Cinco de Mayo

In typical Australian style I am sitting about a meter away from the gas heater in the lounge room, trying to keep warm. You see, in Australia central heat and air is a luxury – and a rarity. It doesn’t get extremely cold outside, so most folks wouldn’t consider shelling out the cash to convert their homes to the central HAC phenomenon. But for a woman who has spent over 30 years in toasty warm houses/apartments, it comes as quite a shock to her system. How spoiled I was to come inside from the cold and to immediately be able to peel off the layers of clothing and feel warm in a matter of seconds! Now it takes me about 10 minutes to take off my coat, and I wear my scarf at all times. Getting ready for bed can be a traumatic experience. I’d rather just wear my day clothes as they have retained some of my body heat. Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep because my head is too cold, especially my nose from having to breathe in the cold air. I’m not sure, but sometimes I think that steam comes out of my mouth at night. Listen to me, it’s not even winter yet and I’m already whingeing (that’s Australian for “whining”). Can someone please send me a ski cap that I can wear to bed?

I’m beginning to acquire a real appreciation for natural fabrics, like wool. It’s the only thing that can keep you remotely warm, but it doesn’t make you clammy. I need to stock up on wool socks and jumpers (sweaters). Luckily I’m in an area that will never be short of wool products. (New Zealand’s sheep population outnumbers its human population.) Come to think of it, we had pasta with minced lamb last night…

Speaking of food, this is something I can’t whinge about. Once I got over the overall higher cost of everything, I realized that the quality is superb. Meats, cheeses, eggs, fruits, vegetables – they’re first class. The bread hasn’t won me over, though. It’s probably a lot healthier and more natural than American bread, but I miss those preservatives and added sugar! Other differences include: Doritos flavors (Mexicana is really good), Cadbury is THE chocolate company, raisins are “sultanas,” peppers are “capsicums,” milk chocolate is “dairy milk chocolate,” cookies are “biscuits,” candy bars and chocolates are “lollies,” fries are “chips,” and potato chips are “crisps.”

Obviously I’m still going through bouts of homesickness. It frustrates me because I want to enjoy this experience to the fullest, but I can’t when I keep comparing it to life in the States. It does take a long time to totally adjust to a new country, so this is normal I suppose. And when I think about it rationally, we have a really good life out here. I have steady work as a teacher and musician, Lachlan has steady work as a Graphic Designer and he also has the time to train for race walking. With the expectation of long work hours in the States, most people don’t have time to pursue anything else outside of work, which is really sad. The mentality is: If you can’t afford to feed your family, you’re not working hard enough! Get two jobs. Better yet, get three! It’s out of control.

Of course, I miss friends and family most of all. Email is such a blessing, but still it can’t compare to face-to-face or even telephone communication. One can’t really convey one’s true feelings and emotions over email. So when I’m able to call my loved ones (or when they call me!!) it is 100 times better. If any of you would like to call, our home number is: 011-61-3-9819-3518. It’s not as difficult as you might think. Just get a calling card or an international calling plan. One other thing to consider is that we are 15 hours ahead of Central Time. We love to hear familiar voices!!

As for our plans to visit the good ol’ USA, we were thinking about mid-to-late September, but two of my friends will be out of the country! Now we are thinking about mid-December to early January (unlikely because very expensive) or beginning to mid-April of 2007. We can fly into Chicago from Melbourne, probably with many stops along the way. As these tickets will cost an arm and a kidney, we will likely stay within the Racine/Milwaukee/Chicago area for the duration of our trip. But it will be wonderful to see as many of you as we possibly can!

Well, I’m going to take Jackie for a walk now. She needs it, and so do I. I’m going to try to get back into the daily long walk routine. Wish us luck. Hoping all of you are well, and looking forward to hearing from you in one way or another!