Volunteering at the Tuck Shop

Last week, I volunteered at the school's cafeteria, the "Tuck Shop" (tuck for tucker, I assume). A nice group of women work there, preparing food fresh, reheating some frozen stuff and stocking the fridges with fresh sushi delivered daily and fruit juices. All in all, a fairly healthy selection (though most of the kids do choose the unhealthy stuff). I made chicken burgers in the morning, and then manned the noodle stand for morning tea (there are a lot of Asian children).

After morning tea, we went down to the junior school where the little ones, as young as five, have the opportunity to buy popsicles for 50 and 80 cents each. As soon as we opened, a crowd amassed. "Hello, Miss," the first one said, spreading her coins on the counter. "What can I get for this many?" Absolutely not a care in the world for the line behind her. I had already been briefed that if they didn't quite have 50 cents I could give them one of the cheaper popsicles, and one of the ladies said that she would even give them the yellow ones for 20 cents because no one ever buys those anyway.

And my most demanding customer of the day: "I would like a pink Zooper Duper." "Hang on," I say, "I don't know what a Zooper Duper is." I picked up a pink popsicle. Yes, Zooper Duper was written on the corner of the packet. "Not that pink, I want Fairy Floss." Well, I do know by now that fairy floss is cotton candy, and I hadn't seen any. " We don't have Fairy Floss," I said. "Yes, you do. It's the light pink Zooper Duper." Of course it is. And so it went on.

Well, in their little green uniforms and wide-brimmed hats, they were gathering up quite a few popsicles, many of them asking for them to be cut in half to share with a friend. I would have loved to have taken a photo of them sitting Indian-style in groups all over the playground. It was hot, and I think they should have gotten the popsicles for free to be honest.

Before I came to Australia, I did say I was not picky and would get a job doing anything, but after just one day on my feet I now realize I have become soft. I don't think I could stand at Woolies or KFC all day dealing with customers. I was knackered when I got home that day!

Brisbane - Bendigo - Melbourne - Sydney - Brisbane

Here's the play-by-play from our Christmas trip

Day 1 – Brisbane to Dubbo

We spotted 17 dead kangaroos on the way to Dubbo, as well as two enormous dead warthogs, or so we thought. Since our return, everyone we have told this to has replied, "Ah, yeah. That'll be wild boars." The highway was no more than one lane in each direction for most of the way, and Saturday seemed to be the day for wide-load transportation.

We ended up behind a gigantic mining truck bed being driven by a trailer escorted by two cars and a police car. Many of the trucks coming toward us had a cabin where the driver sat enclosed on a sofa. Toowomba is Australia's tidiest town, and Coonabarabran is the home of astronomy. We drove on either side of the Great Dividing Range, the hills a constant in the backrground.

We stopped for lunch in Moree, an aboriginal town with nothing much but a hotel, a few shops and very decent burgers.

The country opened up – wide blue skies and green pastures. Every now and then, a skeleton of a tree broke appeared on the horizon. Cacti the size of full-grown beech trees appeared on the roadside, a few of them wearing bright pink flowers.

The Quality Inn Dubbo International was appalling – bugs at night, a filthy pool and verandah, worn-out furniture, and a bathroom from the 70s. Cobwebs covering all of the outdoor furniture, dirty wine glasses, and the manager's daughter who helped herself to the breakfast sausages and ate them on the way out of the restaurant without a plate. We will be getting vouchers for a free stay in another Quality Inn. Take-away from the Thai Rose Garden was excellent, but would have been more enjoyable had we been able to eat at the table on the verandah.

Here's the bathroom standard at 220 bucks a night!! And, no, the Choice Hotel chain did not give us a voucher but did admit that the standard in Australia differs from Europe and the US. No kidding.

DAY 2 – WESTERN PLAINS ZOO

We got up for breakfast in time to beat the last replenishment of the breakfast bar at 9, or so we thought. There was no one left in the dining room, and no more food was coming out of the kitchen. The cold buffet consisted of one sorry croissant. I asked if they would be bringing more out, and the woman apologized and said no, they closed at 9.30. I looked at her incredulously and said, yes, it says you refill at 9, so we made it here before that. She said she was sorry, but there were no more pastries. So I went back to the table and mumbled a bit more about the Quality Inn Dubbo. We were a bit skeptical to the Dubbo Zoo after the disappointment of the Quality Inn, but the zoo was wonderful. The animals all had plenty of space, and we had a great walk around seeing elephants, a Sumatran tiger, lots of Australian wildlife and then toward the end of the trip the most enormous turtles any of us had ever seen. The park is unpretentious, the rangers know exactly what they are doing, and the animals seem to be treated with dignity. We jumped in on the ranger's talk about the hippopotomus, and I looked at my watch and thought it was strange as that was not supposed to start for another hour. I checked the program. Ah. Daylight savings time in New South Wales.

That explained breakfast. We were actually an hour late and had arrived 10 minutes before closing, 20 minutes after the scheduled last replenishment. Woops.

We had dinner at the BBQ Barn: beef and pork ribs, and Erik had a steak on top of his ribs. He finished it off with a marshmallow pavlova. We spent the night worried about bugs landing on top of or under the sheets, but got up in time for breakfast and headed off to Bendigo.

DAY 3 – DUBBO TO BENDIGO

The Newell Highway stretched out before us – two long, straight lanes in the rain. We passed plenty of one-horse towns, signs urging is to revive and survive, as well as signs for the Big Strawberry and Australia's Largest Playable Guitar. These were some of the poorer places we had seen in Australia, and it is difficult to imagine life in this part of the country. We took a detour to visit The Dish in Parkes. It has featured in a movie with Sam Niell and is run by the Australian equivalent of NASA. It is HUGE, and there is a nice little visitor's centre stuffed with nerd paraphernalia. We got a mug that says, "I need my space" for a certain member of the family. To which another certain member of the family commented, "That just works on so many levels for him."

Stopped at the Outback Cafe for a pizza piled high with ham, pepperoni and cheese. Had to drive back to the rest stop to use the toilet. Then continued into what was really the town, and onward through nothingness, then Shepparton and on to Huntly where we met Jenny and Terry.

The kangaroos were already in the paddock waiting to great us. Nice welcome.

We had a nice chat with Jenny and Terry and then went to bed. We slept better than we had in months, with the window open and the cool Bendigo air.

DAY 4 – BENDIGO

We had a wonderful day in Bendigo, a very charming city famous for its gold. The Deborah Gold Mine was a definite highlight, with stories of gold being smuggled out in shoe heels, teeth gaps, bicycle handles and in the same style as coke is smuggled today.

Jenny toured us around all of Bendigo's famous buildings, and we walked up to the top of the poppethead to see a beautiful view of the city and surrounds.

Lunch at the historic Shamrock Hotel, a beautiful building. Lovely evening with a pre-Christmas dinner made by Jenny, timed with a gorgeous sunset, and a fluttering of birds, and then another great night of sleep.

DAY 5 – ECHUCA

Jenny's neighbor knocked on the front door this morning, and led Jenny out to the back gate. He was having a water tank brought in, but the delivery man was having trouble getting it up his driveway. So, the trees got a trim and two hours later the tank had been delivered.

On the border between Victoria and New South Wales, on the Murray River, lies the port town of Echuca. It looks like it has come right out of the pages of a Western, with paddle steamers, book stores, pubs, fudge shops, and the wonderful Beechworth Bakery where we had traditional meat pies and a taste of the Bee sting, the Australian version of Fastelavns boller.

Back to Jenny's where she had an album with a photo of my Grandad. It is like trying to grasp sand slipping through my fingers. There was a woman in the photo, and I was not sure if it was my grandmother or my aunt. She was beautiful. I think there was also a picture of my mum when she was about three. I think I've seen this picture before, my mum with a goat.

After dinner, we went out stargazing. The stars in the south matched the clarity of the stars we see from Soegne or Hovden, but the constellations are different. The sky seems to go on forever, and the wide open spaces seem to be the true Australia.

DAY 6 – Bendigo to Melbourne

It was sad to leave Jenny and Terry, and I forgot to get a photo of them outside of their home. We saw so much and learned so much just by talking to them. It's amazing to have family on the opposite side of the world.

The drive to Melbourne went quickly and the Rydges was a fantastic hotel, a converted hospital with a great view of the city. There were separate bedrooms divided by a bathroom in the center of the room. We crisscrossed the city, seeing Chinatown, eating lunch in the city centre, and then heading down to the Docklands and the Victoria Market.

The market was unfortunately closed, so we walked back to South Bank, had a snack and took a cab back to the hotel. We were pretty tired, but we needed some food and water so Reidar and I walked to the nearest grocery store, a Safeway about 15 minutes away. When we were there deciding how much we could carry we realize that we could have just driven the car. We're so into the habit of not owning one, it hadn't even occurred to us to take the car that distance. We'd been walking around Melbourne for 6 hours. We agreed not to tell the kids we had walked.

DAY 7 - MELBOURNE

The next day, we made bacon and eggs and then headed back into Melbourne to the Queen Victoria Markets that had been closed the day before.

We took the train, which cost the same as the tram but took about 25 minutes. The market was big, but not yet crowded, and there was a good variety of clothes, leather and food on offer. After the market, we walked back to Federation Square and had a very light lunch. The girls headed out to visit my mom's cousin Peter's wife, Rosalie. By coincidence, we were staying just 10 minutes down the road from her. We had wonderful conversation and a fantastic Indian take-away. It was great to see her, and I am so happy that we made the trip out to visit her. The boys also had Indian, so we had a little competition about who scored the best meal, and we all think we won.

DAY 8 – CHRISTMAS EVE - THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD

Christmas Eve started out overcast in Melbourne. We stocked up at Safeway in case we were to run into store closures. We had decided to open one present at every stop along the Great Ocean Road. We seemed to be gradually driving into better weather. We stopped in Torquay for tapas and a stroll down to the beach, and then again in Lorne, a lovely seaside village where it was completely impossible to book even a day's accommodation over the Christmas holiday. We wound along the Great Ocean Road and through the Otways until we came to the scenic overlook at Laver's Hill where we took a few photos. Comparisons to the Coastal Road in California are inevitable, as are comparisons with the road to Bergen and on to Trondheim, but I think this is just a different kind of majestic. Many of the signposted rivers were dry. Eventually, we wound around to Gibson's steps, where we saw the first of the twelve apostles and wrote GOD JUL in the sand.

The weather was clear and the light beginning to be quite beautiful. The Twelve Apostles was the next stop, and the light and weather couldn't have been better. At this stop, our daughter presented us with her “zine” which she had worked very hard on at school. She had also given us a beautiful painting before we left Brisbane. The next stop was Loch Ard Gorge, which is perhaps even more amazing than the Twelve Apostles, but words don't do it justice. Nor do pictures. The kids were amazed, and I was so happy to see that they were so taken with the sight. It was getting late now, so we needed to head to Warrnambool to avoid kangaroos on the road at dusk. We caught views of the Bay of Martyrs and London Bridge from the road, but had to push through to Port Campbell where we had dinner (we had been postponing and postponing and were basically starving now, having just had eggs for breakfast). When we arrived in Warrnambool, we had missed reception hours, but found the key in a drop box. It was a nice suite with a loft, a little warm, but very cozy for Christmas Eve. We called the relatives in Norway, who were really happy and surprised to hear from us from so far away.

CHRISTMAS DAY IN WARRNAMBOOL

We had a late start, but left ourselves plenty of time to get to the restaurant we had booked for Christmas dinner. Warrnambool is laid-out very nicely, with parks leading on to one another, plenty of room for casual cricket matches and a variety of playground apparatus, including a maze and a rip cord. The parks run along the beach, which has rough surf, but a sheltered bike path that you can walk along, breathing in the salt air and feeling the sand blow across your face. There were two people out kiting on the surf, and lots of family gatherings in the parks to play cricket. It was strange to think that it was Christmas. It felt like the fourth of July, particularly that fourth of July that I spent at the beach.

The dinner was delicious, but it had its little quirks. The waitress had trouble seating us, they served seafood but no water bowls, and there was no offer of a wine list. They seem to often be missing the last polish here.

First course oysters and shrimp

Antipasto plate

Roast meat and veg

Quite possibly world's best Christmas pud.

We went back to the hotel to rest, and then took a nice long walk along the beach and into town and back before making a little snack for dinner. It was the strangest Christmas we have ever had. It didn't really feel like Christmas, but it was nice, and we will remember it for a long time.

BOXING DAY – WARRNAMBOOL TO GEELONG

We drove the inland route from Warrnambool to Geelong, just making a short stop at the Otway Winery for a light lunch. We picked up some wine, beer and cordial, but there wasn't so much to see on the way and we were very disappointed by the hotel in Geelong. The bright point was that we had changed our original booking from 6 days to 2. Geelong was not as charming as I had remembered it. It seemed quite artificial, but fun and laid-back enough.
At this point, we really just needed a break, so it was a bit sad that our hotel was as dull and basic as it was. The really annoying part about it was that reception could not find my reservation, so I was made to feel very lucky that they had a room that I could get for just 60 bucks more than what I had already had confirmed. So, Choice Hotels is not looking very good.

We had a walk along the esplanade and found a nice Indian restaurant for dinner. When we returned, we were welcomed to Marg's birthday. The restaurant had been booked out. Coincidentally, there was another Indian restaurant across the street and we had a delicious meal there, which may have saved the whole experience of Geelong. We decided that we were glad we hadn't moved there. Brisbane had been looking better and better, all things considered.

27^th DEC – GEELONG

We had breakfast on the waterfront, and the girls did some shopping while the boys read their books. I also walked out to explore Pakingham and the West, but none of it was too exciting. Mexican for dinner and then some TV-watching. Noisy neighbours not ideal for the sleep situation before another long driving day, but not much to be done about that either.

28^th DEC – LAKES ENTRANCE

Beautiful scenery between Geelong and Lakes Entrance – rolling hills similar to the German countryside, but much less housing. The cattle look healthy and glossy. Signs to wineries are frequent. We were horrified to find that the hotel I had booked was EconoLodge, an even lower standard than Comfort Inns, for even more money. There was no indication that the Absolute Lakes Entrance Motel was a part of the EconoLodge chain. The room was not so bad, but the walls were just concrete blocks that had been painted, and we had to ask for fly spray on arrival. Still much nicer than the Quality Inn, but then again it was quite a bit more expensive. Lakes Entrance is like the Australian version of Blackpool. Not a decent restaurant in site, so we bought a couple of steaks for the BBQ. It was a production getting that lit manually by reception. It was all looking a bit dire, and then the sky started turning pink.

The sunset was quick, but amazing. I am so happy that I went out to witness it. I am shocked that the hotel owners have not improved the facilities and made it worthy of the goldmine of a location. The prices of hotels here are so out of proportion to the quality that I don't know where to begin other than with emails to Choice hotels.

29th DEC - Narooma

Narooma was a beautiful place. Here, we would stay at our cheapest hotel yet, with a pre-paid voucher from Agora, and so became quite frightened when we couldn't find it along the highway. We drove back and forth a couple of times, and finally spotted a very faded sign for the motel. We were staying off-sight, in our own little apartment just down the road. It was perfect for us - three bedrooms, a living room, dining area, kitchen, bathroom and laundry. We got there early enough to have a nice long walk around, to the beautiful beach and along the golf course.

Then we bought groceries and made the Hard Rock salad that I shamelessly copy, chilled in front of the TV and slept before the long drive to Sydney.

30th DEC - SYDNEY!

The Sydney Opera House is worth all the hype. It is a tremendous building. So kind of the Danish man Jorn Utzon to plant it there. The city itself is also stunning. The Marriott at New Year's Eve is the most expensive place we have ever stayed by a long shot, but the rooftop pool with view did not disappoint, and the location on Hyde Park was perfect. The first day, we walked up to Circular Quay for a glimpse of the Opera House, had lunch at a pub in The Rocks, took a dip in the pool and just relaxed.

New Year's Eve in Sydney

The day started out rainy and overcast and I was beginning to wonder why I had spent so much money on a weather-dependent event. We walked up to Darling Harbour, took the ferry over to Circular Quay, with great views of the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, and all of the people camping out for a good view of the fireworks. The weather started to clear. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner (shocking how old all of the clientele is - oh, wait. They're the same age as me) and then walked toward Barangaroo where I had bought tickets for fireworks viewing. Bought, yes. Brought with us to Sydney, no. They were unfortunately left on the desk in Brisbane, and as we walked toward the gate we realized trying to argue our way in to a fully booked venue without tickets was futile. Everyone but me seemed relieved to be walking away from the crowd toward the rooftop swimming pool.

We stocked up on champagne and snacks and headed up to watch the family fireworks at 9, not knowing what kind of a view we would actually have. It started well with some skywriting, and when the fireworks started we could actually see two of the barges. No Harbour Bridge view, but no Harbour Bridge crowds either. We decided the venue was good enough for midnight as well. 

Strange to not be freezing while waiting for fireworks. It does take a lot of the agony out of it! And cool to be on the starting edge of the fireworks around the world. New Year's Eve came to Norway while I was having my champagne and strawberry breakfast (yes, free champagne at the breakfast buffet - what was I to do?). The fireworks were a tad more professional than Soegne or Hovden, but each have their charm. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget.

1 JAN 2012

We had booked a tour of the Opera House, and walked through the Botanical Gardens to get to there. The Gardens are beautiful, with lots of wide open spaces for lounging around, fantastic trees and plenty of wildlife (notably, again, bats!). We picked up the tickets and then walked along the harbour to Mrs. Macquarie's Point. This would have been the ideal place to view the fireworks, for sure.

It was beautiful the next day as well. The tour was excellent. We got the full story of the creation of the Opera House, from the selection of the design to the challenges of building it, the drama, the cost, etc. etc. It's an amazing story of the realization of a vision: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House

We finished off our stay at the Sydney Tower Eye revolving restaurant. The view was clear and beautiful, and I decided that Sydney was even better than Bergen. Favorite city in the world. With a view like that, expectations for the buffet were not very high, but the food was great. A wonderful start to the New Year. 

2 JAN 

Another long drive. Sydney is now my official favorite city, but realistically speaking, I wouldn't want to live there. It took us 50 minutes to get out of the city through the traffic, so the commute would kill me. I don't reckon I could afford to live in the city center. Then, we hit beach traffic the whole way to Port Macquarie, so all we had time to do there was eat and sleep. 

3 JAN

We tried to start off early to beat the beach traffic, but the sat nav had overheated the day before and would not start. With just my Google maps to go on, we drove for 20 minutes when I realized we were heading in the wrong direction, then turned and drove another 10 until I realized it was really the right direction. Then we ended up on the wonderfully scenic (ready twisty and turny) Oxley Highway, which wove us through beautiful terrain at the speed of 40 km per hour with no gas stations for about 2 hours. We just made it to a town in time to fill up. We made good time the rest of the way, but my husband will seriously consider engaging in the planning of driving routes for future trips. Or take the train.

It was great to be back in Brisbane. When we opened the door to our apartment, it felt like coming home.

Australia Day

Sadly, the weather has put a damper on Australia Day. With torrential rain all week, the Queensland government canceled all official celebrations. We had been planning on spending the day at the beach with some friends. With the event canceled, two of us (guess which?!) went to a rugby league club with the same friends while others of us sat in front of computers.

The national anthem was sung, and we talked about how this is recited once a week at schools in Australia during assembly. I commented that Norwegians were also very patriotic, and that their national song is quite beautiful and quintessentially Norwegian (Ja, vi elsker which means, Yes, we love (this country...)). Our friend, who is German, said there is little patriotism in Germany (since the war) and the Brits around the table agreed that the English did not express their patriotism much for fear of offending recent immigrants. I tried to remember how patriotic the US is, and was surprised to not really know if the Pledge of Allegiance is still said every day in US schools. I remember it well from my own childhood.

I am quite sentimental and I love God Save the Queen, the Star-Spangled Banner, and Ja vi Elsker. I am even moved by the Italian national anthem even though I have no idea what it means. But, truthfully, I prefer Rule Britannia, This Land is Your Land, Waltzing Matilda and Norge i roedt, hvitt og blaatt. At dinner, my daughter said she wasn't sure if she should recite the Australian national anthem during assembly because she was worried it might offend Norway. It had never occurred to me that she would question this, and I am glad she did.

I answered that there is nothing wrong with singing along if you believe what you are singing. You can feel at home in one country even though you are a citizen of another. I have done so my entire life.

So, Happy Australia Day, despite the weather.
In case you thought Waltzing Matilda really was the national anthem, here are the lyrics to "Advance Australia Fair."


Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil;
Our home is girt by sea;

Our land abounds in nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We’ll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who’ve come across the seas
We’ve boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,

Advance Australia Fair.

I think I see rain

It's been the driest November since 1914, but I think I see some drops on the veranda now.


Yesterday, we awoke to find a pile of bug wings just inside our door, a few dead bugs a bit further in, and a renegade live one on the Love Sac. This lead to a full day of vacuuming, mopping and scrubbing every corner of the apartment. No bugs lurking anywhere, although I did find a moldy loaf of bread. Then I stepped out onto the veranda and it was covered in the same dead bugs. (I've looked them up on the internet and I can't identify them, but they look like something between a fly and an ant. They look harmless, but we're in Australia so not taking any chances. We're against bug infestation either way.)


So, I sent an email to the landlord to ask if there had been any fumigating in the building because I thought that would explain it. This is his reply:

I noticed the bugs on some of the balconies myself yesterday for the first time.

Sometimes these things happen like this here - On a different breeze these insects fly in their hoards. Thankfully Insect screens are installed. 

Yes, thankfully. You mean if there weren't screens on the doors hoards of insects would fly into the apartment? The pool area was also a site of mass suicide, and there were plenty of them floating in the pool. I'm going to try not to get hung up on the "first time" bit. For now.

It was Middle School Award's Night at the school last night. The 9th graders who opened the evening began by acknowledging the Aborigines as the original owners and custodians of the land on which the school is built. It is quite common to open seminars this way, and an acknowledgment is also often made in the form of a plaque on the building or on a performance program, but it is more poignant coming from a 14-year-old. It was also the first time I have heard the Australian national anthem live, played by the school orchestra. Quite touching. The standard of art, music and dance was outstanding at the award's night, and lots of medallions were handed out for academic, cultural, athletic and service achievements. It is a very big school compared to what we were used to in Norway, and it is on nights like this that you really get a sense of that. Only the kids receiving awards (not mine) or performing (you can guess who) during the ceremony were invited. They couldn't possibly have fit all of the kids in middle school as well as parents in the auditorium. Graduation today takes place during school time, and parents are not invited. Or so I am told by my graduating son. I have the day off, though, so I may just wander by at about the right time and see what happens...

There's a little Christmas party for 6th grade tomorrow, so we are baking pepperkaker. We will also have to buy Advent calendars today. I can't believe it is December first tomorrow! We missed lighting the first Advent candle on Sunday. It didn't even dawn on me that Advent started so soon! I read it in the Norwegian paper the next day. The only other true sign of Christmas so far is the husband's hunt for marzipan, which began yesterday. He is out of luck. So, unless someone wants to pack up some julemarsipan (HINT, HINT) and send it our way, we will be buying yet another nut grinder and making that from scratch as well! I am already having trouble coping with owning yet another rolling pin. Cookie cutters are next.

Happy holiday preparation in colder climes.

Thanksgiving

It doesn't quite seem right roasting the turkey with the air conditioning on. The traditional Thanksgiving vegetables are not in season now (instead of parsnips and pumpkin the shelves are full of nectarines and strawberries). All the same, it's a great tradition. The cashier at Woolies said she wished they had something like Thanksgiving in Australia and went on to explain that Anzac Day is sad and Australia Day is fun, but there's nothing just pleasant and positive like Thanksgiving. I toyed with the idea of doing the turkey on the barbecue (as so many Australians do for Christmas) but was too overwhelmed by the technical debates on cooking sites to attempt it. So, the oven is on and we are all sweating.

I haven't been home to the US for Thanksgiving in 16 years. It was always my favorite holiday, spent all day at my uncle and aunt's house, first with lunch and then with an evening buffet. The time in between was filled with board games, a walk to the park and football in the background. No Christmas present pressure, and no stress for my parents either.

I always miss family and the US most on this day, and I do contemplate what I am grateful for. I am very grateful for having grown up there, gotten a good education and had opportunities like figure skating, high school prom and a driver's licence at 16. I always felt I could do whatever I wanted to do, I grew up competitive and I also grew up with a spirit of volunteerism. I still see these as characteristics of US society. Most of all, I am perhaps grateful that, having grown up in the US, I also had the freedom to leave. I mean this in the best possible way. This separates me from many of my friends, who grew up in countries with no opportunity for movement, either for political reasons or economic ones. Their lives have been so much more difficult than mine.

I am perhaps a bit self-centered because I always thought that since I was an immigrant, and my parents had actually chosen the US instead of just being born there, that out of all of my classmates growing up, I was the one who had the most reason to celebrate Thanksgiving.

So, even though it is 30 degrees outside (Celsius, that it), that turkey will be roasted. And since pumpkin is commonly used as a fresh vegetable here and apparently not sold in cans unless it is a soup, that pumpkin pie has been made from scratch. Really from scratch.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends and family in the US and wherever else you are in the world. I'm thinking of you.

November

It's getting very hot here in Brisbane, and it just doesn't seem right to see the shops stocked with Christmas puddings, mince pies and candy canes. Christmas lights and gigantic balls hang from the outdoor pubs and cafes in the city, but we're sitting around in sundresses and flip-flops instead of wool coats and boots. I have to admit dreaming about snow, but I'm not sick of the heat yet. The pool is coming in very handy now. It went from being ice cold to bath water temperature in the course of two weeks.

We've booked our journey for Christmas, but the paranoid husband does preclude me from revealing the route on a blog. Suffice it to say we will be having Christmas lunch served to us on the beach and there is the remote possibility of seeing us on TV when the New Year hits this part of the world.

It's time for a little introduction to 'Strine (Australian). I assume you are all familiar with G'day, No worries, Cheers and Mate but if you were in doubt I can assure you that these are not just the expressions of Crocodile Dundee and Steve Irwin. You hear these expressions a lot, and I was thrilled to be in on a conference call to the US with my colleague. He opened with, "Oh. G'day. I'm (name protected for same reason as husband, these people are both Linux guys with security issues)...from The University of Queensland" and then much to my great pleasure, closed with "No worries." Not premeditated, I assure you.

Here are some of my favorite new expressions. (You'll have to excuse me (and correct me) if any of these have actually floated into the American language without my realizing it. I've been away for a long time.)

iconic - used to refer to any man-made structure more than 60 years old, especially if Sydney had one first, also used for natural wonders (sometimes justifiably, but you can never be sure).
hot desking - we don't  have enough space in the office for you, but we will hire you anyway. You can just float around to a vacant desk when someone is sick.
flick - get rid of an email (meaning, get rid of work) - as in "I'll just flick that email over to you, and now I've done my bit. It's your problem now."
appropriate - mostly referring to the speech and clothes tolerated at school, a very short list
inappropriate - mostly referring to speech, behaviour and clothes not tolerated at school, a very long list
consequences - what there will be after school if anything inappropriate goes on
luxury fittings - the taps go on and off (sometimes)
stubbie - bottle of beer
schooner - glass of beer
long black - black coffee, no milk, no sugar - you can also have a small long black which just doesn't seem right
short black - espresso - I don't think you can have a large short black
flat white - not sure, but it must have milk in it so I'm not drinking it
we should have coffee - let's not have coffee (unless said by a foreigner, in which case, "let's have coffee right now")
cossie - swimsuit
thongs - flip-flops (can get confusing - my daughter wrote in a poem that she felt happy right down to her thongs)
Mackers - McDonald's (they NEVER call in McDonald's)
Hungry Jack's - Burger King (for some reason the brand name is Hungry Jacks, but I'm pretty sure it's owned by Burger King because the logo is exactly the same. They serve beets on their signature burger.

I must be in a bit of a negative spin here. I can't seem to come up with too many positive expressions. Maybe the frequency of G'day, No worries, Cheers and Mate more than make up for the above, because generally the conversation is very jovial and the Australians very friendly. I'll add to the list as I think of more.

Australia's friendliest bus driver

OK, it's no secret I love bus drivers (my father-in-law is one), but the guy on bus 109 to UQ made everyone's day today. As each person boarded the bus, he gave them a warm, "Good morning," "Hi ya," "Greetings," or "Great to see you," called out the stops with a bit of color: "Mater Hill Hospital. If you're pregnant, this might be a good place to get off" and bid each person farewell with a "Have a fantastic day" or "Smile at a stranger, it may be the only smile he gets."

There was a lot more smiling, chatting and laughing on that bus than normal, and I'm sure the driver's day went much faster for him as well.

It also reminded me of a story that I think occurred in the vacuum between Facebook and blogging in Norway. I got on a bus from work to get to the new ice rink at Idda, not sure how far it would take me. When we got close to the main bus station, I asked the driver if I could get any closer to Idda or if  I needed to change buses. He said, "Why don't you just stay on the bus and I'll see if I can get you a little closer." So I moved up to the front of the bus and we had a great conversation which began with, "Ah, you must be an old figure skater from the States going to test out the new ice" and developed into "I remember when we got proper winters and everyone used to skate on Jegers" which led inevitably to, "Oh, yeah, of course I know your father-in-law. We grew up together." He was at the end of his shift, so he drove me straight to the rink even though he had really finished at the bus stop in the center of town.

We are nicely set up here for public transportation, and I am all for it and always have been, especially since I am a bad driver. I have to say I do appreciate one main difference between public transport here and in Norway: the weather. Here, you walk to and wait for buses in the sunshine surrounded by tropical plants. There, you walk to and wait for buses in the rain and snow, often standing in puddles or getting sprayed on by cars driving through puddles. Critical difference, so expect me to buy a car again when we return to Norway.

I have started work since the last blog. I have two temporary positions at the University of Queensland, one at the School of Education working with postgraduate research students and one establishing the newly approved Research Computing Centre (a user centre for researches using high performance computing). I feel very lucky to have gotten this job, definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time. I am learning a lot, meeting a lot of interesting people and gaining a new perspective on Norway and UiA. (Wait a minute, it sounds like I am on student exchange.) Well, I feel like I am on student exchange, and this has really re-affirmed my faith in going abroad and learning different ways of doing things.

The most obvious thing I have learned so far is: Norway is not bureaucratic at all. Tells you a lot about Australia. Right now, our printer is out of toner and I can't order any more toner because I can't print the form I need to have signed in order to buy the toner. Since the guys I work with refuse to get onto the UQ net which uses Windows (they probably only hired me because I can work on Linux), I can't send it to print anywhere else on campus either. So, I am sending the form to myself to print at home. Alternately, I could order the toner through the electronic system, but I can't have access to that until I have completed a course, which isn't given until Oct. 6. I am not being quite fair here, though. Before I started, I filled out 5 forms and submitted all of my qualifications, passport, visa, etc. etc. and when I got to work on the first day I had a user name, password, email account and key within an hour. I got paid on the first regular pay day after I started. The IT guy came to me, instead of me having to go to him. I thought that was all pretty impressive.

We're going out to eat now, but be warned. We have finally bought a really nice camera. I will have to revisit everywhere I've been so far and post some decent photos.