Silly Season in Sydney

Stunt Driving, Santa, Summer, and the Silly Season - see you if you can say that three times fast. Life in Sydney has been really busy lately, but between the work and normal life activities we

have had some great opportunities for fun. We work hard to play hard.

We’re a part of a car share and we rented a Smart Car last weekend as we had a number of activities to do that we couldn’t access easily with public transportation. I’m not sure if I’ve vented about the Smart Car or not before, but I’m absolutely mortified by it. Honestly, I’d rather take the bus, especially when Paul gets the fluorescent yellow Smart Car. It’s horrible. Everyone just looks at us and laughs. Seriously. When Paul has picked me up from work in the Smart Car I make him park a pretty good distance from the school because I don’t want the kids or anyone to see me associated with that car. I’m like a 13 year old embarrassed of their parents! Usually he just parks behind a tree and since it’s so small no one can see it, but then I have trouble finding him. Sigh. I should just get it over it, but I can’t.

Anyway, we arrived at the racecourse for our Stunt Driving course in our very eco-friendly, yet highly embarrassing, Smart Car and the crew just laughed at us. Yes, openly laughed and pointed. Apparently a Smart Car doesn’t gain you much respect within the car racing community or probably any community. On a side note - We did go shopping at the equivalent of a Home Depot after the course and were quite proud of ourselves when we fit the two of us, a fan, 2 laundry baskets, and a propane tank into the car. It’s almost as if traffic stopped in the parking lot to see how we were going to make it all fit. We were pretty surprised ourselves.

The stunt driving course was set up to teach you four tricks - a 180 degree and 360 degree hand brake turn, riding on two wheels, and jumping ramps – all in modified Mini Coopers. For Paul this was a great opportunity to drive like he normally does without me griping and saying prayers in the background. Check out the attached video…basically we drove down a huge slip n’ slide – fun!

As the school year quickly comes to a close (5 more days!!) there have been a number of end-of-the- year functions to attend – Lessons and Carols Church Service, School Carnival, Awards Day, Staff Christmas Party and many others. It’s been a great year and I’m really going to miss my boys over the next 2 months. Even though I know summer break is right upon us it seems so weird that the school year is over in December rather than June. Regardless, I’ll take the break so I can go back to Texas and visit my much loved and missed family and friends.

We have now entered the Silly Season, the term in which Australians use to refer to the Christmas season. This weekend we participated in a number of Santa related events. Saturday night was the Santafest at Darling Harbour that included a pyrotechnic jet ski show, fireworks to Christmas music, inflatable Santas, and the lighting of the largest Christmas tree in the Southern Hemisphere. On Sunday morning we woke up early to run in the Santa Fun Run benefitting a children’s charity. The unique difference between this 5k and others is that all participants were provided a full Santa costume made of felt (including a beard) to wear during the run. It was quite a humid morning and Paul opted to cut his pants into shorts. Well, halfway through the run his shorts turned into a skirt and my drawstring pants kept falling down. Felt doesn’t breathe at all and we disposed of our costumes pretty quickly after the run. All in all it was a blast and definitely made me feel like it was Christmastime even though it’s hot.

Many have asked about our holiday plans and Paul and I will spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Sydney. We both return to the States in January, but on completely different itineraries and return to Sydney in late January in time to celebrate our one year expativersary and start a new school year. I can’t believe we’ve been here almost a year!! 2011 will also bring an additional expat into our lives as Paul’s daughter, Suzanne, comes to live with us. We’re both looking forward to having her with us and sharing our lives in Sydney with her.

So Happy Christmas and a wonderful Silly Season to all from Sydney.

Spring in Sydney

Spring time in Sydney has offered us numerous opportunities for outdoor activities, festivals, and lots of fun. Both Paul and I tend to stay very busy during the week so our weekends have been booked with lots of activities in an effort to check this or that off the list. (You never know when our time in Sydney will be up!) Plus, Paul has been traveling on the occasional weekend over the last couple of months so I have to expose him to as much as I can while he’s in town. (Poor guy….I’m lucky that he is so willing to participate and do what I plan.)

Last weekend we visited the Sydney Opera House in their annual Open Day or ‘free tour’ day. That fit right into our budget. After waiting in the rain (it’s been a really wet spring) for about 45 minutes we finally arrived inside the Opera House. There are actually a number of theaters inside the Opera House rather than my assumed one. Sadly, there weren’t any performances going on so touring the Opera House probably wasn’t as exciting as it would’ve been if we were there for a performance. Regardless, as they say in Australia – that box has been ticked!

On our way home we also viewed some of the Art and About exhibits around Sydney. These are all outdoor art projects on display for the public.

I especially liked how they had dressed up the various statues around the city with modern clothing. The artist’s goal was for the statues to be more appealing to the public. It reminded me of a fraternity prank and just made me smile. I was disappointed when I didn’t see bubbles in the fountains as well. We also checked out the Sydney Zombie Walk Parade last Sunday but didn’t participate. Paul isn’t that easy going with my ideas.

Months ago I purchased a ‘Try Sailing’ lesson for the two of us on the Sydney Harbour. Paul has sailing experience and at the time I was really excited to learn. Well, after rescheduling our lesson about 4 times due to poor weather and scheduling conflicts, we finally completed it on Saturday.

Unfortunately, I had been sick this whole past week and didn’t want to do anything more on the lesson than be a participant and enjoy the view. My main purpose during the 3 hour lesson was to avoid being hit in the head by the boom and look cute. Let’s just say I didn’t get hit in the head by the boom. Paul enjoyed himself so much that I purchased him a lesson on an America’s Cup sailboat. Hopefully he’ll get to use it before winter.

Today Paul woke up with the beginnings of my cold (uh-oh) and we headed to Bondi Beach for Sculpture by the Sea. It’s a temporary art exhibit set up along the coastal walkway. Heading to Bondi, the city beach, always sounds like a good idea until you’re on your way there on a bus that is taking forever. Bondi Beach isn’t far from where we live, but there isn’t a train that goes to Bondi so you have to take a bus and with the number of weekend visitors, it’s just a long process. Sigh.

We checked out the sculptures pretty quickly as Paul’s desire to experience anything other than the lying on the couch was declining quickly. It didn’t help that in my desire for it to feel like spring weather because well, it’s spring, I wore a completely weather inappropriate sundress and was freezing. Oh well, live and learn and another box ticked.

Now we’re back at the apartment and enjoying the rest of our Sunday or at least I am. Paul is definitely not feeling well and I’m trying to stay out of his way and not annoy him. I know! Me? Annoying??? Psh!!!

Even though it’s October 31, Halloween isn’t really celebrated here so we won’t have any trick or treaters. Therefore, make sure to give all your ghosts and goblins a little more candy on our behalf. Oh! And since we won’t have Thanksgiving dinner either you can eat that second or third helping for me as well.

With spring in full swing and summer on its way, I have 4 more weeks until my summer break starts. Crazy, right?!?! I can’t believe the school year is almost over and I have SO much to do in the next month. Luckily, I’ve got some fun summer break plans. Paul and I will be traveling to New Zealand in December and I look forward to seeing many of you while I’m in Texas in January.

Until then….Happy Halloween and Go Rangers!!!

Spring is in the Air

As you guys are enjoying the cooler weather and the last few days of summer, I’m eagerly awaiting the warmer weather of spring time. It’s been a COLD winter and I’m so over it! It seriously can’t be over soon enough. The winter weather in Sydney isn’t all that different than a Texas winter, but there are some huge differences. For example, in Texas I’d walk from my heated home to my heated car (with seat warmers) into my heated school, store, etc. This winter I’ve spent more time outdoors during winter than I ever have before because of having to rely on public transportation. I’ve never gotten this much use out of winter coats, gloves, and scarves! They actually serve a purpose beyond just being cute. Another big difference is that Sydney, for the most part, doesn’t have central heat and air in their homes or other buildings. So instead of coming home to a warm apartment, it’s always cold. I stay bundled up in my Snuggie and turn on this little floor heater we bought. As much as you all would have liked to share some of the heat over the past few weeks, I would have gladly welcomed it.

Both Paul and I have been staying busy the past few weeks. His work has been crazy busy lately, if not completely overwhelming. Unfortunately, some days at my job have been the same. At this point we’re both trying to keep our heads above water and enjoy the downtime the weekends bring. The sad thing is that I often have a difficult time not doing anything – maybe you’ve noticed. ;) My desire to fill our weekends with activities has only left us more exhausted. I should have learned my lesson by now, but I haven’t. Oh well.

In late July our wonderful friend, Courtney, visited. She brought a little bit of home with her during her visit (figuratively and literally) and her enthusiasm of all things Australia helped snap me out of some of the winter melancholy-ness I had been feeling. While Courtney, was here she and I had a girls weekend in Melbourne visiting an ice bar with sub zero temperatures and very cold drinks and a koala conservatory, among other things. Yes, the koalas were cute but we both had more fun and doubled over with laughter listening to an audio recording of a female koala mating. It was so great that we even pulled over several other tourists to listen because it was too good to miss out on. I’m giggling now just remembering it.

Courtney and I also attended a ‘Grease’ themed event where we learned the choreography of ‘Greased Lightening’ with 300 people, a pole dancing class that was very difficult and resulted in greater admiration of anyone working the pole (they definitely deserve more than a $1 bill!), parasailing, dolphin watching, and sand boarding among many other fun activities. The sand boarding was a blast!! Sitting on the boards we sailed down the sand dunes and then had to endure the long walk back up the dune only to do it all over again. And we got sand EVERYWHERE, but it was such fun!

I’ve been working hard to get back into a regular workout routine and am enjoying attending classes at my gym. Some days it’s a struggle to get to the classes as I’m caught at work later than anticipated, but I do my best. The gym is located near a couple of Sydney universities and has a lot of college kids as members. The best compliment I’ve been paid recently is when they ask me if I’m still in college. When I reply and tell them I’ve been working for awhile now, they just look at me in awe as if I’ve been working so long that I’m now almost ready for retirement. That’s where the previous compliment takes a downturn.

As I continue to gain a group of friends, I strongly encourage Paul to attend some of the events and activities that he normally wouldn’t be asked to attend. I’m very, very fortunate to be blessed with a husband that will check out most anything with me just because he wants to make me happy. Recently we’ve been to a Roller Derby bout and a Bollywood dinner cruise. Next weekend we’re doing a more Paul oriented activity by attending a sailing class on the Sydney Harbour and we’ve also got tickets to a drive-in theater (yep, we’ll be renting a car). We also have a stunt driving course scheduled in the near future so it’s not always about me…..just usually.

Even though Paul is game for most events/activities, I couldn’t convince him to attend my recent hula hoop workshop or a workshop dedicated to learning the choreography to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. (The ‘Thriller’ routine is in preparation for the International Thrill the World Day in October – google it for more info. I’m already gathering ideas about my zombie costume now.) Next up is Beyonce’s ‘All the Single Ladies’……it’ll be a blast even though I have no rhythm. Luckily, making a fool out of yourself on a regular basis isn’t a big deal in a country and city in which you don’t know many people.

Many of you regularly ask about my job and I purposely do not write about in my blog for concern of potential ramifications of saying too much, etc. Maybe I’m too cautious, but I’ve got to keep my job because there are lots of other fun workshops coming up! Actually, work is great and I really LOVE my job and the boys. Although some days I feel like I have no idea where to go next with a kid/parent/student and a complete failure, I really do like my job and feel that I’m usually pretty good at it.

Every year grades 3-6 go to camp for a week and that is where I’m headed soon!! I can’t wait!! Each grade goes to a different camp site where the staff there entertain them with typical camp activities – archery, horseback riding, arts and crafts, etc. I LOVED, LOVED, Girl Scout camp and church camp as a kid so I’m super excited to participate and get to know some boys that I don’t have the opportunity to work with on a regular basis. My mom even sent the ingredients to make s’mores at camp, but I don’t think they’re going to make it. They’re just too good to not have some on an occasional, okay regular, basis. I have shared s’mores with staff and students at school and have had mostly very positive responses. Australia doesn’t have graham crackers so that is the main problem, but it’s also concerning because Hersheys chocolate isn’t readily available. I’ve been using the national chocolate of Australia, but between you and me it’s not that good and definitely impacts the overall taste of the s’more.

Another awesome benefit of the Australian school system is their holiday calendar. The school year runs the calendar year and is broken up into 4 terms with holiday breaks between. Our next holiday is in 3 weeks and Paul and I are headed to India. For years we’ve been talking about India and this travel opportunity just popped up at the right time. I’ll stay for two weeks traveling and celebrating my birthday and Paul will have to head back to work after a week. Regardless, it’ll be a memory making kind of trip for both of us!

My summer break starts in December so we’re planning to spend 2 weeks in New Zealand in a campervan exploring the South Island. Talk about testing the limits of our marriage!! I’m sure we’ll be fine in a campervan and if not, we’ll just get a hotel. Following New Zealand, we’ll celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in Sydney and then I’m heading to Texas for the month of January. I just signed up for my next half-marathon at Walt Disney World so training over the next few months will also keep me busy, exhausted, and sore. Fun, fun times ahead!!

There wasn’t much wit or interesting cultural facts in this blog, but hopefully it’ll give you an idea of how we’re living our life on the other side of the world. Seeing as we’ve now been here for 7 months, I guess we’re just living our normal lives.

And the Fun Continues.....

Part Two:

Before we get started on my latest travel adventures here is a quick geography lesson: Borneo is the world’s third largest island, but is divided among three different countries: Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. Apparently, they even filmed a season of Survivor here. During my trip I’m only visiting Malaysia and Brunei. Nothing against Indonesia, but it would’ve been a little too much to accomplish in 2 weeks.

Remember how I commented that I got a good deal on a flight to Kuala Lumpur? Well, the nice thing is that Kuala Lumpur is the hub for Air Asia, an Asian budget airline. Thanks to Air Asia I have been able to fly around Borneo for little cost (about $30 - $50 roundtrip) from city to city rather than take bus transportation. However, because I booked these great deals a few months ago and hadn’t really had time to research where I was going or what I was doing, I am back tracking a little bit. Oh well. My first stop was in the little touristy area of Kota Kinabalu for a few days.

I found a cute boutique hotel for a reasonable price (thanks tripadvisor.com) and settled in. As much as I really want to be just fine staying in a hostel saving money in a dorm type room with 8 or so other strangers sharing a common bathroom, I just can’t. Actually, I’m not sure if there ever was a time that I would’ve been okay with that. It’s just that the coming and going of travelers in the room at all hours, no personal privacy, the random hooking up of the couple in the next bunk, the need to lock up your belongings or chain them to you, and the drunk person in the bathroom just does not appeal to me. To all those who do enjoy/tolerate the hostel experience, I salute you, but I’ve worked that private room and bathroom into my travel budget for sure.

As I had just a few days in Kota Kinabalu and only one full day, I opted to take the white water rafting tour. Many of the other options I had done variations of before or just wasn’t all that interested. But white water rafting…well that was a first. And it was so much fun!! After signing my life away on some release form, putting on my life jacket and helmet, I was ready. I figure the release form would never hold up in court as my handwriting was completely illegible (more than usual, thank you) due to completing it out while driving on an extremely bumpy road in a minibus with no suspension whatsoever. When we arrived the guide diplomatically or some variation of that divided us up by who looked most alike. There was a family so they had a boat together, then he assigned the couple from Hong Kong and the couple from Korea to be together and then that left the rest of us white people. My boat ended up being a couple from the UK, a couple from Sweden, and me. The guide immediately recognized my superior rafting skills (must have been all the dragon boat racing I did) and assigned me to the front. Little did I know that the being in the front is like standing on the bridge of that huge water ride at Six Flags: you get SOAKED. If I wasn’t getting water dumped onto my lap from the rapids, I was getting splashed in the face with friendly water fire from surrounding boats. See when we had arrived at a calm part of the river, members of the boat (me excluded, I was like Switzerland) would engage in splashing each other. Only thing is that when the other boats retaliated their aim was off and the water landed on me and not the jovial guy from the UK behind me.

We did have a guide with us, but other than taking up space, he really didn’t offer that much assistance as we were regularly getting stuck on huge rocks. I’m not sure how much he even paddled and it’s a good thing those rapids were a grade 3-4 because that allowed us to paddle a little less. We all thought the guide would’ve well, guided us more during our trip but he didn’t. When we were paddling we struggled to stay in rhythm with one another. If only we had the dragon boat drum as our cadence. Anyway, as we were going through one turbulent rapid our guide fell out of the raft and the guy from the UK yells out, “Bloody Hell, we’ve lost our teacher!” I just laughed and was thankful it wasn’t me. The guide caught up with us and the crisis was averted, but our boat paddling was still out of rhythm or maybe we were just all highly uncoordinated.

Following Kota Kinabalu, I flew to the little country of Brunei. Oh Brunei, how you bore me!! It was a tough decision on whether or not to visit Brunei. (Yes, I realize for many of you that my travel destinations are never on your list to visit and you can really thank me now. I took the travel bullet for you and went to Brunei so now you never have to go. And you’re welcome. ) On one hand I was so close and it would be another country to add to the passport, yet I knew there wasn’t much to do at all once you got there. It definitely is not set up for tourists and there was little to no information online from travelers, etc. to help guide my adventure or lack thereof. The decision was made when I found out how cheap it would be to fly over there even though upon arrival it’s not all that much cheaper than the States. I justified adding this stop to my travels because going to Brunei was about the same cost as it would’ve been to buy malaria meds. Yes, some recommend that you take malaria meds while in Malaysia Borneo but there are just as many who feel they aren’t necessary or aren’t worth the risk due to potential side effects. I figured I wasn’t going trekking nor really into the jungle so I decided to take my chances and opted out of buying the malaria meds. Besides you’re supposed to take the meds at least two weeks before you leave and well, I made the decision not to get them about 2 days before. They wouldn’t have been completely effective anyway. And while my mom and grandmother are probably freaking out reading this, I can tell you that I’m halfway through my trip and I’m wearing the occasional long sleeve shirt and pants with bug spray containing DEET and I haven’t even seen a mosquito. So I thought Brunei over malaria meds was a good decision, but I was so wrong. Which is worse - malaria or Brunei? It’s a toss up?

I had read that there were about ½ day’s worth of sites to visit in Brunei and well, if you walk fast like me then, it’s only about 2 hours. The best part of the whole trip was a water taxi ride I took to visit the water village. There are approximately 22,000 people living in the water village and most of the houses have plumbing, electricity, internet, and even cable. They’ve got several of their own mosques, schools, and even gas stations. My water taxi driver was helpful in explaining his life in the water village. One of the nice things about hiring my own water taxi driver versus taking a tour is that we could go and see whatever I wanted. We also went down the river and saw skyline views of the sultan’s palace and eventually a number of proboscis monkeys. I even had the opportunity to see a mom and baby proboscis monkey playing in the tree. Unfortunately, my camera did not catch all of the action. So the water village was my main activity while in Brunei for 48 hours. Other than that, I spent a significant amount of time in a coffee shop and when it started pouring I headed back to the hotel and watched a movie in my room. There wasn’t even any good food to try or things to buy! So the point of these last two paragraphs is that you don’t need to go to Brunei – ever.

This is the first trip on my own and of any length that I’ve traveled with a laptop. Previous summers I’d just camp out in the internet café paying a $1/hour to communicate with family and friends. I didn’t own a laptop of my own so it never really was an option nor did I know what I missing. With the purchase of a net book this past year, I’m all about finding out who has Wi-Fi and hanging out at that location - all in an effort to stay in touch, of course. (My mom emails almost daily to ensure that I still have both of my kidneys. Don’t laugh, I’m serious. ) On this trip, thus far, I’ve spent a significant (more than I care to admit) amount of time (in all countries) at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a chain coffee shop. I’d like to support the little guy, but their internet connection is just not reliable so therefore, I support the big corporation. I think I’ve almost memorized the menu and sadly if I have to drink another cup of their coffee (blended, iced, or whatever) I think I might puke. The coffee shop staff and I in Brunei became quite close due to my stationary spot for hours. And that my friends, is yet another reason you never need to visit Brunei.

Just a quick side travel rant: Whoever thought using toilet paper as a substitute for paper towels was a good idea has never spent 5 minutes trying to remove the wet clumps from their hands. It’s an infuriating experience that doesn’t leave your hands any drier. Someday I’ll learn that I should just use my pants. SE Asian public bathrooms are just gross. Yes, that is a blanket statement, but I have traveled extensively around SE Asia so I can back that comment up. You know you’re in trouble when you can smell the bathroom before you ever see a sign for it. I do appreciate the option for a western toilet that many of the public toilets offer compared to just the hole in the floor but the gesture is all I appreciate. Many, many trips ago I learned to carry tissue or toilet paper with me wherever I go along with lots and lots of hand sanitizer. As if the bathrooms weren’t disgusting enough, there is rarely running water, much less soap to wash your hands. These governments don’t seem to support hygienic bathrooms; however, they have full body temperature scanners as you enter customs. Basically, if you’ve got a temperature you’ll have a difficult time getting in, but if you’re hands are full of germs and you’re going around touching everything – WELCOME!

Oh, and most of the stalls have this hose in there. Just imagine the hose attached to your kitchen sink to clean the dishes. This little hose is multi-purpose. You can use it an attempt to clean yourself (a cheap version of a bidet and hence the reason for no toilet paper) or clean the bathroom. I’ve never used one, but have experienced the aftermath and it’s well, disgusting. There’s water everywhere, or what you hope is water, making me grimace with every step wishing I had closed toe shoes on rather than my flip flops. These bathrooms could benefit from the reminder I saw in so many teacher restrooms in Texas, “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie.” The whole experience is painful and you just want to go and take a shower afterwards.

Now I’m back at the Kota Kinabalu airport headed to Sandakan to visit an orang atun rehabilitation center and do some other things as well. I’m staying at some kind of lodge on the edge of the jungle and the pics from their website look very um, rustic. I’m not sure what else I’ll accomplish while in Sandakan, but I will be watching the World Cup final tonight! I’m not a huge soccer fan or anything, but it is fun to watch it with a bunch of other travelers from around the world.

Traveling - Part One: Tasmania

PART ONE: Tasmania

Today I’m celebrating my one year wedding anniversary in the most unusual way - alone, on a completely different continent than my husband. I can already hear the chorus of “awww” occurring because many of you might think that Paul is the one out of town. Yes, he does travel quite a bit, but I’m the guilty culprit in this cross-continental anniversary celebration. While he is in Sydney, working hard, I’m playing just as hard in Borneo. You’re probably thinking that this is an unusual or unconventional way to celebrate your anniversary in two separate countries by choic, and for most couples, it probably is. But for us, this is our normal. Did I mention that his birthday was two days ago and I missed that as well?

The only reason we spent last July together was because we got married and it just so happened that our wedding and honeymoon fit very nicely into my travel plans. LOL. Working in schools, whether they be in the States or Australia, allow me to travel during holiday breaks and it just so happens that Australian school children are currently enjoying their 3 week Winter break. I’m enjoying mine in the much warmer, summertime climate of SE Asia. Yes, this is my 3^rd summer in a row to be traveling in SE Asia and to be honest, I’m really over it. At this point, I’ve seen what I wanted to and bought what I needed (i.e. fake purses, bootleg DVDs) all over SE Asia, but yet I’m here. Again. In case you weren’t aware, Australia is REALLY far away from well, everything. The cheapest flights were to SE Asia and since I hadn’t spent but a quick couple of days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last summer, I decided to experience more of Malaysia and specifically Malaysia Borneo during my winter holiday. Also, I do realize that I could travel within Australia but it’s cold and expensive and neither of those characteristics are enjoyable when traveling. But, before I get too involved in writing about my experiences in Borneo, let me back up to my most recent trip: our one year anniversary trip to Tasmania.

To celebrate our 12 months of wedded bliss (well, most of it was full of bliss, but a move to the other side of the world can cause a little tension in any relationship), I booked us a trip to Tasmania. Tasmania is a state in Australia but it’s an island just south of the continent. Imagine Hawaii, but a lot closer and not tropical. Alright, so maybe Hawaii isn’t the best comparison. Anyway, most of you have probably heard of Tasmania primarily because of the infamous spinning, unintelligible, animated version from Looney Tunes. The Tasmanian Devil is an actual animal; however, it is nothing like the animated version. More on the real devils below.

With it being winter in Australia and extremely cold in Tasmania we got a great deal on this trip and we all know that I love a bargain! After a short flight from Sydney we were on our way to exploring this beautiful island with a population of 500,000. We stayed in Hobart, a maritime city and Tasmania’s largest, with a population of 250,000. Hobart is a lot like any little seaside town you might have seen or imagined (in my case) in New England. It has beautiful landscapes, Victorian style houses, fresh seafood, and a whole lotta charm. Tasmania is quite hilly and we were told that if they flattened all the hills out in Tasmania that it’d cover the same amount of area as the continent of Australia. Armed with a rental car, a sense of adventure, and a husband with great map reading skills (really, he does have good skills), we ventured all over the island visiting wineries, scenic rivers, mountains, other natural landscapes, and a hippie camp. (Wha?? The hippie camp wouldn’t be on your itinerary??) Over the course of 4 days we also ate, visited the world famous (or so we’re told) Salamanca markets, took a tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory, got in a little exercise by running along the water, and sailed on a replica of a ship built in 1800. All in all, it was a great, yet very cold, trip.

Here’s some more info on the Tasmanian Devil and their current health issue

Devil Facial Tumour Disease

What is Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) and

how does it affect Tasmanian devils?

DFTD describes a fatal condition in Tasmanian devils which is characterised by the appearance of facial cancers. The tumours or cancers are first noticed in and around the mouth as small lesions or lumps. These develop into large tumours around the face and neck and sometimes even in other parts of the body. DFTD is extremely unusual as it is only one of three recorded cancers that can spread like a contagious disease. The cancer is passed from devil to devil through biting. The live tumour cells aren’t rejected by their immune system because of a lack of genetic diversity among Tasmanian devils. DFTD affects mainly adults - males seem to be the first affected, then females - although juveniles as young as one can also be infected. When the disease is advanced Tasmanian devils may have many cancers throughout the body. Infected devils may become emaciated if the tumours interfere with teeth and feeding. Many females lose their young. Infected animals die within months of the lesions first appearing. For further information please visit the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program website:www.tassiedevil.com.au

Part Two: Borneo is coming soon!

Just the Four of Us

We have our first official guests from Texas in town . . Paul’s kids!! They’re here for two weeks and we've just completed our first week together. We have had the kids visit arranged for several months now and in anticipation of their arrival I did what I do best – planned a packed travel itinerary. I know that not everyone travels the way I do in a fast, exhausting pace trying to see anything and everything, but I also wanted to over plan in order to avoid hearing the whines of bored teenagers lamenting the lack of cell phones (we’re not paying the international rates), cable TV, free Wi-Fi everywhere, friends, and transportation. I knew that half of the itinerary would be scrapped; however, I also knew that if I didn’t take the initiative and plan Paul wouldn’t have scheduled anything. And I certainly didn’t want to come home from a day at work with everyone expecting me to entertain them. Unfortunately, we both have to work while they are here so that was another reason for a packed itinerary.

The kids haven’t really ever traveled abroad and even though Australia is similar to the USA, any trip to another country can be overwhelming. I guess it’s been so long since my first trip abroad of my own that I didn’t quite get the kids hesitancy or lack of enthusiasm in regards to trying things. Paul and I have traveled on numerous trips together, but we’ve never traveled with the four of us together. Actually, prior to their arrival, I hadn’t spent the night with both kids at the same time. On rare occasions the kids visited us in Dallas, but usually it was one or the other and mostly day visits with the occasional overnight stay. Visiting dad and your step-mom don’t rank high on a teenager’s social calendar. Even though I am a ton of fun ;), I don’t blame them. I never visited my dad and step-mom much as a teenager either.

In my planning, I also failed to realize how much walking we do on a regular basis around here and how that might impact others. Yes, there is public transportation available; however, Paul and I often reach our destinations quicker by walking rather than waiting for a bus or a train. This will serve as a general warning for anyone coming to visit: we live in the city within reasonable walking distances to everything and we don’t have a car, therefore, if you are with us, you WILL have to walk a lot. It’s just our reality and it was my mistake in realizing that is not the reality for everyone else. All in all, their first week in Sydney has gone well and I think they’re actually enjoying themselves.

When planning for the kids’ activities, Paul really wanted to take them to a beach. Granted we have a number of beaches in and around Sydney; however, it’s winter and it’s cold. Not very conducive to beach weather unless you’re part of the polar bear club. I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s not sun and surf year round. I’m rugged up (Aussie for bundled up) with the best of them especially considering I don’t have a warm car to escape to and I have a significant amount of walking in my daily commute. Oh how I miss my car and heated seats some days.

Luckily I found a great deal for the four of us to travel north to Cairns to experience their beaches and more importantly: The Great Barrier Reef. So Paul and I each took two days off from work and in conjunction with the weekend we had a mini-vacation and a new experience for all of us. The Cairns trip happened to coincide with Father’s Day and the opportunity for Paul to spend the day with his kids experiencing an amazing part of the world. In his opinion, it was the best gift ever and it made him happy which made me happy so everyone wins.

The weather in Cairns was warm enough for most, about 75 degrees for the high, but not warm enough for me to get into the water. I’m going to blame the cold water as the reason why I had no desire to jump in; however, I’ve yet to step into the ocean since our arrival in Australia. And yes, we’ve been to a few beaches in warm weather. I’m more concerned with the sharks and other random animals that appear on the warning signs. I’ll stick to the pool, thank you very much.

We stayed in a holiday apartment about a block from the beach which allowed ample opportunity for the kids to lay out and enjoy the beach. Paul and I also explored the beach and the little town. Unfortunately, the weather in Cairns did not work in our favor. It was EXTREMELY windy all four days. While sitting on the beach the wind would whip the sand around causing you to find sand in your ears and eyebrows hours later. The strong wind ended up deterring the kids from the beach in the afternoons and we spent time surfing the internet, reading, and watching repeats of the previous night’s world cup games. (The games are shown live in Australia at 9 pm, 12 am, and 4:30 am. I’ve become quite knowledgeable about soccer. In fact, Paul and I even braved the cold weather and went to an outdoor viewing site to watch a game broadcast live at 4:30 am in Sydney.)

The main point of our trip and most people’s trip to Cairns is to visit the Great Barrier Reef. The kids had never gone snorkeling before nor seen a reef. Unfortunately, the wind also negatively impacted our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Well, at least the wind negatively impacted my day. With really windy days there are really big waves in the ocean which cause major sea sickness. I don’t get car sick or anything like that; however, I always took Dramamine to fly with Paul and I do much better taking it when we’re out on a boat in really rough waters. Within 10 minutes of our boat leaving the marina, I was miserable and I knew I was in for one of the longest days of my life. It was a 2 hour boat ride out to the reef and I tried to put on my big girl face and hang in there, but it was tough. Although, I wasn’t nearly as bad off as some individuals who were working their way through the barf bags. I stayed away from them because just being around them started the whole gag effect. I realize I’m a frugal person, cheap really, and it sucks to feel crappy when you’ve spent a significant amount of money on an activity. Paul and the kids weren’t phased at all so it didn’t negatively impact their experience which was important.

I signed Paul and the kids up for the snorkel and discovery dive while I was just signed up for the snorkeling. There was supposed to also be a semi-submarine option in our trip but with the wind being as strong as it was they couldn’t bring the sub that close to the reef without knocking into it and well, that just wouldn’t go over well with nature conservationists. Due to the lovely wind we also only got the opportunity to snorkel/dive at one location rather than two. If it hadn’t been for the great time Paul and the kids had, I would’ve been very disappointed. I’ve traveled and snorkeled in some cool places so the whole experience wasn’t really about me but really an attempt to create some great memories for them. They all did a discovery dive with some enjoying it more than others and we all snorkeled. We saw a number of things including rainbow fish, parrot fish, clown fish, beautiful coral, a huge clam (the boys stuck their hand in it), a shark, and an octopus. All in all: mission accomplished.

So here we are, the four of us sitting at the airport in Cairns waiting for our already delayed flight. Anyone looking at us would assume that we’re a family and I guess we are. You’ve got two teenagers with headphones in listening to their iPods, a dad bent over a computer answering emails, and me. It all appears normal enough, yet, it just doesn’t feel normal. I feel like the outsider looking in, the odd man out. I’m the newest addition to this group and I’m just not sure where I fit in. Yes, this is my family, but I guess I’ve never really thought of us in that sense. In my opinion, I’m just the one married to their dad.

I’ve always been part of a family, but it’s really weird for me to consider myself as having a family. I’m not so sure I even embrace that concept yet. I guess I don’t feel like it’s my family to have. I’m just a part of a pre-existing group. For so long the words “family” to me have been defined by my parents, siblings, niece and nephews, etc., but now the term is different - if I want it to be. Yes, I realize that Paul has kids, but my day-to-day life doesn’t require me to view Paul as a dad. He’s just Paul, my husband who has two kids. I’m always kind of taken aback when he is in that “Dad” role because I just don’t see it on a regular basis. Paul is a great dad, but his role as dad doesn’t require me to be involved so I am a little removed from this part of his life. When people ask if I have children, I always say “my husband has two kids or refer to them as Paul’s kids.” It’s not that I don’t want to claim them, but I don’t know exactly where I fit in or again, if they’re mine to claim. Maybe that’s my problem. Maybe I don’t need to fit in anywhere, but rather just be. I do have a tendency to over analyze things.

There isn’t a significant (statistically speaking) age gap between me and the kids and they don’t need another parent so I guess I’m more or less considered like a big sister to them. I’m not necessarily sure if I see myself in that role, but I think that’s how they see me and that’s fine. We have a good relationship and get along well and I’m fortunate for that. More importantly they have a good relationship with their dad. I’m sure the distance (both physically and emotionally) helps our relationship as well. They know and are constantly reminded that we want them to be a part of our lives and we’ll do what we can to support that endeavor. We can all talk openly about whatever topic (even if considered taboo in other families) and I don’t feel like I have to filter too much of myself or my opinions which is good seeing as how I struggle with filtering myself, in general. I seem to be more up to date on the current trends/interests than Paul does so that allows me some credibility with the kids. However, during their visit I’ve realized that I’m not nearly as lenient of a parent as Paul. Luckily for the kids he ends up making most of the decisions.

It’s hard to navigate a blended family - I should know as I’m a product of one. I came onto the scene really late in the kids’ life and having friends married to guys with younger kids there are pros and cons. They were 13 and 14 when we began dating and are now 16 and 18. Coming into their lives so late requires me to be little more than a bystander when it comes to big decisions and that is VERY difficult for me especially as some of decisions play a role in my life as well. I try really, really hard to see it all from the kids’ perspective, but I’ll admit that it is difficult. So much of my world is all about me because well, it can be. Yes, I do consider myself selfish on occasions, but I think that is a result of choices that I have made in my life to allow me to be that way. Others have made different choices or have different circumstances that don’t allow them that same option. I don’t consider myself a selfish person; however, I do have different priorities than my parenting friends.

Over the past several months I’ve continually talked to my mom about being a second wife and a step- mom and she’s provided insight and opinions. Most importantly, she has let me know that each family has to determine what is best for them and take that route and all you can do is what you think is best. My family won’t and doesn't have to look the same as everyone else and that is something I have to come to understanding. I may not share the same memories with the Paul and the kids, but we’re making our own and that is important too. I guess what is more important than me feeling like I fit in is that I know I’m accepted and wanted within our own little family.

Cockatoo Island 6/5/10