Wow, this is my first blog entry! I can't believe it. Actually, it's not really my first. I had to do a blog for my AP Environmental class during my senior year of high school, but I don't think that counts! Nobody even knew what a blog was at the time. Let's just say that this is my first blog post that I've ever wanted to do.
Now, if you're reading this, then you know that I've been living in Adelaide, Australia for over a year (since May 12, 2009). I probably should have started this blog as soon as I moved here, but better late than never! Right?
To refresh your memories (or give you a brief Adelaide tutorial if you've never seen the e-mail), I am going to post my e-mail that I sent to my close friends and family after I first moved here. Read below, and enjoy!
Hello friends and family,
Greetings from Adelaide, Australia! It's hard to believe that all of
you in northern hemisphere are experiencing warmer weather than me in
AUSTRALIA, but it's still in the sixties (sometimes low 70's) in what
would be late November weather in Chicago. If I wanted to, I could
comfortably wear flip flops and shorts during the day in winter
weather. Not so bad, right?
As it turned out, that long 14 hour plane ride that I experienced two
weeks ago from LA to Sydney was nothing less than pleasant. The Qantas
staff spoiled us with two full meals, bags of chocolates and dried
fruits, apples, blankets, pillows, and a goody bag for the flight
including a toothbrush, toothpaste, a pair of warm socks, a key chain,
and those things you put over your eyes to block out light so that you
can sleep. Then, there was the entertainment system. For no extra
charge, I watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic", "Paul Blart, Mall
Cop", "The Reader", "Milk", and "Vicky Christina Barcelona". If I
hadn't slept for six hours of the flight, then I could have enjoyed
dozens of other movies, unlimited TV shows, and lots of games to play.
In other words, for those of you who dread long flights, you can
easily make time pass faster with the entertainment system. You can no
longer use the long-boring-flight excuse to not visit me!
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| First sight of Australian land |
We got into Sydney around 6 am (I couldn't see the Harbour Bridge or
Opera House, sadly), and we had to sit on the plane for over 40
minutes so that they could check every passenger for swine flu. No
joke. We all filled out forms before we landed, and then these people
(called the quarantine people) stormed the plane, checked our forms,
and examined every person who said that they showed symptoms in the
past week or were around people with symptoms. I don't know if it's
still a hot topic in the US, but people are still crazed about it
here. It finally made its way to Adelaide, and two public high schools
are closed for a week. Poor parents. They're also quarantining cruise
ships. Medical experts here predict that as much as 2/3 of the
population will get it here. It's almost winter-the start of the flu
season-and people worry that it will mutate into something evil if the
swine flu mixes with the regular flu. Sorry to bore you with all of
this, but this is all I ever hear about in the news! I'm sick of it!
Anyway, the 40 extra minutes on the plane followed by the slow
immigration line, waiting forever for my bags, and standing in another
long line to get my bags scanned was enough to make me miss my
connecting flight.
A few hours later, my adventures in Adelaide began. We pulled up to
the house greeted by red, white, and blue balloons that his grandma
tied to the front fence. She also attached a kangaroo post card, and
she bought me dozens of patriotic cup cakes. I'll post pictures of that later.
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| The cupcakes! |
I spent a lot of my first week fighting jet lag and trying to get
oriented with the city. Adelaide is a great city. Al's house is about
a ten minute walk from the actual city. I just walk to the end of his
street, cross a busy road, and walk across a park to get there. They
live on the nicer part of town- the east end. The west end is more
industrial and seedy at night. The bulk of the cool and pretty stuff
is in the northeast part of town, which is conveniently close to us
(although the city is small, and you can almost reasonably walk/bike
anywhere). Adelaide also loves its parks. The city looks like a
slightly tilting rectangle, and the whole thing is surrounded by
parklands. You must go through a park to go in the city. The Torrens
River borders the north part of the city, (funny story- a weir broke
at the beginning of this year, and all of the water drained out. It
probably wasn't funny at the time, but now all of the water is back)
and you can paddle boat all year round! You can also take a boat to
the zoo. One of my favorite parts of Adelaide is the Adelaide Hills
east of the city, which are gigantic and almost look mountainous. The
tallest point is Mt. Lofty, and the base is only about a ten minute
drive from Al's house. We climbed it last weekend. It was over an hour
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| At the top of Mt Lofty |
climbing what felt like a 90 degree (but not really, because that's
not possible) incline. If that was bad, imagine going down!
I set a goal to climb it ever weekend so that I can get amazingly good at
doing it, so we'll see! You can also change paths around the base and
head over to Cleland Wildlife Park. You can pet kangaroos and all of
these other Australian animals! We might do it tomorrow.
Culturally, this place feels more European than home. For one thing,
they never use their dryer! They hang their clothes up in the back.
The sun dries it, and it saves energy. Also, the pace of life is slow
and leisurely. There is never horrendous traffic. People stroll. Think
of it like Italy, but people almost always smile and say hello.
Friends sit outside and drink coffee...for hours. The architecture is
Victorian. There's nothing wrong with working at your neighborhood
supermarket if you want to make a few extra dollars. Nobody will judge
you. A lot of people DON'T go to uni (what we call college). If you
do, though, you go in your own city and live at home. Every kid in
kindergarten through 12th grade wears a uniform- it doesn't matter if
you go to a public or private school. You don't have to tip. Ever.
There are always markets to get fresh fruits and veggies. People are
also incredibly fit. Adelaide is designed for walking and cycling.
There are bike lanes on almost every street and a lot of nice
paths-such as the one you can ride along the Torrens to the beach or
the other way to the Hills (aka suicide). Ahhh and if you don't want
to walk, there are buses everywhere and trolleys you can take to the
beach. So basically, if I don't learn immediately to drive Al's manual
car, I'll still be okay!
The animals here are also a little crazy. For instance, there are
black swans (or some kind of swan- they're black) that just hang out
on the bike path next to the Torrens. They move out of your way, but
slowly. So far, I have not been attacked. I also saw a group of them
earlier this week crowding around a parked car with a little boy and a
father begging for food. There was also a pair of them waiting- I kid
you not- to cross a busy road. They were standing together and turning
their heads to the right and left as if waiting for a big opening in
the traffic. I never saw how it ended.
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| A magpie |
Then, Monday, I was on a walk
when I felt something hit me hard in the back of my head, move around
in my hair, scratch my face, and fly away. It was a magpie. I found
out later that these bird like to find random people to "swoop" and
then fly away. I guess I was just lucky that day. I also got attacked
last week by a mob of angry biting ants while trying to get my bike
from the shed. No bite marks, at least!
As for Al's friends and family, everybody is nice. Everybody in this
country is nice (or at least the people I met). His mom is super easy
to get along with. I think she likes having me around. I also love his
oldest brother Nick (26) and his girlfriend Anna (25). They just moved
back to Adelaide from Sydney, and Anna is totally into musicals and
Zac Effron and all that stuff. What could be better for me?
I'm going to start volunteering for the Australian Red Cross in the
next couple of weeks. It'll be a one-on-one counseling program, so I'm
pretty excited for that. Then, I'll be on the hunt for part time jobs
which shouldn't be too difficult given that his mom knows a gazillion
people.
I have a temporary phone number for now, but I think that's going to
change this weekend. The best and cheapest way to talk is through
e-mail (obviously) or Skype. Regardless of whether you have skype or
not, send me an email if you want to chat, and we'll set up a time.
Also ADD ME if you have gmail and use gchat! ok??? I miss all of you,
and PLEASE keep me updated on your lives as much as possible.
Lots of love and kisses
Jen
Hope you enjoyed! As you can imagine, a lot has changed since then. I now work full-time and share a tiny one-bedroom flat with Alastair, who is now my fiance! I never volunteered for the Red Cross. It would have conflicted with my work, but it would have been a great opportunity. I also never climbed Mt Lofty again! Hopefully, this blog will motivate me to do it. I'd love to post some pictures.
I'm going to end this long post with some beautiful pictures of Adelaide. Note to self: find more pictures of the city and beach. Catch up soon!
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| 'Car park' at base of Mt Lofty |
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| Waterfall Gully- At Mt Lofty base |
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| Where I used to write my e-mails in Al's old bedroom. I look thrilled about the picture |
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| Feeding kangaroos at Cleland National Park |
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How adorable!
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