Hello again from cold and windy Melbourne! Now that I have experienced by second week here, I have all kinds of fun things to talk about and some new jargon that almost got me in trouble! I left off last time talking about what we had done over the first week and my first impressions of Australia. I have now completed my first week of work and experienced my first-ever pub crawl and footy game, both of which were adventures.
I definitely feel very lucky to have been introduced into a group of people at work who were completely accepting of me, excited to have me here, and willing and desiring to introduce me to true Aussie culture and the ways of the office here. The main difference between here and the Houston office is that everyone here has a workspace, no matter what level you are. This means that it is quite a bit cramped. I share a cubicle area with four others, so I imagine that they will all get to know me more than they probably want to over the next two years. One of my cubemates is on rotation from Jordan and has been here for 2 years. He has been extremely helpful in getting me all settled in the office. Two of the others are "grads" (new staff members), one of which sits next to me and is a riot. He plays footy, so basically eats, drinks, and thinks footy all the time. The other one I have not met yet. The cube walls are low so you can see the entire floor, which makes it a comfortable and social environment. You always know what everyone is doing! When I post pics to the web, I'll make sure to get some on there from the office.
I also made my first "mistake" at work when I told my female partner that I thought the male senior manager that I will primarily be working for was "very spunky". She said that he would like hearing that I thought he was "spunky", as "spunky" here means sexy. So......I quickly clarified myself in saying that I thought he was bubbly and energetic. Everyone got a good laugh out of that one!
A and I were invited to a "pub crawl" on this past Friday night. I must start out by saying that I have never been on a pub crawl before, but it was quite an experience. Picture this: about 30 accountants starting at one pub right after work, staying there for about 15 minutes, and then moving on to the next, staying there for about 15 minutes, and so on, until you have completed the list of approximately 15 pubs (and losing several people at each place). You learn quickly that you can't drink at every pub, or you will literally have to "crawl" home (hence the name of the event). I endured it well and actually made it to the end, with only one significant detour. I realized that I had lost my new mobile phone at about pub #7, and so me and two very nice guys from my group back-tracked to the previous pubs looking for it, but with no success. So I learned a hard lesson but am working on getting another mobile phone.
On Saturday afternoon, A and I attended our first footy game with a girl that we had met the previous weekend and her footy buddies. I was feeling a bit withdrawn from American sports (particularly baseball), but I think that this will definitely be a suitable substitute for two years. What fun! I have total respect for the footy players because they are running constantly, enduring tackles with NO PADS, and they wear tank tops and very short shorts in the middle of winter! I have some pics of the game that I will post to the website as well.
Aussie Rules Football has been in Melbourne for over 100 years and there is such history to it. Part of that history is eating a meat pie at the game! I actually thought that it was very yummy, but tried not to think about what was actually in it (although I'm told it's primarily beef with a small amount of lamb). It tasted like a beef pot pie sans the veggies, in a pastry crust. I'm sure it was real healthy for me too, but calories don't count at footy games....right? Anyway, I also learned rather quickly that you do not "root" for teams over here. You "cheer" or "barrack". To "root" in Australia means "to have sex with". Keep that one in mind next time you travel down under!
On Sunday, we travelled to a local winery in the Yarra Valley with my flatmate Angie to celebrate French Bastille Day (their Independence Day). She knows the owner of the winery (who's French), so we attended the shindig complete with a traditional French meal and plenty of wine tasting. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and everyone there was pleased to have some Americans joining the festivities. We also stopped by one of the famous sparkling wine vineyards on our way out of the valley and enjoyed some more tasting. The Aussies sure love their wine! What a fabulous day! Pictures from that day will also be posted to the web, as soon as I get around to getting all of that set up!
Things that have surprised me so far:
- The T.V. here is awful. Beverly Hills 90210 is about the most exciting thing that we have found to watch, other than footy.
- There is A LOT of Asian food down here. I never thought that I would get sick of Asian food, but I am, and it's only been two weeks!
- Burger King and Hungry Jacks are the same thing.
- Although the Aussies have great public transportation, most of them drive everywhere. I'm still so excited that I actually have the option of public transportation, that I take the trams everywhere and don't plan on buying a car.
- Everyone drinks beer and wine at lunch on Fridays, and then goes back to work. I still can't do that yet.
- I think I've found a karaoke buddy. I discovered that a guy at work likes to sing too and knows all of the songs that I love to sing at karaoke! We haven't gone yet, but hopefully soon.
Angie and I move into our apartment on the beach this weekend, and I cannot wait to get settled and have pictures of our new place! It will be nice to be out of the executive apartment, but it has been convenient being a 2 minute walk away from work. Oh, and I practiced driving this weekend on the way home from the winery. It was a little uncomfortable being on the other side of the car, and the other side of the road, but I managed quite well. No major disasters!
Okay, that's enough of a novel for now. I hope you enjoy getting these emails, but if not, please let me know and I will gladly remove you from future issues! And I promise that they will not be sent every week for two years, it's just that everything is still exciting and new to me and I enjoy sharing my experiences with all of you! Please know that there is still an open invitation for anyone to visit. It's an exceptional place and I would love for everyone to get to experience it!!
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