Yakattack

Compared to Seattle and Portland, there aren't a whole lot of craft beer options in this part of the world. I saw one called "Lazy Yak" at the bottle shop, and decided to give it a try. Only after I gave the label a more in-depth read did I realize that the name of the beer is derived from the growing region of the hops used in the beer: the Yakima Valley! I think of all the times I drove through those hop fields in unincorporated Yakima County to get to my piano lessons, and am a little bit amazed that they made it all the way to Sydney. The beer wasn't half bad, either.

1st Day of Summer

It's a hot one! Unfortunately my building overcompensated with the air conditioning and I'm currently freezing at work.

Wipeout!

I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised when a Christmas tree appeared in the lobby of my building on Monday. With the weather heating up (and no Thanksgiving holiday to celebrate), Australia is well and truly in holiday mode at the moment.

While an evergreen tree propped up in an office building in warm weather looks ridiculous to me, I do appreciate other unique ways in which the Southern Hemisphere celebrates Christmas. If it’s too hot to sit in front of the fire wearing an actual ugly Christmas sweater, why not purchase an ugly Christmas sweater rashguard?

Tassie

When I first moved to Australia, I imagined living in Sydney for a few months, saving some money, and then spending a bit of time travelling to all of the places I wanted to see: The Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Tasmania and New Zealand. Obviously I haven’t done all of that, but I was very happy to have the chance to spend four days last week in Hobart. Tasmania reminds me a little bit of New Zealand – the air is cool and crisp, the scenery is green, and there is water everywhere. We arrived in Hobart in the morning, and had time to drive up to the top of Mt. Wellington just outside of town. It’s about 4,000 feet above sea level, and while there was no snow at the summit, there were a few clouds hanging around the mountain. Luckily they would shift every now and then, and it was possible to get a glimpse of the amazing view down into Hobart.

The Hobart airport is similar in size to the Yakima airport.

Top of Mt. Wellington

Top of Mt. Wellington

The main activity for Day 2 to was to see Port Arthur, a former convict settlement located about an hour and a half outside of Hobart. In spite of a few school groups who were visiting for the day, Port Arthur is still very eerie and quiet after all of these years. We went on a river boat tour past the former boys’ prison where children as young as nine served time, as well as the Isle of the Dead, a cemetery where prisoners and officers are buried. Port Arthur was also the site of a horrific mass shooting in the 1990s, which prompted Australia to enact strict gun control laws. Despite its terrible history, it is an incredible outdoor museum with very well-preserved buildings and gardens, and it was one of the most interesting parts of the trip.

Port Arthur from the wharf

View from the hill behind the old penitentiary

Day 3 was uncharacteristically hot for Tasmania – 30 degrees Celsius (86 F). It was a beautiful day to catch the ferry to Bruny Island, where we drove to a narrow sand spit connecting the north and south parts of the island. After climbing the stairs to the lookout, we went searching for penguins, who use the beach as a nesting ground. I saw plenty of little penguin footprints going to and from the water, but no birds – the weather was a bit hot, and we were there at midday, which isn’t an ideal time to see them. On the way back to the ferry I stopped in at Bruny Island Cheese Company and consoled myself with a massive cheese plate.

Bruny Island

Penguin footprints at Bruny Island

The last day in Hobart, Hayden and I parted ways so that I could go see MONA (Museum of Old and New Art), and he could go do something that wasn’t complete torture for him. I took the fancy ferry out to the museum first thing in the morning, and was absolutely blown away by the place. The exhibitions range from ancient Egyptian sarcophaguses to a hallway decorated with plaster moulds of 70 different women’s vaginas. After I got back into the city, we enjoyed a few beers at the historic Salamanca Place district of Hobart before an early flight back to Sydney.

Ferry to MONA - note the artsy sheep looking out over the water

Central Perk

After a very long wait, Australia was finally introduced to Netflix this year. I haven’t gotten a subscription, but from what I hear there are fewer shows and movies offered in the Australian catalogue than the American one. I’m not exactly sure why, but I imagine it’s probably for the same reason that digital downloads on iTunes cost more in Australia for no apparent reason.

One alternative to Netflix that is available here now is Stan, and to attract new customers they are making every episode of Friends – a show that has been off the air for over a decade – available to new subscribers. Every day on my to work this week, I walked past “Central Perk”, a re-creation of the coffee shop from the show, where the friends would meet to discuss Ross and Rachel’s most recent breakup, or Phoebe’s evil twin sister, or Joey’s acting career, etc.

They were giving out free coffee to market the service, but the line was so long I didn’t bother. I probably won’t bother getting Netflix until we’re back in America, either – but it’s not a bad idea as far as marketing gimmicks go!

Adios, Abbott

Last night, Tony Abbott got ousted as Prime Minister, making Malcolm Turnbull the 5th Prime Minister that Australia has had in 5 years.

Tony Abbott sporting his famous budgie smugglers in happier times. 

Not only was Tony Abbott the PM, he was also the Minister for Women (self-appointed), so needless to say I'm feeling a bit lost without him.

Flat White

Typically I make my own coffee at home, but every now and then I like to order a fancier drink at a cafe on my way to work. When I do this I typically stick to cappuccinos, because I don’t want to waste $4 on a drink I don’t even like. Today I finally got around to trying one of Australia’s proudest inventions: the Flat White.

I’d always been curious to try this drink, but not really curious enough to deviate from cappuccinos or lattes. The name sounded kind of gross – I like foam, so why would I want to drink scalding, flat milk? It also didn’t help that I’d asked several Australian people to describe exactly what a flat white is, and they never really could give me a definitive answer. “It’s like a latte, but the foam is different”, “It’s sort of like a café au lait...I think?” and “It’s similar to a cappuccino, but stronger” are explanations I’ve heard over the last four years.

Having now tried one, I can say for certain: It’s a latte. It’s nice, but it’s just a latte.

One Million Dollars

There are many reasons why I’m excited to move back to America. Proximity to family and friends, craft beer, Mexican food, fast Internet and the rejection of the metric system are among them. But the news today that Sydney’s median home price is now over $1 million is one of the more compelling reasons!

Link to news article

Tennessee Hussy

Hayden is part of a syndicate that owns a horse with the unfortunate name of Tennessee Hussy. She was racing yesterday, so I decided to back her for $5 on the nose. In order to place this bet, I had to walk up the street to the TAB, which is a designated location in Australia where you can place a bet on sports, greyhounds or horses. At 2pm on a Thursday this establishment was full of men (I’ve never seen any women there) with varying levels of employment, and I got out as quickly as I could. I was happy I did in the end, because Tennessee Hussy won and I made a $20 profit! She even got her picture in the newspaper with a write-up about her jockey.

TH is the one with the pink jockey

Link to the article

Table Etiquette 101

There is something that has been persistently bothering me at every dinner party I have participated in since arriving in Australia. People here hold their fork in the left hand – prongs down – and cut their food with the knife in the right hand. Then they bring the food directly into their mouths with the fork in the left hand – again, prongs down at all times. I typically hold my fork like a pen in the left hand, and just frantically scoop food onto it with my knife. If I’m feeling real fancy, I’ll set the knife down and transfer the fork over to my right hand, but always with the prongs up.

I’ve always felt confident that I was raised with decent table manners, but this was starting to make me feel paranoid. I recently decided it warranted some further investigation, and it turns out there are two styles of fork etiquette: American and Continental. American style was described by Emily Post as ‘The Zigzag Method’, and it’s also known as ‘The Star-Spangled Fork Flip’, ‘Homeland Handover’ and ‘The Freedom Fork-over’. I’m very happy to know that I won’t have to retrain myself how to eat.

Home

Over the past couple of months I’ve been going through the process of applying for a Green Card for Hayden, and I can’t believe how transparent, efficient and straightforward the whole endeavour has been. OH WAIT. NO IT’S NOT! First was an application (entitled “Form DS 462-NA QPR” or some similar nonsense) that was sent to Chicago, on which I had to type our names and birthdays about 10 times. This was followed by the delightful “Affidavit 1040BZQ X215” that was mailed to a different address in New Hampshire, which included my tax return, proof of income and a sworn statement that Hayden won’t abuse food stamps or other government assistance. Today I’m filing what will hopefully be the last form, including passport photos and Hayden’s police background check. This will probably be pushed around a few desks before it gets processed.

I sometimes get frustrated and can’t help but think about how things would have been much easier if I had just taken an internship with Seattle Opera or Grand Teton Music Festival four years ago. In the midst of this whole mess, I came across an article that reminded me of why I think it’s worth it. It’s written by an Australian who has lived in America for several years – she explains the feeling better than I ever could: Link to article

Autumn

Fall is here (or Autumn, as they prefer to say in Australia), and I've been trying to find a few things to do with myself on the weekends since it's too cold to swim at the beach anymore. I took the train down to Kiama a few days ago to take a walk along the coastline, and spotted a sure sign that Autumn has officially arrived: an empty rock pool on a Saturday.

Rock pools are fairly common at the beaches around here. At high tide, the waves spill over the cement walls and refresh the pool water, and when the tide goes out (as in this photo) there is a really nice saltwater pool left with a view of the ocean. This time of year they look a bit lonely.

Clippings

The Sutherland Shire Brass Band got a write-up in the newspaper a couple of days before our last concert, and I finally got my hands on a copy. I couldn't be in the photo because they did it on a weekday while I was at work. The article didn't seem to make too much difference in attendance at the concert - a Sunday matinee of World War 2 classics somehow didn't appeal to the masses - but hopefully it will create some interest for our performance on Anzac Day next month.

New Zealand

After having lived in Australia for several years, I finally made the trip over to New Zealand. With only a week off from work, it would have been too frantic to see both the North and South Islands, so Hayden and I decided to base ourselves in Christchurch on the South Island, where a friend of his is working. I have always associated New Zealand with mountains and greenery, but another image will always stay with me after having visited Christchurch: the utter devastation caused by the February 2011 earthquake, which is still obvious after four years. The city is known for its abundance of old stone churches, but I was sad to see so many of the old buildings surrounded by chain link fences and tall grass, deemed unsafe to enter until insurance companies  come through with payments.

 The Cathedral, which is missing an entire wall

There are shipping containers all over the city, with some being used to prop up buildings. Others are being used as makeshift shops and cafes. We spent a couple of hours walking all over the city, and while some sections appear to have been abandoned, every so often we would come across pockets where there are actually still people. Hagley Park and the botanic gardens are massive and located right in the middle of the city, and it’s almost possible to forget there ever was an earthquake while walking through.

Shipping containers being used for structural support

We wanted to get outdoors in New Zealand, and Akaroa was a beautiful day trip out of the city. Akaroa is situated on a harbor, with some of the bluest water I have ever seen. It was a hot day, so I went for a swim out to a pontoon in the harbor and watched kids jumping off the docks. I was covered in a chalky substance after my swim, which I suspect was some kind of mineral that gives the water its distinctive color.

 The road leading down to Akaroa

Akaroa

Akaroa

One other highlight was a couple of nights spent at Hanmer Springs. The hot spring is only a couple of hours from Christchurch, and completely surrounded by mountains. It didn’t take long to walk around the entire town, and I visited their tiny library to check my email. After that, we spent most of the time soaking in the hot pools or drinking Tui (probably my favorite Kiwi beer that I tried).

View from the main road in Hanmer Springs

View from the top of Conical Hill, a short hike outside of town.

After that it was one more night in Christchurch (and a few scary moments dealing with Immigration at the airport) before I was on a plane back to Australia. I would love to go back to New Zealand and spend a bit more time driving around both islands.

Go Hawks!

A surprising number of people in Australia seem to be interested in the NFL, although they never can resist telling me how dainty the players are for wearing padding and helmets. Every Monday morning during football season, Channel 7 broadcasts the games and I occasionally wake up a bit early to watch with my coffee and toast. This Monday happened to be the Seattle v. Green Bay game, but from what I could see of it during the 2^nd quarter it looked like a bit of a snooze. I logged into Facebook at lunchtime, and it was extremely obvious that things had taken a dramatic turn.

Of course I was happy to hear the Hawks had advanced to another Super Bowl, but I think what made me the happiest was this particular photo of Jon Ryan throwing a TD pass following a fake field goal attempt:

This is the face of an undrafted punter from Canada at the precise moment his legacy as a hero or complete failure is being decided. From my perspective that’s a bit of an overstatement, but judging by his face maybe it isn’t!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

My office in Sydney is located on Oxford Street, where there always seems to be a lot of activity. There are about a hundred cafes and restaurants to choose from for lunch, in addition to some more seedy offerings: a liquor store on every block, adult shops with names such as “Tool Shed”, and nightclubs that don’t open until hours after I’ve already gone home from work. Among other things, it is known as the main gay district in Sydney, with people travelling from all over the country to take part in the Mardi Gras parade each year.

It’s felt like summer here for over a month now, but this afternoon I noticed a sign indicating that summer on Oxford Street has truly arrived: a sale on men’s Brazilian waxes at the salon across the street.

I'm sure they'll have a few takers!