things that make you go hmmm....

It’s me again … the past few days have been interesting … am mostly settled in … if you had to guess what would be the most difficult thing to do if you were in another country, what would it be? Believe it or not, getting telephone service for our land line phone was insurmountable. Okay, so at any five and dime you can get one of many different kinds of long distance phone cards (call Canada or the U.S. for less than 5 cents a minute). And the number of mobile phone dealers is astounding (the prices for these, however, are also astounding) … getting the phone in your home to work? Forget about it … starting from the beginning of the story… back in December we set up our phone service so that it would work on the first day I arrived (last Thursday). Found the electronics store and bought a phone, no problem. Plugged it in … no dial tone. The following Monday, a service man came, he confirmed there was no dial tone. Then needed to get into the “caretaker’s” room in the “carpark.” It was locked – so he called the “body corporate” (property manager’s office). They were on holiday until Wednesday. No one else in the complex had a key … so no phone. By Wednesday (the next day I could get an appointment) I had secured a key (the guys who clean the complex very early in the morning are extremely nice) … but alas, no phone guy. Today … phone guy showed up .. confirmed the line was working in the caretaker’s room … but also confirmed there was no live phone line that goes into the apartment – yes there are jacks. Yes, this building is over 25 years old … but no phone line …hmmm … we now have a pre-paid mobile phone …

Recall how last Saturday Jenny, Bill, and I got stuck in the elevator? Turns out that Jenny’s water broke a mere six hours later. Last I talked to her, she and baby girl (no name yet) were tired but doing well. Australia has a funny health care system – at least I do not understand it – part of it is public and part of it is private – but the public and private overlap … if you have a baby in the public system, you deliver and a day or two later go home. If you have a baby in the private system, you stay in the hospital for a few days and then if all is going well, you are sent to a luxury hotel that has a team of caretakers, aids … then you go home. Health system figured out it was cheaper to send one to a hotel than to keep one in the hospital … hmmm …

Fawkner Park update – Saturday seems to be Cricket day, Monday is Soccer day, Tuesday is Softball day, Wednesday is a combination .. today it was quite hot out, did not see as much activity as the other days .. it really is amazing to have a large piece of land that has been set up to accommodate so many sports (there are no fences, etc. … just lines marked on the grass) …

The botanical gardens are also amazing … it is manicured and wild at the same time … and each area is very different. Within the gardens there are lots of different activities in the summer time – a children’s play, evening movies, there’s an outdoor amphitheater … an observatory available for nighttime viewing …

I have also gotten into phase one of my daily workouts ... run, swim, yoga/pilates (will add golf to this when Kevin gets here) ... there's a great outdoor pool (devoted to swimming laps) near the apartment -- makes for a great wake up, especially as it has been quite hot here the last few days ...

Burgers, Markets, and Elevators

Have I mentioned yet that it’s great to be in a place where the days are long and I do not have to wear a winter coat? The flowers here are brilliant. The birds are quite interesting to look at – even the birds that are most like our sparrows have interesting marks on them. Saturday was full of little adventures. First stop was a bit of shopping – I am amazed at how many little shops there are in the different neighborhoods. Lots of places to buy shoes, clothes, etc. My shopping today, however, was limited to buying food. In the grocery store they had an entire fridge area devoted to fresh cat and dog food. Stoccato and Sekat do not know what they are missing. The best aspect about food shopping, however, is the food markets. The tour books all mention Victoria Market (which is amazing). But, it turns out there are many markets throughout the city. We are closest to the Prahan market – there must be about 20 produce vendors, lots of butchers, and then lots of specialty shops. I was at a cheese shop buying goat cheese and the vendor wanted to know for what I was using it so he could recommend the “perfect” consistency for my dish. At the fresh pasta place, I was not asked how many grams I needed but for how many I was cooking.

As for getting around, the tram system is amazing. For quite a reasonable fee one can get an unlimited monthly pass (that starts on the first day you use it). It goes everywhere … I use it to do my grocery shopping, get to work … if I am out and about and get tired walking, I just hop a tram. Later on Saturday I went to the office where Jenny & Bill were there to help me transport the luggage I left behind on my last trip to the apartment (there are times when having a car is better than a tram). Near the university, part of a tram line has been closed down for repairs – it was working on Friday – by Saturday, the entire strip of track was torn up, there were five hobie cats (sp?) and the men to boot working very hard – I think they plan to be done within a week. Certainly not the TTC or any other public transit system in North America …

My adventures with Bill & Jenny started off with our spending an hour in an elevator – yes, as we were making our way down, the elevator stopped working. The security folks were there in a matter of minutes – the elevator repair guy, however, took a bit longer – fortunately Jenny, who could give birth at any moment now, did not go into labor. Afterwards we tried a pub near the apartment and I had my first Oz Burger. A burger is a burger, right? No … well, the burger was there, but the fixings include: cheese, bacon (the Canadian kind), beets, and an egg prepared sunny side up … and it was huge … I think I have had enough protein for a week in that one burger. I was going to take the egg off but they insisted I try it with the egg – not bad …

Fawkner Park (the park over which we overlook) comes alive on the weekend – there were several cricket matches going on this weekend. Rather fun to be able to look out the window and see stuff going on …