clang clang went the trolley, ding ding went the bell

I've been working, YAY! And with that, I've been taking a lot of buses and trains. This past week I've been going to the Keith Maine Centre which is situated within a State Park up north of the river, and it takes about 2 hours to get there, and 2 hours to get back (thank heavens that I didn't have to be there until 9 am). 

My trip consists of a twenty minute bus ride, a 70 minute train ride, and then a coworker and I share a drive for thirty minutes more before we get there. I usually spend my time listening to music or talk radio on my mobile and sometimes sneak in some general people watching ... but it can be a little awkward on the train, because the seats face one another (so other people are watching right back at you ... kind of like trying to people watch in an elevator), and if you're not in a seat, and standing, you've got two different sets of people staring at your waist. But I've gotten pretty good at still sneaking in the people watching. 

It seems like there are always a wide assortment of characters that travel with me. There's the suave young professional ... who wears fitted gray slacks, a light 'salmon' colored shirt, and tie, with bright polished pointed black shoes, while reading the latest on their IPad, most of them look like models who've escaped from a GQ "Business" shoot (I'm not kidding either, they all look like they come from central casting). There's the slightly older professional, who wears a full suit, a clunky expensive looking watch, and reads the paper, never lifting his eyes off the page, bits of gray salting his hair almost as much as his light aftershave salts the air. There's always at least one elderly woman, dressed in fine, pressed clothes, and holding a feminine sun hat and large purse in her lap, a gentle smile waiting at the corner of her mouth whenever her eyes meet with someone else's. The middle aged woman absolutely engrossed in a thick book with pictures of virile young men on the cover embracing scantily clad women with long waist length hair. The hoards of school aged teenagers, who fill the cars with satchels, black school shoes, about five or so different uniform variations, and the giggles and laughter of youth.  And of course, the ever present backpackers and hippies. Nose ring, barefeet, singlet, and yoga pants, the groups only really differentiated by the presence of a backpack. 

Once I was on the train, and a young woman (mid twenties or so) on a motorized wheelchair came on board (the kind that you direct with a joy stick), with some Transperth Staff assistance. She thanked the staff member for the help in getting her on the train, and the people around her for making sure that there was room for her. Once we were on our way, she decided she wanted her mobile. At which point, she stood up, and walked behind her wheelchair looking through the things that were hung on the back. Eyes stared with absolute awe, and some slightly naive disgust as she walked around her motorized wheel chair. I almost busted out laughing as I watched the expression of one man dressed in a construction worker uniform, as he looked on mouth slightly agape, and eyes the size of grapefruits. 

Or one time, I was on the bus, and a woman in her sixties was talking to a handsome young man in his twenties. They were strangers, and she kept telling him how handsome he was, and asking about the girlfriend that he must "surely" have. The guy was really cool about it,  seemingly more flattered than creeped out, and seemed to really enjoy talking with her, until he had to get off (in front of a gym ... haha, oh but of course!), and the woman flirtatiously said goodbye to him. 

My favorite though, has to be a guy who came on the train at Claisebrook and got off in the city. He was holding a guitar and sat immediately across from me. He raised the guitar to his lap and gently began strumming the strings before deciding to just go for it, and began flat out playing the guitar on the train in front of me. I took my ear phones out of my ears (why listen to the radio, when you've got a live show). He never looked up from his guitar. He was so engrossed in his music. And he played until the train doors opened in the city and he jumped up from his seat and left. 

You don't get to have these stories if you're driving!! ;) 

Next week I start working in the houses ... phew! We'll see what that's like! ;) 

Morning Tea

I had induction for my new position on Friday, and today I had my very first official day of training. I left this morning just before 7 am to make sure that I would make it on time. I was the first to arrive (arriving 30 minutes early), and I was quickly ushered into the lobby area of the building where I was told to enjoy some coffee, tea, and biscuits. 

This is perhaps one of my most favorite bits of Australian professional culture. Every work place that I have been to so far, is equipped with a small kitchen, that has a sink, a hot water dispenser, and a dishwasher. The Learning Center where I'm beginning my training, is no different. You might be wondering why there is a dishwasher in just an average office building ...

Well, I was grateful for my stint at Morton Seed and Grain, which had instructed me on the appropriate cultural practices for this moment in an office kitchen. ;) Step one. Grab REAL mug from cabinet (as in ceramic ... ya, you heard me). Step two. Pour water from special hot water dispenser. Step Three. Steep Peppermint tea bag in mug. Step Four. Grab a teaspoon from the silverware drawer (yes, there's a proper silverware drawer at work, with REAL spoons, forks, knives) ... if there aren't any more tea spoons in the drawer ... look at the coffee/tea/sugar station, there is always a collection of 'already used by someone else to stir" teaspoons, that you can bravely pick out, and put in your coffee/tea for a stir. Step Five (and most important step) grab an Arnott's biscuit from the biscuit jar, for dunking purposes. 

I enjoyed my tea and biscuit until people starting filing in, and our instruction began. 

At 10:30 am, we broke for Morning Tea. Where everyone indulged in another 'cuppa', and a second biscuit. 

At Noon, we broke for lunch. 

Then, again at 2:30, we broke for Afternoon Tea. Where everyone indulged in yet another 'cuppa', and their third biscuit. 

By the time I left work today, I was feeling a little bit like a hobbit ... waiting on elevensies and my fourth biscuit for the day. 

But instead, I went home, and had Tea (dinner) with my roommate. 

If you didn't quite catch that ... here is the Australian meal order:

Breakfast
Morning Tea - cuppa and a biscuit
Lunch
Afternoon Tea - cuppa and a biscuit (or it can be an assortment of snacks instead)

Tea - (Dinner) 

Below is a picture of high tea, which replaces afternoon tea, where you drink tea and eat fancy petit fours and sweets, and allow yourself to feel really fancy ... this we don't do at work ... 

Stuff Perth People Say

Alright, so this is a bit of fun! It's a youtube clip poking fun at some pretty common Perth-isms. I think that my favorite line from the clip is: 

"Forty dollars for a pub steak?! ..... Ya, alright." hehe. Oh Perth!!

Hope you enjoy! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpW1dv6rTgk 

No-Booze Cruise

So I finally went to my very first YSA activity! We did a River Cruise from Perth to Freo and Back ... but mostly it was like a dance on a boat at night - so pretty cool! It wasn't really a place to meet people, but it was a place to have fun with some of the people that I already know. I was really lucky because I went to the CES Fireside before this, and had a chance to meet more people there. The YSA here seem like a fun bunch! 

Haha ... so my costume takes some imagination ... but pair my cool headband with, a sink plunger,
and dots all over my skirt ... and what do you have?
An obviously AWESOME Dalek costume! ;)

Yina and Fiona, two good friends (Yina on the left, is an especially close friend) both are from China
and both are recent converts, and the sweetest girls you'll ever meet. Yina is preparing for a mission right now

Charli

Plunger for my costume in hand, and Perth behind us ... (oh! all girl relatives reading this, please notice
the perfect curl that formed at some point during the night just above the plunger - hurrah for humidity!!)

Perth

Had to take a picture with the girl dressed as captain America ... haha she was worried that I was
offended because she had 'defaced' an American flag (obviously, I loved it and didn't care),
she didn't think she'd run into any Americans but I saw her, and there's also a new guy from
SLC Utah in town ... looks like we're taking over! ;)

End of the Night, that's Perth! :)

Australia Day (Jan 26)

Australia Day!

For those not in the know (I sure wasn't) Australia is commemorating the arrival of the first fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and British Sovereignty over New Holland (thank you Wikipedia.org). In laymen terms ... Australia Day equals Australia's version of the fourth of July. Flags are waved proudly, and can be found on aprons, thongs (flip flops), backpacks, blankets, ... you name it, and there is an Australian Flag.

It's a day for Aussies to get together ... have a sausage sizzle, throw some prawns on the barbie, and play a bit of cricket in the backyard ... all followed by fireworks!

(speaking of Barbies, every year around Australia Day there's an ad campaign for Lamb here in Australia, below is the link for this year's ad)


Australia Day Lamb Campaign "Barbie Girl"

Here are some pictures of my experience of my very first Australia Day:

Cicerellos!! It's an AWESOME place. Fish and Chips in Freo, and super tasty

Didn't think to take a picture until I was half way done. Eaten with traditional malt vinegar ... and
not so traditional sweet chili sauce 

One of the little ones with us

Yes my friends ... you are looking at an ELECTRIC bagpipe!!

Bather's Beach in Freo (pretty nice view of the Indian Ocean, eh?)

Waiting for the fireworks to start

We put on some cool tats while we waited

Haha, this is Blair, his wife Naomi was sick and couldn't come. I have a couple pictures like this
Blair likes to steal the camera when I'm not looking! Haha.

Showing some Aussie pride! :)

Youngest in our brood

We were so close to the water that the guy taking photos on the right
got all wet from a wave that came and engulfed his little spot

Me and my man for the night! :)

Marly gets a checkup.

Okay. So I have been nudged to write more. I always tend to get slumpy at blogging when I feel like my life has gotten boring ... and not very 'wild undertaking'-y.

And yet, here I go.

If you don't feel like reading self indulgent weepiness, please skip to bits below, otherwise, put on some soft woolie socks, grab a box of tissues, and ready your DVD player with your favorite romantic comedy for afterwards ... and consider making yourself some hot cocoa ... you know, the kind with marshmallows (the big camping kind, not the inferior small ones, they melt too fast).

Here it is ... my 'I've been in Australia for two and a half months' weep. I am tremendously lonely. I have no qualms about doing things on my own. I am happy to do them, and they give me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, like 'look at me! I am a strong and indepenant woman who doesn't need anybody' but at the same time it is getting pretty stinkin' old.

Window shopping in the mall, movies at the theater, walks in the park, trips to the beach, sight seeing, and concerts, I've done them all on my own, on a pretty regular basis. I don't let my 'alone-ness' get in the way of my fun. But when I'm sitting at the dock in Freo, and a rather hefty and hairy guy walks past me sporting only the smallest of speedos, I only have myself to snicker with. I miss having friends. I've always been so lucky in the past that my roommates for the last six years of my life have all been my closest set of buddies. My gal pals to roam with, to have adventures with, to laugh and cry with. I miss that. I miss that a lot.

I bet you're all weeping right now, and getting ready to watch Grease just to make yourselves feel better.

I know, I know, I feel dumb for complaining. I have a wicked sweet job that's finally putting me on a career path, Liz is fantastic and we do stuff together. AND I get to live in a country where the citizens don't understand my accent and everyone thinks my name is Marly. I'm living an awesome life, and I am having tons of fun ... I am just really lonely too.

Okay weep fest over.

IF YOU SKIPPED ALL THAT, HERE'S A GOOD PLACE TO COME BACK IN AGAIN.

Before they could give me a job offer, I had to be able to pass a physical exam (pretty sure that it would be illegal for them to do that in States until after they have offered me a job - but since I passed, I'm not complaining). I called and set up my appointment, which was going to require a trip to the city.

I had the earliest appointment (I like being first) and caught the early bus into the city. I love going into the city because you have to cross the Swan River in order to get there. It's beautiful. It's summer here and so it's sunny every day (and well, there's also a hole in the Ozone right over my head, so that helps too ...) and the water is a brilliant blue, it reminds me a little bit of crossing Lake Washington in Seattle ... only, you know, with sunshine.

Every time I go to the city, somehow, I always seem to forget and find myself being reminded (with jaw open) that Perth is a proper city. It takes the sound of wobbly high heels and mobile phones accompanied by the smell of coffee in to-go cups and freshly applied cologne to remind me that I am just one small person amongst the giant buildings, fighting against the relentless current of men and women wearing business suits on their way to jobs that I hope are as important as they make themselves look.

Because I was the first appointment I was seen quickly and was taken to the physician who would be doing the Musculoskeletal bit of the examination. In my head I imagined that the test would comprise of this: Please touch your toes. Good. Now please lift this weight. But what my imagination lacked was a physician with same attitude as the guy who invented P90x. I came in ready to touch my toes, and his first request for me was to get down and start doing pushups.

Several pushups, as many sit ups as I could handle, swats, what Whitney likes to call 'the invisible chair' against the wall for two minutes on the stop watch (I'm good at those) and a full minute plank (those are hard really hard, and after a minute my arms were shaking) later, he was finally ready to have me touch my times ... and then had me do it five times more.

I laughed out loud when he deposited me to a different person for the next section of my exam, and she asked to take my blood pressure! I don't know if I really lost this in the previous section or what, but their scale said that I was about 4 kilos less than I actually weigh, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I kept quiet. Also, I am a few centimeters over 5'10" ... who knew?

After those things were out of the way, the nurse asked me if I had to go to the bathroom. I hesitated. I didn't have to go to the bathroom but I could. As I mulled this over in my head, she interrupted my thoughts by saying, "Don't worry, it's not for a drug test."  Now. I'm not really sure how to take this. Do I look like someone who would need to worry if I was asked to take a drug test, OR did she decide that recreational drug use would be a good habit to pick up since I am returning to the world of residential care? Either way, I pretended like I didn't hear that, and said that I could go to the bathroom.

She took me to the bathroom and showed me these little pH strips that were to be put in the urine to check my protein, glucose, keytone levels and check for any blood. And then she showed me a Styrofoam cup ... you know, like coffee. I laughed really loud and said, "Sorry, haha, sorry, at first I thought you were telling me that I was going to have to pee in that haha!!" An awkward moment passed as I realized ... that yes, I was expected to pee in a styrofoam coffee cup. I did my business ... frankly feeling weird that I was peeing a cup that someone might also use to get water from in the lobby, and put the pH stick in the cup and pulled it out again. Apparently she was supposed to do that, but was okay with me having done it. She handled the stick, the cup, and the paper towel all without gloves. So no gloves and handling of pee-pee stuff combined with the use of a styrofoam cup in the use of urine analysis made me begin to doubt the legitimacy of this whole process.

My third and last stop was with a doctor who kept coughing and sputtering into her hands, then had me get on the table and touch me all over the place (checking my organs out), and then washed her hands after she had been touching me, instead of before.

I think that maybe Australians are as laid back about germs as they are in their personalities.

But no matter what, I've got the 'all clear' except for some annoying background checks that I have to get from the FBI in the States and from the Police Station that used to be across the street from my house in St. Croix. But all systems are GO, and I begin work for the Department for Child Protection here in Perth February 13.

Tis the Season

Christmas was beautiful in Perth. Filled with fun, giggles, pounds of Christmas pudding with custard (for those who don't know, Christmas pudding, isn't pudding, it's like a cake), dozens of fruit mince pies, shortbread and pavlova and strawberries. Haha, I think it's time to go back to loosing weight. 

But it was genuinely great. Up-to Christmas Liz and I would drive to different spots that have lights up after we both had gotten home from work. Lights are interesting here, because very few homes actually decorate for the holidays (at least not the way that we do in the States), however ... when they do decorate ... they go ALL OUT, so while there aren't very many homes to look at (and you have to drive all over the metropolitan area to find them) the ones you do find are elaborately decorated. 

The first time that we saw a decked out house, it was 10pm and Liz did a quick u-turn to take a look, and I assumed we would just drive by really slowly ... the way we look at lights in the States. Instead ... Liz parked in the driveway (of the stranger's house), got out, and proceeded to walk towards the house and into their front yard. I just stood there not sure what to do. Especially since I saw the owner out of the corner of my eye, outside stringing up the last little sets of lights, and Liz was making a beeline for her window to take a peak inside her house! This definitely isn't how we do things in the States, where we stick to the street and footpath (sidewalk), and stay clear of people's actual homes. So I just stood there by the car not sure what to do ... or how to handle the inevitable fight that I was sure was going to happen. 

The owner, a woman, spotted Liz, approached her, and instead of coming to fisticuffs for the invasion of privacy ... stood and seemed to be having a friendly little chat with Liz.  After a few moments, I finally decided that I should join them. The exterior of her home and her tiered front garden were covered, and I mean every inch was covered in fairy lights (twinkle lights).  It was beautiful. As I approached the two women, Liz was asking if she could go inside the house, and I could hear Christmas music playing loudly, as the front door opened. 

Definitely not how I am used to doing things. 

Within a few minutes I found myself in a strangers home at 10pm, Fleiz Navidad playing out of two large speakers by the front door. And I was absolutely breathless. You might assume that I was that way because I was nervous about how odd it was to invite yourself into a stranger's home at 10pm, but I was absolutely breathless because I could not believe what I saw. The owner's parlor had been completely transformed from a room with two couches and a TV to a different world. The TV was covered up because a large flat high surface (maybe specifically constructed) mostly covered it as well as most of the room except for a small path leading to the rest of the house. And every centimeter of that surface was covered in small little Christmas snow themed ceramics depicting a beautiful and detailed little European Christmas glittering town. It looked like a small scale model for a claymation movie. It was a beautiful little set up complete with fake snow, and even moving parts. I felt like a small child oooh and aaahhing over it. Noticing ever small little detail. It was intricate and beautiful, and I genuinely wonder where they store it for the rest of the year. 

The woman chatted with us, and offered up her lolly jar that came complete with little candy canes. She spoke with a thick accent that I couldn't quite place, but I think that she might be Italian, or maybe Portuguese.  We left to go home after a good 15 minute chat. 

Definitely not how we do things in the States, but I LOVED it. 

On Christmas day itself, we went to church in the morning, and then afterwards we went to Blair and Naomi Major's home for the rest of the day (seriously we were there for 12 hours). We laughed, we cooked (I blanched beans for the first time ... I didn't even know what it meant), and had turkey AND ham AND fish, and all sorts of treats in between. My contribution for the Christmas meal that I had brought from home was a quinoa, pecan, cranberry, and dill salad ... which was phenomenal, if I do say so myself! ;) At their home, I met Blair's parents who within a few hours of meeting me, invited me down to Bunburry, where they said they'd put me in a queen sized bed and show me around town! (and I'm going to take them up on their offer, Bunburry is two hours south of Perth ... and coincidentally, still a part of my Stake). 

All in all, Christmas was pretty great. 

I don't know how well you can see it ... because my flash
didn't work, but this is CLASSIC Aussie Christmas garb
shorts, singlet (wife beater), flannel, and Santa hat

The welcome sign has a donation 'wishing well' where people
throw in a few coins when they go through, a lot of homes
do this, and all proceeds got to Princess Margaret Hospital
(the children's hospital in Perth)

Again. Classic. This is a bunch of Aussie kids strolling down the street
wearing classic Christmas hats (that you get from those little pully things)
and walking around barefoot (a very Aussie thing)
and definitely dressed for the summer season! ;) (they posed for this pic)

This isn't the same house as the one I talked about in my post,
BUT this gives you an idea of what I was talking about
that's Liz in the foreground.

Liz and fake snow. Did I saw they go all out?

The kids I get to spend Christmas with!!!

Sequence, looks like ... fun while they were doing this ... I was ...

doing this. Haha. Christmas tuckered me out. But it was tons of fun