Thanksgiving!

I had my first Thanksgiving away from family yesterday. It's definitely an American holiday, and people here have been focused on Christmas for the last couple of weeks.  Luckily, a few Aussies were keen to help me celebrate it this year.

Of course I had to work so that spoiled some of the fun, but I got up early to watch the Detroit-Green Bay game. I accidentally-on-purpose missed Nickelback's halftime performance, whoops! The game was pretty boring overall but at least I got my football fix before work. Afterwards I went over to Hayden's house and helped fix some dinner for people who were a little confused by the combination of food that we eat for Thanksgiving. I never realized it, but it's pretty carb-heavy and probably something I would never just whip up without knowing it's what I'm "supposed" to eat that day. His family had decorated the dining room with an orange tablecloth and fall-themed napkins (his mom explained she looked all that up on the Internet, adorable). I made stuffing, which turned out pretty good but a little dry, and on top of that we had turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, gravy, rolls, etc. His family all had pumpkin pie for the first time, which I LOVE but they thought was a little gross. They were also grossed out when I explained I was going to eat it for breakfast, but were intrigued by the turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sandwich that I was planning to have for lunch.

I'm really thankful for Mom, Dad, Patrice and all my friends back home. I'm thankful I have a place to live and new friends here. And I'm REALLY thankful that Black Friday does not exist here and that I no longer have to get up at 3AM to make people their stupid lattes at the Northgate Mall Starbucks. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Missing Home

So far I've had a lazy Saturday. Dan has been mainly living with his grandpa the past few weeks since his grandma passed away. He's trying to sublet his room for a couple of months, so I cleaned the place and am meeting him and a potential new roommate in about an hour for coffee. I'm kind of bummed about it because I get along with him really well, but hopefully he'll be able to move back in a few months.

I haven't been homesick too much, which surprises me because I really thought I would be. There are definitely a few people back home that I think about a lot, but I actually don't miss Seattle itself most of the time. I feel like the sun and heat kind of suit me; Sydney reminds me a lot of Southern California. But this week I had Skype chats with my parents and Carri. I got presents in the mail from Patrice and Rochelle. I talked to Pam a bit about making a trip down here. AND I made a Seattle playlist which was maybe a mistake because it turns out a lot of the music made in Seattle is kind of depressing. I wish I could come back for Christmas but I probably won't be able to save up enough money until I'm working full time, so hopefully I can make it back for a visit in May or June.

MEAT

I was pretty excited to get off work yesterday because I had plans to meet up with my friend Matt at Central Station to go for a climb. I've been trying to go about once a week and it's been really nice to have someone who will hold me accountable if I don't go, and who also won't let me fall to my death from a great height. When I walked into the lobby at work, it was POURING rain. The Westfield Tower is a few blocks from my work and it was completely hidden beneath clouds and sheets of rain. I waited in the lobby for about 15 minutes hoping it would pass, but finally just made a run to the train station. Of course I didn't have an umbrella because 8 years of living in Seattle has convinced me that they are dumb. Anyways I got completely soaked and Matt was in the same condition so we ended up scrapping the whole thing to go drink schooners and play bingo.

Best decision ever! In Australia a lot of the time pub trivia nights, raffles, bingo etc don't have a cash prize. But they DO have a meat tray that you can win. And yesterday was my lucky night because I got a bingo and got to ride home on the train carrying this! I was so proud.

Melbourne Cup

Today was the Melbourne Cup, which is a horse race that happens every year on the first Tuesday in November. I didn't realize how excited people would get for it, but today as I was riding the train into work there were girls everywhere in really nice dresses and crazy hats headed into the city. They call it "the race that stops a nation" and it's pretty much the truth, because about ten minutes before 3:00 everyone quit working and went into the conference room. We had a bunch of snacks and cracked open some champagne to watch the race. People in Australia LOVE to gamble whether it's the pokies (slot machines), footy games or horse races, so everyone I work with spread out the little tickets they'd bought placing bets on various horses. The race started right at 3:00 and it didn't take long before the 3200 meters were finished. It was the closest finish in Melbourne Cup history, and after a few minutes of analyzing the photos, Dunaden was declared the winner. So his owner Sheikh Fahad of Qatar goes from being insanely rich to... richer. Anyways it was a pretty interesting day!

Spring is here

That's 94 fahrenheit. And it's only spring.

I had a really good weekend! I went in the water for the first time since I got here, and if this weather keeps up it's going to have to become a daily thing. Sunday I met up with Hayden during the day and just laid out on the beach in between swims. Most places in Sydney are air conditioned, but the apartment is not, and it gets insanely warm, so it was good to spend as much time out of there as possible. That night was the rugby final, and New Zealand just barely pulled out a win over France, go the All Blacks!

Unfortunately the week is off to not as great a start. My roommate Dan's grandma passed away last week, and her funeral was today so I went with a few other friends to that. Work was really nice about letting me take the day off luckily, and Dan seemed pretty glad to see a few people who weren't 80 year old friends of the family trying to fix him up with their granddaughters. As for me, I'm out of the dressy clothes and back into the uniform of tank top and shorts that I'll be sporting for the next 4 months.

Updates and stuff

It's Friday finally! It's been a long week, and I left my iPod at a friend's house a few days ago so the train ride to the city and back has been pretty excruciating. Yesterday I got to listen to some guy with a disgusting head cold cough directly into the back of my head the whole way into town. Luckily work has been pretty good. I actually got to write a page of program notes for the Western Australia Symphony about the history of the trumpet! Maybe the most enjoyable/easy thing I've been paid to do so far in my career.

The weekend should be pretty good, I'll probably be watching more of the rugby world cup. New Zealand is playing Australia tomorrow and then Wales vs. France is Sunday. I'm going over to my friend Cat's house to watch the game Sunday with a few other people I've met over here. I've noticed that a lot of people from the UK live in Australia; it's crazy because out of the 6 or so of us who have been getting together for the games, there are 3 from England, 1 from Ireland, 1 American (me) and one actual Australian person. I still get teased a bit about Americanish things I say, things like:

No fair!
Oh helllllll no!
Want a can of pop?
For real?

I also get asked to talk with a Southern accent a lot, they think it's pretty hilarious. Although I did watch some NASCAR yesterday morning so I suppose it's not too much of a stretch:)

Australian Wildlife

So Australia is known for its unique and diverse wildlife. Cute ones like kangaroos and koalas. Less cute ones like crocodiles and stingrays. But you may not know that there are cockroaches EVERYWHERE. And tonight as I was trying to tuck myself into bed early I found a cockroach. ON. MY. TOOTHBRUSH!!!!!!! Dan is not home to kill it for me so I'm pretty much going to bed terrified with unbrushed teeth until tomorrow when I can buy a new one. I've added a picture to show you what I'm dealing with here...