6 Months In: Missing Home

I miss our dryer.

Our dryer back in St. Paul has one temperature – hot. We were never really crazy about it, but oh, what we wouldn’t give to have it with us now.

We are in the land without dryers. One never really considers the inconvenience of this until one has to live without a dryer. (My memories from living in Italy are coming back to me here). Most things are fine drying on a rack, but certain items such as sheets and towels are really good when fluffy. We say that our towels now serve two purposes; drying our bodies and exfoliating us at the same time.

Our apartment comes with a “drying room”. It’s a room down the hallway that is lined with heat pipes and a row of clothes lines. Eric currently has a rather large burn on his leg from the heat pipes that line the walls. It is a dangerous room indeed. We aren’t allowed to hang things outside, so the drying room is mandatory and we get one designated day per week to put our things in the ‘drying room.’ Our day is Monday.

Speaking of missing things from home, I will say that the first three weeks of February were particularly challenging. Loneliness set in and wouldn’t lift itself from our moods and hearts. It may have been compounded by several factors; my mom left at the end of January, I was ill for the first couple weeks of Feb, I had an on call stretch from work that lasted 12 days and included 4 product recalls, the weather was hot and we are so tired of summer, and we had bad news from home. Still feeling deep sadness about the death of Mr. O’Brien just before the Christmas holidays, we now also had news about the murder of one of my co-workers from Guidant and the tragic death of Annie LaFave. It’s awful to hear this news when one is at home; it’s particularly distancing to get the news via email. February winter blues don’t just affect those braving the cold. Apparently, if you are from Minnesota, it travels with you.

Things finally started to get a bit brighter last week and the malaise began to peel itself away. To get ourselves over missing home, we decided to have an “American Day.” We went to the US Consulate office in the morning. However, there were no American’s there – just Australian security guards. Next, we went to the USA food store where we bought brownies, Cap’n Crunch cereal, blue cheese dressing, butterscotch pudding, chicken wing sauce, Heinz 57 sauce, and lucky charms. We really wanted Hellman’s mayonnaise, but it’s in quarantine and it looks like the shipment will be returned to the US. Apparently, they are concerned about the egg content????.... The USA food store is a little place about the size of a 7-eleven and very overpriced (14$ for the Cap’t Crunch), but it is SO WORTH IT. I’m not sure you can sum up the enjoyment we had in eating instant butterscotch pudding from JELLO. You just can’t put a price tag on that sort of pleasure. We also began renting the “West Wing” series and are now almost finished with the third season. We particularly enjoy watching Hal’s sister as the character C.J. Cregg, mainly because she looks like her brother and we feel a connection to Hal when watching her.
We have actually gotten off the couch and out into the world this weekend, including hosting a dinner party this past Friday and going out to breakfast with two other couples this morning (Sunday). We even managed to laugh and smile a bit. Yea!

We made the error of attending a “newcomer’s network” in the height of the bluesy-time and it was a disaster. The newcomer’s network is designed for people who are looking to meet others and are relatively new to Melbourne. People can be from anywhere. We call it speed dating for friends. The only people who talked to us were those practicing their English, and one guy named Carlos who would be later known as the close-talking-bad-breath Venezuelan man. I did walk up to a group that looked interesting and most dispersed when I arrived, leaving me with two people who really weren’t very enthused about conversing.

We are sticking with the people we have met. We’ll just grow the circle from here. Forget the speed dating thing. Our friends thus far include one Australian, one Brit, two Germans, and five American’s. We should be able to come up with a good band name for that.

Well, that’s all for now. I promise to write more often from here on out….as Amy Brenengen so lovingly wrote in her last comment, “For God’s sake, how long do we have to wait for the next blog…”

Guest Log Book #1

Written by Beth's Mom, Catherine - Our first visitor!


Dec 31st 2007

On the Way to Melbourne 10:15 CST about 1 hour before landing in LAX and E and E have warned me about the confusion the remodeling of the terminal in LA caused them. The pain in my left heel has intensified so I decided I'd ask for handicap help to the Int'l Terminal.The handicap van was a laugh. They left me off at the Sydney Qantas Terminal. Obviously they didn't want to circle again and just told me to check at a ticket counter. I dragged my carry-on to the next terminal and finally found Qantas/Melbourne tucked away in a corner.- Aboard the neatest plane with TV, three seats all to myself, endless snacks and meals.It's quite a long flight. I awoke from a long nap and saw on the screen that we had not even crossed the Int'l Date Line yet. The thought came to my half-awake mind that it might be best that the pilot do a u-turn or I'll need to sit here for hours again to get back to MSP.-

January 2nd MELBOURNE

Beth and Eric, all smiles, were waiting for me outside the secured area. We hugged and kissed and hugged some more and then walked through the sunshine to their Honda. I jumped in the back seat. There was no way that I would sit where the American driver would be at the steering wheel. We headed into Melbourne and Beth kept turning around looking at me and talking and not attending to driving. I finally said, "Shouldn't you be paying more attention to your driving?" She calmly replied, "Mom, I'm not driving."I realized that we were driving on the "wrong" side of the road but forgot about the position of the steering wheel in the car.

I calmed down and we arrived in their green, tree and flower filled urbanization where their all-white furnished with plump comfy beds (and other furniture and housewares, of course) apt is. Some things are quite interesting in their apt. such as differences of having drying rooms in place of dryers and the bathroom divided into two rooms, 220V that allows you to heat water in an electric teakettle in no time flat, shutters on the windows, and balmy breezes that must have something to do with the proximity of the ocean.-E an E worked schedules that were modified due to the Australian Christmas, New Year, and school long vacations prior to the start of the new school year.

It's a great time for me to be here as Eric is off for the week and Beth's schedule is reduced. Unfortunately, my heel is painful and holds me back. I've visited a MD who was most discouraging; he stated that he was acquainted with another MD who had this plantar's fasciitis for 9 months with no relief. Later in my visit Beth took me to a podiatrist who taped my foot and that helped. After several more weeks Beth took me to another Podiatrist who padded some shoe inserts and then I could finally make some tracks.

We've shared some great, great day trips and 2 super 3 day weekend trips. The 1st week in Melbourne we had an old fashioned picnic on the grounds next to the Botanical Gardens. I'm fascinated by the abundance and variety of trees, bushes and flowers here. The green areas around the Yarra River which runs through the city and the many other parks and tree line streets are most pleasing.

The Australian Open is also being played here at this time. The three of us attended 2 matches one evening or I should say on and on into the night. It was great, though, I hadn't seen a tennis match since Bobby challenged Billie Jean and that was on TV. I had no idea a tennis match could be such an enjoyable spectator sport.

Our first trip out of the city was a about 90 minute out day trip to Phillips Island to see the fairy penguins. This was a total thrill. The island is in a bay area on the southeastern coast of Australia. The three of us and about 2,000 other folks sat on concrete risers on the beach and waited for the sun to go down. The rangers turned on lights on posts high in the air and we could witness the little shavers black bodies riding in on the waves and then receding back a bit. Finally the first brave one put his feet down and waddled to shore through the shore birds. They came in with about 10 or 15 in a group. The penguins waddle up the shore to their burrows in the sand dunes. They have fished all day and then when they reach their burrows they regurgitate these fish in order to feed their young. It all seems to be about raising the family. Viewing the vast number of them in their emergence from the ocean was amazing.

We spent another day at a wildlife sanctuary where we got close up to what Australia is well know for, kangaroos. There were many other creatures of the wild namely, wallabies,dingos, emus, duck-billed platypuses, koalas, blue wrens, Tasmanian devils, cockatoos, snakes and lizards. We drove through such scenic areas to get to the sanctuary. There were rolling hills with cattle and sheep grazing, winery areas, and mountains in the distance.

On Beth's birthday Eric had made plans for a gala dinner experience. We took a dinner ride on a restored old time city tram. While we followed regular city tram routes we were wined and dined and sung to by great waiters. We had a meal, food, and wine to die for. What a treat that was. Sure glad she is a January baby as it paid off this trip.

Our first 3 day trip was to The Great Ocean Drive plus the Australian Temperate Rain Forest. I have never seen an ocean such as this. The Aussies call it the Southern Ocean but I believe the map said the Indian Ocean. I'll have to check that out. The 12 Apostles, the sandstone cliffs that are out in the ocean and the wild waves are breathtaking. The drive is south and west of Melbourne and is about 6 or 7 hours. On the way to The Ocean Drive you go through the rain forest. We deviated a bit from the highway onto gravel so that E and E could climb around to a scenic waterfall. We stood around inhaling the fresh and fragrant rain forest air. I'm not sure what all contributed to the odor, perhaps the fern trees (yes, trees), eucalyptus trees, wild flowers, and such. The last time I smelled anything that delightful was upon landing in the tropical rain forest in Canaima, Venezuela.

Beth had a sales meeting in Sydney so that was a great chance for the 3 of us to go to that city. Beth went on Qantas early on Sat the 19th with co-workers and Eric and I flew up on Virgin Blue later in the morning. We three shared Beth's posh room at the Shangri-La. Eric and I checked and went up to the 25th floor to our room. The fellow at the desk was so kind to assign us that room. Eric pulled open the drapes and there in the big windows was framed the Opera House and the harbor. I'm not sure what I said but in spite of the overwhelming view I hope it was something proper. Eric and I each took a windowsill and stared to our hearts content. Beth was occupied all day and in the evening at a dinner at the Opera House so Eric and I walked steps, steps, steps and through quaint alleys to the wharf. (This was several days following my 2nd podiatrist visit). We took in the sights and ate. Beth came in late and cuddled in with Eric. I had a huge and so comfortable bed by myself. I'm beginning to believe that the beds in Australia are all soft and comfy.On Sunday afternoon we took a ferry to the Manly Beach. Much of it was closed off due to rip tides but a portion was open for me to sit in the sand while the others jumped and were tossed in the ocean.We had most of Monday to explore the city walk around the Opera House and to tour the worlds largest aquarium. I'm not a swimmer so I'll certainly never see such water life again. The nearest I can hope for is the IMAX Great Barrier Reef. I've had such happy times just being here with Eric and Beth. They enjoy their times together, they are good to me, and so pleasant to each other. We play including their modified version of rummy which they are probably going to call Australian Rummy. I also barely got started learning a Tjossem family game named Smear. Sounds like New Ulm or Lewisville to me. I've managed the train on my own a few times, learned how to make roasted capiscum, and walk on the left side of the sidewalk. Now in a few more days I will board the luxury plane to LAX. Perhaps, I'll wake up from a long nap near the International Date Line and wish the pilot would make a U-turn from that long flight and the LA airport and return to Melbourne.

Jumping

Here is something you don't do everyday!

Something New

Happy New Year

Season’s greetings everyone and a happy new year. Time zones being as they are, we were able to welcome the coming of 2008 before the rest of you and have had a head start into 2008. It looked like Sydney and Melbourne had pretty big celebrations, unfortunately I was feeling unwell and so spent most of the time at home in bed. New Year’s is a big holiday here because it is the full swing of summer, everybody is outside enjoying the warm weather. Speaking of warm, New Years Eve was the hottest day of 2007. It was a balmy 42C which translates to a hot 106F, YIKES. That’s a huge difference from people who are used to ringing in the New Year in Frost Bite Falls…oops in mean International Falls Minnesota.

Christmas season was a wonderful time this year. We missed friends and family but were happy to be away from the crazy-present-buying-malls. New Zealand has always been a place that we have wanted to visit and since we were so close, we decided that Christmas was the time to go there. I cannot speak about the north island, but the south island of this country is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I can see why Peter Jackson filmed LOTR (Lord of the Rings) and King Kong here. The LOTR tours are quite popular, but they looked kind of cheesy and so to the disappointment of some of you we chose not to go to Hobbiton.

Beth and I attended a Christmas Day church service and I have always thought that one of the best parts about Christmas service is the music. New Zealand has a lot of the same carols that we enjoy in the states but they have others as well. Maori (New Zealand natives) culture seems to be integrated well here. The service bulletin was printed in English and Maori and quite a bit of the service was spoken in Maori as well. We enjoyed the beautiful church and music but an embarrassing incident involving Beth, a communion wafer, a gust of wind, and the church floor caused us to hasten our departure through the nearest exit available. We have now learned the proper etiquette of fallen communion wafers. Who knew you couldn’t just hand them back?

After our excitement in Christ’s church in Christchurch, we drove the 7 hours to Queenstown. Figuring that nothing was going to be open anyway spending the time in the car seemed like the right thing to do. During this time a lesson was learned not to rent the cheapest car that you can find, if you wanted to know it is a 1992 white Toyota corolla. It was, dirty, messy, probably unsafe, and the radio didn’t work. It is a good thing that we had our ipods. Listening to the same podcast, or music is more fun than tuning the other person out, so we drove down the road each of us with one earphone in, of course being careful not to move too much so you don’t damage the inner ear of the person next to you by violently popping the earphone out.

Queenstown is a hip, cool ski town. Probably like Aspen about thirty years ago. It was mostly quiet with the exception of a few tourists walking the streets looking for someplace to have Christmas dinner. After exploring for several blocks and rejecting the cliché of Chinese food, we found a nice little Indian restaurant that looked like it had some good curry. Nothing says Christmas like Tandoori chicken. Maybe a new tradition?

Since we had booked an overnight cruise on Milford Sound, and still had several hours to drive, we wanted to get an early start. Remember that crappy car that I was talking about? It had a flat. I went to change the tire, and the spare was the small, limited speed, temporary tire…sigh. That’s fine because I still have time to go to the rental place and get a new one. As Beth found out the car rental was less than helpful and all of the cars in the whole country were being used that day. There was not a single car from any agency available. I am starting to get uptight about time because we are still not sure how long it is going to take us to get to Milford Sound, and by my calculations (granted very conservative) we should have left about 45 minutes ago. After some cajoling and creative speaking, one of the rental places changed our tyre (tire).

We will write a little more specifically in the next few blogs, just because Queenstown, and Milford Sound deserve their own space.

Sydney

Has it been a month since we have last written? I think I almost feel guilty about that. Maybe the secret is to keep the entries shorter but more frequent. If that doesn’t work maybe I will need to make a New Years’ resolution. I am sure that would last about as long as the time difference from Minnesota to here.

The latest and greatest thing that we have done was spend a weekend in Sydney. We had an exceptional time. What made it most fun was that we stayed right in the heart of the city, at an area called the Rocks. This is the spot where the city was first founded and has been transformed several times over the years. What this means is there are small streets and alley ways wherever you turn. It makes for fun walking and sightseeing. The opera house is within walking distance and there are markets, stores, and restaurants around every corner. The opera house is amazing and something everyone should see in person. The Sydney Harbor is stunning and the city is an exciting place to be.

Perhaps the most “touristy” thing that we did was the climb the Harbor Bridge. I was very excited about telling everyone what we did as I thought it to be so unique and different. As it turns out Matt Lauer has already done it and featured it on “Where in the world is Matt Lauer”. We were not to be outdone by a Today Show celebrity. I’m including the web site link to take a look at some pictures of the climb (we aren’t in these photos…they are just photos of the bridge,etc). http://www.bridgeclimb.com/

They tend to take their safety pretty seriously. They made us dress in special suits and we were not allowed to bring anything with us…no camera, of course that is because they want to sell the pictures that they take. We each had a harness that permanently attached to a cable on the bridge and we pulled ourselves along on the cable until we reached the bottom once again. Every now and again one of the ropes would get stuck on the cable and we’d all get stopped. It was funny when it happened to someone else. They really tend to play up the whole safety aspect but then it does tend to heighten the whole experience. Our climb was a night climb and it was calm, cool, and dry. I imagine in the wind and rain, it could get rather dangerous and the cable would seem like something more than an unnecessary umbilical cord.

The next day we set out to enjoy some of the famous beaches of Sydney. We had heard of a few different places that we should go but I decided on Manly beach…yes, simply because of the name. To get to this place we had to take a ferry which was just as good as a harbor tour. When we got there we struck out to find our place in the sun. We hiked through the town and found a cute little family beach, where we swam and had a good time. We were a little disappointed though because we expected a lot more out of a beach. Before we left we decided to walk to a different part of the town, where we actually found the beach that everyone was talking about. I have been to a few nice beaches before but I was completely over whelmed by this. We picked a day that happened to be some sort of festival and it was filled with people, surfers, sunbathers, swimmers, and volleyball players. Since the surf was up and we didn’t have boards we decided to swim. We had the best time, playing in the water, and just hanging by the beach. We stood on a sandbar that jutted out into the ocean and to the left and right of us were surfers galore. The waves were just as high where we were standing and they absolutely pounded us. When our intake of salt water became too great, we made the long swim to the beach.
I got to experience the best part of Sydney, but then left the next day. Poor Beth had to stay the rest of the week, for work. She didn’t get to stay in the fun part of Sydney (she had a nice view of the airport though) and got to experience the traffic and crowds. At least we got to spend the fun part together.

The Simple Life

Saturday was Derby Day in Melbourne and Tuesday was a city holiday due to “the race that stops a nation”…The Melbourne Cup. Women and men dress in their finest duds and proceed in droves to Flemington track where they dine on fine food, drink champagne, bet like crazy, and proceed to get smashingly drunk beyond comprehension.

From our perspective, it’s the first four day weekend that we have had and we decide to forget the races and head out of town and see the sites. Besides, we were invited to a friend’s beach house from Sunday through Tuesday. The beach house is in Walkerville which is near a gorgeous national park called Wilson’s promontory. It’s a jetty of land that was once a land bridge to Tasmania. It is green, lush, hilly, windy, and surrounded by the beautiful turquoise ocean.

The government wants to place a number of wind turbines in this area and the people are divided on whether they will allow this. There are many signs and bumper stickers that protest or promote wind energy on the Gippsland coast. It’s the evolution of paradise I guess.

Eric and I decide to leave on Saturday and stay somewhere along the coast that night in order to maximize the weekend. Of course it takes us way too long to get moving on Saturday and then we decide we should avoid any trouble by booking a room before we leave. There aren’t exactly a bunch of Motel 6’s in Australia and rooms can go fairly quickly. It becomes one of those fruitless searches that makes a person decide that they hate the internet. How can there be all of this information and none of it proves in any way useful?

Maybe we shouldn’t go? What if there is no room? Arghh. There is always a room, right? We are packed; we are ready…let’s just leave and see how it goes. Three hours and only 6 incorrect detours later, we arrive at a hotel somewhere within about an hour’s drive of our final destination. Mind you, the trip to Walkerville should have only taken 2.5 hours to begin with. We go into the hotel entrance and end up in the restaurant. We search every door and after finding the kitchen, break room and restrooms, we have to ask someone the location of the lobby. She gives us a blank stare in return. Apparently, hotel’s in small towns are not hotels…they are pubs…and we have just asked if we could sleep in the pub.
We hide our embarrassment and sneak out the back entrance.

We continue on from town to town and find every small motel and b and b to be full. Didn’t we know…this is the annual motorbike festival and rooms have been booked for ages? I’m reminded of just about every road trip I have ever taken with Laura O’Brien where we suffer this exact same fate. We have tried to visit small towns during the annual water ski weekend, tulip festival, art festival, ski racing weekend, and homecoming for the local college, etc. etc.

The shadows are getting long and now we are driving on small country roads that warn of wombat and kangaroo crossings. There is a third animal represented on the signs but we just can’t make out what it is….? Kangaroos are most active at dusk so I’m officially on roo watch as Eric is driving. We pass through the towns of Leongatha, Koonwarra, Korumbura, Lang Lang and Meeniyan and finally pull into one of the motels with a brightly glowing “no vacancy” sign and ask for mercy. Eric sends me in to do the doughy-eyed-pathetic-American-needs-help-in-your-country-thing. The man gives me a list of motels with phone numbers and even calls around a bit for us. At long last we ring a motel that has a cancellation and the room is ours. We stay for the night in a little town called “Foster” which makes us giggle because it seems so Australian and because they have Foster’s beer signs everywhere yet none of the drink is available. The room is something out of a Hitchcock movie but we are glad to have it. We head to the local pub and have a good meal and a couple beers (again, not Foster’s). We shoot a few games of pool and hang out with the locals. At about 10 pm we join in with the mass dart game put on by the bar’s owner and the area high school kids. The owner of the pub explains to us he encourages the kids to come every Friday and Saturday night to host a game and, he says, “It keeps them away from all the booze out there.” It sounds quaint and benevolent until you think about it and the irony hits you that all these kids are now hanging out in the town bar, and most of them are drinking.

We retire at a decent hour because we have plans to rise early and get in a good long hike in the National Park before the others arrive. However, that night the rain starts in and it rains as if to cure Australia’s draught once and for all. It rains through the night and by the next morning someone must have turned the nozzle on high because we have to dash the 5 feet to our car just so we don’t get completely drenched. We spend most of the morning sitting in a delightful café drinking delicious latte’s, reading the paper, and eating the worst eggs benedict on the planet (Caesar salad dressing is NOT a substitute for hollandaise sauce, people!).

November 4 marks one year since the death of our beloved golden retriever Tofte and remembering her by waiting out the rain in a small town bakery and coffee shop (which also contains a strangely placed stage since it doubles for the town theater) isn’t all bad. We explore a bit of the town of Foster as well as the nearby town of Fish Creek before the call comes in that our friends have arrived and we are to meet them at the beach house.

The beach house is fashioned in 60’s style as if to say, “Austin Powers was just here.” Its tangerine orange, kelly green, and mustard yellow interior is cozy and warm with a big deck overlooking the sea and the promontory. Our friend Amanda (she’s from the US, but her Aunt is Aussie and this is her Aunt’s place) was standing on the deck and hand feeding wild bright red parrots. The beach house was one level, had sleeping arrangements for 8, and enough chairs to seat everyone comfortably around the wood burning stove. Basically, it was exactly what a cabin should be. There were five of us, but one
(Andrew) was from the area and would be staying with his parents on their farm just up the road.

The next day is cool and sunny and the crew spent the day hiking to the top of a mountain overlooking the park and the sea.
I know it was beautiful there because I saw the pictures of it.

I, unfortunately, spent the day driving back to Melbourne to help with a surgery and then back to Walkerville in the evening. Do I need to say more about this?
Probably not.

At some point when it is hot and sunny in the summer, we will rent camping gear and hike deep into the park and camp on the beach at a place called “Refuge Bay.” It is actually still quite cool at this time of year and most of the campers that we did see appeared wet and miserable…about as miserable as those lousy eggs benedict.

One of the weekend’s highlights was visiting Andrew’s family farm. This is the type of farm from a children’s storybook. If you could romanticize a farm and then create it in reality, this would be it. Now, Mom and Dad, you know I love you both…but if I could have grown up on this farm, I would be in heaven. And Bob and Gretchen, I must inform you that your son feels the same way.
For the sake of the family farm, Eric and I are hoping for adoption by the Landy family.

Imagine 2000 acres of lush green rolling hills that slope gradually down to a light blue sea. About 1 mile of sea is visible and beyond that Wilson’s Promontory rises up out of the ocean and touches the clouds. I took 20 pictures and none of them even come close to doing it justice.

We visited the farm on a sheep shearing day. Actually it was only a partial shearing for which the details are probably best left out of polite conversation. But, we did get to watch the dogs herd the flock and we watched the farm hands at work. The land was rather wet from the recent rain and our shoes were covered in all kinds of unmentionables. One of the girls in our group began laughing when she got stuck in the mud and said that she felt like Paris Hilton in the show “The simple life”.

Andrew’s parents took us in, fed us dinner, and gave us a proper tour. They are terrific company and very interesting people. We fed carrots to the horses and Andrew’s mom packed us a picnic basket of tea and cake which the five of us took down through the fields to an amazing expanse of beach. The beach was so beautiful that it was the spot his sister had chosen as her wedding site 5 years ago.

Never before have I seen a farm with a beachfront and ocean view.
It really was a place created from the imagination of a children’s book.

It’s nice to know that land so beautiful is only a short drive from here. We returned to Melbourne this evening and with horse races over, it’s back to work tomorrow. Sigh.

Around the Bay in a Day

When I wake up in the mornings I turn my computer on. My homepage is the Startribune website. Lately I have been noticing that the temperatures are in decline, it almost seems unfair that I get to report that we down here are warming up.

Last Sunday was a popular Melbourne bike ride titled “Around the Bay in a Day”. It is an annual event that, as you probably can guess, rides along Port Phillip Bay. Beth and I had already planned a ride with a friend of ours and as the details were being finalized our friend (Amanda), suggested that we partake in the riding festivals. Besides, the web site promised a nice ride with friends, a park where we could relax and listen to a band at the half way point, and free stuff like water bottles and t-shirts.
Our options for the bike ride were 50k, 100k, 210k or a measly 250k. Since none of us felt like we were in great shape, we decided on the shortest of them. I am glad we did. That day turned out to be the hottest October day on record. Temps were in the mid 90’s.

Melbourne seems to have a lot of organized activities. The events have been one after another since we arrived here. The Fringe festival, the International Arts Festival, the Melbourne marathon, and now this bike ride have all taken place in the last seven weeks. These are only the few that I know about. I am sure that we are missing some. The difference between these activities and other activities that I have participated in is the organization and participation. As you may have read in the last blog entry I think that Beth and I were the only people out cheering for the runners in the marathon. Since we didn’t want to be the only people on the sidelines for the cycling event, we decided to participate. We found out on the website that we could sign up between 4:30-8:00 AM. Naturally we signed up at 8:00 because the ride didn’t start until 8:30, who wants to get up at 4:30? The riding officials must have decided to start early because as we were signing up thousands of bikes started whizzing by, which of course throws me into a panic because I don’t want to be left behind.
It has been my experience that when there is an event such as this, a route has been blocked off completely for the participants. It is not the case here. The beginning of the route is in the middle of the city and as we started we were in the midst of hundreds if not thousands of madly peddling people on bicycles. One would think that the roadway would be cleared. It was in parts, but for most of the time we were supposed to stay in the bike lane, which is a little too small to accommodate so many people. Not only that, we are also supposed to obey the regular traffic laws. So here we have a mob of people on bicycles peddling like the wind so they can make the next traffic light. Of course we didn’t always make it. So we would wait patiently for the light to turn green and get our feet cranking again to beat the next light. Of course we wouldn’t make it ……and so on, and so on…..I think it took us about an hour to go 5K. It was shaping up to be a very long day.
After we got through the heart of the city it wasn’t so bad. The biggest challenge was going to be the Westgate Bridge. Imagine the High Bridge in St. Paul but longer…a lot longer. Did I mention that it was starting to get warm out? The advantage that we had going over this particular bridge at this particular time was that we had the wind at our back. I did mention that it was starting to get hot right? We had a strong north wind that day. You may be thinking ahh a cool northerly breeze, remember everything is different here this air comes from the desert, not the tundra we know as Canada.
We had achieved the bridge obstacle and we were now about a quarter of the way through. The half way point was the promise of the band and food and refilling of water bottles.
We reached the park at Altona (the half way point) without much incident, only to discover that the food wasn’t free for the riders. The website said something about enjoying a muffin while listening to a band, drinking from your new water bottle and wearing a fancy new shirt. So far there was a band playing cover tunes, I brought my own water bottle, we didn’t get a shirt yet and now I have to pay for my food. I am glad I brought some money. Some of the advertising promises had come true, we did enjoy the company of friends. We have about 6 friends in Melbourne at this time and we actually ran into 3 of them. With the addition of our German friends Mirko, Rachel, and Eric we became a traveling bike convoy of 6.
After resting in the shade and replenishing the water stores, it was time to head back. Remember the desert winds that helped us across the bridge? Do I need to say anymore? We did get a chance to stop at the bridge apex and take a few photos, you can make out downtown Melbourne (known as the CBD) behind us. Back across the bridge into the city, waiting for the traffic lights, into the park where the rewards awaited.
Finishing a race is always exciting, the roar of the crowd as you come down the shoot, the inevitable photographer capturing your image, food, drink and all the goodies that come with the enormous entry fee. As we and the rest of the stragglers turned to bend to come into the shoot there was no crowd, just like when we were cheering for the marathon. The guy with the camera was there though, but he was changing the film so he missed us. Yes, I did say film. Everything will be alright because the feast awaits us. We dismounted our tired bicycles and made our way to the food tent. As promised a table full of nourishment was in front of us, we made our way into the line and were told that this line was for the people who rode the 100K ride. What we ended up with was a sub par mini-muffin.

We could at least look forward to the fancy new shirt, right?

When we quizzed one of the volunteers he told us that if we signed up the day of the ride we wouldn’t get a t-shirt.

After all the promises the advertisements made, the goodies we were left with was a day with friends…..and a water bottle.

Where is the Crowd?

Sunday was the Melbourne Marathon. It is a rather large event that is sponsored by Samsung, not unlike the Twin Cities/Medtronic marathon. Since neither of us was in any shape to run this year, we had to be content to stand on the sidelines and watch with the rest of the mob. The route took the runners down the road where we used to live, so we knew that mile marker 24 (don’t ask me to convert that to kilometers) would be a good place to watch. Since Beth’s boss was running the half marathon we wanted to time our arrival to the race where we could see him pass. Quickly we jumped in the car, drove down Toorak road near St. Kilda road where we were sure to spot him. Hoping we could get close enough for a good parking space, Beth sped down the road and we were in luck. As we were pulling up a spot opened not two blocks away from the runners. Off in the distance we could see people running, how fun to be a part of the crowd to cheer these people, who had worked so hard to get in shape, on. To our surprise there was no one there. Even the volunteers for the race seemed to be too busy talking to each other to cheer these people on. Being the experienced marathon/half marathon support people that we are, we started cheering. GO RUNNERS!!! clap clap clap YOU LOOK GOOD!!! clap clap clap YOU LOOK STRONG !!! clap clap clap. I think we actually frightened most of the people. We had a few of the runners smile and say thank you, but for the most part we just were on the receiving end of strange looks. Fortunately we did see Beth’s boss and he seemed appreciative of our loud, obnoxious cheering.

Now that we have a car it is much easier to do things like go out of town or go shopping. We have needed to make a Target run for some time now, so we took the opportunity. Yes they do have Target stores here, and as you all know the Target run is an essential part of living. We drove to what would be considered the Mall of America so we could get all of our shopping done in one place. After visiting a few stores it was time to go to Target. We picked up a few things and then started looking for the essentials:
Soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc etc.
None of these things are found at Target. After further inquiry, we found out from the Target employees that these things are found at Coles, a grocery store. You now may be asking yourself “what is Target good for”? We have asked that of ourselves and are still looking for an answer.

By the way, when we Skyped with Matt, Andy, and Alice, the other day we showed them the little sculpture that we brought with us and Alice exclaimed "oh look, it's Woodchip". So I guess we have a name.

One of the more fun activities that we can now do is go for a drive in the country. The Mornington peninsula is about an hours drive south of here, and the Yarra valley is about a 45 minute drive northeast. Both of these places are known for wine. We have now been to both places and would recommend the Pinot Noir. Not only do they have wineries but other fun places to visit as well. In Healesville we discovered a dam that was built around 1900 to act as a water catchment and reservoir for the city of Melbourne. We spent the better part of a day walking around and quite pleased with ourselves that we had found this place. What we didn’t know was that Healesville is known for the animal sanctuary. You can imagine the amount of teasing we get when people find out that we went to some dam instead of a blissful place full of roos and wallabies.

Just for a sense of scale, that is me standing next to the dam.

That's all for now.

We miss you.

Cheers.

ET

Learning to Walk

While shopping at the market today, “Land Down Under” by Men at Work played over the speakers. Tonight “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” is the movie special on Television. People were happily spreading vegemite on their toast this morning in the coffee shop. Today was warm and sunny, palm trees were blowing in the breeze, and tall tanned people were everywhere. Isn’t this what everyone imagines Australia to be? It was one of those days where we actually feel like we are witnessing a stereotype come to life. Perhaps this really is what it’s like in the summer time.

Nah. Can’t be. It’s too predictable.

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We are continuing to enjoy life in our spacious apartment and still trying to get the hang of things. We equate it to learning to walk.

For the month that we lived in the hotel, Eric would go grocery shopping about a mile away. The tram service was slow down that street and he ended up walking it all the time. The night before we moved out, we went around the corner from our building to what looked like a small 7-eleven store. It turned out that the store really opened up once you entered and it was an enormous grocery store. Poor Eric looked ill. He didn’t want to talk about it. This is precisely one of the ridiculous things that happen when you are new to a country. There are oodles of these things in our lives right now. We are just trying to figure it all out.

Driving is still not natural and we have both become back seat drivers. I think it may genuinely be more difficult for each of us to sit in the passenger seat without a steering wheel to hold on to. We still get a really big kick out of it when the other person turns on the windshield wiper instead of the blinker. We laugh a lot at what dorks we often feel like here.

The language barrier still poses somewhat of a problem – I think it just takes a while to get in tune to the accent. They are used to the American accent since it is all over the TV and therefore they understand us...but I can’t always understand them and I am embarrassed that I say “what” so often. It doesn’t help that some medical terms are not the same either. It’s exhausting to strain to listen. I collapse on the sofa after work because I am so tired from listening, driving in a new city, meeting new people, and trying to take it all in. Occasionally there will be a meeting at work where everyone is gabbing quickly back and forth and suddenly (out of nowhere it seems), they all burst into laughter. I think at those moments I probably have a grimace on my face as I fain understanding and laugh along with them. I’ve even noticed that my boss will talk one way to my coworkers and then slow down and speak very slowly to me. “e..l..i..zab..e..t..h,…I…want…to …talk..with..you.” ugh.

The Aussies also have all these funny slang expressions and they like to use dramatic verbiage such as “shocker, fantastic, and diabolical.” I have a meeting in Sydney next weekend and my coworkers asked me if I was going to get frocked up for the occasion. Apparently everyone gets frocked up at these things. My really fun colleague Jo told me her day was going well and then it all went suddenly pear shaped. The standard greeting is “Hey you going?” Other popular phrases include the expected, “good day mate”, and the unexpected proper English phrases “I reckon” and “a bit”. They also regularly use the term "fortnight" which makes us feel like we are in a Shakespeare play. I guess it’s just my pigeon to learn these regularly used terms and I don’t want to be labeled as tall poppy about it.

Frocked up = dressed up
Pear Shaped = day turned upside down
Hey you going = how are you
Your pigeon = your responsibility
Tall poppy = very important person (seen as rude)

Eric and I have established some favorite spots and are trying to scout out the fun things to do and the cool parts of Melbourne. The food here is terrific…almost diabolical (ha). Even the small shops where we wouldn’t expect much have really been impressive. Sometimes it feels like a mini New York City; great food, multicultural, horrid traffic with no parking, good public transportation, and much to see and do.

Work continues to be challenging, interesting, and frustrating. How can I love and hate my job on the same day? Just like in the US, we work some long unpredictable hours. They don’t seem to call as much after hours for the unexpected things…but they do have pacemaker and defibrillator implants at all hours of the day and night. Scheduled midnight and 1AM pacemaker cases were something I didn’t have to deal with in Minnesota.

My first case at one of my hospitals out on the western side of the city afforded me the opportunity to meet the entire cardiology department at the hospital. Things went terribly wrong and they called a code and within a minute about 30 physicians and RN’s came pouring into our tiny catheter lab. In the end, all turned out OK, but it was a reminder of how scary and on the spot this job can be. That’s an introduction I won’t soon forget.

(Perhaps this photo that I took last weekend should have foretold my week ahead...)

Well...that’s all for now. I’ve got to watch the end of some bad TV movie that was too rotten to ever show in the US. We get a lot of that here. I guess I could flip channels to 'Australian Idol' instead...hmmm.

Keep checking in on us, and keep the blog comments coming. We love to read them. MOST IMPORTANTLY…PLEASE DON’T FORGET ABOUT US OVER HERE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.