Author: Marie A Gleason

Submitted by Caitlin Goodhue on the 2013 winter session program in Australia sponsored by the Department of English….

Warrnambool. That’s the name I just passed on a sign out in the middle of nowhere in Australia. Some of the names of the towns and cities here – like Warrnambool, for example, sound so native to Australia that I get excited about being on this continent all over again. I’m currently sitting on a bus, and most of the day will consist of…more traveling. Our group should arrive in Apollo Bay via the renowned Great Ocean Road by about dinnertime.

Something else I just passed that reminds me of where exactly I am (besides being on a bus) is a large sign warning of the potential for fire damage for that day (with an arrow pointing to green for safe, red, or a variety of shades in between). The arrow on the sign was approaching the red danger zone (the official title of this shade was “severe”); looking out at the yellowed, summer plains our group is driving through right now, I don’t doubt it. Our bus driver also informed us as we were departing the Grampians that today will reach 37 degrees Celsius; I’ve gotten a little better at interpreting this (a little, I’m definitely no expert yet though), and I can estimate that this is close to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit…either that or 90. (I’m fresh out of Internet access at the moment so I’ll have to wait in order to check, and to post this entry. Update: 37 degrees Celsius means 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.) I’m excited to get to the Great Ocean Road though, and get a chance to see the coastline again – I always love being by the water – as well as the famous Twelve Apostles (well, there used to be twelve, but I guess a few have crumbled into the sea since they were named).

Yesterday we spent time in the Grampians, which is practically the Outback of Australia. The Grampians are these semi-mountain formations in the far south of Australia that scientists believe were created when a renegade land mass smashed into the land mass that would eventually become this continent. At the Aboriginal Cultural Center (called Brambuk) yesterday, however, we heard the Aboriginal version of this tale. I thought it sounded similar to Native American lore; basically, a great creator who became an eagle created the land of the Grampians, and appointed two male brothers to watch over the land. But a giant emu (hey, they can be pretty scary, especially with such a sharp beak) was terrorizing the animal and Aboriginal residents, and a fight between a crow and the emu chasing him formed most of the rivers and valleys of the Grampians. (There was some other stuff in there too – like about how a coward Aboriginal man was too scared to try to fight the emu and dropped his weapons and fled for the trees, and so was eventually turned into a possum because he refused to come down. Typical cool myth stuff.)

We also had a chance to throw a boomerang at Brambuk! All I can say is, it’s pretty difficult, but a lot of fun, and I really want to practice throwing it so I can get to a level where I can make it come back and catch the boomerang. After we heard some Aboriginal stories – not to mention some pretty epic didgeridoo playing – we had a tour of all the medicinal plants the Aboriginal people use for home remedies. Since I have a cold, I grabbed a handful of the plant meant to help clear sinuses. I was surprised that it actually did help. After that, I tried kangaroo meat, which freaked me out at first but really does taste exactly like steak. I thought the crocodile meat was pretty tasty too. And then – wait for it – I painted my own boomerang. In a day filled with unique experiences, the boomerang painting was my favorite. I wanted to get a boomerang for my sister in the first place, and being able to paint it for her myself (since I love arts and crafts stuff) was a huge bonus.

Having a time difference between home and where I am right now is still really strange; I thought I’d be used to it by now, but I guess I’ve got a bit of a delay since I’ve never dealt with it before. So, even though it’s 11:00 A.M. on the 11^th here, it’s around 7:00 P.M. at home on the 10^th. Earlier, I was trying to figure out when to try to reach my Mom to say ‘Happy Birthday,’ and basically figured that once it’s really late at night here, it will be early morning on the correct day at home. Or – which sounds weird to me – I can call morning my time on the 12^th, and it will be afternoon/evening on my Mom’s birthday at home. (Still scratchin’ my head…)

Highlights: In response to “Thank you,” hearing either “Cheers,” “Cheers, mate,” or “That’s alright”

Spider sightings: 1.75 (two large-ish dead ones at the Backpackers’ Lodge/Cabin we stayed in at the Grampians, one live one at Kangaroo Island – looked like a normal Daddy-long-legs though)

Question of the Day: Would I consider moving to Australia? Answer: Yes. No hesitation.

Submitted by Caitlin Goodhue on the 2013 winter session program in Australia sponsored by the Department of English….

 If I had to pick one (hyphenated) word to describe Australia, it would be “laid-back.” The people, the cities, the motto (“No worries”) — everything is relaxed — even to the point of stores and restaurants being closed. Yesterday, when our group first arrived in Adelaide, many of us couldn’t figure out why, at around 2:30 p.m., hardly any businesses were open. It was so different from America, where we have access to food basically at all times throughout the day. Eventually, we discovered that the New Year’s holiday lasts a loooong time here in Australia (which is also why our first day in Sydney seemed so empty even compared to the second day) and that many places close early, some at around 5:00 p.m., so that people who work can go home and be with their families. Huh.

Today’s Adelaide was 100% different from the deserted Adelaide we saw yesterday. Instead of staying in the city, we took the tram to the beach.Side note: the Australians are so lax about things that it didn’t even matter if we didn’t have a ticket on the tram for the way there. I bought one for the way back, but even then, the workers were not concerned about it at all. One boy said he didn’t have the correct way of payment — coins — or a credit card, and the worker “collecting tickets” took him aside and was basically just like ‘have it next time, but this time’s on us.’ Again…huh? Pretty great though.

Back to the beach: unbelievable. The mystery of where everyone was yesterday was solved; they all came to the beach. Glenelg Beach in Adelaide has a huge amount of restaurants and shops, is lined with palm trees, and plays tropical-sounding music almost constantly. Today was a perfect beach day (zero clouds in the sky). Also, jumping off the Glenelg Peir = so intense, but so. much. fun.

So, background of where I am right now: I started this blog in the lounge on the first floor of our hostel. A testament to the friendliness of Australians — two strangers started talking to a group of us in the lounge, just out of the blue. The two of them, in addition to being so nice to our group, said that they just met each other today, as roommates in the hostel. Someone listening to their conversation would never be able to tell; they sounded like best friends. They were having a conversation about cattle, but I couldn’t really follow it (something about how many sheep made up the size of some farm somewhere) — I just found it cool that they used “40 kilos” instead of saying whatever-the-equivalent “miles.”

In conclusion, jet-lag is a very real thing, Australia has extremely limited access to wifi, and listening to Australian accents still, after like four days, hasn’t gotten old.

Highlights of the day: “for here or take-away” instead “for here or to-go” and a cashier looking at me like I had three heads because I asked for a “soda” (“Uhhhhh…you mean ‘soft-drink’?”)