The arrival of a twin

My brother Jonathan is here for 5 weeks on a medical rotation. On the morning he arrived in Sydney, he had completed 18 hours of flying. So, being a considerate sister, I decided we'd fly an additional 3 hours that night, to visit Port Douglas in the northern state of Queensland. He wasn't too happy with me.

Still, we had 11 hours to spend in Sydney before our flight, so I walked him to his limits. We went to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, The Rocks, and over the Harbour Bridge. By the time I got him on the plane that evening he was out cold, even through a rough landing. 

We emerged from the plane near midnight, and were greeted by the heat, humidity, and odd noises of the tropics - boy had I missed it. Cairns is the main town for trips to the Great Barrier Reef. While this means it has a lot of adventure trips to offer, it also means things are expensive, and the town is a tad overrun with tacky shops. 

My favorite place around there is Port Douglas, a quiet town an hour's drive north of Cairns. Jonathan and I had a week to spend in this humid tropical paradise, and the best part was we got to stay with my friends Linda and John, whom Bob and I had worked for and lived with 3 years ago. Linda and John are fantastic and have the craziest stories from living in the wet tropics. It was their stories of diving on the reef that transformed Bob from a clean-cut engineer, to an ocean hunting, shark loving eco-boy. I was curious to see what would happen to Jonathan. 

Tardy

I know I've been tardy with my blog posts, but I've had a lot of visitors, took a vacation, and just started a new job. So once my head stops spinning I'll be back. I promise. Sorry to anyone that may actually read this site.

Company and Rediscovery

I've started writing weekly articles about Australia for the Triblocal of Oak Park, IL. You can find my postings on the Oak Park Entertainment section: http://www.triblocal.com/Oak_Park_&_River_Forest 

(just incase you're really bored). But for now: 

Moving far from loved ones is often hard and stressful. You miss them, they sometimes resent you, you miss them, they occasionally miss you, you miss them, they finally admit they miss you a bit, you find out your new town doesn't carry your quirky favorite snacks (like Kraft mac and cheese spirals), and guess what, you then also miss Kraft mac and cheese spirals and strawberry frosted poptarts.

The upside is that your loved ones have a cool new place to visit. Bob and I have a month ahead with visitors a plenty. After having nary a soul for months, we are to be swamped with 5 guests in a month. April shall be the month of craziness and fun!

Dennis, my sister-in-law's boyfriend arrived on Saturday. As Bob and I have been in Sydney for eight months, many of the daily sights and sounds have become normal, and unfortunately overlooked.

It's been great having Dennis around. Not only can he whip up an awesome pizza, but he gives a new sense of appreciation for where we are.

On his first day, we did what we do to any new arrival - walk their ass off. If you land after your 14.5 hr flight and go to sleep - you are in a world of trouble as jetlag will hit you like the fist of a boxing kangaroo. Walking through the Royal Botanic Gardens, Bob and I got a fresh appreciation for Australia's great plants, the glistening Opera House, massive Harbour Bridge, the local pubs, and even the haunting bird call of a currawong.

So we're looking forward to the month ahead, with many days of great rediscoveries, of why we moved here in the first place.

Of Pawns and Kings

In Hyde Park, massive fig trees rustle their leaves to a silent melody, ibises patrol the lush grounds on silent feet, and, on the northwest corner, grizzled immigrants duel on a concrete battlefield.

These men conduct daily war against each other on a giant chessboard. There's a grey-haired tyrant, who shouts profanities in some European language as he proudly knocks over his opponent's pawns. His opponents are a mix of old and young allied forces. They pool at the edge of the board like a collective think-tank, encouraging their lead solider to defeat the "tyrant." On rare occasions of victory, the allied forces crow in triumph like roosters at dawn. It's an amusing scene.  

Expectorating walk

When I see a 9km trail, gently winding through forested glens, secluded beaches, and grand cliffs, I can think of many more elegant and graceful names than:

Bob and I hiked The Spit to Manly Walk over the weekend. I felt from the name we should be embarking on a mission down a giant's digestive tract. Rather, the path led us through diverse habitats, past multitudes of basking lizards (Bob's very proud of his picture of this Eastern Water Dragon),

 past the most pathetic lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere, and left us with a great craving for ice cream.

Cliffs thrust their limbs to the Pacific Ocean with rocky abandonment (see attached warning below).

And those nautically endowed flooded the waters with sailboats and high flying acts. 

At the end of our hike we met our friend Fiona for a drink and to admire the crowds at the surf beach of Manly.

"I get around"

Mardi Gras was celebrated a bit late in Sydney, but Bob and I went to see the night parade. After weeding our way thru a very lively and very intoxicated crowd, we were disappointed by our lack of view. An unusual amount of spectators were tall, fit, and broad-shouldered men. The man in front of me was particularly tall and I thought maybe Bob and I had inadvertently ended up at some buff sports game. There certainly was a lot of yelling. 

Out of curiosity, I turned to a guy on my right to see if he was wearing a sports jersey. He was wearing lingerie. I turned to my left, that guy was wearing pink fairy wings. Turns out Sydney's Mardi Gras parade, is the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.

Once Bob and I finally found a spot in the flashy crowd, we were entertained by drag-queens, co-ed lifeguards singing to the Beach Boys 'I get around, ' and lesbian's on motorcycles, and so on. The crowd was crazy with enthusiasm and with over 300,000 spectators, it was quite a show.  

Politically incorrect

After a few months in Australia, I have come to a conclusion that most people grasp in minutes. Australia's version of "politically correct" is very different than America's. 

Breast cancer fundraising banner at the mall. "Every mouthful helps."

Ad for a job website at the train station. The disclaimer reads, "Results may vary."

It may not be p.c., but I can't help but laugh.