September 30, 2004
Absentee
We voted today; did you? Of course you didn’t. But those of us living abroad have to plan ahead! Last month we mailed off our applications for absentee ballots, which came in the mail today. Voting this early is somewhat scary. How do we know that something won’t happen between then and now that will change the entire course of the race? We don’t know. We have to send off our ballots and hope for the best.
Also, it’s difficult to vote for local issues when you’re nowhere near your locale. I have no idea what impact some of the tax questions will have, or what organizations may be deprived of funding. It’s weird to vote without having been exposed to any hardcore campaigning. I probably know more about the upcoming election for Prime Minister than I do for most of the Missouri statewide candidates. (Interesting sidenote: it’s illegal not to vote in Australia.)
Anyhow, it’s done, and mostly I just feel relieved. That decision is over—now it’s time to sit back and wait for the rest of you to decide.
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September 27, 2004
Photos of Wine Glass Bay
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September 26, 2004
Busy Week
Rob’s worked every day so far since we’ve come back from Sydney, so not too many exciting events for either of us this week. On Wednesday I had my first violin lesson in Australia. My teacher is from the States (Minnesota, to be exact) although she has lived here for quite a while. So, as one may assume, she has a really weird accent. A mix of that Minnesotan accent plus Aussie thrown in. And she talks fast too, in case the accent wasn’t enough to throw you. On the other hand, she is a great teacher and is going to be really good for me.
On Friday I went to the craft group and met a few more people. Nothing exciting to report—no major projects were completed. Later in the evening we went out to dinner with our friends Lem and Jessie, who took us to a fantastic restaurant in Evandale. It’s one of those small quaint towns with a really intimate little restaurant. The service was excellent and the food was even better.
Rob got called in to the hospital on Saturday after he had already worked all day. He went back in for several hours and came home, then got called back in again for a trauma. He was pretty sleepy when he finally got back.
Sunday (today) we had lunch with several people at the pastor’s home. It’s a gorgeous home with a fantastic view of the Tamar valley and the mountains. It was so great to spend some time getting to know some people and hearing their stories. After lunch Rob had to go to the hospital, but I caught a ride with Jessie and Lem. Lem had to go to work, so Jessie came over to our place and we spend the afternoon working on quilts, talking and watching Australian Idol.
Now I’m waiting for Rob to get home, writing blog entries when I should be practicing violin for my next lesson. I’d better get on with it.
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September 23, 2004
Sydney Continued
Sydney is a beautiful city. A city on a harbour filled with green spaces and flanked by beaches. I enjoy Bondi beach the epicenter of Australian surfing culture. I’ve got to take some surfing lessons because it looks like alot of fun. Only about 15 minutes from the city center. Nice. One minute you’re sipping your cappucino, the next walking accross one of the most recognizable beaches. Man, aussies have a good life to be sure.
The Chinese Garden was quite an oasis in the busy city. Although not nearly as hectic as most American cities I have been in, Sydney has its fair share of noise pollution. The Chinese Garden is the cure to that hectic lifestyle. It is a place that really is a pallate for the senses. Each area of the garden is an intentionally created visual space to invoke a separate feeling. The fragarent flowers add to the backdrop of the scenery. Lastly the sounds or bamboo swaying in the wind or rushing water create a unique atmosphere to reflect and cleanse. A truly refreshing experience.
The Sydney Aquarium was one of my favorite experiences. I am an animal lover. It was a real thrill to see active platypuses up close. They are such unique and amazing creatures. So much fun to watch. Sea dragons are also an extremely rare and unique creature. Quite majestic, these sea horse variants are quire beautiful to behold as well.
How can you not love one of the most interesting and beautiful architecture landmarks? Sydney opera house is quite an asethically beatiful study of architecture. Combine that with the backdrop of the harbor and flank it with lush green gardens and that is the essense of syndey. Really a beautiful place and a wonderful experience.
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Sydney
We’re back after a fantastic vacation, or as we know call it, holiday. Sydney is a great city. I didn’t realize how I’d missed skyscrapers. Launceston hasn’t got any at all. We did as much as we possibly could in our 4 days there. We were tired and footsore at the end of each day and went to sleep happy.
Some highlights: The Aquarium was the coolest!! We saw platypuses (I had to spellcheck the plural on that one), crocodiles, sharks, sea dragons, and tons of other cool fishy friends, including Nemo.
Bondi Beach: a little chilly, but still very pretty. Surfing is fun to watch.
Chinese botanical garden: biggest one outside of China. Absolutely gorgeous. Aussies like to rent costumes and dress up like the emperor’s court.
Chinatown: good, good, good food. And fun shopping.
The Rocks: great old architecture, fun market, good pubs.
I’ll let Rob cover some of the other exciting events. We had a fantastic time. Oh, and we stayed at the nicest hostel I have ever been in—it was like a hotel. Incredible. Pictures coming soon.
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September 16, 2004
Strange and Sad
This whole thing is just too weird:
Martha Stewart
This new move doesn’t make any sense to me (and leads to heightened feelings of suspicion.) I’m not sure how I feel about it. It’s so defeatist. Which has never been the persona of MSLO or Martha herself. I find it very sad.
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Wineglass Bay
Last weekend we did one of the most impressive bushwalks there is to do in Tassie. Freycinet National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Tasmania. The reason for all those visitors is the gorgeous Wineglass Bay. It’s a fairly steep walk of about 2 1/2 hours to go to the lookout, then down to the beach, and all the way back. Of course, we did spend a little extra time on the chilly but gorgeous beach.
At the end of a hike, we were greeted in the parking lot by a friendly native. Beauty.
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September 15, 2004
Someone has a lot of free time
If you enjoy the Simpsons , you should check this out. “Thanks for this link Steve-O :)”
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September 13, 2004
Blue Tier and Hobart Photos
Look at our latest photos! Click here
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September 10, 2004
Past week and coming weekend update
Update on Rob and Erica for the past week:
Rob has been very busy at work all week. Wednesday was a nice day off, mostly spent in well-deserved relaxation. Had second guitar lesson on Wednesday.
Erica found out that you cannot buy wonton skins anywhere in Launceston. Planning to check in Hobart for Asian supermarket.
Erica went to another craft time at church and also went to a Ladies’ Pamper night, where she had a massage, facial, and footbath done. Fantastic.
Rob and Erica spent all day Friday running around trying to work out Erica’s visa. Tried to get chest x-ray done. Went to wrong place. Redirected to another wrong location. Told the correct location, didn’t have correct paperwork. Got paperwork, went back, paperwork was wrong. Cried. Went to Rob’s office, got on web, found correct paperwork, went back. Got x-ray. Total time: 6 1/2 hours. Pain.
Weekend Plans: Go to Hobart Saturday morning to the Salamanca market. Look for Asian market. Head toward East coast. Stop on the way at the Tasmanian Wool Centre. Probable purchase of wool. Back into car and on to Freycinet, with the gorgeous Wineglass bay. Take many photos, go on many walks. Continue on Sunday. Head back in time for special evening service at church.
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September 09, 2004
Save the Blue Tier
Tassie has some really unique places. The“blue tier”:http://www.hotkey.net.au/~touringtasmania/images/BLUETIER/BLUETIER-P1-RGBMAR04.jpg is a temperate rainforest and unlike anything I have seen before. Tucked back into the mountains, the Blue Tier used to be a tin mining area. The environment is unique. Lichen covers the ground like a giant green carpet. Plants that look like coral on land are spread throughout the folliage. The temperate rainforest has a lush feel with sassafrass trees and gigantic ferns. The feeling of the Blue Tier is a bit spooky. First walk we went on was called Goblin Forest. It looks like something out of The Lord of the Rings. Our second walk was to the summit for panaoramic views of the countryside. The blue tier is in danger because of logging. It has become a rallying cry for environmentalists in Tassie. I see save the Blue Tier stickers everwhere. Walking in the wilderness has really made me sympathetic to environmentalists. I want to save these places for future generations to enjoy as well.
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September 06, 2004
Big City
Last week Rob had Thursday and Friday off—yay! So we went to Hobart, the big city of Tassie. It’s the capitol city here, and much larger than Launceston. It has great food and lots of entertainment. The first thing we did when we got to the city was drive to the dim sum restaurant for lunch. They serve it all week long and it’s really good. I wish I had some right now.
After lunch we walked to Battery Point and explored Salamanca Place. There are a lot of shops and art galleries at Salamanca Place and on Saturdays they have a big market with food and art and crafts. We are planning to see that eventually. On Friday we got up early and drove out of town to take a tour of Cadbury’s Chocolate Factory. Yum. Lots of free samples along the way. While it’s not my favorite chocolate, it’ll do for now. We had lunch at a great seafood place (Hobart is known for good seafood) and it was off to tour the Cascade Brewery. Our tour guide had worked there for over 20 years and had tons of interesting facts and stories.
Here’s an interesting sidenote for those of you who are fans of DMB. We were out listening to some music on Thursday night and the band asked if anyone knew of a guy named Dave Matthews. Rob and I were the only people in the place who had heard of him. I knew that he wasn’t as popular in other countries, but wow…not even a spark of recognition.
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Want to play?
Check this out. I can waste a lot of time doing these.
Enjoy.
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September 03, 2004
2008 in Beijing
Check these out.
It’s gonna be sweet! I want to go!
Thanks to my former student Annie for the pics.
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