As yesterday was my last day in Australia, naturally I’m reflecting on everything I’ve experienced while living here over the last (almost) two years. Of course, it wasn’t all good and it wasn’t all bad, but there were lots of surprises! Overall, I’m glad I came and experienced another culture, albeit not so different from my own at the core. So today I say goodbye (for now):
Goodbye to saying G’day
Goodbye to everyday use of the word ‘reckon’, both in casual and formal settings
Goodbye to driving on the other side of the road
Goodbye to trying to explain where the Midwest is and why I sound like I’m from Canada
Goodbye to inconvenient business hours
Goodbye to the weekly “late night shopping” night
Goodbye to ending everything in ‘y’ or ‘ie’ (Aussie, tradie, Brissy, sunnies, boardies, footy)
Goodbye to rugby on TV
Goodbye to horrible internet access
Goodbye to paying bills at the post office (so convenient!)
Goodbye to not having to show ID at the airport
Goodbye to not being asked for ID at the pub (guess I don’t look 18 anymore!)
Goodbye to a country with the majority in the upper middle class, at least those who want to be
Goodbye to high minimum wages
Goodbye to a very high cost of living
Goodbye to a universal safety net health care system
Goodbye to cheap health insurance, for those of us who aren’t permanent residents
Goodbye to laws that allow women the choice to care for their children in their first year of life
Goodbye to being invisible to the opposite sex
Goodbye to rarely (if ever) having to discuss religion
Goodbye to strangely inadequate plumbing
Goodbye to freezing at night in a tropical climate
Goodbye to beautiful gum trees
Goodbye to mean magpies
Goodbye to lovely animals like kangaroos and koalas
Goodbye to seeing wild lorakeets and cockatoos
Goodbye to ginormous bats and lizards
Goodbye to hearing the monkey noises of the kookaburra bird
Goodbye to plenty of local bakeries and butcheries, even in malls!
Goodbye to calling malls ‘fairs’
Goodbye to finding Indian food in every food court
Goodbye to seeing the British influence in almost everything
Goodbye to trying to remember to offer visitors tea and biscuits
Goodbye to meat pies, authentic fish and chips, and caramel slice
Goodbye to really good coffee
Goodbye to the exquisite abundance of lamb
Goodbye to that awful ubiquitous sweet chili sauce
Goodbye to swimming every day in the ocean, at least when we lived in the Gold Coast
Goodbye to BBQ’ing without food actually coming into contact with fire
Goodbye to hangis/lovos
Goodbye to good friends
Goodbye to the traditional owners of this country – I wish I would have learned more from You
Goodbye to this sunburnt country… someday we may meet again…
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
So the rumors are true, well depending on which rumor you heard… Theo and I are returning to the US! This is my last week at work and once we get Theo’s US visa, we’ll be on the next plane to the States… via Fiji! Turns out that most major airlines departing Australia to the US will only sell you a round trip ticket… no one-ways. Except… drum roll please… Air Pacific, which conveniently stops over in Fiji. So I’m pretty jazzed about that.
In the meantime it’s time for goodbyes. At my workplace, we have a weekly “morning tea” (what’s been called Bake Day) where we rotate bringing in (usually homemade) baked goods for everyone’s pleasure. When a special event takes place, like someone leaving, we have an even bigger Bake Day. Yesterday was a double special Bake Day, since it’s the last week in the office for myself and another person. I was given a super cute and sweet card, which everyone wrote farewells in:
And my supervisor even came in from paternity leave just to say some nice words about me. I was really touched. It will be sad to leave behind my colleagues, who have been really fun to work with and a workplace is this so flexible and laid back it actually has a Bake Day!
So when people hear that I’m leaving, of course the first thing everyone feels compelled to ask is ‘why’? It’s a hard question to answer actually, but it is a fair question. The answer varies depending on my mood since there are many factors that contributed to our decision… My first reaction is basically “why not?” but sometimes I’m more specific and talk about Theo’s coaching opportunities in the States, or if I’m feeling contemplative, I might ruminate on why I came here in the first place, as a bit of an experiment out of pure curiosity and now… well, now my curiosity has been satisfied.
Since we probably only have a couple weeks left here now, I keep thinking about the things I should enjoy, that I may not get to experience for a very long time… like the taste of meat pies and quality fish and chips… I’ll try to pack it all in and remember each flavor, and the sound of the Aussie accents or (my fave) the sound of the kookaburras… but I know it’s futile… memories always fade. But I’ll try anyway!
In the meantime it’s time for goodbyes. At my workplace, we have a weekly “morning tea” (what’s been called Bake Day) where we rotate bringing in (usually homemade) baked goods for everyone’s pleasure. When a special event takes place, like someone leaving, we have an even bigger Bake Day. Yesterday was a double special Bake Day, since it’s the last week in the office for myself and another person. I was given a super cute and sweet card, which everyone wrote farewells in:
And my supervisor even came in from paternity leave just to say some nice words about me. I was really touched. It will be sad to leave behind my colleagues, who have been really fun to work with and a workplace is this so flexible and laid back it actually has a Bake Day!
So when people hear that I’m leaving, of course the first thing everyone feels compelled to ask is ‘why’? It’s a hard question to answer actually, but it is a fair question. The answer varies depending on my mood since there are many factors that contributed to our decision… My first reaction is basically “why not?” but sometimes I’m more specific and talk about Theo’s coaching opportunities in the States, or if I’m feeling contemplative, I might ruminate on why I came here in the first place, as a bit of an experiment out of pure curiosity and now… well, now my curiosity has been satisfied.
Since we probably only have a couple weeks left here now, I keep thinking about the things I should enjoy, that I may not get to experience for a very long time… like the taste of meat pies and quality fish and chips… I’ll try to pack it all in and remember each flavor, and the sound of the Aussie accents or (my fave) the sound of the kookaburras… but I know it’s futile… memories always fade. But I’ll try anyway!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Dodging bullets...err natural disasters
Queensland "dodged a bullet" last week when a category 5 (the highest level) cyclone hit the northern part of the State. Theo and I only found out about it after he travelled up north to Mackay to set up for an art exhibition. (Before I accepted my transfer to Brisbane a few months ago, Theo had applied for a "concept development" arts grant to develop an awesome multi-media idea he's been working on. (See his website.) He's been developing this for months, and this week was to be his exhibition open to the public. He flew to Mackay on Monday to prepare for it, then I was supposed to fly in on Wednesday for the show that night.
By the time he arrived, though, pretty much everyone realized there was a cyclone heading for that part of the State. After speaking to the grant people, they decided to move up the date of the exhibition to Tuesday, since the cyclone was expected to arrive Wednesday night.
Then after further information developed and evacuations began to be announced, the exhibition was cancelled until further notice. Theo then had to scamper to cancel his hotel room and get a flight home before the airlines shut down. So within about 36 hours, he had been through a roller coaster of events, but we were both glad to have him home and safe at the end of it. It was kind of funny to see the evacuation maps, as we would have clearly been evacuated if we still lived there. Our rental house was located right below the words "North Mackay" in the map below.
The cyclone hit pretty much when and where it was predicted, although with much less damage than was expected. Fortunately no lives were lost and only a few small towns had major damage.
Forecasters expect a higher number of cyclones than normal this season. And more rainfall too... so possibly more flooding events. The "best" may be yet to come!
By the time he arrived, though, pretty much everyone realized there was a cyclone heading for that part of the State. After speaking to the grant people, they decided to move up the date of the exhibition to Tuesday, since the cyclone was expected to arrive Wednesday night.
Then after further information developed and evacuations began to be announced, the exhibition was cancelled until further notice. Theo then had to scamper to cancel his hotel room and get a flight home before the airlines shut down. So within about 36 hours, he had been through a roller coaster of events, but we were both glad to have him home and safe at the end of it. It was kind of funny to see the evacuation maps, as we would have clearly been evacuated if we still lived there. Our rental house was located right below the words "North Mackay" in the map below.
The cyclone hit pretty much when and where it was predicted, although with much less damage than was expected. Fortunately no lives were lost and only a few small towns had major damage.
Forecasters expect a higher number of cyclones than normal this season. And more rainfall too... so possibly more flooding events. The "best" may be yet to come!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Why do I eat organic again?
I’ve always thought eating organic foods was a good idea… mainly for personal health, not ingesting poison seems like an inherently good idea. But back in the States I was turned off by the high prices. I’d only occasionally get the organic apples or eggs. I took a random tour of a local dairy and became addicted to the fresh, hormone-free, local milk – Shatto (oooh so yum, i miss you shatto!!!).
Then we moved to Oz. Almost everything is already more expensive than I’m used to, so it was all about financial survival at first. In the gold coast, Theo met a trainer, who is now our good friend. He’s a CHEK practitioner, if you’ve ever heard of that...totally awesome at what he does.
It has kinda changed Theo’s life, and mine since Rhett advises to eat organic. We find all the hippie organic food stores and markets around town and even found an organic food delivery service. Some things are more expensive this way, but some are cheaper. And the delivery charge is the same cost as us catching a bus or train somewhere and dragging it back home. So we’ve been mixing it up depending on what we need.
We love the deliveries, though. I’ve heard and read quite a few accounts of friends in the States joining local CSAs and talking about how fun it is to receive their box, not knowing what surprises they’ll find inside. It’s the same for us. We generally get small box with a mix of fruits and veggies… here’s a pic of our first one:
I know there have been studies recently comparing organic food and conventionally grown food and results have shown no difference in nutrition. So the jury is still out on that, but I have a feeling long-term studies should be done to really understand the long-term effects of the chemicals.
The second reason I always had for eating organic was the environment. It’s not rocket science to understand that the chemicals used on farms don’t always stay on their own fields or food. Anyone who works in the environmental field will tell you our waterways are becoming more and more polluted by fertilizers, insecticides, and other chemicals used in agriculture.
So those were really my only reasons until the other day I watched a documentary with Theo about globalization and some workers in Indonesia wanting to start a global workers union to provide better working conditions in 3rd world countries where huge corporations come in and take advantage of the cheap labor source, with no regard to worker safety (it’s called the Globalization Tapes, kinda long, but interesting).
The movie actually had nothing to do with organics. But there was a scene showing workers spraying DDT on palm oil trees (whole other environmental issue in itself) all day long without protection. They explained how they had to beg their employers for protective gear because they were getting sick from the poison. It was pretty horrible.
And the light bulb went on. Eating organic isn’t all about my health or just “the environment.” The first exposures to the poison are the workers! Not just another reason to eat organic, but another reason to eat local organic and understand exactly where your food comes from. Now I don’t feel bad paying double sometimes for food, we figure we save so much money by not having a car, it works itself out.
And I actually should have come to this realization earlier, since my own husband was a victim of DDT poisoning as a child….Jeeeeez… Sometimes I have a thick skull.
“Farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don’t care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and bees…”
-Joni Mitchell
Then we moved to Oz. Almost everything is already more expensive than I’m used to, so it was all about financial survival at first. In the gold coast, Theo met a trainer, who is now our good friend. He’s a CHEK practitioner, if you’ve ever heard of that...totally awesome at what he does.
It has kinda changed Theo’s life, and mine since Rhett advises to eat organic. We find all the hippie organic food stores and markets around town and even found an organic food delivery service. Some things are more expensive this way, but some are cheaper. And the delivery charge is the same cost as us catching a bus or train somewhere and dragging it back home. So we’ve been mixing it up depending on what we need.
We love the deliveries, though. I’ve heard and read quite a few accounts of friends in the States joining local CSAs and talking about how fun it is to receive their box, not knowing what surprises they’ll find inside. It’s the same for us. We generally get small box with a mix of fruits and veggies… here’s a pic of our first one:
I know there have been studies recently comparing organic food and conventionally grown food and results have shown no difference in nutrition. So the jury is still out on that, but I have a feeling long-term studies should be done to really understand the long-term effects of the chemicals.
The second reason I always had for eating organic was the environment. It’s not rocket science to understand that the chemicals used on farms don’t always stay on their own fields or food. Anyone who works in the environmental field will tell you our waterways are becoming more and more polluted by fertilizers, insecticides, and other chemicals used in agriculture.
So those were really my only reasons until the other day I watched a documentary with Theo about globalization and some workers in Indonesia wanting to start a global workers union to provide better working conditions in 3rd world countries where huge corporations come in and take advantage of the cheap labor source, with no regard to worker safety (it’s called the Globalization Tapes, kinda long, but interesting).
The movie actually had nothing to do with organics. But there was a scene showing workers spraying DDT on palm oil trees (whole other environmental issue in itself) all day long without protection. They explained how they had to beg their employers for protective gear because they were getting sick from the poison. It was pretty horrible.
And the light bulb went on. Eating organic isn’t all about my health or just “the environment.” The first exposures to the poison are the workers! Not just another reason to eat organic, but another reason to eat local organic and understand exactly where your food comes from. Now I don’t feel bad paying double sometimes for food, we figure we save so much money by not having a car, it works itself out.
And I actually should have come to this realization earlier, since my own husband was a victim of DDT poisoning as a child….Jeeeeez… Sometimes I have a thick skull.
“Farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don’t care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and bees…”
-Joni Mitchell
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Happy Australia Day, my dingoes!
Just remember, dingoes are capable of eating babies. Read the sign!
(it says "Please close the gate. Always stay with your children. Be dingo safe.")
For real though, there have been some serious dingo issues on Fraser Island. A woman was prosecuted for feeding dingoes, which should not be fed, as they are wild animals. Now the population of dingoes are becoming more aggressive towards people. Recently a tourist was bitten.
So have a safe Australia Day holiday, my dingoes.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Back to Work and Silver Linings
Well, the worst of the flooding is over and the water has receded and there are no more stay-at-home flood days. Here are some cool before and after aerials to give you an idea of how many areas were affected. After everything downloads, you should be able to move your cursor over the photo to see the change.
Luckily no one I know was greatly affected by the floods, but definitely people all around me know at least a couple of people who were. I know I won't look at the rain the same for awhile. Up until yesterday, it was all heat and sunshine, but yesterday and today, the daily thunderstorms kinda give you an eerie feeling.
But there have been some silver linings through it all... this weekend, we finally went to the organic markets we heard about. Although not all the vendors could be there, there were quite a few. The ones who did had some pretty good stories about even managing to get themselves and their products there. The organic meat vendors even had a 1/2 off sale. We ended up getting two large bags of lamb, chicken, beef, and pork to stock the freezer with, we were so excited!
There's also been free public transportation this week, to help volunteers and everyone else get around during this difficult time. So that has been nice, although the routes and schedules have been cut back.
I read a cute story about a guy finding a Mexican coin from the 1800s!
You just have to find a silver lining whenever you can, especially since they say the floods are moving South (note the photo of the blow up doll... this photo would never publish in the US!!). Anyway, hopefully, no more lives are lost...
Luckily no one I know was greatly affected by the floods, but definitely people all around me know at least a couple of people who were. I know I won't look at the rain the same for awhile. Up until yesterday, it was all heat and sunshine, but yesterday and today, the daily thunderstorms kinda give you an eerie feeling.
But there have been some silver linings through it all... this weekend, we finally went to the organic markets we heard about. Although not all the vendors could be there, there were quite a few. The ones who did had some pretty good stories about even managing to get themselves and their products there. The organic meat vendors even had a 1/2 off sale. We ended up getting two large bags of lamb, chicken, beef, and pork to stock the freezer with, we were so excited!
There's also been free public transportation this week, to help volunteers and everyone else get around during this difficult time. So that has been nice, although the routes and schedules have been cut back.
I read a cute story about a guy finding a Mexican coin from the 1800s!
You just have to find a silver lining whenever you can, especially since they say the floods are moving South (note the photo of the blow up doll... this photo would never publish in the US!!). Anyway, hopefully, no more lives are lost...
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Sunshine over the Floods
A break in the weather is saving things from getting too much worse, I think. Although flood levels are still steadily rising, it only sprinkled a tiny bit last night. It was sunny, hot, and humid.
We were awoken yesterday by the apartment building PA system (which is handy to have, by the way), which announced that the electricity would be turned off at 8:15am. So I got out of bed and hurriedly cooked some breakfast, but we were spared the trouble, because an hour or so later, it was confirmed that it wasn’t happening. I’m thinking it’s because we are located not far from a couple different hospitals as well as a police station. Or maybe the lack of rain helped as well.
A couple of times yesterday, Theo and I explored the neighborhood. The Brisbane River seems to be continuing to rise, reaching the iconic Brisbane ferris wheel and filling up the Queensland Performing Arts Complex underground parking garage on the South Bank.
This photo was taken from South Bank, looking past what used to be walking and bike trails. On the other side of the river, you can see my office building:
And quite a few low lying areas of downtown are now in water. Most businesses have sandbagged their doors and storefronts, the work of which was made easier by the lack of rain.
So still no movies. And now no grocery stores. But we’re stocked to last at least a few more days, and still having electricity really helps. And we did pick up a couple movies from the Oovie Box… just like the Red Box in the US. Thank goodness for that, our entertainment saving grace, since we don’t have a TV!
As we went to bed last night, it looked like clouds were moving in as the sun went down and news reports said the river would peak tomorrow flooding thousands more homes and businesses. But we awoke this morning to bright sunshine and news report that the river didn't peak as high as expect, which is great news!
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