Auld Lang Syne

 Happy New Year from Down Under!

It may come a bit earlier than back home, but the good cheer is still the same. I had my first Australian BBQ, with shrimp on the barbie and everything. Christian and Kelli outdid theirselves with steaks, chicken breast, chicken wings, and lamb. Delicious!

 We made "resolutions" and shared our favorite memories from 2013.

 

Mind you, it was not this cold. It was a beautiful summer night out on the patio.

 

And at midnight we watched the fireworks replayed from Sydney.

2013 was quite the roller coaster year. From graduating to moving to Perth. Saying goodbyes and meeting new people. The end of the year may have brought tears or laughter, but now it is time to start anew. Warmest wishes for a 2014 that brings smiles and laughter, wherever, whenever and however you celebrate. I think I'll go to the beach...

Secrets of Esperance

Curtin University shutdown for two weeks + summer weather = a Christmas backpacking tour down to Esperance and possibly one of the best vacations ever. I spent 6 days and 5 nights traveling around the southwestern corner of Western Australia in "Betsy."

Going on a tour over Christmas day, I was curious to see who else would join me. Turns out that awesome people go on tours on Christmas. There were 12 of us plus Sean, our fearless Freo tour guide/bus driver extraordinaire and expert in WA history, flora & fauna, and cider sipping guitar player (he even played James Tayor!). It was quite the international mix:

• 2 guys from Switzerland, one who had the best 80's playlist ever and the other who was expert trailer backing up director
• 1 girl from Denmark, who sat in front of me and put up with my terrible dancing and singing
• 1 girl from Belgium who lives in Sydney, affectionately known as Rudolph and who the mozzies loved
• 2 girls from Japan working here who were always willing to help with a giggle
• 2 engineers from Melbourne, a couple with one Italian and the other American who could share my perspective on all things non-American (like stranger danger!)
• 1 German on holiday who had the best time hiking up Bluff Knoll
• 1 Italian living in Perth on a working holiday visa but moving to Sydney who made a fantastic co-pilot
• 1 girl from the UK living in Melbourne with a love of cars and who introduced I Spy to the bus to entertain us
• and me, the American living in Perth. 

A week with these guys and I decided that I need to learn another language! But I did my job as the token American, sharing my country music, random Ludacris and Beyonce songs from my running playlist, and hosting the dance party in the back of the van.

All packed up before 6am at the Mount Trio bush camp (no campfires anywhere because of the bushfire risk, but there was still a campfire circle as a tease).

The festive A Team at the top of Frenchman's Peak at Cape Le Grande.

Since moving to Perth, I hadn't yet ventured out of the city limits. Sitting awestruck in the back of the van, I was able to take in the expansive Australian bush. We drove for hours, passing only a few cars and a few farm houses. The openness of the country is stunning. Through the window flashed, fields of wheat and pastures or sheep and cattle in the Wheat Belt of WA. The hills of the Stirling ranges, bright orange Christmas trees and grass trees dotted the scrub of the bush. There were hundreds of kilometers where the only turnoff's were gravel roads and everyone travels with extra cans of gasoline, should the next petrol station be a bit too far (or closed!). Out in the bush, fellow travelers look out for one another, waving as they pass, and aiding others who have had bad luck (we stopped for an accident to see if we could help)

At dawn and dusk, wild kangaroos and emus dotted the fields and pastures.  

The legendary rabbit proof fence.

 We only passed through a few SMALL, quiet towns like York, Esperance, Albany, Margaret River, and Denmark.

 York and Albany (no I wasn't in New York)

 We slept under the stars in swags. A swag is a canvas bag with a little mattress pad. Compared to tents, no assembly required. Just roll out and climb in with your sleeping bag. Sean warned us not to roll out our swags before we were ready to get into them, in case some creature decided to crawl in there first. When asked what kept things from crawling into them when we were in there, his reply was, "You do." While the days were filled with flies (so many and so annoying!) at night, with just my head poking out under the stars, I didn't have any problems with flying or crawling things, or get any kangaroo kisses. Without the ambient light from cities and towns, the stars are innumerable. I was finally able to find the Southern Cross in the sky. And seeing Orion's belt (Larisa!) in the sky reminded me I'm still looking at the same stars all my family and friends are looking at, even if it was upside down. 

 

Our days were spent hiking and playing on the most beautiful beaches. Life is tough. But I'll tell you all about that soon...

 Rockstars at Elephant Rocks.

  "Stranded" in Twilight Cove while Simone went to the emergency room when his foot lost a battle with the barnacles on the rock (he's ok). I could think of worse places to be stranded.

Who Needs a White Christmas?

Christmas IS all around.

(I wish I had our UMD video to share!)

I've been collecting bits of Perth's Christmas cheer. Since I won't be seeing the Christmas tree at Beachy's Christmas Eve party, crossing the street to the glow of luminaries on the way to the Bryan's, or searching for the pink gingerbread house on our tree, I'm sharing some of the things surrounding me in Perth this Christmas season.

 It's hard to see but this tree has lights and a star!

Obviously, it's summer in Perth. Growing up in New England, it doesn't feel right to me. I wondered if people who grow up in the Southern Hemisphere believe Christmas should be hot and sunny. Someone I was talking to had been in Europe for one Christmas, with frosted window panes and snow and, "It just felt right, the way Christmas should be." SO marketing has done well, and everyone believes Christmas should be cold and snowy, even if they have never experienced it.

 Even Santa has shed his velvet suit!

The Christmas Pageant lit up the night with floats, stilt-walkers, belly dancers (got the loudest cheer), and bagpipers with their pipes aglow (my favorite). I must admit, I stole these pictures from Perth Daily Photo because I didn't think it was appropriate to fight all the children from prime viewing.

And this picture isn't the pageant, but I like it and I think it's a beautiful shot of a summer Christmas.

There are only a few more sleeps before Christmas. May you cherish the time with your family and friends and take in the sparkles of Christmas wherever you may be!

I am not a Grinch

Before reading this I have a disclaimer: I am not a Grinch. I love Christmas. Bring on the carols in October. Put up the tree before Thanksgiving. In my humble opinion, you can't have too much Christmas. For multiple reasons, this Christmas season just doesn't FEEL like Christmas. I may have even suggested boycotting Christmas this year... but do not despair, I have not given up!

I've done my "Christmas shopping" and sent Christmas cards. In the interest of saving some extra money for an overpriced cocktail, I've made homemade decorations for the office and apartment.

A classic snowflake, an annual tradition. Thank you Ledyard Center School.

 

I tried to make a snowflake out of wrapping paper. Apparently it's not sturdy enough, so when I tried to hang it using some nice mint-flavoured floss, it sadly drooped. Thus it has found it's place on the table.

 

We've been listening to Christmas carols at work. I introduced the Texan to some Sugarland Christmas carols. I've watched It's a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, and Elf. I proudly display my Christmas cards in my room (don't worry if I haven't gotten yours yet, I know it's in the mail and will be here any day now;)).

In one last attempt to get in the Christmas spirit, I tried what never fails to put the holly jolly into the season: baking Christmas cookies. Lots of them. I may have gotten a little carried away. It's been a 4 day baking extravaganza plus three trips to the grocery store (because I kept forgetting things). Four days of baking turns into dinners of a big salad+cookie dough. That's a balanced meal, right? And having the oven on for hours with Christmas carols blasting while sweating during the heat wave made me re-think why Australians may not have big Christmas cookie exchanges...

 

Cookie exchanges are everywhere in the US. Apparently, a plate of assorted cookies is not a normal gift in Australia. At least not according to my Australian culture expert. So I decided to bring the Christmas cookie exchange to Perth, Howie style.

As we grow older, everyone in my family utilizes their talents and has taken over a Christmas task. Dad is in charge of the meat (prime rib, turkey, scallops, shrimp, salmon, lobster, whatever the choice is that year) and fudge. My brother avoids the cooking and sets the table with the fancy china (I do think he 'made' Pillsbury rolls one year). My wonderful sister is in charge of the green bean bake (which does not mean she gets all the leftovers!). My brother-in-law is an expert dinner roll maker. And my mom is in charge of everything else and making sure we're supervised. Over the years, I have commandeered the cookie baking and all things sweet.

Every Christmas I make classics and test a few new recipes in hopes of uncovering the Betty Crocker gold winner to adopt into regular rotation. I've made candy cane cookies, velvet cream cheese cookies, spritz gun cookies, melt in your mouth shortbread, and probably some others. Normally I make rosettes. It's an annual misery tradition. Rosettes are fried cookies made with a liquid batter using a metal iron. As they are best fresh, and I've spent many a Christmas Eve afternoon covered in oil, fighting with a thermometer and iron that's too hot or too cold, batter that sticks to the iron, or batter that won't stick to the iron. I've also smoked out my friends kitchen making them one snow day. So this year, I carried on the tradition, and made some old and some new. All American and delicious too! With a few ingredient substitutes.

Buckeyes: I have no idea why these are a Christmas thing. People should make them year round. But as soon as I tasted one, it tasted like Christmas. And deliciousness.

 

 

 Gingerbread Men: Luckily I was able to find a cookie cutter. Decorated simply with royal icing. Of course they are in tank tops. It's hot out! Not the gumdrops buttons! (Shrek reference?)

Melting Snowmen + Frosted Sugar Cookies: Sugar cookie cutouts are the quintessential Christmas cookie. In my brief hunt for cookie cutters, all I found was a gingerbread man. I got a little creative with my knife skills and cut out some Christmas trees. Apparently, icing sugar is not the same as confectionary sugar so the frosting was nice and extra sweet (and kind of grainy), but it's close enough to work. The marshmallows are fruity flavoured and have a harder, flaky coating. And butter is not unsalted, but lightly salted. At least they look good!

Oatmeal Cookies: In a, they-don't-have-this-in-Australia conversations, the lack of oatmeal cookies came up. So I had to make them. With sultanas. Which are different than raisins. Don't ask me.

Peanut Butter Blossoms: And because you can never have too much chocolate and peanut butter :) No Hershey kisses, but chocolate melts did the trick.

In our cultural cookie exchange of our oh so multi-continent office (aka the America vs Australia CAFAP foursome), Kyla made fruit mince pies. An Australian Christmas delicacy. She even has a blog in search of Perth's finest fruit mince pie! As my first Fruit Mince pie, they have set the bar to which all others will be compared.

In the interest of getting them delivered safely via the Transperth bus, this cookie elf had to use plastic containers instead of festive holiday plates to display her spoils.

Because that's really the most Christmas-y part of cookie baking, the sharing. Luckily I had some lovely people to share them with in my home away from home. Anyone who wants one, there are plenty of extras waiting for you. Though I can't guarantee they will be around for long. It looks like another salad and cookie kind of night :)

An American in...Perth

“And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
and silently steal away.”

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Being alone in big city (especially without a car), one has a lot of time to herself to think. Whether it's on long bike rides to the hills, walks through Kings Park, endless bus rides, or taking the ferry on the way to work. Many of my best ideas (and worst ideas) have been formed while mindlessly and silently pedalling round and round. There are times when no matter how hard I try, my mind wanders back to some consuming thought: something nerve-wracking, regrettable, exciting, or heartbreaking, But when I just want to stop thinking and fill the silence I listen to music. 

 

Growing up in Southeastern New England, I've spent my share of summer nights sitting on a blanket under the stars, listening to the music of bands, orchestras, and symphonies (and some not so classical music too). Thank you Mom and Dad for dragging us all along, packing the Better Val-u grinders, bug spray and sweatshirts for those chilly nights. This weekend, I experienced my first heat wave in Perth with temperatures hitting 100. However, as the night cooled down, and I felt a familiar chill on my sun-kissed skin after a day at the beach. It was the West Australian Symphony Orchestra's Symphony in the City. A free event, that just happened to be in the park below my apartment building.

 

View of the orchestra shell and crowd from the terrace.

 

In a brilliant concert publicity playlist, the orchestra showcased selections from it's upcoming season. Curious to see my first international orchestra performance, I didn't feel as if I was thousand miles from home, but I could have been on the lawn at Harkness. They included John William's Star Wars, Wagner & Verdi, excerpts from the Lord of the Rings and other classics that made me feel home when so far away. One of their concert's is going to feature selections of American Jazz music, and I smiled when Mr. Eddie Perfect (celebrity host), announced the next song was Gershwin's American in Paris. As soon as the quirky melody started, I was taken back to the band room of Ledyard High School and was forced to ponder how far I've come since then, becoming an American in Perth.  I must admit, WASO played it a bit better than us Colonels...

 

As the sun set over the Swan River, the beautiful lights of the city twinkled in the backdrop. The symphony really is fantastic, and I hope I have another opportunity to hear them play. 

 

 

Any summer concert wouldn't be complete without Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.  My first international concert experience did not disappoint, and WASO's version was complete with marvellous fireworks, though as was tradition in the Coast Guard concerts of my youth, it was not the final selection of the night. Instead, they played some song I had never heard, that sounded a bit like pomp and circumstance. Apparently it has something to do with the big WACA cricket match going on now, but when they played it again for the encore, I began my "long" walk home.

 

The grand finale!

If you can't make it through the whole 2 minutes, the last minute is where the action is.

 

After an all too wearying week, for two hours, the symphony was just the ticket I needed. And no ticket necessary.

 

(And yes, it did even make me miss playing in an orchestra, unfortunately my oboe didn't make it into my three suitcases).

So Far from Home

This may not be the most exciting blog post, but it's an honest one (not that the others are lies!).

Moving to the opposite side of the world, without any family or friends with me, homesickness is inevitable. It may hit during those first weeks being alone, wondering "Why did I move here?" as you try to figure out how to meet people. It could be the first holiday away, a Thanksgiving without a personlized, VIP golfcart tour of your Uncle's property. It's pretty inevitable when you hear the Salvation Army band's brassy Christmas carols and see happy shoppers rushing around (in the 90 degree sunshine) buying awesome pear-shaped terrariums or fancy iced tea makers for their loved ones. It can be something little like the cool morning stillness just after the sun comes up (before 5:00 am here) that reminds you of childhood campgrounds. Or something really big, whether heartwarming or heartbreaking that makes you wish that you were home. Or it could be something completely different. Something you never expected. Something that was your worst fear, or even beyond your worst fears you never imagined it.

Being in Perth and so far from home, does mean that I can't give my sister a ginormous hug that lasts forever. Or make my parents a pot of coffee and Grandma Droz's coffee cake and lounge on the couch all morning, feet snuggling, fighting over who gets the afghan that has been around as long as I can remember. I can't hold my niece's hand as she toddles around chasing bubbles in the snow or un-decorates the Christmas tree. I can't interpretative dance to Christmas music on 106.5 WBMB with my brother, and make my sister think we're both crazy (we may just be). But it doesn't mean I have to feel alone.

 

You can even see the beige afghan in the background!

 So proud of my "little" brother :)

Distance in the 21st century is strange. Sometimes it feels as if my family and dear friends are just around the corner, while other times, it feels as if they're half way around the world and in another time (which they are). But in a way, distance makes us make time to talk. When smiles, hugs, and 'seven touches' a day aren't an option, we have to use our words. Luckily, words can come in so many forms. And yes, there are probably lots of other ways too, but when it comes to me and technology, simpler is better.

Email: I can think, edit, and re-write to make sure I'm saying what I mean and meaning what I say. I can send it any time of the day and not worry about waking someone up or inconveniencing them. They can read it at their leisure. Or they can read it instantly on their smartphones. I can send links, pictures, videos, oh my! And after a day of sending emails with no reply (because it's the middle of the night back home), I wake up in the morning to have the little letter image on my phone tell me I have 17 emails (4 of which are ones I actually want to read).

Best. Email. Ever.

Post mail: Not so instant. It takes about 2 weeks to travel 10,000 miles apparently. And $AU 2.60. So I apologize to those lucky few who had made it onto my regular homemade card list. Mailings won't be so regular anymore.

Text: I recently realized I can send SMS to some people through my awesome prepaid plan. Some people I can't. It probably costs a million dollars anyways.

Windows Messenger: For the cool people with windows phones (aka my brother and sister), we can send texts through Windows Live. Yup you're jealous.

Facebook: I can follow people's lives, and don't ever have to say (or type) a word. Yes it's creepy, but it sure does keep me in the loop and feel connected.  Plus I can post some really cool blog posts there and know that at least one person pretends to care.

Skype: I never quite understood why you need to see someone when you're talking to them. Where do you look? Do you stare right at them? If you're multitasking and doing something else on the computer, can they tell? But I do admit that seeing my niece attempt to make the fish face her daddy taught her as she just sits with her face right near the camera is pretty priceless.

Phone: This classic is still default when you need a quick response, or the comfort of a familiar voice.  I can no longer have my Sunday night strolls around Shandon as I talk to my mom, dad, and sister (unless they decide to get up at 5am on Sunday morning). I do have to dial a few extra digits, but I can call them on Sunday morning. And who knew my prepaid plan was so internationally friendly?

 

Clearly, sometimes playing phone tag is necessary, but it eventually works.

Pick your poison. You can't get rid of me that easy.