Hello From Down Under

Originally sent: July 8, 2003

Well, I don't even know where to begin. The last week has been amazing -- full of anticipation, anxiety, joys, and disbelief! My big sis ("A") and I endured the 16 hour flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne rather well. I think I was able to sleep quite a bit more than her, so she may have a different perspective, but overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The jet lag didn't really hit us until about four days after the flight when we went to bed between 8 - 8:30 each night. Now that I have started work, hopefully my schedule will get somewhat more regulated.

When we arrived, it was a beautiful EARLY morning (7:30 am) and about 45 degrees F. What a nice change from the Houston heat! My first reality was that Aussies really do drive on the other side of the car and the road, so I was trying to climb in the "driver's seat" with the girl from work who came to pick us up from the airport. A and I were both very uncomfortable riding around as we thought that we were driving against traffic. After we were settled in to the corporate apartment, we met a manager from Dallas, who is over here on rotation, for lunch alongside the Southbank of the Yarra River, which runs through the middle of the city, and is within walking distance of downtown, or as the Aussies call it "the city".

That night we met my future flatmate Angie (an Aussie) for some coffee and discovered that my life was about to be very adventurous and probably comparable to a roller coaster ride, as she is quite spunky and fun! She is in television advertising and is such a hoot. She introduced us to some of the more colorful Aussies terms (see below). After we discovered that she had never had a pumpkin pie (Aussies eat tons of pumpkin, but never sweet), I told her that I would make an American Thanksgiving feast in November so that she could experience the glory of pumpkin and pecan pie. What fun that will be! She's already planned the housewarming party for our apartment (she's in to "themed" parties) complete with champagne and a chic-flic. Oh, and our apartment is on the beach. That should be incentive for visits from at least a few of you! We are planning to move in this weekend.

Anyway, A and I bounced around the city for the next few days, mastering the tram system and discovering that we were the ones with accents. It's amazing how you can make a conversation stop when you start talking. Everyone wants to hear the Americans, as we are a rare kind down here. We didn't stand out however, at the American Consulate General's 4th of July party this past Friday, which we attended with the manager from Dallas. It was nice to see that Americans over here still remember and embrace the spirit of home. We met some other great Americans who have promised to indulge our Mexican food cravings at one of the two Mexican restaurants in Melbourne. Yes, I said two. That's about all there is, besides Taco Bill's, which I don't think I will venture to try. I did try Vegemite however, the staple of the Aussie diet, but I won't be doing that again. Something about yeast extract, the salty flavor, and that icky brown color.......

We also went to the Melbourne Zoo, Acland Street (a street famous for bakeries and cake shops in nearby St Kilda), the Queen Victoria market, and a mattress store so that I could buy a bed. We also attended a "barbie" with a large group of co-workers who are all on rotation ("secondees"), and met folks from my group at work on Friday night for drinks. They are great people and will be super to work with. In fact, they have already secured my spot at a reserved table at the much anticipated Winter Ball in mid-August. The work environment already appears to be much different than back home. Everyone goes out together on Friday's after work for drinks, several guys play footy (which means that they leave early on certain nights for footy training), there is a Social Club that requires a fee, but has 80% of the office signed up, and a great overall outlook on the whole work/life balance concept.

If you want me to sum up Melbourne in a brief blurb, think Europe -- cafes, river, walking, trams/trains, culture, great food, and coffee, coffee, coffee. I fit right in, although the Target is a bit different than back home and I have yet to go to a Starbucks since I've been here. The cafes serve up better coffee and it's cheaper. I don't know what it will take to get some of you over here, but I promise that you will not be disappointed. I already have a whole list of places that I want to go and see: The Great Ocean road, wineries (one of which we are doing this weekend), New Zealand, Tasmania, scuba diving and oodles of other things. There is literally something for everyone!

I had to include a few famous Aussie phrases that should give you a good chuckle:

Aussie phrase/American translation
How ya goin?/How are you?
Are you happy to browse?/Are you just looking?
footy/Australian Rules Football (and yes, it is a religion over here)
pissed/drunk
worthy of perve/worth flirting with or hitting on (this is one from Angie)
brekkie/breakfast

Oh, and there are McDonald's, Burger King's, KFC, and Subway over here. The burger joints have an Aussie-style combo meal, which includes a burger with a fried egg in it. Haven't tried that one yet, but I'm sure I will at some point. And A and I have nearly killed ourselves on at least several occasions, as we look LEFT when crossing a street, but the cars and trams here come from the RIGHT. That will certainly wake you up!

I hope that each of you are doing well. I'm not homesick yet, but I'm sure that it is coming. For now, I am content learning about and exploring Melbourne and am embracing my first experiences in Australia. Unfortunately, busy season is about to start up at work, so my gallivanting will have to be put on hold until the spring time (October/November). As the Aussies so grandly put it, what a divine and brilliant place! I will get together some good pictures and post them on a website within the next week or so.