Many were in regards to his “lazy work week” or his favourite “footy” team in Adelaide (who won their match that night thank you very much!)
Everyone was lively, warm and fun. His one mate was from Perth, and so we talked about where I was staying, what I was doing and where I should go and visit. Another friend is a paramedic and was telling us over dinner about the fright her daughter caused, ending up in a coma, and the only reason they could find was that her salt levels in her blood were too low. (don't usually find that to be a problem in Canada). She fully recovered, but it was quite the story.
I've not really met anyone who hasn't been the picture of kindness and hospitality (well, other than the one lady at the hostel in Sydney... but I don't count her.. I think she had a pickle in a very uncomfortable place) Everyone else has been smiles and helpful.
Damien and Jo were fabulous in trying to explain Aussie to me. If you're coming to visit, don't be fooled into thinking that they speak English here. Far from it, mate, they speak Aussie.
It really is a language all on its own. The best way to explain how to speak Aussie is to find the shortest way possible to say anything. All words are shortened. Footy is Football, G'Day is Good Day, Freo is Freemantle, even Aussie is Australian. So if you can find a way to shorten a word, or give it another name altogether, you're well on you way to speaking Aussie. Note: There are regional differences: Take a bathing suit, now I don't remember which region calls them which but they can be called bathers, cossies, or even togs ( where that comes from is a bit of a mystery).
They do have a few sayings that are similar to those in Britain (though don't tell the aussies that they have something similar to the “poms”) First is Taking the Piss, other, they have lifts, not elevators, they have boots and not trunks in their cars. If anyone can tell me why brits are called Poms, that would be quite helpful.
Speaking of finding out the meaning behind words, I taught the bbq group the meaning behind “flipping someone the bird” (which of course comes from excellent archers having their first two fingers cut off when their side lost in battle and the winning side “taking the piss” out of them by showing them their own fingers, still intact.
In any case, I am learning quite a bit about local culture and am having a wonderful time discovering Australia.
For this blog, I'd like to comment on Aussie hospitality. It is VERY early on Saturday morning, and I was kindly dropped off by Jo, lady of the House. (guess she lost the coin toss).
She and Damien treated me last night to a good 'ol Aussie bbq. What a laugh. I got to meet more of the “locals” lol, had a great time. They have a tendency to “take the piss” of their “mates” and from what I was told by some of the guests, that it is particularly traditional to heavily “take the piss” of the host. So dear Damien really got a few good ribbings. Many were in regards to his “lazy work week” or his favourite “footy” team in Adelaide (who won their match that night thank you very much!)
Everyone was lively, warm and fun. His one mate was from Perth, and so we talked about where I was staying, what I was doing and where I should go and visit. Another friend is a paramedic and was telling us over dinner about the fright her daughter caused, ending up in a coma, and the only reason they could find was that her salt levels in her blood were too low. (don't usually find that to be a problem in Canada). She fully recovered, but it was quite the story.
I've not really met anyone who hasn't been the picture of kindness and hospitality (well, other than the one lady at the hostel in Sydney... but I don't count her.. I think she had a pickle in a very uncomfortable place) Everyone else has been smiles and helpful.
Damien and Jo were fabulous in trying to explain Aussie to me. If you're coming to visit, don't be fooled into thinking that they speak English here. Far from it, mate, they speak Aussie.
It really is a language all on its own. The best way to explain how to speak Aussie is to find the shortest way possible to say anything. All words are shortened. Footy is Football, G'Day is Good Day, Freo is Freemantle, even Aussie is Australian. So if you can find a way to shorten a word, or give it another name altogether, you're well on you way to speaking Aussie. Note: There are regional differences: Take a bathing suit, now I don't remember which region calls them which but they can be called bathers, cossies, or even togs ( where that comes from is a bit of a mystery).
They do have a few sayings that are similar to those in Britain (though don't tell the aussies that they have something similar to the “poms”) First is Taking the Piss, other, they have lifts, not elevators, they have boots and not trunks in their cars. If anyone can tell me why brits are called Poms, that would be quite helpful.
Speaking of finding out the meaning behind words, I taught the bbq group the meaning behind “flipping someone the bird” (which of course comes from excellent archers having their first two fingers cut off when their side lost in battle and the winning side “taking the piss” out of them by showing them their own fingers, still intact.
In any case, I am learning quite a bit about local culture and am having a wonderful time discovering Australia.
Brisbane: lovely weather, lovely people
Brisbane.
The weather is fantastic, the people are great, and other than the car parks (also known as the motorways) the city is also great.
We headed out for a city tour on Thursday morning, doing a hop on hop off tour. The bus also included city cat tickets for the day which is the river Ｃatamaran service to get people across the river. (not many bridges completed just yet, so the quaint city cats are the way to go if you're on foot).
We rode up to Mount Coot-Tha to get a great panorama of the city and surrounds. We had lunch, where I tried a local fish, but it was battered, so it just tasted like regular fish and chips. Damien got me to try an Aussie wine, a Shiraz, though I can't remember what brand. It was quite lovely, though he had to help me finish it off.
From there we descended into the city and caught a Cat which brought us to the South Bank. What a great place. It's a fabulous park in the middle of town with flowered walkways, play area for the kids, a man-made beach, a pool and the best kids wet play park I've ever seen. Jordan and Paris had a great time splashing about!
We then had to go home and get ready for The Great Outback Spectacular dinner-show. Now let me tell you, if you're in Brisbane, I'd have to say, that's a MUST DO.
The show reminds me of something that you'd probably see in Calgary. Everyone was wearing checkered shirts and they give you a cowboy hat (well local version) at the door with either a yellow or red band around it. That's to know which station you're rooting for. So you get in, they give you your hat then you proceed to get your picture taken with it. There is then a souvenir shop full of the typical stuff. Once you get around that it's like walking into a barn/tavern. There are photos of the outback all over the walls with bits and pieces of outback gear hanging. The lighting is from wagon wheel chandeliers, and there's someone on a raised stage singing outback songs along one side. Along the other side is a really long bar where there were already many people bellying up. Along the far wall were 4 stalls with some of the show horses in them. We weren't allowed to pet them, but we could stand in front and get our picture taken with them. So, once we were done with the pre-show, we were able to take our seats. There isn't a bad seat in the house. It looks like stadium seating, in the way that we're all facing the arena, but it's more like getting a movie theatre chair and sitting at a breakfast bar. Our salads were already there waiting for us.. SCRUMPTIOUS! I've been itching for greens since I left and this was just what the doctor ordered! once that was eaten, the show started. The show was about life out on a station in the outback. The horses were just great. The best equivalent I can give them would be to our RCMP musical ride. They were dancing and jumping and .. it was just a beautiful sight. Then after a bit, we were served our main course of steak, potatoes, green beans, carrots and I think it was either pumpkin or squash. Very tasty meal. While we ate, they sang Waltzing Matilda and recounted a poem. It was great. Dessert was pure sugar, I swear it was, and Jo, sitting beside me concurred, it was a thing called a pavlova I believe... a type of meringue with some kind of cream toping and fruit coulis over top. Being the kind guest, I managed to put it all in ;) Then for the grand finale where it was audience participation and alas, our side lost, and it was the other side's station that won for best station that night.
The next day was at the Australia Zoo, that's the zoo put together by the late, great, Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter.
I feel that it was extremely well done, we were able to get up close and personal with the animals. I got to pet a kangaroo, a koala, a wombat and feed an elephant... twice! They had a demonstration in a stadium called the crocoseum where we got to see some of the birds, snakes and of course, a crocodile. I think that of all the animals, I think I'd want to take a wombat home. they're about the size of a small pig, or raccoon, cute as anything and soft and more lively than the koalas. In any case, it's a great way to spend the day.
It was from the zoo that we went back home for a barbie (pronounced BAH-bee). Damien cooked up some roo saussage for me to try. They were tasty, seemed like any other saussage you'd eat. I have to admit though, it felt a bit odd eating roo after having gone to a zoo to pet them.
Great time, and now off to Cairns (pronounced CANS).
The weather is fantastic, the people are great, and other than the car parks (also known as the motorways) the city is also great.
We headed out for a city tour on Thursday morning, doing a hop on hop off tour. The bus also included city cat tickets for the day which is the river Ｃatamaran service to get people across the river. (not many bridges completed just yet, so the quaint city cats are the way to go if you're on foot).
We rode up to Mount Coot-Tha to get a great panorama of the city and surrounds. We had lunch, where I tried a local fish, but it was battered, so it just tasted like regular fish and chips. Damien got me to try an Aussie wine, a Shiraz, though I can't remember what brand. It was quite lovely, though he had to help me finish it off.
From there we descended into the city and caught a Cat which brought us to the South Bank. What a great place. It's a fabulous park in the middle of town with flowered walkways, play area for the kids, a man-made beach, a pool and the best kids wet play park I've ever seen. Jordan and Paris had a great time splashing about!
We then had to go home and get ready for The Great Outback Spectacular dinner-show. Now let me tell you, if you're in Brisbane, I'd have to say, that's a MUST DO.
The show reminds me of something that you'd probably see in Calgary. Everyone was wearing checkered shirts and they give you a cowboy hat (well local version) at the door with either a yellow or red band around it. That's to know which station you're rooting for. So you get in, they give you your hat then you proceed to get your picture taken with it. There is then a souvenir shop full of the typical stuff. Once you get around that it's like walking into a barn/tavern. There are photos of the outback all over the walls with bits and pieces of outback gear hanging. The lighting is from wagon wheel chandeliers, and there's someone on a raised stage singing outback songs along one side. Along the other side is a really long bar where there were already many people bellying up. Along the far wall were 4 stalls with some of the show horses in them. We weren't allowed to pet them, but we could stand in front and get our picture taken with them. So, once we were done with the pre-show, we were able to take our seats. There isn't a bad seat in the house. It looks like stadium seating, in the way that we're all facing the arena, but it's more like getting a movie theatre chair and sitting at a breakfast bar. Our salads were already there waiting for us.. SCRUMPTIOUS! I've been itching for greens since I left and this was just what the doctor ordered! once that was eaten, the show started. The show was about life out on a station in the outback. The horses were just great. The best equivalent I can give them would be to our RCMP musical ride. They were dancing and jumping and .. it was just a beautiful sight. Then after a bit, we were served our main course of steak, potatoes, green beans, carrots and I think it was either pumpkin or squash. Very tasty meal. While we ate, they sang Waltzing Matilda and recounted a poem. It was great. Dessert was pure sugar, I swear it was, and Jo, sitting beside me concurred, it was a thing called a pavlova I believe... a type of meringue with some kind of cream toping and fruit coulis over top. Being the kind guest, I managed to put it all in ;) Then for the grand finale where it was audience participation and alas, our side lost, and it was the other side's station that won for best station that night.
The next day was at the Australia Zoo, that's the zoo put together by the late, great, Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter.
I feel that it was extremely well done, we were able to get up close and personal with the animals. I got to pet a kangaroo, a koala, a wombat and feed an elephant... twice! They had a demonstration in a stadium called the crocoseum where we got to see some of the birds, snakes and of course, a crocodile. I think that of all the animals, I think I'd want to take a wombat home. they're about the size of a small pig, or raccoon, cute as anything and soft and more lively than the koalas. In any case, it's a great way to spend the day.
It was from the zoo that we went back home for a barbie (pronounced BAH-bee). Damien cooked up some roo saussage for me to try. They were tasty, seemed like any other saussage you'd eat. I have to admit though, it felt a bit odd eating roo after having gone to a zoo to pet them.
Great time, and now off to Cairns (pronounced CANS).
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Finishing off in Sydney
what did I last write.. I think it was 2 days ago...
Well, my travels have been relatively good so far...
On Monday, I was going to meet up with Michelle, MJ's friend, but it turned out that Tuesday was better for her. So I chose to explore more of the downtown area of Sydney on Monday instead.
I got up, freezing in the hostel, they have no heat.. why would you have heat in the winter I wonder? lol anyways... they did have a lot of hot water, for which I was extremely grateful. I was able to wash my hair without any difficulties and the hairdryer I bought at the Paddy market the day before worked wonderfully. What I did notice upon getting out of the shower was that during the night, some beast or bug of some sort had quite a feast... at my expense. I found about a dozen or so red welts on my torso. Thankfully, they don't itch. Didn't really entice me to get back into bed that night, that's for sure.
So after getting dressed, and having breakfast, I headed off to William St which crosses downtown quite well. I saw the big Coca Cola sign that Kings Cross is known for (among other less savoury things) and proceeded to the St Mary's Cathedral.. lovely, as far as cathedrals go, it has a wooden ceiling and lovely artwork and stained glass windows. From there I visited the Australia Museum that was across the street. That is a great museum, there are dinosaurs, skeletons of all sorts of animals, including humans, and stuffed everything... koalas, dingos, kangaroos, ... and the great part is that you get to pet everything. Koalas didn't seem to be as soft as you'd think... Kangaroos are apparently softer than you'd think..
it was an interesting museum and I took lots of pictures. Speaking of pictures, I had a bit of an unfortunate incident, in that I wanted to keep the photos that were already on the camera before my trip, there were pictures of mom, grandma, Sydney... so, I'm a bit upset that some kind of glitch erased all of them. I'm now hesitant to try and empty my memory card...
Continuing on my trek, I passed through Hyde Park (much smaller than that of London.. but lovely none the less). I continued to Darling Harbour for Lunch and bought an IMAX ticket to see a 3D “under the sea” show for later that evening (5pm) I still intended to go onto the maritime museum as they had a submarine, a warship and a replica of the Endeavor that were perched in the harbour. Concession tickets are just wonderful. I really am glad I went to Kitchener to get my international student ID card. Very Helpful. On a side note, while I was walking along I strangely felt like I was in Downtown Toronto... (other than all the cars going the wrong way!!) oh, and the fact that I was walking by Maseratti, Ferrari, Porche and Lamborghini dealerships... man, was I ever drooling at the windows.. I didn't dare enter.. just left a bit of saliva on the windows.. :) The dealerships were different than what I remember back home.. they were a showroom on the main floor of a building, not a car lot.. I guess with cars like that.. it's an “on order” only.
Back to the Maritime Museum, the submarine was my first stop. Man alive.. mom and dad.. you would never have made it through.. there was hardly any head or hip room.. standing in the hallway, both my hips were touching the respective sides. the bunks were in the hallways and the “heads” were smaller than our pantry back home, and that included the shower!
from there I visited the Warship, which was great, though there were guns, a captain's chair and more room than on the submarine. From there I made my way to Captain Cook's Endeavor, the ship with which he landed and “discovered” Australia. The below decks were extremely tight.. the space from floor to ceiling in one bit of the ship was less than 4 ft... very squishy. (and that's where the officers got.. you can imagine the poor seamen) it was a lovely ship, full of very helpful volunteers who told the historical stories.. I really liked this museum, very customer oriented, friendly and extremely knowledgeable staff. Speaking of which, when I went to go into the “actual” museum, I was offered my own personal guide to teach me and show me around!! how fantastic... a personally guided tour.. for free! so he was a great man, he has a daughter in law I think that is Canadian, from North of Edmonton I think. He explained the significance of lots of things, (and the cost of some of their artifacts) they have a bowl that is worth millions, and a coin that was etched by a convict worth nearly a million. in any case.. it was fascinating. From the lovely tour, I had to rush to get to the IMAX at the other end of the harbour. The cost for a popcorn and pop was $10 and the IMAX ticket (discounted for my being a student) was $16.50. My museums were about the same price put together!
The movie was good. A nice way to relax after a full day on my feet. After the movie, (oh they used the old fashioned 3D glasses, not the nice sunglasses type that we have back home. so I just took the city train back to the hostel where I figured I'd get in, and finish up writing about my day, since it was only about 6:30 when I got back.
So I thought.
What the front desk failed to mention to me that morning when I spoke with them, is that they change their door code every Monday. So, I left, not knowing that the code I had was no longer valid. I tried it in vain, rather unsuccessfully. I was stuck in a doorway locked out at 6:30 at night in winter when it's already dark out in an unsavoury neighbourhood. needless to say... it was a very lonely moment. I just sat on the door step with a newspaper waiting for someone to either come in or go out of the hostel. Thankfully, one of their maintenance staff, aptly named Arcangelo (arch angel) came to my rescue and let me in.
Alas, this dear sweet man (who had studied to become a Franciscan monk) kind of became rather sweet on me. I had things to do but was too thankful to him to just run off to my room. So he and I talked till 9pm.
The next day, I had to be up at 7am to check out of the hostel (they would be closed when I wanted to leave) and get the right city train to get to Michelle. That was pretty good. I'd initially got on the wrong train, but luckly I was able to catch the right one at the next stop.
Michelle.. was just fabulous. She and Patrick, her 8 year old son were such wonderful tour guides.
We were a bit worried about the weather first off, but things cleared up by mid-day. We first went off to visit the THREE SISTERS... a rock formation with a lovely story behind it about a magical man who turned three sisters into stone all around a romance with three brothers I think... something of a romeo and juliet X3. Any case.. I would suggest looking that bit up if you're interested.
We then did Scenic World (think that's the name.. not handy at the moment) we went down the RED DEVIL.. I'm not making that bit up at all.. it's this BEAST that you sit in and it goes down the mountain at a peak of 52 degrees! it's STEEP! that was exciting, and I video taped our descent. Then we were able to walk around the boardwalk and found out neat information about the mines that were in the mountain. We went back up a Funiculaire of sorts with a lovely view.
From there I think we went on for Fish and Chips. In Australia they have the option of using something called Chicken Salt on their chips, the man let me have a taste, it reminds me of chicken bouillon. Eh, I went for the traditional salt. After lunch we drove about a bit. Michelle was so gracious, I'd see a lovely vista and she'd pull over the side of the road to let me snap a picture! Overall, I'd say anyone who visits Sydney, I strongly suggest to visit the Blue Mountains.
We got back home in time for dinner, the food was delicious.. Apricot Chicken and a type of pasta bake that was equally yummy!
What wasn't so good.. was my FIRST TASTE of VEGIMITE. DISGUSTING! if any aussie ever asks you to have some of that vile stuff.. flat out refuse! it was salt paste on a cracker! They all got a good chuckle at my trying their national spread. It was all in fun, though I don't think I'll get tricked into eating that stuff again!
Got back home in the rain (via the Harbour bridge.. Thank you!) just in time to pack and get ready for the next day flight.
So far so good! :)
Well, my travels have been relatively good so far...
On Monday, I was going to meet up with Michelle, MJ's friend, but it turned out that Tuesday was better for her. So I chose to explore more of the downtown area of Sydney on Monday instead.
I got up, freezing in the hostel, they have no heat.. why would you have heat in the winter I wonder? lol anyways... they did have a lot of hot water, for which I was extremely grateful. I was able to wash my hair without any difficulties and the hairdryer I bought at the Paddy market the day before worked wonderfully. What I did notice upon getting out of the shower was that during the night, some beast or bug of some sort had quite a feast... at my expense. I found about a dozen or so red welts on my torso. Thankfully, they don't itch. Didn't really entice me to get back into bed that night, that's for sure.
So after getting dressed, and having breakfast, I headed off to William St which crosses downtown quite well. I saw the big Coca Cola sign that Kings Cross is known for (among other less savoury things) and proceeded to the St Mary's Cathedral.. lovely, as far as cathedrals go, it has a wooden ceiling and lovely artwork and stained glass windows. From there I visited the Australia Museum that was across the street. That is a great museum, there are dinosaurs, skeletons of all sorts of animals, including humans, and stuffed everything... koalas, dingos, kangaroos, ... and the great part is that you get to pet everything. Koalas didn't seem to be as soft as you'd think... Kangaroos are apparently softer than you'd think..
it was an interesting museum and I took lots of pictures. Speaking of pictures, I had a bit of an unfortunate incident, in that I wanted to keep the photos that were already on the camera before my trip, there were pictures of mom, grandma, Sydney... so, I'm a bit upset that some kind of glitch erased all of them. I'm now hesitant to try and empty my memory card...
Continuing on my trek, I passed through Hyde Park (much smaller than that of London.. but lovely none the less). I continued to Darling Harbour for Lunch and bought an IMAX ticket to see a 3D “under the sea” show for later that evening (5pm) I still intended to go onto the maritime museum as they had a submarine, a warship and a replica of the Endeavor that were perched in the harbour. Concession tickets are just wonderful. I really am glad I went to Kitchener to get my international student ID card. Very Helpful. On a side note, while I was walking along I strangely felt like I was in Downtown Toronto... (other than all the cars going the wrong way!!) oh, and the fact that I was walking by Maseratti, Ferrari, Porche and Lamborghini dealerships... man, was I ever drooling at the windows.. I didn't dare enter.. just left a bit of saliva on the windows.. :) The dealerships were different than what I remember back home.. they were a showroom on the main floor of a building, not a car lot.. I guess with cars like that.. it's an “on order” only.
Back to the Maritime Museum, the submarine was my first stop. Man alive.. mom and dad.. you would never have made it through.. there was hardly any head or hip room.. standing in the hallway, both my hips were touching the respective sides. the bunks were in the hallways and the “heads” were smaller than our pantry back home, and that included the shower!
from there I visited the Warship, which was great, though there were guns, a captain's chair and more room than on the submarine. From there I made my way to Captain Cook's Endeavor, the ship with which he landed and “discovered” Australia. The below decks were extremely tight.. the space from floor to ceiling in one bit of the ship was less than 4 ft... very squishy. (and that's where the officers got.. you can imagine the poor seamen) it was a lovely ship, full of very helpful volunteers who told the historical stories.. I really liked this museum, very customer oriented, friendly and extremely knowledgeable staff. Speaking of which, when I went to go into the “actual” museum, I was offered my own personal guide to teach me and show me around!! how fantastic... a personally guided tour.. for free! so he was a great man, he has a daughter in law I think that is Canadian, from North of Edmonton I think. He explained the significance of lots of things, (and the cost of some of their artifacts) they have a bowl that is worth millions, and a coin that was etched by a convict worth nearly a million. in any case.. it was fascinating. From the lovely tour, I had to rush to get to the IMAX at the other end of the harbour. The cost for a popcorn and pop was $10 and the IMAX ticket (discounted for my being a student) was $16.50. My museums were about the same price put together!
The movie was good. A nice way to relax after a full day on my feet. After the movie, (oh they used the old fashioned 3D glasses, not the nice sunglasses type that we have back home. so I just took the city train back to the hostel where I figured I'd get in, and finish up writing about my day, since it was only about 6:30 when I got back.
So I thought.
What the front desk failed to mention to me that morning when I spoke with them, is that they change their door code every Monday. So, I left, not knowing that the code I had was no longer valid. I tried it in vain, rather unsuccessfully. I was stuck in a doorway locked out at 6:30 at night in winter when it's already dark out in an unsavoury neighbourhood. needless to say... it was a very lonely moment. I just sat on the door step with a newspaper waiting for someone to either come in or go out of the hostel. Thankfully, one of their maintenance staff, aptly named Arcangelo (arch angel) came to my rescue and let me in.
Alas, this dear sweet man (who had studied to become a Franciscan monk) kind of became rather sweet on me. I had things to do but was too thankful to him to just run off to my room. So he and I talked till 9pm.
The next day, I had to be up at 7am to check out of the hostel (they would be closed when I wanted to leave) and get the right city train to get to Michelle. That was pretty good. I'd initially got on the wrong train, but luckly I was able to catch the right one at the next stop.
Michelle.. was just fabulous. She and Patrick, her 8 year old son were such wonderful tour guides.
We were a bit worried about the weather first off, but things cleared up by mid-day. We first went off to visit the THREE SISTERS... a rock formation with a lovely story behind it about a magical man who turned three sisters into stone all around a romance with three brothers I think... something of a romeo and juliet X3. Any case.. I would suggest looking that bit up if you're interested.
We then did Scenic World (think that's the name.. not handy at the moment) we went down the RED DEVIL.. I'm not making that bit up at all.. it's this BEAST that you sit in and it goes down the mountain at a peak of 52 degrees! it's STEEP! that was exciting, and I video taped our descent. Then we were able to walk around the boardwalk and found out neat information about the mines that were in the mountain. We went back up a Funiculaire of sorts with a lovely view.
From there I think we went on for Fish and Chips. In Australia they have the option of using something called Chicken Salt on their chips, the man let me have a taste, it reminds me of chicken bouillon. Eh, I went for the traditional salt. After lunch we drove about a bit. Michelle was so gracious, I'd see a lovely vista and she'd pull over the side of the road to let me snap a picture! Overall, I'd say anyone who visits Sydney, I strongly suggest to visit the Blue Mountains.
We got back home in time for dinner, the food was delicious.. Apricot Chicken and a type of pasta bake that was equally yummy!
What wasn't so good.. was my FIRST TASTE of VEGIMITE. DISGUSTING! if any aussie ever asks you to have some of that vile stuff.. flat out refuse! it was salt paste on a cracker! They all got a good chuckle at my trying their national spread. It was all in fun, though I don't think I'll get tricked into eating that stuff again!
Got back home in the rain (via the Harbour bridge.. Thank you!) just in time to pack and get ready for the next day flight.
So far so good! :)
Saturday, August 8, 2009
day 2
Here I am at the beginning of day 2.
Yesterday I left to go wandering at about 1:30pm or so. I walked to the end of the street where there's a staircase down to the military harbor. There were 3 military ships docked, rather impressive....
before I continue, I'd like to comment on the weather. IT'S BLOODY COLD!!! sure, they have a daily high of 20 degrees, but at night it is FREEZING, and there aren't any heaters or insulation anywhere... so it's bloody cold... especially considering it's winter and the sun goes down at 6pm!
I'm fighting jetlag like crazy... last night was really tough. I have to admit nodding off a few times throughout the opera... it was a great show, though and my nodding off is of no reflection on the show.. it was majestic and quite moving. I'd just been up for about 50 hours or so with a few brief sitting-in-an-airplane-seat naps, at least I think that's accurate... with the time changes and lack of sleep.. my math skills are not fine tuned.
So back to my walk. I walked out to Mrs Macquarie's Chair (apparently a lady of importance) then proceeded to walk through the botanical gardens where they have lots and lots of bats.. BIG ones.. they look soo sweet! fuzzy fluffy bodies with leather-ish wings.
I did my first iconic Aussie thing to do at the point that holds that lady's “chair” (a bit of stone carved to make a seat) I ate a meat pie while sitting facing the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge.. the meat pie isn't too bad and the view was breathtaking!
So down to the iconic building, the Opera House... for a tour. Fascinating building. just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. I would love to hear a concert in the concert hall.. it apparently has perfect acoustics, hearing an organ concert would be great... A huge organ is in the hall... (most of which you can't see because it's built into the building) it took 10 years to build and 2 years to tune... just to give a rough idea of how big this organ is.
After the tour I took a walk down to circular Quay... and past to The Rocks. Mom, I think that's where you should stay.. in a hotel in the Rocks. You will be close to most everything you'd want to see in one day, walking distance from Circular Quay train station... historic and beautiful.
So after my quick dinner in The Rocks, I walked back around the Quay to the Opera House for the performance of Aida. The ballet and voices and set made the show. I wish I could have enjoyed it more than I actually did. It was beautiful.
Something I have noticed, however, is the amazing kindness of Aussies. I met a few people and they were all gracious, helpful and wonderfully friendly.
Well, I'm a bit groggy.. despite sleeping for roughly 6 hours... and I should likely get started with my day.. see if Michelle has written and see if we're able to meet today!
(I'd like to get to a shop or something where I could buy a hair dryer!)
Yesterday I left to go wandering at about 1:30pm or so. I walked to the end of the street where there's a staircase down to the military harbor. There were 3 military ships docked, rather impressive....
before I continue, I'd like to comment on the weather. IT'S BLOODY COLD!!! sure, they have a daily high of 20 degrees, but at night it is FREEZING, and there aren't any heaters or insulation anywhere... so it's bloody cold... especially considering it's winter and the sun goes down at 6pm!
I'm fighting jetlag like crazy... last night was really tough. I have to admit nodding off a few times throughout the opera... it was a great show, though and my nodding off is of no reflection on the show.. it was majestic and quite moving. I'd just been up for about 50 hours or so with a few brief sitting-in-an-airplane-seat naps, at least I think that's accurate... with the time changes and lack of sleep.. my math skills are not fine tuned.
So back to my walk. I walked out to Mrs Macquarie's Chair (apparently a lady of importance) then proceeded to walk through the botanical gardens where they have lots and lots of bats.. BIG ones.. they look soo sweet! fuzzy fluffy bodies with leather-ish wings.
I did my first iconic Aussie thing to do at the point that holds that lady's “chair” (a bit of stone carved to make a seat) I ate a meat pie while sitting facing the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge.. the meat pie isn't too bad and the view was breathtaking!
So down to the iconic building, the Opera House... for a tour. Fascinating building. just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. I would love to hear a concert in the concert hall.. it apparently has perfect acoustics, hearing an organ concert would be great... A huge organ is in the hall... (most of which you can't see because it's built into the building) it took 10 years to build and 2 years to tune... just to give a rough idea of how big this organ is.
After the tour I took a walk down to circular Quay... and past to The Rocks. Mom, I think that's where you should stay.. in a hotel in the Rocks. You will be close to most everything you'd want to see in one day, walking distance from Circular Quay train station... historic and beautiful.
So after my quick dinner in The Rocks, I walked back around the Quay to the Opera House for the performance of Aida. The ballet and voices and set made the show. I wish I could have enjoyed it more than I actually did. It was beautiful.
Something I have noticed, however, is the amazing kindness of Aussies. I met a few people and they were all gracious, helpful and wonderfully friendly.
Well, I'm a bit groggy.. despite sleeping for roughly 6 hours... and I should likely get started with my day.. see if Michelle has written and see if we're able to meet today!
(I'd like to get to a shop or something where I could buy a hair dryer!)
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