Australia Day Weekend

January 26th is Australia Day, and similar to Labor Day in the US, we get Monday off of work.

Saturday

To celebrate, we did a 3k/5k fun run/walk on Saturday morning and about half of Darwin showed up. After handing out prizes for the best costumes, we sang the national anthem, which apparently ISN'T "Waltzing Matilda." The anthem started out strong, but by the last verse several nearby Australians joined us in looking puzzled over the words. Overall the race was good fun and there was a traditional sausage sizzle afterwards (what we've since learned is just a hot dog with a slice of bread instead of a hot dog bun). For as popular as sausage sizzles are here, you'd think the person who introduces hot dog buns to Australia would stand to make a fortune. Try to say sausage sizzle 5 times fast.

So the race begins and a wide mass of people tries to narrow itself onto a foot path. This process takes awhile and Jenni quickly gives up all hope of beating her fastest 5k time. As we round the first bend, there's a group of indigenous australians sitting near the toilets (Blackfellas -- this is a term okay to use only in the NT where 10% of the population is indigenous and in everyday speak white people are whitefellas and black people are blackfellas. Anywhere else in OZ it is NOT an appropriate thing to say). They're obviously getting a huge kick out of all these silly sweaty whitefellas packed together in their running shorts. A couple men make fun of us as we run by... imitating our gaits and serious expressions. It's all in good fun. But one woman is obviously not amused and as we approach her we are met with full force of her loud accusation: "This is OUR territory!" This is OUR territory!"

And that's the thing about Australia Day. It's meant to commemorate the first British Colony established in Sydney by Captain Phillip. Some people call it "Invasion Day" and associate it with the loss of indigenous culture. So Australia Day's US equivalent is somewhere between Columbus Day, in terms of meaning, and the 4th of July, in terms of "national pride."

Saturday afternoon we bought a car, a 1999 Honda CRV.

Sunday

We spent all day Sunday cleaning and cooking in preparation of our first hosted dinner. David cooked enough food for a small army, or at least way too much for our 5 guests. Ceviche, tacos, salsa, burritos, chicken quesadillas... David did his best to bring Latin America to Darwin. And, of course, it was good!

Monday

But by Monday we're all worn out. Even the cats seem exhausted, although Hugh had quite the adventure this morning. Still working on our morning coffees, Hugh comes trotting into the house with something about a foot long protruding from either side of his mouth, "Look what I caught," he seems to say. What he's got is called a "ta ta" lizard because as you walk down the foot path these lizards scurry out of your way on their hind legs, waving their arms good-bye.

After much chasing and growling, "It's my lizard, leave me alone," Hugh dropped the lizard for a split second and we pulled him away before he had a chance to get ahold of Ta-ta again. It ran away, probably distressed, but still alive and in one piece. It didn't bother to wave.

Little Man Shorts Addendum

David has developed a theory behind the meaning of the "little man shorts." After witnessing a team of electricians at work, he noticed that the lead technician was indeed wearing a pair of short shorts. The lowest member on the team, presumably a new employee (first year), was wearing capri trousers. Capri trousers for those who don't know, extend to about mid-shin. It would appear from this system, that the longer you work with a company then the shorter the trousers are. Starting as an apprentice or intern, you are forced to wear full-length trousers. When you are a team lead, then you are probably allowed to wear short shorts. From this order, it can only be concluded, that the CEO of companies are wearing bikinis. Although, there is no empirical evidence to support this at this time.

Little Man Shorts

After much clamoring, at least the type of clamoring a mid-1980s rock band would get at a county fair, here's our much anticipated new post. Not too sure where to begin. Since the last post, we've gone through a cyclone, moved into a dorm, our application was accepted on a townhouse, Jenni started work, David took late afternoon naps, and a row between India and Australia has captivated the cricketing world (we're certain it was of great concern to the US news media). India was so upset by this, they took to burning effigies of the umpires in the streets. Who says cricket is boring?

Cyclone Helen
A cyclone is the same thing as a hurricane, or a typhoon, depending on your location. Darwin was caught on the outskirts of a Category 2 cyclone a couple of days after the start of the New Year. Winds got up to about 100kms per hour, and the peak happened about 1 or 2 in the morning. We ended up sleeping through, occasionally being woken up by a few crashing sounds. We know that's pretty anti-climactic, and definitely not a story worthy of the tabloid-like Northern Territory News (whose cover story mantra is "Crocs, Crashes, and Crime," some add a 4th C of "Crap").

It is amazing the community that can be built up in a few short weeks. We received a number of phone calls making sure we were doing alright and prepared for the storm. There wasn't much damage around the neighborhood we were staying at the time, but after driving around, we could see a number of upended trees. This was probably more a mixture of the heavy rains softening the ground a couple days prior to the cyclone, than the cyclone winds by themselves. Power was out until the afternoon, but we can safely say we survived, and it was definitely something that neither of us had been through before.

House
Jenni started her job at CDU on the the 7th of January with the usual mixture of excitement and nervousness one has when starting a new job. The week was a success, and she thinks her co-workers like her because everyday last week she found little presents on her desk. Like Friday she found a king cobra snake with a bow on it in her drawer. And like any well-meaning group of people, they were quick to question David's masculinity when they found out he'd followed Jenni to Darwin and her dissertation was on masculinity.

But to his credit (or discredit), David fought the good fight with the real estate companies that week, scheduling viewings and turning in applications. None of that work paid off, and our application was accepted on a property Jenni had applied for a week and a half ago. We were really lucky, because it's a beautiful property and a lot of people were interested. The owner decided to give us a chance, and gave us a 3 month lease. We wanted a year lease, but this way we can prove we are good tenants (we'll have to teach Hugh not to spray the walls) and get the year lease at the end of 3 months. We were getting pretty nervous last week, because we hadn't heard back from anyone, and the cats were set to arrive on the 18th. We did learn a few things about renting in Darwin for anyone who might be moving here. For one, don't move here around the holidays. Come a few days after the New Year, as the agencies (and everything else pretty much) are closed from the 24th of December until the 3rd of January. This was frustrating, but mostly because we had expected to be looking for a place. On the other hand, it was a great opportunity to see the town and practice driving on the left. We also learned having copies of reference letters from previous landlords was useful, and job offer letters. Having pre-made copies made us, in appearances only, look organized. Anyway, here is a map of the neighborhood we will be living in.



And a few photos (Note Jenni's office is actually in the closet).



American Government
Everyone here wants to know who is going to win the US election. They ask us questions like, "So what exactly is a primary?, Who gets to vote in a primary? What's the difference between a caucus and a primary? How many years can a congress person hold office? Why was West Wing canceled?" And so on. Mostly these questions reveal our complete ignorance of the American Political system. So if you have any nuggets of wisdom to share with us so we can appear informed, that would be very helpful. Our strategy of looking it up on Wikipedia is working so far, but we think they're on to us...

Little Man Shorts
Unfortunately we're not brave enough yet to provide a photo of this phenomenon. Yet.... see future blogs for the "little man shorts photo montage." Jenni thinks what we've termed "little man shorts" is the number one greatest thing about Australia. The style here, mostly worn by late middle-aged blue collar working men (i.e., the guys who work at the Power Company and climb phone poles for a living), is very similar to that found in San Fransisco's Castro District. It consists of the following items:

1. Button down shirt (halfway buttoned, of course, and always untucked). Usually the company logo appears above the front pocket.

2. Socks pulled up to the knees underneath calf-high leather work boots.

3. Short shorts that end just below the crotch. High school girls would be sent home for wearing something less provocative.

Now picture yourself in a clothing store. A gruff, burly man's man walks in. He could strike a match across his unshaven face, light a cigarette, put it out on his hand, and then eat it. He walks up to the Perky Store Clerk: "Ha ya goin'? Anything I can help you with?''
Man: ''Ummm, Yar. You got any of them there Hot Pants?''
Clerk: ''Of course, they're over in the men's section, next to the guns.''
Man: "Do they come in blue? I want them to match my huntin' boots.''

Jenni is encouraging David to buy a pair.