Living Under the Southern Cross

Lord of the Flies

2013-10-27T09:21:00.001+08:00

{This blog is dedicated to my big brother who asked me to keep blogging. It was nice to know someone enjoyed my ramblings!}

You've seen this hat before. It makes you think of something like Crocodile Dundee. We all know this is an "Australian" hat. They sell them in the souvenir shops, but I've never seen anyone wear this for real. According to various sources on the internet, those little cork danglies are to keep the flies away. I should have learned about that BEFORE moving here.

The tourist books don't mention much about the flies. I guess if they had I would have just assumed they were like any other fly. They aren't. As we head into our third Aussie spring/summer, we head into yet another fly season. It's early days yet. Just a single fly here and there buzzing around your head but as the days warm up and it gets drier, they will soon look like this.

The problem with these flies is they have no sense of personal space. They buzz around your head and will stay with you all day. They crawl in your ears and nose and in the space between your sunglasses and eyeballs. They will find you when you step out of the car, train, or bus and follow you wherever you go. If you run or bike, you might think you have escaped their beady little eyes and persistent buzzing, but they are probably just taking a ride on your back and as soon as you slow down and stop, then BUZZ! They are the truly the pestiest of all pests. Time to start doing push ups and curls to get those biceps in shape. I'm gonna need them to continually shoo flies all summer!

I remember my first trip up to the project site for my job. The flies had infiltrated the office trailers. You got used to the occasional splat of the fly swatter. But every so often, someone would have what I called a Kermit the Frog moment. Waving arms crazily above their heads doing a high pitched "ahhhhhhhhh" scream. No one thought less of you when that happened. We all understood.

http://youtu.be/tv4KQbDaCfM

I guess if I was in the tourist industry, I wouldn't want to talk much about the flies either. It's not the best selling point of this otherwise awesome country. But do a search on the internet for the bush fly and google will return several dozen blogs just like this one moaning about the Australian fly. These flies are as much a part of Australia as kangaroos, boomerangs, and koalas. They should start selling cute stuffed flies in the souvenir shops. Apparently as you go further inland, the flies just get worse and worse.

Soon people walking along the beach with nets over their face or bandanas over their mouth or waving leafy tree branches to shoo the flies away will be a common sight.

Luckily, these flies are relatively slow moving. So every once in awhile, SPLAT!!! Satisfaction is mine!

Winter in July

2013-07-16T19:48:00.000+08:00

I only knew a little about NZ (pronounced "En-Zed" by the locals) but I knew it was supposed to be pretty. Scott chose Queenstown as our NZ destination which is on the South Island and is noted as the shooting location for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. Lesser known to me was that it is a prime skiing destination. Skiing is just the start. We learned that it is the adrenaline sports capital of the world. Bungee jumping was first attempted in Queenstown. Bungee jumping, swinging 150 meters down and across a canyon suspended by a rope, jet boating through narrow canyons, mountain biking, snowboarding... If it causes your stomach to drop and your blood to course thru your veins, it is probably available in Queenstown. For those of us less in need of heart pounding action, there are tours to see glow worms inside caves, trips to sheep farms, hobbit tours, and lots of shopping and eating. There is truly something for everyone there and you could stay for weeks and not do the same thing two days in a row.

We flew to Queenstown from Melbourne. Erin was the first to notice from the plane that the clouds had taken on a different texture and it took a moment to realize they were actually snow capped mountains. Mountain after mountain began to rise up out of the ocean. I had to find my sunglasses to look out the window because the glare was so intense off the mountain tops. The flight path to Queenstown takes you right through the middle of two mountains and over a lake just before landing. It truly has to be one of the most breathtaking landings in the world.

Our first order of business was to rent ski equipment so we headed up the street to the Snow Centre. We were fitted for our boots and skis by a group of young French dudes. We tried to get Erin to talk to them and practice her French, but she was too cool to be taken in by their charms. A few minutes later, we are slugging along with skis, poles, and boots. It was quite comical to watch us walk back to the hotel trying to not drop everything. Luckily we were not the only novices around.

The next morning, we caught the bus for the ride up the mountain. And by "up", I mean "UP". For 40 min, we zigged and zagged straight up the side of a mountain in a beat up bus following another dozen buses to the ski area.

We strapped on our ski boots and walked out to the beginner area. Scott helped Erin into her skis. Scott has been skiing once and the girls and I have never been, so that made him our expert. Erin had on her skis and was still standing and looked cool, so I snapped into mine. About 2 seconds later, I'm barreling straight down the steepest mountain ever straight for a cliff!!!! Oh wait. It was only the beginner area with a teeny, tiny slope and it wasn't a cliff but the fence around the parking lot. I did the only thing I could think of and sat straight down and managed to stop about 2 feet from the fence. I snapped off the skis and went back up to the top. Pride made me put them on one more time and this time I headed straight for the stairs and the parking lot below. I grabbed a fence post just as one guy suggested it would be easier to reached the parking lot using the stairs. Funny. That was nearly it for my skiing adventure. I was done with those stupid sticks and was going to find some hot chocolate and stay where friction was my friend, but Scott booked a lesson for us and so I thought I would give it one more try. Our instructor was Natasha. She had been skiing since she was 7 and made skis look like an extension of her legs. She was wonderful and in a nearly two hour lesson, I only fell once and managed to stop on most of my descents down the itty, bitty beginner slope. She gave me hope that skiing was possible. Erin was by far the best in our group. She was so cute. After lunch, Kinsey and I put the skis away and she headed towards the tubing area where she went down a pipe area on a big tire. After 7 hours of fun in the snow, we headed back down the mountain. That was by far the scariest part of the day. I envisioned the bus tumbling down the side of the cliff around each hairpin turn. Luckily we made it to the bottom still upright. It was only after I returned to work that my coworkers who had recommended this ski spot informed me there have been a couple of buses that had tumbled down the mountain. Thanks for the warning!

The next day we headed out on a steam ship across the lake to a sheep farm for a barbecue and sheep dog demonstration. The steam ship sputtered along and we were treated to the most spectacular scenery. Snow capped mountains with water falls and sheep and cattle dotting the landscape. We finally pulled up to this storybook white farm and were ushered into a huge dining area with a buffet of all sorts of meats and veggies. We got lucky with a bay window view looking out over the lake under massive pine trees. After lunch, a farmer named Nigel brought out his dog and showed us the secrets of sheep herding and then he sheared a sheep for us. I learned so much about wool and sheep that day and have a new respect for sheep dogs. I'm convinced they have the power of mind control.

Everyone told me 3 days in Queenstown would not be enough. We didn't believe them but now we know and have already begun planning another trip. We simply have to do the jet boat ride and see the glow worms.

Location:Queenstown, New Zealand

Lorikeets!

2013-03-11T08:28:00.000+08:00

When we lived in Oklahoma, I used to take the girls to the zoo in Oklahoma City and one of their favorite exhibits was a new enclosure with exotic Lorikeets. You could buy little cups of nectar and feed the birds. One day a lorikeet landed on my head and the girls still remember that day as the only day they have ever seen their mother freak out. I'm not a bird fan.

Now lorikeets fly around my head all day, although none have come close to my head thankfully. I'm not totally in love with birds yet, but since moving here birds have almost become a fascination and less of a Hitchcock movie.

In Cottesloe (about a 10 min walk from our apartment) the lorikeets come in to roost every evening in the massive Norfolk Island pine trees. The trees are around 40-50 meters tall and lorikeets fill the branches. The trees are very dense so it's hard to catch a glimpse of them when they are up there, but you can for sure hear them. They are so loud! Scott has a new camera with a nice zoom and so we got some good pictures of the lorikeets in the trees finally. They are so cute.

And just because they are beautiful, here are some pictures of Cottesloe at sunset.

Ballet under the Stars

2013-03-04T15:15:00.001+08:00

It's the little, quirky things I like most about Perth. I know, I over use the term quirky in this blog, but it captures the mood here so much of the time. The rowdy and raunchy are just as home here as the refined and sophisticated. The Steve Irwin, Crocodile Dundee, and Fosters beer commercials have given a face to Australia that is one of hardened guys drinking beer in the Outback while they wrestle crocodiles. You might be surprised to find a very cultured group of people that is more at home drinking wine and listening to Mozart.
Back in Houston we had season tickets to the ballet. It was always a fun affair. An excuse to dress up and see another side of society. The ballet in Perth is a little different. It's not quite as grand of an affair as the Houston ballet but I think that gives them license to do things differently. A bit edgy. We recently went to our second performance of Ballet at the Quarry which is all-around pleasant evening.

The Quarry is an outdoor amphitheater. It is surrounded by trees and sits up high enough that you can look down at the tall buildings in Perth. If you wanted to look down. I prefer to look up at the stars. The Southern Cross is beautiful up there and Orion dances on his head along with the ballet dancers. The amphitheater is carved into the side of a hill and the rows are wide and grassy. One thing the Perthians (my word I just made up) love is a good excuse for a picnic. And the ballet at the quarry brings out the best. The gates open an hour and a half before the show so that everyone can bring their picnic dinner and enjoy food and company before the show.

A picnic in Perth is not bologna and potato chips. It is elaborate picnic baskets filled with gourmet salads, fresh veggies and fruits, crackers and dips, and bubbles. Always bubbles. Not champagne - that's what they make in France. Australians make sparkling wine but they prefer to call it bubbles or bubbly. No paper plates or plastic cups. Instead it's dinner plates and fancy champagne flutes. Wine is a perfectly good alternative if bubbly isn't your thing.

After the clinking of the glasses and china has slowed and the sun has set, the lights dim on the audience and focus on the stage. The show is quite entertaining and edgy for the ballet. Not world class ballet, but a good evening sure to relax and entertain.

Cappuccino - where have you been all my life?

2013-02-03T13:59:00.001+08:00

I don't know why it has taken me so longer to discover the wonderful cappuccino. The espresso topped with foamy milk and chocolate powder sprinkled on top served in a cute ceramic cup. It is a remarkable drink that has been missing from my life far too long.

We left the US like many other Americans satisfied with the occasional cup of drip coffee and always black. We did grind our own beans and thought that made us elite coffee drinkers. We went to Starbucks occasionally but we always stuck to whatever was in the brewed coffee pot at the time and steered clear of those "fancy" coffees.

I don't drink a lot of coffee and still don't partake in the daily cuppa to get me going in the morning preferring the fizzy acid of my one-a-day diet coke. But I wanted to explore what was clearly so important to everyone around me so I ventured into the cafes to see what was so captivating. What I found were overwhelming menus with unfamiliar foreign sounding coffees and a barista asking us if we preferred it "topped off" or with soy milk. The closest thing I could find to a traditional American brewed coffee was a Long Black. (A double shot of espresso that is diluted with hot water. In other places it is called a Cafe Americano.) I stuck to that for awhile because it was easy to order and it at least gave me the opportunity to sit in a cafe and feel "international" but I was determined to explore this world further. I still like the Long Black because it is calorie free, but have learned to enjoy some of the other coffee drinks.

Brewed coffee is not available here and to ask for it would be blasphemy. We were able to find and purchase a traditional drip coffee pot not long after we moved here so we continued to make the occasional pot at home in secret away from the stares and jeers of the locals laughing at our lowly brewed coffee.

Our adventures into coffee took off when Erin's food and nutrition class at school did a barista unit. She loved it and began to teach us all about the different coffees. Erin is now our personal barista and for Christmas, I bought her a French press coffee maker and a cute hand held milk frother that is black and white like a jersey cow. The french press only makes one cup at a time, but it's more like an espresso and she does an amazing job with a home version of a cappuccino or latte. The drip coffee pot sits lonely at the back of the pantry.

Now we order lattes and macchiatos after our Saturday morning walks at the beach and enjoy sipping them on the beach watching kayakers and ships and swimmers before heading back home. No matter where we go after this adventure, those Saturday morning walks and coffees will be cherished memories for all of us. Coffee at the beach may seem strange, but around here coffee is for any situation and any weather. Visit a cafe on any day of the week before 10:00am and you will find spandex clad groups of bikers or runners sipping all manners of coffee alongside people dressed in business clothes or groups of moms sipping soy lattes alongside kids drink babycinos.

I read sometime back that Perth had the highest number of cafes per capita than any place else in the world. I don't know if that is true, but there certainly are a lot of cafes. On my last trip back to Houston I found myself missing a "proper" cup of coffee. Coffee is serious business here which I admit was a bit surprising. Prior to moving here I did not have a mental image of Aussies sipping coffee. So if you ever find yourself Down Under, be sure to venture in to any little cafe and enjoy a cuppa with some locals.

This isn't your usual small town

2013-01-28T09:24:00.001+08:00

One of the reasons I have struggled with this blog is that it is hard to capture the quirkiness that is Perth. Not just Perth really. Australia is quirky. We have only stayed in the metropolitan areas of Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne so far and perhaps we would have a different viewpoint of it all if we went to the "small" towns in the bush and hung out with the "bogans" (closest translation is Redneck or Hillbilly). But I'm sticking by my statement that 'Straya is quirky.
When discussing Perth with locals, they often apologize for this small, boring town. I shake my head and tell them I know small towns and Perth is not one of them. I have heard the population of Perth is around 2 million now, so hardly small.
I was ready to get out of the house this long holiday weekend and so Scott and I took off for a dinner date to Northbridge last night. Northbridge is an extremely quirky place just north of the CBD (central business district) across a bridge. See. North of the bridge. Northbridge. It's just too clever! It's an easy walk plus a short train ride from where we live.

There is a bit of something for everyone in Northbridge. It is bordered on one side by several museums and art centers and the State Theatre which houses the Heath Ledger theatre. We have seen a couple of quirky productions there. Enter nicely dressed couples of theatre goers and eccentric art patrons into our scene.

In the middle of Northbridge is a grassy area with a giant screen. On Sundays, they broadcast Disney and other family friendly movies. There are a couple of chocolate stores and a few restaurants like Outback Jacks that cater to families. Now enter the families of small children in the background.

The restaurants that line either side of the main strip are mostly Italian or Asian. Much of the dining is al fresco so you sit out on the sidewalks and watch the people go by. The restaurant we ate at last night is Italian food owned by a Brazilian family and most of the wait staff is Asian. Cue in the local immigrant population shuffling and dancing across the stage.

I particularly enjoy the Mexican restaurant. Anyone who knows Spanish will probably not want to eat here based on the name alone.

What really gives Northbridge it's flavor lies in the side streets and through small doors leading to alleyways. Here is a seedier side. Bars, nightclubs, adult stores, tattoo parlors, and other places catering to vices. Finally bring in the last group of actors with numerous tattoos and piercings, dyed hair, burlesque dresses, colored skinny jeans, and any other style of clothing you can imagine.
This is hard to get across in writing. I'm sure many of my American readers will gasp at the images created here but it is precisely the mix of every part of society and cultures that make Northbridge an enjoyable place to soend an evening, Before midnight. It does tend to get a bit violent late at night when the bars close - you gotta be smart about these things.
After dinner, we walked around a bit of a local festival taking place in Northbridge. Fringe World. It's a month long festival of kooky, crazy, often inappropriate shows, concerts, exhibitions, etc. We walked through the night market last night and enjoyed booths with crafts, food, photos, vintage clothing, and musicians.

These are not the kinds of events that come to small towns.

How to look Australian

2013-01-26T12:16:00.001+08:00

Kinsey has adapted very well to the Australian lifestyle. Except for wearing runners (tennis shoes) instead of thongs or sandals in the picture below, she looks completely Australian. In a little while her hair will be up in the Aussie bun and no one will mistake her for a visitor here. The image is complete with the cup of chai latte next to her. I'm drinking a cappuccino. That's what you do here on Saturday morning. Go walk, run, or bike the beach or river and stop at one of the hundreds of cafes and pick up a cuppa. I love the coffee here.

Today is Australia Day. Very similar to July 4th and just as it is my favorite American holiday, Australia Day is my favorite Aussie holiday.

Why are we carrying a giant thong and why did I tell so many people at the beach this morning that they too could get a thong at the groyne (pronounced groin which makes that a really punny phrase for an American, translation - giant inflatable flip flops could be purchased next to the jetty)? Each year an Australian manufacturer of beach footwear, Havaianas, holds an Australia Day event across 5 beaches in the country and each tries to break the world record for the most people floating in the ocean on giant thongs at the same time. Last year Cottesloe won with 2,015 thongs and Erin brought home our first giant inflatable thong. It has been a permanent fixture in our living room for the past year. No word if we won again this year. Kinsey and I bought the thong because we love the thong but we opted to go home instead of hanging out in the water for hours. I walked the mile home from the beach with a giant inflatable thong on my head drinking a cappuccino having a chat to Kinsey. This is life in Australia. It's as good as it sounds. Just be sure you wear plenty of sunscreen. They do not exaggerate when they say the sun is more intense here.

We didn't get out in the water partly because I had to get Erin to her friend's boat and the times didn't work out. Erin is heading out into the river to watch the fireworks from a boat and then spending the night on the river. They have to be anchored by 3:00 so they are hanging out in the river and eating junk food on the boat until the fireworks tonight.

My kids have a rough life don't they? It's good to be them.

The Birds and the Bees

2013-01-20T09:49:00.000+08:00

You may have heard of those psychological therapies in which they put someone deathly afraid of spiders in a room full of spiders until their fear is gone. That was moving to Perth for me and my dislike (ok - fear) of birds. I don't like birds. They have sharp beaks and claws for toenails and they poop on you from above at the worst times.

I'm becoming a bit less fearful of them and actually learning to like them because they are everywhere here. The best part, birds here are species that I thought only existed in zoos. After we first moved here, I would occasionally look up and think a cage at the zoo was left open.

But no cage was left opened. The cockatoo is not someone's exotic pet who was let free. They really live here as free birds.

The black swan is the state bird of Western Australia. They hang out along the Swan River of course.

Erin and I went kayaking out to Penguin Island where they take care of the smallest species of penguins. They were adorable.

The Gallahs are so pretty with their gray and pink tones. They mate for life and so you always see them flying around in pairs.

One of my favorite parrots is the 28. So named because it sounds like they are saying 28 when they talk. Something about the black on green and the fluorescent yellow collar makes them a very handsome bird.

The strangest ones for me to see flying around wild are the cockatoos. I remember a friend having one as a pet when I was a kid. They were very expensive and exotic. Now I see them hanging out in parks. They are quite common to see in Sydney sitting atop these very tall, red flowers along the highways.

The dreaded magpie. These things live in our neighborhood and taunt me as I walk to and from the bus stop each day. They have beady eyes and sharp beaks. Luckily the ones in the city are used to people, but if you are in rural areas, I suggest you pull on a pair of sunnies and a hat and avoid looking them in eyes. The magpies also mate for life and they pretty well nest in the same place every year. The babies hang around the nest long after they have grown. So if your young adult child hasn't left home yet, refer to them as a magpie.

Seagulls are world over.

I think my favorite of all the birds around here is the kookaburra. I thought these were just birds of kid's songs and had no idea they were real before we moved here. We hear them much more than we see them and they always make me smile. They really do laugh and sound a bit more like crazed monkeys in the jungles than birds.

The ibises are the funniest looking birds. I love their long beaks.

The lorikeets are hard to capture in picture so this is the only one of my photos not taken by us. We love to go down to Cottesloe Beach in the evenings and grab a bowl of frozen yogurt and watch the thousands of lorikeets come swooping in to roost in the giant pine trees along the beach. They are so loud you can barely talk to your neighbor. And then, as if someone flips a switch, they go silent and it's bedtime.

We recently found this osprey nest and are hoping for babies soon. The osprey is similar to an eagle.

Because I promised bees in the title, here is a shot of a nest that was built on our back porch last year. Unfortunately the owners killed the swarm since we have small children living in the apartment next to us and it was too risky to just let them be. A sad day for us.

Squally weather makes me stronger

2012-09-05T20:36:00.002+08:00

Squally - characterized by brief periods of violent wind or rain.

A year and a half ago I would have heard the word and assumed it was part of a quote from a Robert Lewis Stevenson novel about someone shipwrecked on an island or in a Master and Commander novel in which a ship barely makes it through the night. I had no idea it was actually a word used by the national weather service to describe the day's forecast.

We moved to Perth in the winter last year and thought we were moving to this warm, sunny climate. That has been true for most of the year, but that first Perth winter was tough to get through and this winter has been no different. Perhaps it's because the weather is so good most of the year and we need to be reminded from time to time who's in charge. Perhaps it's just a great excuse to wear awesome boots. Perhaps it's resistance training to improve your next race time. Whatever the reason they occur, squally days are character builders.

What exactly is a squally day like you ask? We wake up and get ready for work, look outside the window and we can't even see across the street because of the rain coming down in sideways sheets. By the time we take the lift down one level, the rain is gone and the sun may even be partially out. Catch the bus and the rain may come and go another 2-3 times in the 30 min ride to work. The rain continues like this all day coming in brief short bursts that rip limbs off plants and uproot big trees. We drove down the coastline the other night during a squall and the car was shaking so hard we thought it would tip over. We tried stopping, but Scott couldn't hold the door open long enough to get out. The weather service recorded wind gusts up to 90km/hr (60 mph) that night. That was a light squall.

We used to laugh at the way the Aussie girls wore their hair in buns so much, but now it makes perfect sense. You have to walk outside here a lot - there is often no other way to get from one place to another and we typically walk anywhere from 4-10 km in a given day. The Aussie bun was created out of necessity, not fashion.

There is rarely a need for a big heavy coat. It doesn't get that cold, but the wind and rain can chill to the bones on the walk from the bus stop to our apartment. It's so strange to me that the cold, biting winds come from the south over the ocean. I'm used to winds coming from the coastal waters being warm. But then once you leave the Perth coastline, the nearest thing to us is Antarctica. Guess there is nothing to stop those cold winds blowing over icebergs and then gathering speed across the ocean.

The fun of squally has worn off. I'm ready for the amazing spring weather when it's warm during the day and chilly enough for a light sweater in the evening. It's just around the corner.

And I really admire those who continue to ride their bicycles to and from work everyday no matter how windy. My hat is off to you. Oh wait, my hat blew off 10 min ago.

Engineering in Perth is cool - Guest Blogger

2012-06-15T13:29:00.000+08:00

Scott recently wrote this for a local blog. They opted not to put it in their current edition so I asked him if I could post it in my blog. It captures a little bit of the current atmosphere in Perth if that is possible in writing. Coming from America where a huge portion of the population doesn't even have a Passport, it's quite refreshing to be surrounded by so many young people who are so well travelled. By the time they are teenagers, most Australians have traveled so much they need extra pages in their Passports. Even those that have never lived or ever will live anyplace but Perth have traveled the world over.

The people he mentions below are not always engineers, but there are a lot of them here in Perth. Just not enough. There is a major shortage of skilled workers in Western Australia. Erin has been completing her course selections for next year at school and with only two years left, they are starting to gently focus the girls into a career path. Anyone with a hint of skills in math and science is greatly encouraged to head into an engineering or science field. The universities are hosting lots of "be an engineering student for a day" or "come build a robot" sessions to encourage this new generation of engineers. WA can't get enough of them and they are desparately trying to grow a new generation to take all of these projects currently being built into the next several decades.

Oh, there still are some of the "typical" engineers here as well. They just speak with many different accents. There are also a lot of young male engineers, but Scott was trying to appeal to a certain audience for this blog, so it centers on the young women.

by Scott Oliver

Not so long ago, the word “engineer” conjured images of pasty men with out-of-date clothes, out-of-date glasses, and out-of-date ideas. Engineers were back office professionals, necessary to have but also necessary to keep out of sight. Now, all along St Georges Terrace a new breed of engineer has emerged. Predominantly female, sometimes frustratingly young, this new crowd is redefining a profession’s staid image. The rest of the world struggles with recession, but in Perth a resources boom is on, and a new generation of engineers is taking advantage. They dress stylishly, travel widely, and refuse to waste time paying their dues.

Spot them first by their clothes. Perth’s new engineers possess a fashion sense not seen before in the profession. They are not clones and they don’t wear uniforms; the variety of their choices is too large. Some sport brand names, some shop off the rack, and some mix and match to suit their own whims. What’s unique is that, as a group, they are paying attention to style in a way engineers haven’t ever been known for. Sometimes, there’s daringness to it with a mix of piercings and peek-a-boo tattoos.

Know them next by their vacations. Perth’s young engineers play as hard as they work, and they play in exotic, faraway places. Ski trips in Japan, shopping excursions in London, and safaris launched from Dubai are all in a year’s plans. Weekend jaunts to Australia’s east coast are so routine they’re hardly mentioned. That these kinds of trips are expensive is a reflection of their success. And when they stay at home, they frequent Perth’s best venues and events. Often, it’s this crowds being there that sets where Perth’s cool kids are hanging. To see them frozen in action, browse the weekly photos posted on any trendy local nightspot’s Facebook page.

Appreciate them for their talent. This new generation of engineers, largely Australian grown, knows what it’s doing. Tough technical challenges stand in the way of capturing Western Australia’s natural resources and bringing home the riches. To be successful takes big-picture thinking, creative ideas, and a willingness to try new things. It’s with these traits that this new group presses its advantage. They show a cold disregard for old lines of thinking and long-held constraints. They work together, blend their strengths, and don’t concern themselves with who gets the credit. The result has been a change in how experienced, established companies manage their business and their professionals.

The new engineers club is not easy to get into. Engineering remains one of the most challenging university degree plans, and many who start down this road turn around and go back. To get the diploma requires talent, discipline, sacrifice, and above all brains. Then, the graduate must persuade a company to hire her. It’s true that Perth’s resources boom is driving strong demand, but the prized jobs aren’t easy to score. The competition is stiff, the expectations are high, and connections still count. Those engineers waltzing around the CBD in fashionable clothes while planning their next jet-setting getaway are an accomplished bunch, and they belong to an exclusive society.

To some extent, engineering may always be traditional, practical, risk averse, and possibly boring. These characteristics have defined the profession since its beginning, and they frame what’s required when working with dangerous things and places. What Perth’s new engineers have done is prove that a mature, well-grounded profession doesn’t have to be without character, style, and jazz. In Perth, engineering is now cool.

Almost a Year Reflection

2012-05-27T18:48:00.002+08:00

As the weather begins to cool and the rains come back, it occurs to me that we have lived in Perth for nearly a year now. What a year it has been. I think back to what it was like when we landed last year on July 10th - what "we" were like. Sometimes I don't think we are doing enough with our time here. A coworker said that 90% of your time as an expat is spent doing exactly what you would be doing anywhere else in the world. School. Work. Cleaning house. Grocery shopping. Helping with homework. None of that has gone away. It's the other 10% that makes the difference. I think he was right.

In the last 10 months, we have played around Sydney and Melbourne. Been to concerts. Travelled to a remote location along the western coast. Fallen in love. Biked around an island. Played with baby penguins. Celebrated Christmas on the beach. Camped in the bush. Helped set a world record for the most floating thongs in the ocean at the same time. Learned how to tie a tie. Watched a ballet under the Southern Cross. Learned how to make espresso and froth milk. Learned how to drive on the left side of the road. And so much more...

More Reflections...

Things we love about living in Perth, Western Australia?

- The beach. Crystal blue waters and white sand. Western Australia arguably has the most spectacular beaches in the world. Tourists lists will tell you that the Eastern coast beaches are the best, but the locals say they don't compare. I haven't been to the Gold Coast yet, but it would be hard to beat these beaches. I think the one thing that keeps them off of top 10 lists is the water is so cold. But, you can put on a sundress with a sweater, go for a stroll along the sidewalk taking in the sailboats and surfers and then sit in a restaurant/bar overlooking the water and watch the sunset. Since the beach is less than a mile from our apartment, we can easily head over there anytime and just enjoy the views.

- The river. Just a few yards from our front door, we find the Swan River. It's a mile from the ocean to the river and the world totally changes in that mile. The beach is fun and low-key and oh-so-relaxing. The river is majestic and beautiful. People park along the riverbank in our neighborhood with their wicker baskets and glasses of sparkling wine. As we do our walks and runs along the river, it's not uncommon to see weddings and parties at the parks along the way. Yachts and sailboats slowly float around with jet skiers and wind surfers zooming in and out. It's majestic and relaxing in a totally different way.

- The quirkiness. It is not unusual to see totally unusual things around Perth. A guy riding a unicycle to work. Uni students standing in the streets wearing costumes and selling newspapers for charity. A ukulele class held down by the beach every Saturday morning. Old men running on the beach in tiny speedos. Footy uniforms (seriously. Try to imagine Ben Roethlisberger in a footy uniform). The statue in the river that is always decorated.

- Tim Tams and Margaret River chocolate. 'nuf said.

- The produce. The grocery stores may be lacking in variety down most aisles, but the produce is remarkable. Nearly everything is locally grown and there are fewer preservatives. Unfortunately this means we can't get everything year round like we are used to, but when things are in season, they are oh so yummy.
- The girls love it here. It's a bit scary to pick up two teenagers and move them all the way across the world. There is a general idea that kids need the stability of the same school for 12 years. People give you disapproving looks and you can tell they think you are a bad parent for making them leave their friends and comfortable life at such a "delicate" age. It's easy to think that is the case, but I don't think we give kids enough credit for their resiliency. It wasn't totally easy and there have been ups and downs for sure, but overall, moving Erin and Kinsey here has been one of the best parts about this adventure. They have grown and matured in the past year in a way they never would have if we had done the stable thing. Scott and I are so proud of their progress and they are so very happy.

Things we miss the most.
- Garbage disposals
- Iced tea with free refills in restaurants
- Pay at the pump
- 70mph speed limits
- Graham Crackers.

Things we've learned.
- Hot cross buns are real and not just a funny nursery rhyme
- Australians don't say G'day mate. They say "How you going?"
- Kookaburras are wild birds here and they sound like crazed monkeys

- Aussie girls are masters at the bun hairstyle

Middle of Nowhere, Australia

2012-04-22T20:35:00.000+08:00

Onslow, Australia. 1400 km north of Perth on the coast of Western Australia. Population about 550. 50% Aboriginal heritage. 50% European heritage. To date their biggest business is salt production. Not really a pretty place, but I was excited to go because it was another entry in my Aussie adventure.

I went to Onslow for work. There is one plane that goes to Onslow specifically for our project. It makes the round trip from Perth to Onslow every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. I went up on Tuesday evening and came back on Thursday evening. The plane was a Fokker 50 prop plane. The best part about the trip was the plane flight. It was a slow flight and close to the ground so I could watch the landscape as we slowly drifted overhead. We took off from the Perth domestic airport and headed out over the ocean and circled over Rottnest Island before heading up the coast. All I could see for a long time was the setting sun reflecting off the blue ocean. I had to close the blinds because it was so bright. Later on I was able to open the blinds and could see a very flat landscape. It seemed to be cut into plots for various crops. I couldn't be sure though. As far as I could tell, there was only one town of any significance on the entire trip. It all seemed to be wild bush land from the air. Eventually the land changed and it was brown land covered with small shrubs or trees with occasionally patches of dirt that looked like polka dots and boomerangs. As we got closer to Onslow, the land became red and hilly. There was no evidence of any civilization. No roads or buildings until we got to Onslow.

The ground below

Scenes from Western Australia

The area around Onslow

The first thing you see are the salt mines. The Onslow salt mines are the 2nd or 3rd largest producer of salt in Australia depending on who you talk to. Mostly industrial salt, but some table salt as well. There isn't much to the town of Onslow. There are more fly-in, fly-out (FIFO as they are known in WA or employees that work rotational shifts in the mining or oil and gas industries) workers than there are townspeople. There is one restaurant (which I did not visit on this trip), one pub, and one grocery store. We landed at 6:00 and everyone hit the grocery store before it closed at 7:00 to buy breakfast, lunch, or dinner supplies for the next couple of days. I met some coworkers at the town's pub on the first evening. It was just like you see in the movies about Australia. Very friendly but quite rough. If you have seen the movie Red Dog - it was just like that. Only no dog.

Onslow Salt

More of the salt ponds

The salt ponds and surrounding area

The next morning, I met my coworkers in the Ashburton Resort parking lot at 5:30am and we all climbed into 3 or 4 white SUV's and drove to the "office". The office is a group of temporary trailers set up on a patch of red dirt on the outskirts of town. We made our way over to the dining room set up for the project. I kept thinking of it as a mess hall. They served breakfast cafeteria style and stocked a large salad bar with lunch items. We all filled up our containers and took them out to wherever we needed to go for the day. I also ate dinner there one night. The funniest part is that everyone is wearing the Aussie worker uniform. A high visibility shirt - ours is neon yellow and navy blue with 2 silver reflective stripes, blue pants - jeans or work pants, and steel toed boots. The best part is the wide brimmed Aussie style hats to keep the sun off our faces. The whole outfit is so stylish, everyone in town is wearing it.

A shot of the "dining hall"

All of the vehicles in town look just like this.

The pool at the Ashburton Resort - no one can swim in it because there isn't a lifeguard.

The Onslow grocery store. It's a blue tin building

All the stories you have heard about the hot Australian bush are true. The sun is so intense here and it was incredibly hot my first day there. A nice breeze came off the ocean the second day and helped keep the temperatures down around simmering instead of boiling. One of my coworkers took me out on a tour of the site. It looked just like West Texas except the dirt was so red. A very dark, brick red. There were also termite mounds. Huge. It's a wonder there is any wood left anywhere in town. Maybe that is why so many of the building were made of tin. We didn't get to see any kangaroos on the drive, but we did see a calf carcass left after the last cyclone about 3 weeks earlier. The thing that struck me was the fact the carcass was intact. Almost nothing lives out there to scavenge from a dead animal. Apparently it's only kangaroos, termites, and snakes called Death Adders. Luckily I didn't see any of the latter. Yikes.

A termite mound seen from the bus to the airport

More termite mounds

The runway for the airport

I loved going outside at night. It is such a small town in the midden of nowhere and so there are almost no lights to obscure the stars. The sky was amazing. I could easily see the Southern Cross just over the office trailers each morning before the sun came up.

The ocean next to the motel

More ocean scenes next to the motel

The flight back was later at night so I didn't get to watch the landscape but I could see more evidence of life on the ground. There were occasionally small groups of lit buildings or houses. The ships looked like Christmas trees out on the ocean.

The plane to Onslow

The waiting area for the airport

The baggage check area

The actual airport in Onslow

We wait here for the bus to the airport

Kinsey is turning into a dolphin

2012-02-19T16:17:00.000+08:00

I can recall watching the Australians dominate swimming in the Summer Olympics for as long as I can remember - at least until Michael Phelps came along. It makes sense. According to what we have read, 80% of Australians live within 30 miles of the coastline. I did not fully appreciate how much a part of the Australian culture was rooted in swimming until going through a summer here.

It started at the end of the school year in early December. On the day before the last day of school, Erin and Kinsey had to compete with their classmates in swim trials which would place them in events for the inter-House competition early in Term 1 the following year. Both Erin and Kinsey had taken swimming lessons and could easily stay afloat in a pool and get from one end to the other, so I assumed everything was okay. Erin managed to squeak out a 50 m freestyle swim but came in last and Kinsey didn't swim at all. Kinsey wanted to learn to swim better so I decided to enroll her in serious swim lessons so she could at least swim from one end to the other using the correct strokes. Doggie paddle doesn't seem to be a competition approved stroke.

I set out to find a teacher and luckily there was a swim class at the boys school next door to the girl's school and I contacted them private lessons. She ended up taking private lessons for two weeks from the head swim coach who owns the swim school. Her coach is the guy on the right side in the yellow swim cap in the picture below next to Ian Thorpe. He swam with Ian Thorpe and 2 others in the 2000 Sydney olympics games and not only won gold, but helped set a world record in the 4x200m freestyle relay. They went on to set another world record during a world championship in Tokyo and their record stood for 6 years until an American team finally broke it. Bill also won several World Championship medals on his own doing freestyle and butterfly.

Bill Kirby on the right and Ian Thorpe in the middle.

Bill Kirby on the left, Ian Thorpe on the right showing off their gold medals.

In two weeks, Bill had Kinsey swimming freestyle and breaststroke like she had been doing it all her life. For those that don't know, Kinsey has scoliosis and has to wear a brace that completely surrounds her torso from the waist to armpit 22-23 hours a day. She's been wearing it for nearly a year and has one more year to go. Because of the brace, her core muscles have weakened and something like swimming really helps. We started going to the pool for practice along with continued swim lessons throughout the summer. It was an eye opener to go to the community pools. There is a small section of the pools where the kids can play if there isn't a water polo, synchronized swimming, or diving practice - but the majority of the pools are dedicated to lap swimming..

One of the pools we go to for lap swimming.

While we are practicing our lap swimming, we have watched synchronized swimming practice sessions and competitions. Water polo practices and games. High diving competitions. If it's a water sport, the Aussies are involved in it.

Kinsey has come an incredibly long way in a few short months and is able to swim 5-6 50m laps of freestyle without stopping. She could probably swim all day doing the breaststroke and is coming along nicely with the butterfly. She is enrolled in a swim squad two afternoons a week with Kirby Swim after school at Christ Church Grammar School (the boys school next to their school).

Christ Church Grammar School pool. It's heated so the swim squads meet year round.

During Term 1 at school, the girls are swimming during PE lessons at school as well. Two weeks into the term, they went with all the girls in Years 7-12 to an inter-House swim carnival which is like a field day only it's at the pool. The winners of that competition will go on to represent the school and compete in the city wide meet later in the year. They are struggling to catch up to the level of their Aussie friends, but both are learning how to turn and dive off the starting blocks and coming up to speed fast. We now own goggles, swim caps, chamois towels, and numerous swim suits. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of them in their cute green MLC uniform swimsuits and bright green (the House color) swimcaps. I'm not sure they would even forgive me for taking a photo of them and posting it so you will just have to trust me that they are adorable.

I take Kinsey to practice on her own 1-2 times a week and I use it as a chance to brush up on my swimming skills which were really rusty. I'm up to doing 50m of freestyle with long breaks in between each lap. It's quite a workout and I feel very humble trying to eke out my laps while surrounded by locals easily swimming lap after lap.

Pool swimming is only part of the water obsession. Every morning and evening you can go to the ocean and there will be several dozen people swimming in the ocean. (One of these ocean swimmers was eaten by a shark since we have been here and so I don't think you will find me ocean swimming for exercise anytime soon). They swim one direction and then jog back in the sand.

Everything you've ever heard about Australian lifeguards is completely true. They are very fit and very cute. We mostly see the lifesavers. The term lifesaver refers to a volunteer and lifeguards are the paid professionals. The lifesavers are out training all of the time. They run up and down the beach, paddle out in the water on their lifesaving surfboards, and swim out and back in the waves. It looks like a grueling workout but they are very in shape - I guess the free workouts are worth the volunteer work. On weekend mornings, the surf lifesaving clubs have programs for kids to teach them ocean safety and train them to eventually become lifesavers themselves. Nearly all local kids go through the program at one point or another.

If you aren't convinced yet that Western Australians are part fish, every year there is an open ocean swim from Perth to Rottnest Island. Rottnest Island is a beautiful little island 19km (11 miles) off the coast from Perth. The Rotto swim challenge has been cancelled once or twice due to shark sitings, but not even sharks can usually deter Aussies from their swimming. About 1200 people participate. Some swim it in a relay, but there are plenty that do the entire swim.

Starting line Finish Line

When Erin graduates from high school here, she will be part of the group of Leavers (the West Australian term for Senior) that heads from the school to the ocean (about a mile walk) and they all jump into the ocean and swim in their uniforms. It's a fun way for the girls to show their independence and what better way than going for yet another swim.

Methodist Ladies College Leavers on the last day of school.

Kangaroos!!

2011-12-16T10:48:00.000+08:00

Earlier this week, I went on a team building trip for work to a resort in the Swan Valley and I finally got to see my first view of kangaroos out in the wild. Well, almost wild. I'm suspicious that that 'roos were kept there by the resort for the tourist attraction!

There wasn't a lot of chances for exploring because we really did a lot of work and spent most of the time in a conference room. But after the first day, we were sitting around the outside area unwinding from the day's activities and got to watch this nice group out on the golf course.

A couple of these guys started boxing before settling back down to munching grass.

My room wasn't exciting, but did have a door out to a balcony that overlooked a bunch of grapevines.

The next morning, I knew that I would be sitting in a chair all day, so I got up a little early and went for a walk on the golf course. Just me and the 'roos and the lawn mowers. I didn't expect such awesome photo ops so I only had my Blackberry which takes mediocre pictures, but you get the idea.

Every once in awhile a whole group would start bounding around, but I only caught this guy in a picture.

Mama and joey

The morning sun shining on a mama and her joey

This almost had a Jurassic Park feel to it. Especially when the kangaroos started bounding across the golf course and the ducks were waddling along behind them.

This one had a tiny joey in her pouch. She was being pretty protective so I couldn't get any closer and this was the best I could zoom with my Blackberry. You can just almost see the shape of the head in the picture.

You can tell they weren't too concerned about me which makes me wonder how "wild" they really were......

Sydney and the Darling Harbour

2011-11-15T18:42:00.001+08:00

During the girls’ break between Terms 3 and 4, we took a long weekend trip to Sydney. I had only been to Sydney for about 24 hours when we moved here and was rather jet lagged, so I was looking forward to visiting the city when I could stay awake longer than 4 hours at a time!

We flew out late on a Thursday and arrived in Sydney in the early evening. Our hotel was in Darling Harbour. You can be sure we diligently searched for Nemo and Dory the entire weekend.

On Friday morning we boarded a double decker bus tour that took us to our first event of the weekend, the Sydney Opera House tour. The Opera House is as spectacular up close as it is in pictures. It looks like a solid piece of concrete in pictures, but up close, you can see it’s made up of thousands of little white tiles. They look like bathroom shower tiles but are fancy Italian ceramic tiles that are very slick and never need cleaning. There are 5 theatres in all with three of them underneath the structure. The front row seats in these lower theatres are actually below sea level. The two main theatres sit side by side so that patrons to either theatre can go outside during intermission and enjoy a view of Sydney Harbour. This design of the opera house was specifically chosen not only for it’s interesting shape, but also because it was the only submission that allowed a harbour view for both theatres.

After our tour, we continued our bus tour to Bondi Beach. We plan to spend Christmas Day on Bondi Beach, so I will save this subject for later.

That evening, we headed to Theatre Royal for a performance of The Jersey Boys. We didn’t know what to expect from this having just tossed a die to pick a theatre performance to go to this weekend. We were not disappointed. The singing was really good and I was surprised to find I knew all but one or two songs. Some of the Aussie actors were better at the Jersey accent than others. The guy that played Bob Gaudio could not hide his Aussie Strine at all, but he sang and acted really well, so we didn’t hold that against him. In fact, it made the show that much more enjoyable.

The next day we took off on our whale watching 3-hour tour (spent the entire time singing the Gilligan’s Island theme song!) I admit we did not actually expect to see any whales. We took off at a pretty fast pace in our 80-foot catamaran through the Sydney Harbour amid hundreds of sailboats. It was an overcast day, but that didn’t detract from the amazing view too much. Once we got out on to the open sea, the boat slowed and we bobbed around with a few other boats waiting for a whale to show. They told us to look for the bursts of water when the whales surfaced. Imagine our surprise when we actually saw a quick burst and a flash of a tail. The captain quickly took off and got as close as he could to the frolicking pair. They are really awesome creatures. We spent the next hour and a half alternating between bobbing about and racing to see another pod as they surfaced for air. It was hard to catch a picture of them, but Scott succeeded in catching a whale of a tail or two. The only one who didn’t have a lot of fun was Erin. The sea was rough that day my friends and Erin will probably not chose to be a sailor when she grows up. She was a little green and more than ready to set food on land when we returned to harbour.

After our dinner, we headed to the Sydney Observatory. I had read it was Sydney’s best-kept secret and we found out this meant the cab drivers have no idea where it is located. Erin was a lifesaver with her iPhone GPS and directed the cab driver to the correct location. The observatory was built 150 years ago and it had an old haunted house sort of feel to it. We were at one of the highest points in the middle of the city and had a panoramic view of Sydney at night. That was worth the price of admission. As we were marveling at the view, we noticed these monster creatures flying through the sky overhead. They were flying foxes – more commonly known as bats. These things had wingspans at least 3 feet across. Now we really felt we had come to a haunted house! Once inside they split us into 3 groups for our guided tour. First stop was the planetarium (it was cloudy, so this was their rainy day activity when you couldn’t see anything through the telescopes) that ended up being an umbrella hung up in a room with a round lounge bench underneath. They projected the Southern Hemisphere night sky up in the umbrella and our guide showed us the stories the Greeks and the Aboriginals made up about the constellations. Next stop was one of the telescope rooms where our guide pointed the telescope at the only visible constellation on this cloudy night – the Southern Cross on the Australian flag at the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Funny.

The next morning, we headed back to Perth, but we have lots of plans for our three-day trip over Christmas.

Kinsey in the Outback - Day 4

2011-11-02T14:55:00.002+08:00

Day 4

Today, after waking up to the birds, we ate regular oatmeal and cereal for ‘brekky’, and then played this really fun game that lasted all morning.

The purpose of the game was to learn about the food chain, so we had to pretend to be an animal. I was a herbivore, so everything could eat me at the beginning, but after I died I came back as an Englishman who could kill everything but Disease and Forest Fire. We decorated each other’s faces with charcoal to look like our animal.

Next, we had to completely clean the dorms and pack, which didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

Then we ate lunch- sausage rolls and sponge cake. There were also cheesy meat pies, but I didn’t eat one. Afterwards, the bus came and took us home.

Camp was really fun, but I was really looking forward to getting to take a shower without centipedes watching me (although I took a lot home on accident {Cheryl's note: these weren't actual centipedes, but they were about and inch and a half long with lots of tiny legs and they were icky. Must have washed 100 of them out of her stuff) and sleeping in a bed that didn’t squeak.

~Kinsey

Kinsey in the Outback - Day 3

2011-11-02T14:45:00.000+08:00

Day 3

Once again, I woke up to the birds. They were so annoying! But I got up, dressed, and ate some cereal with peaches in it. Then came my personal favourite part of camp:

The Zip Line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {Cheryl's note: This is called the Flying Fox here. Supposedly after the massive bats that fly around in Sydney.}

I was so nervous, but I went with my tent buddy down the rope. It was so amazing! We were on top of the trees, spinning around, and screaming all the way! Once we got to the end, we, at the same time, said, “We SO have to do that again!” So we ran back to the beginning, but we had to climb a really steep hill.

I went solo after that (10 times solo, 13 times in all) doing a freefall starfish, superman fly, twisting around, backwards, sideways, run and jump, and just a natural walk off- the best one.

But eventually, we had to go back. We made sandwiches again for lunch, and then did this thing called the ‘Pot of Gold’. All we had to do was carry a bucket of yellow- coloured water that looked like pee around the forest and into a cave. The catch was we had to pass a ton of obstacles without spilling the bucket. We were led by an ‘Ogally Boogally’ (who was really just one of our instructors) and had to debate with him on some stuff, like whether to go the dry way or the wet way, by using candy. At the very end, the ‘Ogally Boogally’ went away and ‘transformed’ into our instructor. One of the girls in my group was really mad at him and threw the Pot of Gold on him, and then they got in a stick fight on the beam above the river. Eventually, he chickened out and ran away. Then he threw water at us, and while trying to dodge it, I jumped out of the way and did a pretty epic fall from laughing so hard. J

That night, we ate butter chicken, then walked into the bush and made a campfire- a much better one than we did the first day. We saw a kangaroo, but thought it was a bear and screamed, scaring it away. Oops.

We made some damper, which is basically the blanket in Pigs in a Blanket, over the fire. My friend and I named it after us and kept trying to burn each other, except we really did burn our damper and it tasted horrible. So we fed it to the fire.

We told a few scary stories and jokes, then the instructor told us what we thought had happened in the blacksmith and princess story. People were coming up with really random answers, like he changed his mind and went off with a goat or really needed to go to the bathroom. Of course, the answer was there is no answer, except for what we thought it should be. Then we ran back to the dorms, stopped to look at a cute rodent and a koala then went to bed.

Kinsey in the Outback - Day 2

2011-11-02T14:40:00.000+08:00

Day 2

We all woke up at the same time from birds calling to each other at SIX IN THE MORNING! And they wouldn’t stop, so there was no way to go back to sleep. Thankfully, we weren’t allowed to be out of our tents until seven, so I just lay there talking to my buddy and trying to conserve the little warmth I had. Eventually, we had to get up to go to the bathroom, so we grudgingly got out of our sleeping bags and walked outside to find it was colder in our tents than in the Bush. I couldn’t feel my toe for a few hours after sleeping (we were stepping on it and I couldn’t feel anything). We relit the campfire, which I stuck my toe over, and the feeling finally came back. Then we used the leftovers from the burritos and some bread to make toast over the fire. Then, we repacked and went back to civilization. Well, as close as you can get in the forest.

I put everything back into my bags and chose a bed in the dorm, then went back outside to eat lunch. Which were normal tuna sandwiches, non-fire cooked.

Afterwards, we put on our gumboots and went to the creek in search for water bugs without spines. I saw a few leeches, and while running away slipped and got my snow boots soaking wet. I never wore them again- they never dried. I was very jealous of all who had normal gumboots.

Then we made dinner- macaroni and cheese. I was working on the tranga, so I basically stirred and cooked everything (go me!). And it looked really good at first! It was noodles, grilled vegetables, and bacon. Then they added disgusting cheese sauce, and the meal went downhill. I was about to eat the vegan’s spaghetti just because I didn’t like all the cheese.

But let’s be happy- peaches and cream was our dessert. And since none of us wanted to get our dishes dirty again, the instructors poured the cream down our mouth, then slipped a peach in after it. It was so funny!!! One girl got too much cream in her mouth, and couldn’t swallow it, but the instructors kept trying to put a peach in her mouth. Of course, she didn’t want it, so the flicked it onto the floor. I got my picture taken as I was doing it, so I couldn’t stop laughing, but luckily it all stayed in my mouth.

Then we went on a blind trail, which was incredibly scary but awesome. We had blindfolds, and even if you could peak it didn’t matter because it was nighttime. Zilch light. I walked with one of my friends and crashed into many, many trees. And fell many times. Ouch.

Afterwards, I went back to my dorm and crashed. But the beds were really squeaky, so if you moved, everyone got mad at you for making too much noise. At least it wasn’t nearly as cold as the tent.

Kinsey in the Outback - Day 1

2011-11-02T14:38:00.001+08:00

Several weeks ago, Kinsey went with about 40 other girls from school to a wilderness camp in the Australian Outback. We had not received our shipment of goods from the US and we also had not bought a car yet, so on an off Friday, I hired a car and drove up to the Kmart in Innaloo to buy everything on her supply list. You know that going to anyplace called Innaloo has to be exciting, right? The required supply list was quite long and many of the terms were unfamiliar, such as gumboots (rain boots) and jumpers (jacket). I had to ask a lot of questions, but after the trip to Kmart and several other stops at wilderness stores around town during the week, I managed to get everything on her list except gumboots. I ended up buying snow shoes which I hoped would work. I'll let Kinsey tell you how that turned out. Here is Day 1 of her blog...

So my mom asked me to write a blog about my school camp.

Well, it was pretty cool. We did lots of fun activities. Luckily, they made us keep a journal about what we did each day, so I’m using that as a reference point.

Day One

I started off today on the bus heading to camp. Everybody was talking about what they did last year (except for me, who only started eight weeks ago) and hoping camp would be better. Apparently, it was really boring last year, but I find that hard to believe.

Anyway, once we got to camp, we threw all our bags on the veranda and gathered in a big circle of 47 kids while we were told the rules. Then we were separated into groups. I got in the one called ‘The Emus’, and lucky me, I got to go sleep in a tent my first night.

We played a few group games to get to know each other, and then we had the joy of packing for our night out in the Bush. Although it was never going to rain- there wasn’t a cloud in the sky- we had to waterproof everything. Seems like putting all our possessions in a trash bag is simple, right?

Think again.

We had to move one night’s worth of clothing and toiletries into these special hiking bags, which had to be surrounded by a waterproof sleeping bag and a trash bag. All our toiletries went into a small waterproof bag, and our clothes were just shoved around the sides. The real challenge was the sleeping bag: once it was removed from its case, it was surrounded by a trash bag, put back into the case, and then all the air shoved out of it. Which required lots of pushing and sitting on.

Once everything had been ‘proofed, we walked 500 metres and unpacked it all into these tiny blue tents we’d set up ourselves.

You have no idea how angry I was that I did all that work just to unpack everything.

But camp is meant to be challenging, so I let it slide and chose a tent buddy. Fortunately, I had a few friends in my group.

We covered all the rules for cooking, walking, and our boundaries for camping out (and I was very glad we got to use toilets, because in a few years we’ll be digging holes). During this time, a wild kangaroo came to watch us. It was so cute, and only a few yards away! But then someone decided to throw a rock at it. I was not happy. And since I was from America, our instructors (who had nicknamed me America) told me it was a koala. I told them I’ve been to the zoo.

We cooked burritos {Note from Cheryl - I question if these were burritos since they used baked beans!} for dinner using ‘trangas’, which are just portable stoves burned by methol. I got out of cooking, though, by going to find firewood (which also got me out of cleaning, so I was pretty happy). Since two of my friends and I were staring the fire, we got to search for marshmallow sticks! They have to be really long, sturdy, and pointy so you can roast a marshmallow from far away. At first we thought that was pretty weird, but the smoke from the fire was making us cry later.

The fire took forever to start, because the wind kept blowing out our matches or the sticks wouldn’t catch fire. So we came up with our own plan, and learned if you start a fire with leaves, then there’ll be a huge flame and everything will eventually burn.

Then we ate dinner by cooking it over the fire and told stories around the campfire. One of the instructors told us a story of a princess and a blacksmith. The blacksmith loved her, and she told him to prove his love to her by bringing her a rare flower from far away. After he finished, she told him to bring her a fruit from even further away. After that, she told him to wait outside of her castle for her to walk out for 100 days. The catch? He left her on the 99^th day. It was our job to guess why and to tell the instructor our answer in three days.

For dessert, we roasted marshmallows and put cookie dough over chocolate cookies- cookies and cream!

Then we went for a night walk out in the bush for an hour. We weren’t allowed to bring our flashlights, and everyone was complaining about how dark it was going to be.

It ended up being really light from the moon and stars.

We saw a possum, then looked at the Southern Cross for a while and learned how to know which way was south using the Cross. All you do is draw a line directly from the centre of the Cross to the Earth.

Then came the fun part: sleeping in a tent! It was SO COLD, and the animals were really noisy. My friend and I talked almost all night because the wind was too loud to sleep through. We kept waking up at the same time.

Running, Walking, Biking, Relaxing

2011-10-03T15:12:00.000+08:00

It's strange for Spring to come in October, but no one is complaining. The scenery and the availablity of biking and walking paths makes it so easy to get outside and we do as often as we can around work and school. Even the bus ride to and from work can provide some spectacular views. One day I noticed a field of bluebonnets as I was getting off the bus from work.

The River

Our apartment is a short distance to the Swan River and we get out several nights a week to walk or run along the roads next to the river.

Here are some views from the 10K hike and bike trail around the Swan River where Scott loves to run. This is very close to work and I see a lot of people changing into walking shoes at lunch and heading down to the path for some fresh air. The girls and I walked the entire loop this weekend and it is quite spectacular. There are lots of black swans, seagulls, pelicans, lorikeets, and if you are really lucky, dolphins.

The Beach

The river does provide some amazing views but the beach is incredible. The Indian Ocean is less than a mile away from our apartment and we spend a lot of time over there either running, walking, biking, or just chilling. How could you not?

Scott and I have been itching to get our bikes out ever since our sea shipment came a few weeks ago. We finally made it this weekend and rode to the beach and then along the beach for a nice 10 mile loop. It was incredibly windy as you can see by the number of kite surfers. When there isn't a lot of wind, there will be a lot of regular surfers out on the beach, but when the wind picks up, these guys come out and it's fun to watch them. I counted 40 out there on our bike ride yesterday. It's amazing they don't get all tangled up!

It's not all sweat and tears. There are several restaurants and pubs along the beach and we often head over there for some down time to sit and stare at the ocean. All of them have patio seating and so you have unobstructed views like these of the Indian Ocean. There is always something to watch. Surfers, ships, swimmers, kite surfers, bikers, runners, sailboats.....

The Swan Valley

One day we decided to leave the ocean behind and we followed the river up to the wine country in the Swan Valley. It is possible to bike up there, but on this day, we drove. We stopped at the Margaret River Chocolate factory for a sundae and to pick up some amazing chocolate nuggets.

Couldn't take the picture fast enough!

We also stopped at the Sandalford Winery for some photos and to find out about their summer concert series. They hold concerts among the vineyards on Sunday afternoons. Can't wait until we make it to one of those. For now, here are some pictures of the grapes just beginning to grow.

One last picture of Erin after her 5K run along the beach in Fremantle.

How to Speak Australian

2011-09-08T10:25:00.000+08:00

Time is flying fast. I can't believe it's been two months already. My new job brought a surprise two week trip back to Houston which kind of made August disappear somewhere over the Indian Ocean. In six weeks I flew from Houston to Los Angeles to Sydney to Perth and then Perth to Dubai to Houston and back. I completely circled the globe!

Our lives in Perth have been filled with trying to establish routines and learning to drive so there hasn't been much exciting to talk about. The girls are halfway through the 3rd term at school and they seem to be doing well. Kinsey is at a camp learning about nature, the environment, self assurance, leadership, and essential survival skills for the Australian outdoors. Erin is studying Romeo and Juliet and has learned how to cook apple tarts and chicken stir fry. All seems to be well.

Since we don't have any grand adventures to discuss or post pictures for everyone to ooh and aah, I thought I would talk a little about the language differences.

General terms
arvo = afternoon
How you going? = Hi, how are you?
Sundowner = a get together with co-workers or friends after work at a nearby pub
cheers = hello, goodbye, thank you
hire = rent – as in “I'm going to hire a car for the weekend”
booking = reservation – as in “Let's make a booking for dinner tonight”
toilet = restroom
boot = trunk of the car
holiday = vacation - as in "We're going to Bali on holiday". Days off from work are called Public Holidays and everyone in the state has the same days off from work regardless of employer.
fortnight = two weeks
hash key = pound key on the telephone
No worries = despite the casual sound of this phrase, it does not mean that you shouldn't worry. In fact, we now have a joke that when you hear this phrase, it means the exact opposite. It's used more as in "Sure, I hear what you are saying" but in no way means that everything is okay.
creche = day care
jumper = sweater
keen = means the same thing as it does in the US, but they use it a lot here.

Food related
cuppa = cup of tea or coffee
Maccas (pronounced mackers) = McDonald's
capsicum = bell pepper
lolly = any kind of candy such as peppermints, gummy worms, lollipops, etc.
long black = cup of black coffee, no cream or sugar. There is a lot of coffee here and there are a dozen words and phrases to describe all the different types of coffees you can get. This is also true of the sizes of beer glasses although the most common sizes are midi and pint.
barbie = barbecue - The Aussies take barbecues to a whole new level
banger = sausage
biscuit = cookie
tomato sauce = ketchup

sports related
Footy = Australian rules football. The two local teams are the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles. Fan loyalty runs deep. soccer = soccer and football is footy
barrack = cheer for the team
cricket = a game that is similar to, but nothing like baseball. Haha! I took a couple of my co-workers who are cricket fans to an Astro's baseball game while we were in Houston. A very interesting experience for all of us to see the similarities and differences in the game.

music related
crochet (pronounced kroch it) = quarter note
minim = half note
semibreve = whole note
stave = staff

people
digger = soldier
bogan = roughly the same as a redneck
partner = boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance or spouse
Chemist = pharmacy
mate = friend – mostly used only by guys and in much the same was as "dude" is used

School
texter = highlighter (the "r" is dropped and this sounds like texta)
full stop = the period at the end of a sentence
leaver = a student in their final year at school
Uni = university
college = refers to high school or a place where uni students live and study. There is no public housing on the university campus, so the students live in colleges surrounding the campus. They are more than dorms, providing students with food, boarding, study groups, tutors, and a social group.

Spelling differences
We don't review Lessons Learned at work, instead we have Lessons Learnt. We are all still struggling a bit with the correct usage of whilst. Of course there is the 'or' to 'our' change as in colour and behaviour. Also the 'ize' to 'ise' conversion such as categorise and recognise. We now have a driver's licence instead of license. Chili is spelled chilli when refering to chili peppers or jalapenos. Yes, there are jalapenos here, but they are extremely mild.

We don't interact with as many Australians on a day to day basis as you might expect. There are a lot of immigrants and expats here trying to benefit from the mining (collecting anything out of the ground whether it's silver, opals, gas, or oil) boom. Because it is easy to move within the Commonwealth countries, there are a quite a few people from Scotland, Britain, and Canada here. I've been a little surprised at the number of South Africans that have immigrated to Australia in the past decade. We are all becoming much better at recognizing (or should I say recognising?) the different accents.

Cheers Mates!

Tucker

2011-08-10T20:54:00.000+08:00

We have been in Perth now for just over a month. In that time, I have been to the grocery store at least 5 days out of every week. In the first two weeks, we even went to the store twice day on several occasions and every trip requires a nearly two mile (3 km) round trip on foot. It takes a lot to fill a pantry from bare shelves to enough food to keep four people happy. With all the extra walking we were doing (and Scott is in the middle of the hardest part of the marathon training season), everyone was eating lots of food and it was so hard to keep up with the demand. We bought a cute little Toyota Yaris hatchback today which is going help with the groceries. Walking for groceries with four of us wasn't as horrible as it may sound. We would grab our re-useable bags, fill them up, and head home. There was lots of talking time on the way home and everyone's fitness level improved immensely. That has been less of a burden than trying to cook with the minimal kitchenware that came in our temporary furniture package. Hopefully we will get our real stuff in the next 6-8 weeks, but we hear they are backed up in customs, so we really don't know. So for now, we don't have a lot of variety in our meals, but we are adapting quickly and have come to enjoy dinner time. We can't go out to eat nearly as much as we did in Houston for a variety of reasons, so the minimal kitchen is getting a lot of use and we are having fun coming up with creative ideas for cooking.

The grocery stores are smaller than we are used to and there aren't as many choices. The chain grocery stores (Woolworth, known as Woolies, and Coles) are only opened until 7:00 every evening except Thursday when they stay open until 9:00 and closed on Sundays. The small, local owners are allowed to stay open later on the weekdays and Sundays so there is availability of meats and produce in an emergency.

The first thing you notice when you walk into any grocery store is the produce section. Every store has the most amazing produce full of color and variety. Most everything seems to be locally grown. It is more expensive usually, although I have found several things that are cheaper like avocados and kiwis. Due to a cyclone that hit Queensland earlier this year, bananas are an amazing $15/kg (about $7/lb) but they predict they will be back down to $.30/kg by the summer as the crops recover. I'm excited at the possibilities of cooking with more veggies and coming up with new dishes after I get my full set of kitchen supplies. Right now we stick to standard salad food, green beans, capsicum (bell peppers) and fresh fruit.

The meat section is almost as nice as the produce section. We are in the process of looking for a barbie (grill) so that we can also expand our meat cooking options. The Aussies love their BBQs and we have a beautiful patio with a gas outlet for a barbie as soon as the weather turns warmer. There is a lot of beef, chicken, pork, fish, and lamb. We aren't huge fans of lamb. We did try the kangaroo meat once. That will probably be our last time to eat kangaroo meat.

The rest of the grocery store is typical. There aren't a lot of options, but the quality of what they do have is good. They have lots of British baked beans and an entire section of shelf dedicated to Vegemite. We've been going through a variety of cookies to learn our new favorites. Tim Tams seem to be a hit and are a local favorite. Cheerios are manufactured by Uncle Toby's instead of General Mills. There is a section of El Paso and Mission brand Mexican food products and we have been able to cook several decent Tex-Mex meals. There really aren't a whole lot of other differences.

We were very surprised one day when we happened to notice this in the British foods section.

It comes from Belgium and the ingredients are in multiple languages. We were pleased to discover it tastes just like the Dr. Pepper we know.

One of the other discoveries...

We haven't tried these yet but I'm sure they will be tasty even if they are upside down.

Uniform Day!

2011-07-25T17:09:00.000+08:00

Our last day of "summer" has arrived at long last. What better way to spend our day than buying uniforms for school.

They girls walked in to the uniform shop with hesitation and were a little shy, but within 15 minutes clothes were flying all around my head and they were chattering with the helpful uniform shop employee. I guess shopping is shopping even if the only color choice is green. Blazers, cardigans, socks, tights, ties, backpacks, hair ribbons... Who can keep track? Luckily we only had to buy the winter wardrobe today. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we had also been trying on dresses and bathers (swimsuits) for the summer.

May need some help from Dad.

Very green. These are the formal uniforms worn throughout the day. It was explained to us the shoes were meant for comfort and not fashion. They girls agree.

The winter PE outfits.

The all year PE outfit.

The girls also found out they have been placed in the Athens house. Not entirely sure what a house is yet, but it seems to be just like they are described in Harry Potter. As if there wasn't enough green here, their house color is.....green. Could have been red, blue, white, gold, or purple, but they got the green house. At least it's a kelly green and not emerald green. It's nice to have variety.

Observations

2011-07-22T17:09:00.000+08:00

We finally have internet set up in our apartment. I feel like I have rejoined the land of the living.

The first two weeks in Perth have been so very busy. There is just too much to tell here so I thought I would just record some observations.

- The river is 100 meters from our front door and the Indian Ocean is a mile from our backdoor. That will never get old. It is simply amazing.

- I did not appreciate how cool it would be to look up and see all sorts of parrots in the trees.

- The ravens are huge and sound just like little kids.

- What is with all of the El Camino style vehicles?

- They have almost everything we are used to in the grocery store, it's just not always packaged for convenience. For instance, they have green olives, but you have to slice them yourself. The only cheese that comes already grated is parmesan cheese.

- Next week we may try making chili dogs with kangaroo franks since we can't find our fat free turkey franks anymore. They are 98% fat free.

- Pumpkin soup with warm bread is wonderful on a chilly, wet, winter day.

- Bananas are expensive, avocados are cheap, and Dr Peppers come from Belgium.

- Every can labeled as beans is a baked bean, even if it says BBQ beans on the label. Only exception is Old El Paso Mexe-beans which are not bad.

- "Perfect" and "no worries" are overused phrases that do not always mean that everything is perfect or that we shouldn't worry.

Next week I will attempt to load some pictures and share some of our experiences.

We finally made it to Australia!

2011-07-12T10:25:00.000+08:00

It has been a whirlwind of activity since I last wrote. We have moved several times, but this move was by far the most intense. I spent an entire week trying to decide what we needed to move immediately in our suitcases, knowing that we were going to have to lug everything we decided we had to have halfway across the world. The long-term storage pile was easy since that was just going to be the dining room table and cedar chest. Next was deciding what would be really nice to have in the air shipment. This was a 5-foot by 4-foot by 4-foot carton that should arrive in Perth in 10 days from the day it is packed. We began by filling it with all of the winter clothes that we couldn’t pack in our suitcases and a few blankets and some necessary items such as tissues and laundry soap and bath products. Not that we can’t find those in Perth, it’s just that we don’t have a car in Perth, so anything we don’t have to buy right away makes life easier. Anything left over went into the sea shipment.

We thought we had the air shipment totally packed, but when the movers showed up, they put everything we had into two little boxes and told us to bring more. We flew around the house adding clothes and shoes and anything else small we thought would be nice to have sooner. The girls got their pillow pets, beanbags, and Snuggies in there – Score!

It took two days for the movers to pack. They boxed everything up in a way I’ve never seen. Everything was dismantled as far as it could be dismantled and wrapped in two layers of boxes. I missed seeing the crate the piano went in to, but Scott said it was a work of art.

On Wednesday, July 6, we headed to the airport and boarded the first plane to Los Angeles. Everything went smoothly and shortly we were on the plane headed to Sydney. Fourteen hours is a long flight! We landed in Sydney early in the morning on Friday. I’ve wanted to go to Sydney for as long as I can remember and was not disappointed. In about 24 hours, we took a bus tour around town, walked around Darling Harbour, and climbed the steps to the Sydney Opera House. I can’t wait to get back to Sydney when we aren’t jet lagged and have more time.

After a night’s rest, we boarded the final plane to Perth. It was obvious we were all tired and a little overwhelmed by everything when we landed and began the cab ride to our temporary living quarters. The cold, winter air was so refreshing.

Our temporary apartment is not the most cheery of spots. It wasn’t until the next day when we got out and walked on the edge of King’s Park that our spirits started to rise. The girls saw parrots, magpies, kookaburras, lots of different types of trees, and a beautiful waterfall in our short 30 minute walk. There is just something about seeing parrots in the wild after only seeing them in zoos or as pets. The cobwebs of jet leg started to fall away and everyone began to feel better.

We made our first trip to the grocery store and picked up what we needed to make spaghetti one night and tacos the next. Things are a little more expensive, but they seem to have most everything that we are used to. Sometimes it is packaged a little differently. For instance, Cheerios are made by Uncle Toby’s instead of General Mills. I managed to work with the little bits of cookware we have in the temporary apartment and put together a nice meal of spaghetti and a salad. Even used the electric hot tea pot to make a nice pitcher of iced tea. The largest glasses we have are coffee mugs, so we just kept refilling those with the refreshing liquid.

We also got to tour the apartment that Scott rented for us when he was here a few weeks ago. It was a quick tour, but the girls and I were impressed and feel it’s going to be a nice place to live. My job today is to find out how to turn on all of the utilities. Temporary furniture will be delivered Friday and we can move in next weekend. We were all very excited to see it was a short walk to a path running along the river and look forward to exploring that further.