Sunday, September 9, 2007

Australia with the locals









Hey everyone,


We have been staying with some Australian kids (22 - 26 years of age) for the last week in their four bedroom house. Our housemates are two brothers and a sister who are all singers and actors, as well as their friend Dave who commands the affections of last season's winner of Australia's Next Top Model. They have been great to us, providing a mattress in their living room with heaps of blankets (great because it is freezing here in Sydney) and full access to their kitchen and bathroom as well as a house key so we can come and go as we please.




We have spent a lot of time walking all over the city and exploring it, hitting all the major points of interest, both historical and currently significant. Joe walked to the fish market alone. It was a nice walk. He saw a lot of fish. And he ate some of them.




Over the weekend we rode up with our new housemates to the Blue Mountains, which are a chain of mountains full of tiny Sydney suburban towns. The kids were all performing as part of an entertainment extravaganza for a Lions Club Charity Fundraiser. We watched them sing and do stand up comedy while we nibbled our $35.00 meals. It was a very nice way to spend our 1 year anniversary.




The next morning we got up early, downed a fine breakfast of Vegimite and scones, and headed off into the bush with Evin (our housemate) and his parents in search of native wildlife. As we passed a clearing Joe yelled that he had seen some wallabies and everyone groaned and said he hadn't, but he insisted that they back up the car. Sure enough, there was a herd of wild wallabies strolling about in a field with cockatoos and cukaburas. We got out and took a lot of pictures. The wallabies are so funny to watch because they are kind of like camel-rat-dog-kangaroo-people, kind of. They were also completely fearless of humans.




We spent Sunday afternoon in the mountains with Evin and his friends from Uni(versity) at a BBQ. Delicious.




Joe also went for a run one morning in the suburbs of Sydney and got lost, really lost, for about an hour and a half. He hadn't told anyone he was going because they were still asleep, so nobody knew where he was and he couldn't find anyone to give him proper directions home. He was so cold because there was freezing wind and rain, and he was alone without any money and no way of contacting anyone. He thought he was going to die. It was a very sad time for him.
We also went to see a local band called Belles Will Ring in a pub called the Hopedown on Friday night and played some intense games of backgammon.

4 comments:

randy said...

Looks like you guys are having an awesome time and you have only been there a short while. I am loving the pictures and stories! Keep 'em comin

spill the beans... said...

Joe those runs are gonna kill ya kid. Mia it looks like you are getting everything you wanted out of this trip =) I'm so happy for your travels, quite inspiring I might add. Try to keep warm… only if I could send you some of the heat that we are having here…humm I’ll work on that one. Love you both so much.

The Good Cooker said...

Joe PAGGGAC... I recommend you run with the address to your homestay written on your arm with a sharpie. That way you can use it to ask for directions and it will be good conversation starter during other times in the day. Problem solved.

Your Brilliant Sister. :)

Dan said...

Hey Joe, have you seen any dropbears yet? If not, ask your Australian friends about it, perhaps they can point one out to you. Anyways thanks for all the photos! Dan