The Never Ending Summer

Ahhhh...Shelly Beach!

Glen and I left Breckenridge on August 25 and arrived here in Sydney on August 27.  The late winter weather in Sydney was almost exactly the same weather we left behind in Breckenridge in late summer.  The past seven months have felt like one long summer...and there's still plenty of summer to be had. 

In all fairness, Glen and I once loved winter so much, we both chose to live in it for two decades, which is what left us longing for warm, sunny days.  That's exactly what we're getting. 

It's been very hot lately, but we are lucky enough to be house/dogsitting in a very cool spot.  We are right above Curl Curl Beach.  The breeze is almost always blowing off the ocean.  Doors off of the living room open onto the backyard and send cool air blowing into the house.  There's also a massive Norfolk Island Pine in the backyard producing tons of shade.  We sleep with the windows open and fans on. I've been keeping red wine in the refrigerator

The other night at about 9pm the breeze stopped, so Glen and I jumped in the South Curl Curl rock pool.  It was a full moon at high tide, so the waves from the beach were bashing into the pool.  We were having so much fun, we stayed down there for more than ninety minutes

Last night, it was so hot, that we were both awake in the middle of the night.  We woke up this morning to learn that it was the hottest night Sydney has ever had.  Ever.

Today was exceptionally hot, so we met Deb, Steve and Kian (our friends who come to Breckenridge for a few weeks every year) at Shelly Beach.  When we got there at 7:30 this morning, it was already broiling hot.  We played around with paddleboards and snorkel gear for the entire morning.

It's mid-January and we're in the middle of a heat wave.  The summer is never ending, and I almost hope it will never end.  Almost...ask me again in twenty years.  😉

The South Curly rock pool in the light of day.  

 

    
          

At first glance, Australia is not that different from the US.  You can buy a snickers bar at any convenience store cash register, regularly see KFC and McDonald's (colloquially known here as "Macca's") on street corners and we even watched the Sunday night Giants/Packers live on TV this Monday morning.

The differences here are subtle, but many.  I don't mention them to Australians very often, because the "You call it a rock melon?  We call it a cantaloupe" conversation gets very boring after awhile.  But I love the differences that I see everyday, and by no means am I saying that one way is better than the other.  There would be no reason to go anywhere if everywhere was exactly the same.  However, the little differences are fun to notice, or sometimes a little embarrassing when I realize I'm 'doing it wrong.' 

Let's start with the date.  Today is 9/1/2017.  The 9th of January, 2017.  The day goes first.  Morgan is my surname...not my last name.  Many homes do not have clothes dryers, or if they have them, they only use them occasionally and I am now a pro at hanging clothes on a line. 

Two days after we got here, I went to the supermarket.  As my groceries were being checked out, I stuck my credit card in the credit card reader...unintentionally unravelling the space-time continuum.  The reader started flashing weird messages and the cashier looked at me as if I'd tried paying with a goat.  Slowly but firmly, he said "MA'AM.  DO NOT PUT YOUR CREDIT CARD IN UNTIL I AM DONE CHECKING OUT YOUR GROCERIES."  I hung my head and thought to myself "I am SO STUPID!  Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Speaking of paying, I'm pretty slow when paying with coins.  The bills are colored and different sizes, but the coins throw me every time.  There is a one dollar coin and a two dollar coin.  Other coins are the  $0.50, $0.20, $0.10 and $0.05.  There is no penny.  The ten cent piece is bigger than the five cent piece, which makes sense, but to me, the ten cent piece looks like a nickel, and the five cent piece looks like a dime.     

At many restaurants, you order your food at the counter and pay.  Then, you either bring a big number back to your table and your food is brought out to you, or you're given a pager, and when it beeps, you go and get your food.  Even if you have a server, tipping is not customary (while you can leave something, 20% is not expected at every meal).

Random Breath Testing (RBT):  When driving, at any time of day, you regularly see RBT stations set up by police.  They randomly flag down passing cars and give you a breathalyzer, regardless if you were doing anything wrong...they can randomly drug test too.   

Then there's the words.  So many words are different, and while I have no doubt Australians know what I'm talking about when I call a holiday a vacation, I make an effort to speak the words commonly used by Australians while I'm in their country.  So in no particular order:

Gaol - Jail (different spelling, but pronounced the same).  No, Glen and I haven't been to jail...or gaol.  I put it first because I enjoy making my parents worry. 

Footpath - Sidewalk
Tyre (spelling) 

Petrol - Gas (from the petrol station and/or serve-o)
Kerb - (spelling)
Fire Brigade - Fire Department
Aeroplane - Airplane
Bonnet - Hood of Car
Boot - Trunk of Car
Windscreen - Windshield
Lead - Leash
Docket - Receipt
Physio - Physical Therapy
Chips - Fries
Tomato Sauce - Ketchup
Bickies - Cookies
Aluminium - Aluminum (notice the 'I', it's pronounced that way too...and fun to say)
Lollies - Candy
Muesli - Granola
Lemonade - Sprite/Lemon Lime Soda
Torch - Flashlight
Eskie - Cooler
Entrée - Appetizer
Bottle Shop - Liquor Store
Takeaway - To Go and/or Take Out
Chemist - Pharmacist
Capsicum - Pepper (the vegetable, not the seasoning)
Serviette - Napkin
Whinge - Whine
Pram - Stroller

Cozzie - Bathing Suit
Nappies - Diaper
Yacht - Sail Boat
Theatre - Operating Room
Cinema - Movie Theater
The Bill - The Check (at the end of the meal, if you have sit down service)
To Hospital (Used like the term 'going to church', you don't go to the hospital, you 'go to hospital'...don't worry, Mom and Dad, we haven't been 'to hospital', either).
Lift - Elevator
Rocket - Lettuce.  (I actually think it's some lettuce but not all lettuce.  That's okay, I never talk about lettuce anyway.) 
Queue - Line (as in waiting in line at the store).
Dummy - Pacifier
Mobile Phone - Cell Phone
Thongs- Flip Flops
Hire - Rent (as in 'hire a car at the airport')
Sultanas- Raisins
and my very favorite, Bubbler - Water Fountain

The trees are different!  This is the Norfolk Island Pine.  If you look closely, it's needles stand upright.  Although it is native to Norfolk Island in Australia, they can be found in various parts of the world, including Southern California and Florida.  (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

These birds, Lorikeets, are everywhere and I still get excited every single time I see one. 

We took this picture in  'FNQ'  or Far North Queensland.  This is something I never had to worry about paddling in Lake Dillon.  

From Left to Right, I bring you $0.05, $0.10, $0.20, $0.50, $1 and $2.  Can you understand why I mix up the $0.05 and $0.10?

2017

I've never been a huge fan of New Year's Eve.  Typically, Glen and I eat a nice dinner at home, watch a movie and kiss at midnight if we haven't fallen asleep.  Also, because I'm from New York, I always figured that in Colorado I was living two hours in the past, so I was perfectly happy only making it to 10pm and watching the ball drop at Times Square, live on TV.

But being in Sydney, I felt a little bit different about New Year's Eve this year. Even before I met Glen and started regularly paying attention to what was happening in Australia, I vividly remember that US TV stations would show Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks live, early in the morning on December 31 in the US.

Our friends Carolyn and Ian (an American gal married to an Australian guy, who we know from Breckenridge) invited us to a party in Carolyn's office in the Central Business District.

We ate Thai food in their neighborhood in Neutral Bay and then took a short bus ride into the city.  Her office is on the forty third floor of a building right near Circular Quay, with huge views of the harbor, the location of the famous New Year's fireworks. 

In all, there were about thirty other people gathered in her office.  We arrived just in time for the 9pm fireworks, which were amazing in their own right:  Fireworks were choreographed from different landmarks, with a few being shot off from the Harbour Bridge as well.  The next three hours went very fast as we sat in a group with drinks and snacks.

At five minutes to midnight, ten of us gathered in a corner office overlooking the Harbour Bridge.  There was a countdown on a pillar of the bridge and at midnight, I saw what is known as the most spectacular fireworks display in the world.  A river of fireworks streamed down off the bottom of the bridge and even bigger colorful blasts came off of the top.  The "BOOM" factor was huge and the whole thing lasted fifteen minutes. 

I was so excited to be able to see such a famous Australian tradition in person on my first New Year's Eve in Sydney.  The fireworks were even more incredible than I thought they'd be.  I was so impressed that the night didn't turn into some huge debacle getting in and out of the city.  More than 1.5 million people are in the CBD watching the fireworks, but it is the most well organized operation.  The city streets are closed to cars and depending on which direction you are heading to get home, you go to a different station where dozens of buses or trains are lined up to get hoards of people out of the city quickly.  Within 30 minutes of the display on the Harbour Bridge, we were crossing the very same bridge on a bus.

By 1:30 in the morning, we were 'back home' in the Northern Beaches ('home' right now is a house in South Curl Curl, where we're taking care of two dogs while their owners are on vacation in Colorado).

By 2:15am, we were asleep, and by 9am on New Year's Day we were awake, ready to face the day, and ready to face all the adventure 2017 in Australia has to offer.