Aussie Sunsets

The past 4 nights, I have seen the PRETTIEST sunsets.  I am not exaggerating or anything.  Even being in the same areas, each one is different.  The colors are breath taking.  I want to theme some paint swatches called "Australian Sunset" or something so I can see them all the time..

Friday Night:

Saturday Night:

Sunday Night:

Monday Night:

Don't you wish you were here now….

Australia Day

Australia Day is basically the 4th of July, just in Australian summer.  The only difference really is that they some how include green and yellow into their wardrobe and wear less stars and british stripes…if you get what I'm saying.  Most people just BBQ and drink all day, what is to hate about that.  

I did not get the full independence story surrounding this day for a couple reasons, main one being I only hung out with foreign people.  It is amazing that while being here I have found myself with a plethora of great people, just majority being non-native Australians: French, Italian, Italian Swiss, Jordanian, South African and even Canadian.  My Australia day consisted of speaking some weird hybrid of French, Italian and English (not very patriotic).  It is amazing that so many foreign people have found themselves loving Australia so much that they stay.  I guess it just calls to some people.

Semaphore Beach

St. Hallett was gracious enough to take the "casuals" (aka interns) to the beach today.  I don't know how it benefits wine at all, but no one will complain about a little sand and sun.  

Before coming to Australia, people were telling me horror stories about super poisonous spiders in the sand, aka scaring the shit out of me so I wouldn't want  to go to the beach.  These stories stick in one's mind when all she does is think about how scary insects and spiders are, and constantly plans attacks on any bugs trying to enter her personal space.  No one seemed to be worried about any bugs though, they were more worried about sharks and jellies, which I didn't think of as a threat (I'm an idiot).  

Spoiler: we didn't run into any dangerous creatures.

This trip was for intern bonding: playing games, drinking, eating, swimming, etc.  My favorite activity, beating out the past time favorite of dodgeball, was beach cricket.  It was all inclusive in that everyone was around catching the hits, the bowlers switched out periodically, and when the hitter got out, the person responsible for it got to bat.  A hurdle I found, as an American, was swinging at what ever pitches.  There are no such things as strikes, so you could take as many "bowls" as possible.  The Italiano, Andrea, hit the ball, threw the bat down and started to run as if there was a first base.  Let me tell you that there is not a first base, and you have to run with the bat…FAIL.  All of us were not that great, but everyone still enjoyed it.  

As you can see in the picture, there were no waves.  The water was so green and blue (no dark dirty water like California).  What you can't "see" is that the water was not freezing and seemed extra salty.  I don't really go into the ocean that often so maybe I am not used to it, but the salt was all up in my nose and eyes.  The Frenchie, Quentin said the Mediterranean is much worse, so I guess I am a baby.  

All this fun in the sun and salt was a good bonding time.  It inspired a barbie for dinner to continue the bonding.  We all compared our drinking game knowledge while cooking and chilling.  It is nice to make some new friends!!

Side note: a 6km bike ride is long. Just Saying.

The Barossa

The Barossa is made of a bunch of little towns.  And from the people I have met, everyone knows everyone through some means: school, family, dating, the usual. With in these little towns, there are some cool things to see, other than the odd relation of all the people.

The other day, some interns and I meandered to a dam called the "whispering wall".  This wall was build for a practical use, but also has an acoustic affect.  When one person stands at one end of the wall, a person at the other side of the wall, about 100+ meters away (yes metric system), can hear the opposite person perfectly.  Though the coolness of the wall is distracting, it is also gorgeous to look across the water.  I had not seen a body of water in Australia (except the ocean) until this one, so now I know Australia isn't completely dry.  

On this same mini adventure we saw some kangaroos.  They were kind of in the trees off the road, but we still had a sighting.  Those animals can move FAST.  They were hopping away at some pace faster than 30 kilometers/hour I think.  

The best part of this particular outing was the view we found.  There is a lookout on a hill where one can see a lot of the Barossa.  Sadly, pictures do not do it justice.  You can spot all the vineyards and some rolling hills in the distance.  Since it is summer, all the grass areas are as dead as all the bugs that try to enter my room, but someone told me in the Winter it all grows green again.  I don't know if I will be around for that change, but I can imagine it is beautiful.  

First Day

Most first days are a work place are full of paper work and rules.  St. Hallett was no different.  We sat around a table with a big folder of paper and had to fill out our information.  Being foreign makes it way more stressful.  They use weird words like "Next of Kin" to describe things.  I felt worse for the foreigners that are "english as a second language" because if I was having difficulties, I can't even imagine what was going on in their head.

After filling out paper work, we had a lecture about rules and history.  It made high school seem interesting.  I was fighting sleep the whole time.  I did not think I was going to have to do that after I graduated school, but I was proven wrong.  Apparently, there is a quiz on Wednesday to make sure we paid attention.  I would stress, but my theory is that the questions will be along the lines of "should you lie or tell the truth?", "should you bully or be nice?" etc.  

To excite the day, the staff cooked lunch for us.  We had steak sandwiches with egg, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, beets and BBQ sauce.  Can you say "NOM"?  

Naturally, after the fun part, we had to get lectured some more; save energy, save water, be good, etc.  

I bet you never saw this coming, but we actually got to have one last hoorah for the day, WINE TASTING!!  They poured us some St. Hallett wines and one of the winemakers was there to talk about all of them.  They ranged from white to red, sweet to dry, and still to bubbly.  I enjoyed seeing all the different styles they offered.  The main wine produced is Shiraz (Syrah).  Depending on the area in the Barossa the grapes are grown, the wine is reflective on that area.  I love being able to compare those differences because it really shows how wine is dependent on its environment.  Yes, there are certain characteristics that Shiraz has often, but that does not mean that every Shiraz is going to have them.  And the different ways the characteristics can be expressed is also interesting.  

Changing Seasons

Hopping the equator and going from the heart of winter to the heart of summer is a little weird.  There are some pro's and some con's to the situation.  

Pro's:

-Summer foods: I now have access to the ripest peaches, berries, tomatoes and  so on

-I can go outside and not lose feeling in my finger tips

-It is light at 6 am, and 9pm

Con's:

-I am pasty white and look awkward to all the beautiful tan people

-It does get hot as balls (during the day)

-Mosquitos 

"What is this madness!?"

Some people may think that a summer down unda' is different from one in California, but I have not experienced anything different.  Some days it is hot, some days it is quit moderate.  There often is a nice breeze blowing through town to cool everything down.  If anything, this weather has been reminiscent of a SLO spring (making me want to play some beach volleyball).  The most annoyingly similar thing I have found so far…the cold nights!! I can't get me any warm summer nights anywhere I guess.  

Maybe their fall will be similar to ours also, but we will have to wait and find out. 

Cricket

Since there was not much to do today (Friday), I decided to sit down and watch a little Cricket.  Australia is playing Sri Lanka, and from the sound of the commentators, was not playing very well.  They were on the verge of playing there lowest scoring game ever…but thanks to number 56, Starc, they surpassed their worst score, by 3.  

I think I am starting to understand Cricket, and I don't mind it, because the Australian team is VERY good looking.  Cricket is similar to baseball, but not…

From what I have picked up, there are 11 batters.  In one inning they all get a chance to bat. Once one batter gets out the next one comes in.  The ways the batter can get out is the "bowler" (pitcher) hits the 3 bars behind the batter, or the batter hits a pop fly and is caught without bouncing (like baseball).  When the batter is able to hit the ball the two batters run between the 2 sets of bars and if they have an odd number of runs it ends up the other batter has a turn at batting.  

By no means do I know any details about the game but I think I get the gist.  One thing I don't get, is why the bowlers switch out so often.  But I have decided that to be apart of the Australian team, you HAVE to be somewhat attractive (sorry Will).  

Settling in Tanunda

For "not" being jet lagged I sure did sleep a lot.  I fell asleep at 6 or 7…which I thought was maybe 2 or 3 because it was so damn bright.  I woke up at 8 or 9 (and I swear, it was still bright) and shortly after an attempt to watch Big Bang Theory I fell asleep again until 9 the next morning.  No more jet lag.

Sarah was at work today, so I roamed around Tanunda by myself.  I opened a bank account so I can get rich…kind of.  I also went to a cafe to see if there was any wifi…there wasn't.  I ordered an iced coffee to not look awkward…it had ice cream in it.  So my day was just a lot of figuring out and learning.

I finally found some wifi and connected to the internet to reach my fellow Americans! I never knew how much internet meant to me until then.  I felt I was in a blackhole of internet and I would never be able to contact the world again.  This also could have been because of my phone deciding not to work.  My stupid "crackberry" has been awful and I have fought the urge to throw it against a wall.  I NEED to figure it out because I don't like being disconnected (thank you 21st century).  

Arrival

I think the best thing happened to me on this trip (so far)…I got upgraded to Business Class for free for an 8 hour flight.  Now that is ballin.  I was just sitting outside the gate, waiting to load the plane when they were calling out name over the loud speaker.  I heard my name which worried me; I didn't know if I showed up to late or if I had forgotten to check in.  I walk up to the desk and they ask for my boarding pass (which is printed on paper…not the kind they give out).  She takes the ticket and replaces it with a new one…18D Business Class.  

I have never been on Business Class on an international flight before.  The seat went all the way back so I was able to lie down.  At one point I was sleeping on my stomach, something I could never to in Economy.  They offered drinks often and the meals were served in real dishes with real silverware.  I even got a bathroom kit that I just might keep forever to remind me how boss it all was.  

On to more important things…

I landed safely, got through customs, and found Sarah (my housemate/landlord) with out any cell phone or internet.  She was kind enough to pick me up at the airport, duty free.  

Driving on the other side of the road is weird whilst being the passenger.  I kept thinking we were about to go into oncoming traffic, thinking we were going the wrong way, and just failing at mentally driving.  Thank God Sarah knew what she was doing.

Sarah took me around my new home for the next few months.  Showing me places that I won't remember for a while, helping me get a cell phone (woo hoo Blackberry), showing me the bank, and getting groceries!! It is Summer here, so there is really good fruit available, which is something I miss dearly in the winter. O yea, and it is hot. Tanks needed, sweats not wanted.

My last little tid but of a rant for now is how baffled I am at my lack of tiredness.  I don't feel jet lagged yet, at all.  Maybe it will hit me tomorrow, but who knows.  Even with the Business Class seat bed, I stayed up a lot on that flight.  To be real, I think I stayed up to really appreciate and take in the greatness of fine travel., mixed with the adrenaline of airplane fright.  

Layover

The 14 hour flight really was not that bad.  The "Premium" Economy seats my mother scored me I think really made a difference.  The seats were wider, more leg room, and a HUGE recline...compared to Economy.

I liked looking out the window when we were over what ever eastern hemisphere countries.  I kept thinking that this is really something I have never seen before.  Also, with the timing of the flight, and how north we went, it seemed we were chasing day light. It always looked like sunset, which is not a bad time of day.

Now I am in the layover portion of my journey and it's long.  I have been wondering around the terminal looking for a loung or something.  I finally decided Starbucks was the way to go.  My tall tea was $20...I have no idea how much money that is in US dollars, but it was intimidating.  Another funny detail is that Starbucks is playing Christmas music...they are either way to late in playing it or far too early.

Hopefully the second flight will go faster than the first one.  And maybe this time I will fall asleep right away and stay asleep.

Getting Ready

Getting ready was not thaaaat bad.  Packing was more stressful since I am a girl and naturally over packed.  Thanks to Renee, I am not paying a million dollars in overage weight fees. BUT now I have 2 suitcases and a carry on...and a backpack (the carry on not pictured).

O well. I will be able to handle all of it, I am a grown woman.

Now, I am just sitting in the airport, at the gate, listening to a native tongue that I would call not American.  Hopefully I will fall straight asleep on the flight, except to wake up for the good movies and wonderful airplane food!