2nd Semester

Has arrived! We've been in Australia for almost 6 months, Colin has begun phase 2 of 4, and then before I know it we'll be home! Life is always changing though and to celebrate our 6 month anniversary of living in Guildford (August 25th), we will be leaving it forever. I don't know where yet, perhaps Strathfield, but I can't wait to get out.

Driving has been going well buuuut Colin was my passenger the other night as I dropped off a movie at the video store and I was so nervous having him in the vehicle that I almost hit a poor fellow on a bike in a round about, and then drove on the wrong side of the road after we dropped off the movie. I don't think he was impressed by my skillz. I've been occasionally driving to work lately (heh...) and I regretfully parked underneath a HUGE tree the other day. It cost us $7 at the coin car-wash to scrub all the bird poo off.

Yesterday I wanted to clean the inside of the car so I lugged our vacuum downstairs to the underground parkade. As I descended the stairs I heard the sound of blasting water and saw the garage floor covered in water. Then I noticed a man washing his car with the fire hose. I looked at him, he looked at me, I looked at the hose, and then I went and plugged my vacuum in. Several minutes later another neighbor came downstairs to retrieve his car. He stopped on the stairs, stared at the puddle, looked at the man, looked at the hose, looked over at me, I shrugged, and then he went on his merry way. I was worried that I would somehow look like an accomplice because I too was partaking in car cleaning activities. Colin thinks that using the fire hose is genius but there is NO WAY that that's allowed. Right?

Right?

E.

Australianism

Arvo: afternoon

Beautiful: Used to describe any food that looks/tastes/smells good.

Bike: Motorbike

Bisquits: Cookies

Cheap as chips: Very inexpensive!

Chewy: Gum

Crook: Sick

Cuppa: Cup of tea

Dear: Precious

Drama(s): Issues/problems

EFPOS: Debit

Flat: Feeling sad

Football: soccer

Footie: AFL or Aussie Rules Football

Full on: Busy

Good on ya: Well done.

Heaps: More than just a little

Hire: Rent

Hot chips: French Fries

How you going: How’s it going

Keen: willing or excited to do something

Lollies: Generic term for candies

Mate: Buddy or Friend

Muck around: Goof around

Neat: thin

Niggles: Bothersome

No Worries: You’re welcome.

Precious: High-maintenance

Push Bike: Bicycle

Queue: To line up.

Reckon: One’s opinion.

Ring: Telephone

Rubber: Eraser

Rug up: To put on warm clothes

Tea: Dinner

Toilet: Washroom/Bathroom

Tyres: Tires

Uni: University

Wetty: Wet suit

Where’s Wally: Where’s Waldo

Whingeing: Complaining

Bold words are ones used excessively.

I would like to personally challenge anyone and all who happen to read this, to create an Aussie sentence of their own and leave it as a comment. This is not an exhaustive list, if there are other Australianisms that we’ve missed like SQUIZZ let us know about them and if we hear them over here we’ll add them to the list.

Sentence Example:

I Reckon I’ll be keen to do heaps of studying this arvo, got some lollies to keep me going.

Roooaaad Triiiiiiiiiip

What a weekend! My first aid course on Friday afternoon was awesome but I was so tired after dinner that I just came home, passed out, woke up at 11pm to floss my teeth, then went back to bed until 7:30 the next morning. This was great because I was rearing to go when I got up! We picked up Jenna and Willy (ate some deeeelicious breakfast) then continued on our way. I was quickly demoted from directions and just enjoyed the scenery instead.

Our first stop was in Jambaroo at the Minnamurra Rainforest. It was really beautiful and we hiked, climbed stuff, and made it up to the waterfalls at the top. We saw our first “Lyrebird” which is a bird that mimics all sorts of noises, not just other birds. Another interesting fact about the Lyrebird is that it’s featured on the Australian 10cent piece. Who knew?

After that we made our way through Kiama, where we saw a sweet blowhole. Many people come from far and wide to see the blowhole, but we were more interested in the surrounding cliffs and fantastic tidal pools where we poked and gawked at all the mini sea creatures for a couple of hours.

We decided to stay at a cool ranch in Kangaroo Valley that Colin had found online when he was researching. Jenna called them up to book a cabin and was met on the line by a rude Canadian woman who complained that she’d have to clean the place before we got there. To ease her troubles, Jenna assured her that we were still at least two hours away. We stopped off at Berry for some Italian food and then began the trek to Kangaroo Valley. I can’t really describe the drive to our accommodations in the dark, you really have to try it someday. We had to drive quite slowly because there were SO MANY wombats crossing the road, 359 degree turns on a dime, and rollercoaster hills, all while driving in the pitch black on a two way road only wide enough for 1 car. The only reason we even found the place is because Colin remembered that it was 11km off of the last turnoff, and that they also offered trail rides, so we just turned at the tiny sign that read “horse trail”. Good thing it was his driveway! When we pulled up at the house I was so excited to tell the owner that I was preeeeeeetty sure I had seen two kangaroos in his yard. I guess it’s like telling someone in Banff that you saw a deer. He smiled. The cabin was uber nice and we played games & drank wine for the evening.

In the morning we went for a walk and saw about 15 lazy kangaroos off in the distance lounging around in the sun. We stared at them for a long looooong time. But there were places to be seen still, so we packed up our bags and drove to Callala Bay where we played on the beach with our soccer ball and other people’s dogs. We didn’t really know where we would stay that night and ended up in Nowra at a motel.

Monday morning we had planned on going back to Callala Bay to do some whale watching, but we didn’t get up early enough and wanted to go somewhere new anyways. So we drove down towards Jervis Bay and came across a place called Booderee National Park where we found a family of 6 small kangaroos that were so used to seeing people that we got close enough to aaaaaalmost touch them.We didn’t try though. I think we spent 45 minutes staring at them and taking pictures. After that we found various BEAUTIFUL secluded beaches where we played in the sand, and Colin & Willy swam. It was freezing so Jenna and I just watched.

Alas, it was eventually time to come home, back to reality. The wagon passed our first road trip with flying colors and we’re excited to go on another adventure with it.

E.

A+ Espresso

Colin told me that as long as we’re living this close to work, I have to continue riding my bike. It’s only 5 ½ km there, so I totally agree, but I decided on Tuesday that the sky had strong potential to rain any second. Colin had to clean the car so he just dropped me off and picked me up at the end of the day. He got to meet my boss and even scored an invite to dinner this Friday night after our staff First Aid course so he can meet everyone. John is such a nice guy. On the drive home I tried dialoging with Colin but after long pauses he finally just said, “Sorry, I don’t think I’m at the talking and driving stage yet.” It’s surprisingly difficult driving on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road. Right now we just drive with our right hand on the wheel to prevent washing our windows every time we attempt turning. I don’t think I could drive here if I hadn’t spent 4 months riding my bike everywhere and getting used to the roads.

I generally don’t work on Wednesdays so Colin and I scheduled our coffee class for today. They had to move the class from 9:45 to 8:45 due to fire drills in the afternoon, so we had to get up super early and train it downtown. We had such an educational day though! Our teacher was from New Zealand and after today, I can finally hear the difference between an Australian and NZ accent. We got to use really nice machines and our teacher told us that 65% of the cafés that try and open up here fail, so you can catch some great deals at auctions. Isn’t that sad? (And thrifty at the same time) Obviously we won’t be buying one here but someday, in Canada, I’m going to have to find myself a coffee house auction! At the end of the day we received certificates and I don’t want to brag buuuuuuuuuuut I won a mug for the best latte art! The teacher was fond of my fern technique. I was sort of disappointed because she didn’t give it to me in front of everyone but Colin told me he was proud. I’m just sad they didn’t have the opportunity to clap for my achievement.

This weekend we’re going on a ROAD TRIP! One of the dentists at work mapped a possible route out for us and one of the places is a beach where kangaroos go in the water. Please God let me see some!

I will have you one day:

My winning ferns

Colin made these two beauties:

You're all invited to Australia for a coffee. I can make you a: short black, long black, flat white, macchiato, latte, cappuccino, mocha, and probably others because they aren't that different. I promise it'll taste good and the milk will be perfect because I'm certified! I can even tell you some interesting coffee facts.

E.

Settled

It’s settled, or should I say we’re settled. The last week has been, what’s becoming another great week in Australia. I went exploring Guildford a bit the other night and found a park so I jumped on my bike threw a soccer ball in my bag and played one on none for about an hour. I did a lot of running because there were no nets in the nets. At the end I decided to put the peddle to the metal and do some sprints. 20 minutes later while lying on the cold tiles between the toilet and the shower as white as Robert Pattinson (just as sick) I had time to contemplate the tactics and values behind training.

I get lost sometimes in the stories or daydreams whirling in my head and sometimes go a little overboard-on things. Watching the world cup had me dreaming of playing soccer and while I fumbled around with a ball on the field deking out imaginary players and scoring on no one I couldn’t help but enjoy myself and smile. I wasn't smiling while on the floor though as my dreams of becoming a professional merged with the floor on my clammy face.

I regret to say that I’ve also been enjoying some Tour de France and with my first ever road bike, I like to get on, whiz around, peddling until my legs burn like fire wondering how fast I can actually go dreaming of racing up a mountain. Then realizing I was maybe going 40 km an hour for the last 5 minutes and my legs can’t push as hard anymore I snap back to reality and have to relax or I'll be back on the tile. It’s actually mind blowing to think that those guys average 40 Km an hour, ride over 150 km a day and do it for 3 weeks!

Today has been another day of dreaming but it didn’t have anything to do with soccer and only a little to do with riding. I washed a car. Mostly I scrubbed the inside until it was lustrous, vacuumed and soaped up the seats, floor and I even went as far as spraying down the head board in attempt of making it smell fresh and clean. We bought a car! It’s a 1999 Toyota Camry Wagon, and it’s titillating. While I washed and scrubbed I was dreaming up adventures like driving up the coast with a surfboard in the back. Taking our bikes to a national park. Going on a road trip and camping. Hosting friends and family, showing them around a place we might actually know.

I’m excited for the stories that will come with the new vehicle. I’m also feeling quite settled though for a few moments yesterday that settling felt a lot like silt in the pit of my stomach as home seems a long way away. I’m over it now and can’t wait to see Australia!

C.

An eventful weekend

Yesterday I only had to work until 2:30 and the weekend was MINE! I came home, went to St.Peter's to pick up something cool for our coffee machine, then spent an hour walking to Newtown because we're too cheap to pay for the bus. (And by WE I mean Colin). We went to a sweet Thai restaurant and ate the best food I've eaten here so far. One of the dishes we ordered was a prawn salad that came with those clear vinegary noodles, had a bunch of veges in it, and was covered in a chili lime dressing. YUM! When I close my eyes I can still taste it. Then we walked to Broadway mall to watch Toy Story 3D. We went to the 6:50 show and it had a bunch of kids there which was really fun, minus the wiener kicking my seat. Afterwards we came home and watched the Netherlands beat Brazil 2-1. It was a jam packed night of goodness.

This morning after a breakfast of croissants, scrambled eggs, bacon, strawberries, pineapple, and cappuccinos, I decided to do some laundry. This normally isn't a difficult task but our laundry machine drains water via a hose into a sink and I failed to notice the cloth in the sink plugging the drain. When I walked to the kitchen 30 minutes later, I was extremely surprised to discover a small lake outside the laundry room. We spent about half an hour mopping up the mess and shammying the carpet. On the bright side, our laundry room has never looked cleaner! Our house is freezing so we have a heater on the carpet and I turned the oven on for a bit to warm the place up.

10 minutes after we finished cleaning, Colin came to find me in our room to seek out some advice. "What would you do if you found a lizard in the living room? Kill it or catch it?" The idea of squishing a lizard creeps me out and seems difficult and mean. After living with a fat gecko in creepy dorms our first week in Australia, I think they make Colin edgy. I offered to catch it for him because he always kills spiders for me. He assured me that he'd be fine.

All week I've been looking forward to Germany vs. Argentina playing tonight. Originally I was cheering for Argentina because they're incredibly skilled, but Germany handed it to England SO GOOD that I have a newfound respect for them. Now I don't really care who wins because they're both great teams.

Here is Colin releasing our friend back into the wild:

I hope everyone is enjoying the world cup. Australia only shows the games live at 12am and 4:30am but it's worth it!

E.

Soulful

I love my nephews! I was finally able to Skype with them today because it’s a new month and we get another 6 GB of Internet use (Happy Canada Day!). I’d like to say that those two have soul. The joy they have is cherished by anyone looking into it because we all want that kind of freedom. Laughter is so pure and has no limits or strongholds on it at that age. They just laugh and laugh, play and laugh enthralled by the attention and love sent their way. Those two put me in a great mood. I should talk to them every morning.

The other night I was sitting on our big leather couch, compliments of renting a fully furnished place, freezing my toes off trying to enjoy a T.V. series we rented called Glee. I looked over at Evelyn who was sitting, or should I say cocooned on the other side of the couch in her large fleece blanket with extra coverage on her face from the two oversized Kleenex splayed out from her nose and realized I’m cold. It’s winter and we have no internal heating. We only have one blanket. My socks are made for running, not warming. I brought two hoodies and no jacket. My wife’s slippers might fit if I force my feet in them. Apparently this is the coldest winter Sydney’s had in 50 years. I’ve also come to terms with the Australian’s ability to make claims. They like to claim: the largest cemetery, the kangaroo, the best sports supporters, the most deadly __________ , you get the picture. I don’t know if it’s the coldest winter they’ve had in 50 years but it sits well with my soul having something to blame for being such a cold complainer.

It’s time to relax for me. I’ve been given about 4 weeks off of school and now have some time to do some of the other things I love. I’ve been playing guitar, writing, swimming, riding, sleeping, cooking, and today I’m going to put my hand to the task of baking. Jenna Jensen suggested it because it’ll help warm the house up, in preparation for the sun set at 5pm. I generally let Eve do the baking but she’s getting too good at it. It’s time to make something that maybe we won’t want to finish in one day!

C.