Eggs on the Shelf

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

-Fran Lebowitz

I love grocery shopping. Grocery shopping in a different country amps up the experience by 10. There is no way to share all the interesting ponderings of a trip to Coles, Wooly's (Woolworths) or IGA supermarkets. I am sure there will be additional grocery posts as I go along, so this is only a start. But for now, bon appetit!

1. This was the first thing I saw when I walked in, Vegemite! (no I didn't buy any)

2. Getting used to kilograms

I dont want to give you the impression that everything is super expensive. These are expensive bananas. I have found them cheaper. A fennel bulb is only $1, and celery is still about $1.50.

3. Biscuits=cookies! And these are some things you wouldn't expect to be in the same aisle...

 

4. Eggs just chilling (rather NOT chilling) on the shelf. Not to be confused with Elf on the Shelf.
(Takes me back to freshman year, doesn't it Elise?)

5. I've tried them, and yes, TimTams are delicious. They are a lot like Penguin Bars (Larisa!) from Ireland.

6. Milk-on-a-shelf. There is a whole shelf of ultra-high-temperature milk. They have regular milk too, but this is cheaper. I've tried it in cereal and coffee and I can't tell the difference.

7. The most popular cereal is not cheerios. I'm on my second box. Also, Raisin Bran is "Sultana Bran"

 8. My new found favorite replacement for toast, Crumpets! They're soft, airy, doughy, and delicious.

Hoop There It Is

In the theme of sports this week, I was invited to my first netball game this Wednesday. It was my full intention to write a really witty blog complimented by pictures I took at the netball game. But due to a lack of players, I ended up on the court playing and couldn't take any pictures. Mind you, I have never played netball before, seen a netball game, or learned the rules of netball. So instead of cool netball pictures, I give you what I learned from my time on the court.

 Shooting is no joke. The ring of the hoop is smaller than a basketball hoop and there's no backboard. People shoot over there head with two hands. Warming up, I was luck if I hit anything. I finally gave up and started shooting like a basketball.

There is no need to be able to shoot from far away. The key strategy is to get the ball as close to the basket as possible, because then you basically have three seconds to take a free shot because...

There is no such thing as defense. You can't put your arms up if you're within three feet of the person with the ball, or it's an obstruction penalty. As a basketball player who loves to block shots, my first reaction is to put my arms up. In fact, that's what I did during the first play. The ref quickly let me know that wasn't kosher. I spent the rest of the game hands behind my back trying not to get obstruction calls. But my reflexes still managed to put my arms up and I got 4 or 5 more.

The ball has to be touched in each third of the court. No hail mary passes, which was fine with me, because I can't throw it that far, and thus I could pretend to be an observer and figure out what this game is all about when the ball was in the far third.

No bouncing, dribbling, or moving the ball other than passing. If you're skilled, the ball can move quick and it is a very strategic game.

Everyone has a jersey with their position, and their position determines where they can go on the court. I was given the easiest position, goal keeper. I stayed in one third of the court and played "defense" (you can imagine how well that went). I felt pretty useless, but luckily our shooter on the other end of the court was scoring about every possession for us, so I could relax when the player I was "defending" scored two out of everything three possessions.

This is just my pathetic interpretation of the most popular sport for females in Australia. For the real rules, go here or watch this (I felt like this guy playing).

What real people can look like playing netball...

More like what I looked like playing netball...(but we unfortunately didn't have someone with a cape?)

A big thanks to Kyla and Team Hoop There It Is for putting up with my pathetic attempt at netball and allowing me to tick off one thing on my Things to do in Australia list.

Freo heave ho

 Freo heave ho, we are the Freo Dockers.

Saturday, I watched my first Australian rules football game. Australia has four types of football: gridiron (American football), soccer (futbol), rugby, and its most popular, Australian Rules (aka footy). This is an insane sport. Check it out. There are 36, huge arm, pure muscle men running around on an oval field bigger than any other field. I still don't understand the rules, so if you're interested, there's always Google.

Turns out I came here at an exciting time. Perth has two AFL teams: West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers. The Dockers are a newer team and played in their first ever semi-final on Saturday against the Sydney Swans. They crushed them 99-74 (I must have a little bit of numbers OCD because I really wanted them to reach an even 100). Now they take on the Hawthorne Hawks from Sydney in the Grand Final this coming Saturday, the Super Bowl of Australia.

Now, in honor of the Dockers, Perth has gone purple.

This building displays its message across the Perth Skyline

 Transperth has gotten into it

And this awesome couple on the train in their matching Dockers vintage jackets and scarves.

 

Even my office is purple. (They decorated last week and my initial reaction was, Who's birthday is it?)

All this purple is unfortunate for Perth's other team, the West Coast Eagles. I'm not pledging my allegiance to either team yet so I've gotta show some unbiased love. I do know Freo has a ridiculous theme song.

Last night, I was given the heads up to watch the Brownlow Medal award show. It's the award given to the "fairest and the best" player in the AFL. The umpires vote for three players each game of the season and players who have been suspended at any point during the season are inelgible to win (though their votes are still tallied so they could have the highest overall score). The votes are revealed one-by-one and tallied at a gala where the players transform from grit to gentleman.

 Third Place Dane Swan

It is also a red carpet event where the dresses of the night make tomorrows fashion and entertainment news.

I don't think I'll try to play AFL while I'm here (I'd like to keep my joints and face intact). I think I will stick to the Australian female sport of netball...

Curtin Commute by Camera

I survived my first week at work, which also meant my first week of my commute from Scarborough to Curtin University.

Perhaps one of the few downsides to house sitting in Scarborough is having to get to the other side of the city, without the use of a car. Crossing the river is a big deal 'round here. North of the River or South of the River are distinct worlds and crossing into the other is an adventurous affair for the locals. Bus to the train- train to the city-train to the other side of the city-bus to Curtin. Thankfully Transperth's SmartRider card makes it nice and simple, if not long, to get around the city, and the bus stop is right on my street.

One of my new job tasks is to figure out how to use some new technology to help measure physical activity. One of these is Vicon's SenseWear camera, a small camera you wear around your neck and takes pictures abot every 30 seconds, or when there is movement or a change in light/temperature. It's got three blinking lights that I'm still trying to figure out, but I've been the cool kid wearing it around town.

Coincidentally, it was the perfect tool (and time stamped too!) to document my daily commute.

7:39- Leave my house to a sunny and rainy Scarborough day.

 7:43- Walk to the bus stop on Scarborough Beach Rd (I've been instructed to pronounce if (Scarbrah)

 

7:55-Stare out the window on the 410 Bus at the sun peaking out from the clouds 

8:04-Hop on the train to Perth

 

8:21-Stare at excited and cheery people going to work, going to school, and going who know's where (but I spend the trip guessing!)

8:26- The train comes out from underground on the other side of the city, crossing the Swan river

8:31-Catch another bus, this time with all the undergrads and the odd crazy professor grading papers

8:50-Arrive at campus (those blue skies are deceiving, it was a mostly rainy day)

8:55-Make it to my building #408

9:00 (on the dot!)-Sign in and a Friday welcome to work

I must say, the connections made today on the longer side, and Friday was a bit less crowded than the rest of the week. I'm sure I wouldn't want to make this commute forever, but for now, it gives me plenty of time to look, see, and listen to the people of my new Perth-fect city.

Sunday Sunny Scarborough

The Rendezvous Grand Hotel is a landmark to spot on Perth's coast. Built in the 1980's to watch Australia take home America's Cup for the first time.

And it's the same hotel I can see form my bedroom window.

Yesterday, the wind and rain sounded as if I was in that tornado from Oz. When one's primary transport is by foot, apocolyptic-like weather puts a damper on adventure explorations. But today the sun came out in Scarborough, and with it, locals and travelers were brought out from hiding.

I wasn't quite ready to brave ordering a coffee, so I had a tea at BOHO Espresso, 50 meters from the center of Scarborough beach. I walked across the bike/ped path that was empty yesterday (and I almost was blown over on), and had to dodge walkers, runners, cyclists and a kid on a scooter. People were in the parks, sand, and ocean. The wind had kite surfers flying across the water. And the surf was speckled with black spots which upon closer inspection turned into wetsuit clad surfers.

There were plenty of signs of danger, putting me off of learning to surf quite yet. Plus, I found it to be a little cold.

But if the surfers could brave the water, so could I, and I wandered down the beach to get the first touch of the Indian Ocean! It surprisingly wasn't that cold. And I was not quick enough to move as the tide was moving in, so my pants may or may not have gotten a little seawater on them to take home.

PS. Some of the dunes had all these little green bags as part of the dune restoration.

Spring in the "Bush"

 Yet another view of Perth from atop Kings Park

My accommodation for the first week was halfway down the hill from the famous Kings Park. Thus on my meanderings of the Perth suburbs yesterday, I took a spontaneous adventure through the bushlands of the park to see the spring wildflowers.

 

That big green space is Kings Park

On my flora tour back from the airport, I was told that typically the bush (translated for me to "forest" or "woods") is brown and a brownish green. But in springtime, there are lots of beautiful, bright wildflowers, including my new favorite, Kangaroo Paw.

There is a beautiful botanical garden in the park with flowers I have never seen. But being in a major metropolitan area, the park lacks fauna. Appareently, there were kangaroos decades ago, but now there are mostly just birds.

I have a fear of birds. You may think that's ridiculous, as birds are small, feathery, and yes, small. ell in Columbia, South Carolina, there are Northern Mockingbirds that on several occasions have attacked me (an other people too, I'm not hallucinating!). So every time I hear birds near me, I automatically duck. Thankful to be away from the Menacing Mockingbirds of Columbia, my fears were not abated when on the second night here, I was warned about the Magpies of Western Australia that are known to attack. Yes, they usually small children. Yes, it's only if you are near their nest. All I needed to hear was "attacking birds" and I am back to duck and cover at every chirp, caw, and tweet. On my stroll through the park, I came upon Magpie Trail. I was terrified that nesting Magpies were going to fly down and peck my eyes out. Instead of turning the other way, I braved the path. Needless to say, I was not attacked by birds. Or did I see any Magpies, not that I even know what one looks like except that they're black and white. (And by the way, the birds here seem to be much louder and more terrifying sounding.)

Emerald City, Oz

A cloudy morning view of Perth from Kings Park.

 Dorothy was brought to Oz through a tornado. Luckily, I only had to withstand 26 hours on a plane to make it to my new Emerald City.

I got to see my munchkin brother (in age only as he is taller than me!) and Danielle in Dallas for a gourmet homemade dinner of barbecue chicks quesadillas.

The 16 hour flight to Brisbane went by with cat naps, snacks, and movies on my personal TV. Luckily it was dark the while time, as we flew away from the daylight sun. As we landed in Brisbane, the sun was just beginning to color the horizon.

The worst part of the journey, the only "wicked witch", was getting off the plane in Brisbane and knowing I still had another 6 hour flight to Brisbane. But once I was on the final leg, it passed quickly with Les Miserables and a second breakfast of scrambled eggs.

I arrived to a beautiful, sunny day in Perth. I may be wanting the Wizard to send me home now and then when I feel a little homesick, but for now, I will start my adventure on the yellow brick road.

 

No joke, I was just thinking about the theme for this blog and humming Somewhere Over the Rainbow, when it started to sprinkle, I looked up, and saw this faint rainbow.