Leave it to me to procrastinate on MY OWN project. Sorry to those of you who have been wondering what I've been up to the past few weeks and left only with weird Facebook photos (ie. me with a blow-up kangaroo strapped to my back, men dancing around in their undies). I promise I will explain everything and catch you up. For those of you that miss me or are just really bored at work - I'll try and make this blog interesting and informative!
Week 1 (July 9th - July 16th-ish) - Watch out Australia, the Americans have arrived! We started off trying to get acclimatized and settled in to our new environment. The first night Michael (our new landlord) threw us right into the Aussie culture and took us out for a night of drinking in "the valley" (Fortitude Valley). The first few days we did a lot of exploring, walked to neighboring towns Rosalie, Milton, Paddington, and Brisbane CBD (downtown). Paddington is my favorite by far. It's a very bohemian chic town with all sorts of small boutique shops selling cute and overpriced items. Little outdoor cafes that serve fresh organic meals line the streets. All these towns are pretty much within walking distance - which I love. Public transportation, walking, and biking are HUGE here. People do have their own cars for convenience, but for the most part alternate modes of transportation here are safe, easy, efficient and commonly used. (Ideally how every city should function).
No sooner did we unpack that we packed up again and headed to Michael's farm in New South Wales for his 30th birthday/ opening of The Helen Bonner Health Centre (located in Siem Reap, Cambodia). It was a great time with bonfires by the river, cooking with a wood burning stove, relaxing in the middle of nowhere - just land for miles, unsuccessfully trying to master the didgeridoo (if you're American just consider it a didgeridon't - the thing is damn near impossible), sleeping in a haunted farmhouse, shooting rifles (I didn't - but Kate and Michael did while I ducked for cover), and a great party with about 100 people or so and a live band. There was a LOT of drinking! Apparently we had one of the most authentic Aussie experiences you can have within the first week of being in the country. We learned some Aussie drinking games, and taught the Aussies some American drinking games. I learned two things that weekend about dancing in Australia. The first, Australian men are admittedly bad dancers and they really "own" their uncoordinated moves on the dance floor. So, if you're a guy with horrible dance moves, Australia is your homeland. The second is an old Aussie tradition (I don't know how, or where, or when, or why this started) but when the song Eagle Rock comes on guys drop their pants and sing along for the entirety of the song. The Aussie male will typically be drunk while engaging in this activity. Weird, but hey, I'm not complaining.
Michael's birthday weekend was hugely successful. We met "heaps" (common Aussie word) of people, and his family effectively raised $25,000 for the start-up and sustaining of The Helen Bonner Health Centre. Several people have also inquired about volunteering there. Lina, Kate, and I have already volunteered ourselves to do some work at the clinic when we travel to the Thailand/ Cambodia/ Vietnam areas in the summer.
I guess I couldn't ask for a whole lot more in my first week of moving to another country. It was a great opportunity to unwind before getting back into school mode. It also took my mind off of missing everyone back home. But, I also knew that this would not be the norm and life was about to become a whole lot more challenging.
til the next post... (which will probably be tomorrow since I'm 2 weeks behind now)
Love,
Jillian aka - Jilly, Jillypet, Jillybean, J-Dilla, J-Bones, and sometimes Crab Cakes.
