AUST 1101: Introduction to Australian Living - Year One

Today marks exactly one year since we expatriated down to Australia.  On the one hand, it's incredible to think how quickly that year has flown by; how it seems like only yesterday we arrived here, not knowing a soul, and racing around the Melbourne streets with a Seven Eleven map looking for a suitable place to live.  On the other, when we think about all what we've seen, learned, and experienced, all of the friends we've met here, and all of the trips to Ikea, it’s almost unfathomable that it's only been a year.

It's a little funny contrasting what one-year-ago Matt thought I would have experienced after living here and what I actually have. By example, things that I anticipated:

1. Having a [mostly] intuitive understanding of the city - It's that feeling of when you first arrive to an entirely new place knowing that you're perception of it today is likely not at all refelctive of what it will be as you get to know the place.  It reminds me a lot of when I used to go up and visit my sister in Athens before I went to school there.  My concept of North, South, East, and West was completely skewed, and I had no context for landmarks or specific locales.
2. Having a greater understanding (and appreciation) of Australianisms - before moving here, I'd spent a bit of time looking into "Strine" (I have yet to meet someone who calls it that here) to try and understand the nuanced differences in language.  While it's definitely exaggerated on the internets, there is a subtlety to it that must be appreciated.  Ultimately, Australians speak just about the same as Americans (spare the accent), although as I've been corrected on a number of occasions, Australians speak English and Americans speak American.  Just try and discuss a "Logger" drinking "Lager" with an Australian, and you'll appreciate what they mean.  That being said, it does on occasion go both ways; try determining which "hour is our hour" here in Melbourne.
3. Cost of living- it's been documented in detail within earlier posts of this blog, so I won't harp about it too much here, but sh*t is expensive here.  We've grown a bit more accustomed to it, but I do still shed a tear every time I go to checkout with a six pack of beer.
4. Missing friends and family- Also documented substantially in earlier posts, but worth repeating here.  We do miss our friends and family back home, and have a greater appreciation for the benefits of geographical proximity.  We've missed some of our good friend's major life events, including a number of engagements, weddings, and births.

And things that I hadn't anticipated:

1. How large Australia really is- it's huge.  And not in the same sense that the States are.  It's extremely dispersed, making it difficult to really see a lot of the country.  Since living here, we've only set foot in three of Australia's seven states and territories.  Also, with fewer people and as a result, fewer large cities, there are fewer flights available to get around.  We haven't come close to seeing the Outback, as it is at least a 9 hour drive from where we live.  We're hoping to make a weekend trip out to Adelaide and Tasmania in the not-too-distant future, bringing our state count up to five, as well as a trip out to Australia's Canada, New Zealand
2. Wildlife isn't everywhere- not really sure why I thought that it would be, I think it was more wishful thinking than anything else.  I don't see kangaroos on a regular basis, there aren't brown snakes at every turn, and we haven't yet bumped into any absurd spiders.  Although we've seen a good deal of Australian wildlife in the wild (Kangaroos, Wallabies, Kookaburras, Koalas, Brown Snakes), we don't usually happen upon it on our walk to work (except maybe possums).
3. Diversity- As with any major city, you'd expect a good deal of international visitors and residents, but Melbourne is incredibly diverse, beyond what I could've imagined.  It’s pretty cool to have such a melting pot of cultures and nationalities.  At work, I work alongside at least one Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, Kiwi, Spanish, Venezuelan, Maltese, South African, and Aussie every day, and that’s just on my project.  I’ve learned a lot of interesting cultural nuances such as arranged marriages, the use of spices in Spanish cuisine, Maltese table manners, and of course the Hot Chip Precedence rule.

We’re continuing to get settled and feel more at home as Melbourne becomes less foreign and more familiar. No matter which way I look at it, it's been an amazing year and we can't wait for the next one!

Favorite Pub

We love being able to walk across the street to our favorite pub. We just a) got our invite to a beer pong party accepted by our amazing bartender Mikey b) got the bar to save bottles for us for our next homebrew, a raspberry wheat beer currently in the fermenter c) drank some new recommended and standard trusty beers.

Hammock Reading Weather is back!

Hopefully I'm not speaking to soon, but right now it is just the right temp outside to curl up with a book in our hammock + a cozy sleeping bag. It's the equivalent of February in the States. I must say, sometimes the mild Melbourne climate suits me just fine.

Meanwhile Matt is nearby, enjoying playing with his helicopter.

Google Hangouts

Recently my family and I have taken to using a fun Google+ tool called Hangouts to catch up. Unlike Google voice and video chat, you can chat with many people at once. It's been great since my brother Ted doesn't live at my parent's house (he's at college, or currently away at his internship for the summer). I highly recommend it to anybody who misses a scattered group of people. A neat, but easily exploited, feature is that whoever is talking (the loudest) gets the screen time. The idea is that you don't have to click on each speaker manually, which is a bit burdensome (though there is that capability). Sometimes my family members will yell nonsensically just to be the one the screen or we will simply end up talking or laughing loudly all at once. This causes a strobe-light of family appearances which ends up being very amusing. 

Last weekend, my parents were packing up to travel, so I didn't get to see them. However, I did get to talk to my brother Ted. Before he entered the hangout I launched a fun app called Google Effects, which became available to whoever joined the hangout. The app has face recognition, and places "props" (you can pick specific items, or "randomise" for ridiculous combos) on your screen. Ted and I experimented with exactly how much of your face you can hide before it get's confused about where to but the prop, and FYI, the nose is a key feature. Screen shots for your amusement below. 

Ted as a clown snorkeller with a sweet 'stache

Ted as a cat with a Google sweatband, still sport the 'stache

Ted as a Devil with an eye patch, and he apparently really likes the 'stache

                   

                    

And the most ridiculous, Lydia as a confused beauty queen with a hormone problem

Google hangouts has advantages beyond just video chatting, there are a plethora of apps for gaming with family, work related "white boards" and Google docs sharing, as well as my favorite, an app that shows a children's story on the side for a parent to read to their kid if they aren't able to be at home to put them to bed. Adorable. 

Vegemite, Emiliy's Favo(u)rite

While grocery shopping, my visiting sister Emily asked that we pick up some Vegemite to contribute her Australian experience. Before she could dig in, I tried it myself on a ham and cheese croissant with some Vegemite spread (just a teensy little bit as pictured, I've heard horror stories of people trying a spoonful like it's Nutella). It made me feel like an Australian to actually own Vegemite and enjoy eating it!

Unfortunately, Emily ended up hating it...

Curious about the origin of such a unique snack, I perused through Wikipedia's article on Vegemite, and followed the Wiki rabbit hole to something called Marmite. In summary, here is what I learned.

- The product that was to become Marmite was invented in the late 19th century when German scientist discovered that brewer's yeast could be concentrated, bottled and eaten. It began being shipped to Australian in 1919.
- It became named Marmite after the French term for a large, covered earthenware or metal cooking pot which is still pictured on Marmite.

- Vegemite was invented in 1922 following the disruption of British Marmite imports after World War I. A food scientist at Fred Walker & Co named Cyril Callister used autolysis to break down the yeast cells from waste obtained from the Carlton & United brewery.

- British Marmite is more intensely flavoured, and New Zealand Marmite is sweeter.

- The name was picked from a hat (full of suggestions submitted as part of a nationwide contest) by Fred Walker's (remember, the guy whose company commissioned Vegemite) daughter. It was brought the market in 1923,  but failed to to take off.

- When Marmite came back on the Australian market, it began to edge out Vegemite. In response, in 1928 Vegemite changed it's name to Parmite as a spin off/pun to the British Marmite ("If Marmite [Ma/mother might] then Parmite [Pa/father might]"). I think the idea was to use the brand recognition of Marmite, and also make Australia's version sound more manlier. In fact sales worsened till 1938.

- It wasn't till Fred Walker (that same Fred Walker, Co. company owner/commissioner of Vegemite) established Kraft Walker Cheese Co as a joint venture with J.L.Kraft & Bros in 1925, which became wildly popular by 1938, and used Krafts popularity to promote Vegemite (they changed the name back) through massive promotions and giveaways alongside Kraft products that the brand succeeded. I therefore feel that my ham and Kraft Cheese (see picture) croissant was unknowingly appropriate.

- In 1984 it became the first item in Australia to be bought by digitally scanning a product at checkout.
- Today, 22 million jars are produced per year. It's made in Australia at the Kraft plant which is right here in Melbourne!

Itchy and "Screachy"

Two weeks ago, Lydia, Emily, and I headed down to Lorne on the Victorian coast to stay with some friends and their baby daughter for the weekend.  We were extended an invite by Jim, whom I met during my work orientation my third week in Australia.  Jim, originally from Chicago, moved down to Melbourne to be with his partner, Cathy, to have their little girl here in Australia (Cathy is originally from Australia).

A bit of background; Jim and his partner have been participating in a number of house sitting stints throughout greater Victoria, as he's taken his paternal leave and a leave of absence to spend time with his family.  It's been an awesome opportunity for them to get to experience different living situations for free, while also "paying it forward," by looking after the home owners' property and pets.  They've spent time in the mountains of Tasmania, on a cattle farm in northern Victoria, and most recently, coastal Victoria.  In terms of life experiences, Jim's got some pretty incredible stories from their times house sitting.  I was most intrigued by their time on the cattle farm, including learning how to patch fences, ride tractors, and herd cattle.

I hadn't seen Jim for nearly three months when he called me to invite us down to the coast.  I was pretty excited about hanging out, sharing some of our homebrew, and seeing the beautiful coast.  Lydia and I also figured it would be a good experience for Emily on her last weekend with us to get out of the city and see the coast.

We got a late start Saturday morning leaving Melbourne, as we had to get everyone mobilized and the car packed up.  We hit the road around 11 and rolled on down to the Great Ocean Road- a windy road that runs along the coast which starts about an hour west of Melbourne.  This wasn't our first time on the Great Ocean Road, as we had taken it to get down for our camping trip along the Great Ocean Walk back in March.

The ride down was relatively uneventful, although as per usual this time of year, we experienced nearly four seasons in one day.  When we left Melbourne it was a sunny and warm day, but by the time we arrived in Lorne, it was gray, cold, and pouring rain.  One thing about living down here is I have a greater appreciation for the different manifestations of rain; it's not like back home in Georgia where it either drizzles or pours marble-sized drops; here there is a much wider spectrum of possibilities, including such variants as the popular sideways mist, the dribble and pour, the it's-not-raining-yet-I'm-still-getting-wet and who could forget the not-uncommon sunny-day-blue-sky-where-the-hell-is-that-coming-from rain.  On more than one occasion on my way to work, I could've sworn that I've seen rain rise upwards, but maybe that was just the result of a couple of bleary-eyed mornings.

Regardless, the rain and cold didn't detract from the beauty of the coast.  We rolled in, or rather up, around 1pm.  One thing about the house that Jim and family were staying in was that it's perched on top of a coastal cliff, which one the one hand provided incredible views over the ocean, but on the other required considerable effort on behalf of our little Golf to ascend.  Coupled with slicked, unfinished road, I was impressed and surprised to find that our little Kraut (the car, not Lydia) had almost no issue at all making it up.

We were received warmly where we promptly turned our attention to both the adorable toddler and the two household pets, a cat whose name I can't recall, but for the purposes of this post, I will name "Screachy," and a dog named Flea (after the insect, not the mononymous bassist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers).  Upon arrival, I promptly ingested more than the recommended dose of anti-allergy medication to negate Screachy's effect on my sinuses.  We were informed that although friendly, apparently Screachy had a penchants for, without warning, jumping from furniture or the ground onto one's chest and shoulders, with no hesitation of using his claws for stability.  Screachy also had a bad habit of walking on the kitchen counters and dining table, which required constant attention to ensure that he, and more importantly his allergy-inducing fur, remained free from consumables.

Artist's Depiction of "Screachy"

We had a light lunch then headed down to the beach for some volleyball and pictures.  Sure enough, as soon as we got down to the sand, the skies opened up, with an impressive rendition of both sideways mist and substantial rain.  We weren't deterred however (and the little one was a trouper hanging out on a blanket on the beach), and had a good time bumping the volleyball back and forth, while chilling our feet in the frigid sand.  Not long after it began, the rain stopped, leaving us with a full double rainbow.  According to Jim, rainbows aren't uncommon along the coast, at least since they had been there, as they often saw at least one per day.  We paused briefly for some photo ops before returning to our volleyball game, though this time with the inclusion of soccer-style headers:

After sufficiently chilling our feet to the point of numbness, we returned back up to the house to relax by the wood stove heater and prepare a curry dinner.  I helped Jim "shuck" the chicken from the hip (do chickens have hips?) bone.  This proved more difficult than anticipated, although we were aided by the formidable sustenance of beer.  After finishing with the chicken, we left the bones aside in a bowl, which Screachy promptly retrieved and attempted to ingest, although unsuccessfully.


Dinner was amazing.  Cathy made homemade naan, which was delicious, and the chicken curry came out wonderfully, particularly after the addition of fresh vegetables.  After dinner, I headed out on to the porch to play around with some long exposure photography, with mixed results:

To end the night, Jim and I made the trek down (via a creative shortcut that may not have actually been a designated path) to the only pub in Lorne, whose owner also owned the house we stayed in.  Being a school holiday, times were busy at the pub- there was in total maybe six people there, all bemused by what must have been the top 100 worst songs of the early 90s.  Jim and I played one game of pool, called it a night, and hiked back up to the house to head to bed.


To keep Screachy at bay, Jim locked him in the laundry and bathroom facility of the house.  Screachy didn't appreciate his solidarity and proceeded to reprise the power ballads from the playlist we heard earlier at the pub, this time all in the key of what I can only assume to be C minor.  After track six or seven, Screachy retired to his chambers, only to pick up two hours later when I had to startle him awake to use the bathroom.


We awoke late the next morning to a wall of fog.  Jim headed down to surf as we mobilized- I was meant to join him as I had brought along my wet suit, but my aversion to cold water and inexperience kept me in the house, as the swell was easily over a meter.  I do intend to head back down to the coast at some point to try my hand, although I think I'll wait until January when it warms up a bit.


We said our goodbyes, hit the road, and headed back to Melbourne to let Emily pack, as she had to fly back to the States the next day.  We made sure to stop along the way where we picked up a couple of beers from a small-shop brewpub in Forrest, Victoria.


All in all, it was a great quiet weekend and we had a lot of fun catching up with Jim and Cathy and spending a short time down on the coast.

5 Minutes or Less: How to Catch a Kangaroo

I can't say that I've tried this yet, but I may start carrying around a Woolworths bag just in case...

Given this fine gentleman's appearance, one might suppose that he enjoys catching kangaroos for more than just the sport of it.