Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Boxing Day

Yesterday was boxing day, a completely new and unfamiliar national holiday to us. We're not entirely sure of its significance, but it seems at one time it was the one day a year where rich people had to be nice to their servants. We like to envision it as the day servants used their masters as punching bags. Regardless of its past significance, now boxing day is associated with SHOPPING! The closest day we have to it in the states is the day after Thanksgiving - Black Friday. The stores even open up at 6:00 in the morning. Although in Darwin that probably means they opened at 9:00 instead of 10:00 in the morning.

We decided to venture out to the mall, and the rest of Darwin was kind enough to join us. We were looking for some furniture and white goods to fill that townhouse we have yet to find or move into. The mall was really like any other mall. The stores look the same, sell the same clothes, and shop for their music at crappystoremusic.com. The only difference seems to be in names of the store. And yes, that party like its 1985 style is very popular here too. It was good fun, but a bit overwhelming at the same time.

Mostly at David's prompting, likely spurred on by his fetishism of anything 19th century European, we've started to watch cricket. Currently there is a big match-up between India and Australia in Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bun). Bryson, in his book In a Sunburned Country, gives a more than adequate description of cricket, so we won't tread on his toes. A lot of people describe cricket as boring to watch, but it is still interesting to us because we haven't the slightest idea what is going on. Apparently an inning lasts until all the batsmen are out (10), which means the innings can span multiple hours and, most often, days. One time the game had to end because the Australians needed to catch a boat back to Australia from South Africa. The nice thing is you can pick up the game after having been away for four hours and nothing really has changed. When the first inning ended, the Australians had scored 343 runs. Apparently 350 is the mark of a good inning.

A sense of frustrating idleness is settling in this week. We desperately want to find a place of our own, but all the real estate agents are closed until January 2nd. Most things hinge on having an address of our own, or proof of a residence. We've taken advantage of the lull in that we've been able to explore a bit of Darwin and the surrounding area, but most things that we could take care of are already done. So we're spending our time socializing with Jenni's co-workers... clearly out matched in alcohol consumption, but learning a good deal about what it means to be a "Territorian." So far that means rehashing the three C's of the local news: Crocs, Crimes, and Crashes. Yesterday we learned that speed limits on major highways were a recent introduction by the liberal party. Most locals took it as an attack on their civil liberties; their right to "drive at any speed we damn well please." Apparently some feel the same way about drinking and driving.

Friday, December 21, 2007

How much is that froggy in the toilet?




After the initial shock of "What the heck did we get ourselves into?!" we've decided it is time to do our first blog from Darwin.

Now the moment you have all been waiting for - yes there are actually frogs in one of the toilets. Two at last count, although we think one was flushed. We've named them Basil II and Hugh II to replace our cats who are currently hating us from quarantine in Sydney. (Yes, we did manage to get approval for the cats. We'll fill you in on the details below.) Back to the frogs. They seem to stay in the inner ring where the water shoots out. The first time David used it, they prevented the flush and about five minutes later from the other room we could hear it go. They are actually a pretty decent size, about the size of a hand.

On our first adventure out we headed to the local bus stop. There was an obviously intoxicated aboriginal man and he started to speak to Jenni "How ya goin' my lovely?" He introduced us to his wife who clarified, "I'm not his wife, I'm his friend." He asked us where we were from. Once he heard Colorado, he belted out a couple of verses of "Rocky Mountain Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhh Colorado." 'Tis truly a small world. He even knew John Denver's real name. David still doesn't know....

Everyone we met has been extremely kind and helpful. Helen (the person who picked us up at the airport) and her partner Michael have loaned us a "clunker," and David has actually been driving. We drove down to the central business district of Darwin, with Jenni chanting her mantra "Keep it on the left side of the road, keep it on the left side of the road." It was helpful. Complicating matters is the clunker is a manual, so David is having to learn to shift left-handed and drive on the "wrong"side of the road. The gears are in the same place, but the turn signal and windshield wipers are switched, so David is constantly signaling his turns with windshield fluid.
We were warned by Australians prior to our move that people in Darwin are a bit "unique." We met one such person in line at the bank. A wiry old man, at 5' 3" and maybe 100lbs, behind us in queue grabbed a handful of sweets the bank employees were handing out and explained to us how much he loved chocolate. "Ah luv chocolate. It's really good with Scotch. I like to sit at home and eat chocolate and drink mah Scotch. I'm out of Scotch. That's why I'm at the bank. I need more Scotch." He also explained his predicament to the bank teller.

THE CATS
We got the cats in. Here's a quick timeline of events leading up to the final approval.
  1. Thursday -- Find out cats cannot go to OZ due to CSU Vet clerical error. Cry, tear out our hair, wear sackcloth bags, beg friends and relatives to take the cats.
  2. Friday -- Vets call OZ embassy in US and are told the cats can go, "No worries mate. We'll get it all right." All we need is a LETTER from OZ (keeping in mind, Friday in US is Saturday in OZ).
  3. Saturday -- No LETTER from OZ.
  4. Sunday -- Sunday evening in US, Monday am in OZ. Still no LETTER. We e-mail and then call the woman bureaucrat who is supposed to write us the LETTER. She is annoyed that her authority had been undercut by her manager, "Your vet went to my manager and overrode my decision. You are very lucky." She sends us a form to complete before we can receive the LETTER. We complete and fax the form. And three hours later (10:24pm US, 4:24pm OZ) we receive the LETTER in an e-mail. The LETTER has the wrong microchip number for Basil (gee, guess even bureaucrats can make clerical errors). She corrects the error and, by midnight we fax the form to the USDA.
  5. Monday -- 8:00 Cats begin their journey. Basil is excited to be making the big move. He yowls in anticipation all the way to the airport. 6:00 LAX, we take a Cab from airport to Qantas freight. Cats begin to wonder why we didn't just leave them at home...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Moving Day

Yep, Monday was moving day. We had everything for the flight packed up in our suitcases, so all that was left were the items to be shipped. It is a 2 1/2 month journey for our "personal effects;" which means they will take the crates to New York, cross the Atlantic Ocean, go through the Suez Canal, take a giro copter from Siam to Jakarta, and eventaully make it to Australia where they will reach Darwin via Camel Train (insurance unfortunately does not cover bandit attacks).

Our movers were two gents, Ron and his silent partner Luis. Ron enjoyed regailing us with his previous moving experiences. These stories were usually followed by "Ain't that right Luis?"; and Luis would respond begrudgingly with an inaudible grunt "..." We did learn, after purchasing several hundred dollars of extra insurance (the moving company only covers $0.60 per pound -- so about $1600 --), that should we make a claim on any damages incurred during the move, Ron will be charged for the cost and money taken out of his pay check. It is really comforting knowing we have this insurance, and it is particularly heartwarming to meet the man who will be reimbursing us. It does beg the question - Where is the money we're paying for insurance going? This isn't Soviet Russia for crying out loud! We don't see any bread lines around here!

Anyhoo, our minimalist decor/American Furniture Warehouse's finery is now on its way to Darwin Australia. We're next!

And what can we expect when we get there?

Well, we'll be house sitting for Jenni's boss, Tess. Tess and her partner have provided important instructions for "surviving" in their home, which include:

1) Muzzle the dog whenever we take her for a walk. She's on her third notice from the city council.
2) In case of typhoon do not stay in the house. It's the least safe place in the neighborhood.
3) Please bag up and throw away the rotting rat carcases in the back yard.

and my personal favorite...

4) Watch out for the frog who lives in the toilet, especially after the "morning flush."

So clearly we're excited. Already we're becoming familiar with Australian lingo. Our real estate agent tells us there are many nice apartments on Frangipangi street in Humpty Doo.

Our next blog should come from Darwin, provided the apocalypse doesn't happen. Although given what we've heard about monsoonal flooding and the frog population, were not sure we'd notice.