Chocolate and Headsets Part 1

Last week Jaime and I took our first trip out of Melbourne to Adelaide. Jaime had to present at the Australian/New Zealand Association of OMFS conference so we left Wednesday night for the rest of the week and through the weekend and the highlights began quickly! The airport was super low-key, checking in was a breeze (Selecting your destination was literally 8 choices for all the main cities in au), no checked baggage fee, security was no problem (except I set the alarm off with my boots...who knew! I have never worn them through airport security.), and get this...we flew Qantas for our 1 hour flight to Adelaide and they served us Dinner! (yes tv dinner style and everything) and a comp wine or beer! You should have seen my face when they announced this treat, especially on such a short flight. (Apparently Qantas is the only airline that does this but still...COOL!).  Adelaide is a small city that I actually walked from point a to point b in a matter of hours. I started to take the 3 hour self-guided tour but I got off track by stopping in random places, although I still think I saw about everything in the city center and the immediate fringe. And that was it. That was Adelaide. And every time someone asks me how I liked Adelaide they usually wait for my reaction before agreeing that there is not much there. Adelaide, if you don't live there and call it the "relaxing city" then you just go there to get somewhere else (Barossa Valley, Kangaroo Island, etc). I did very much enjoy the Sushi Train where you just sit and pick what you want off of the conveyer belt like in Japan (per Jaime). It was packed everytime we tried to go or walk by so you know the sushi was fresh. It should definitely be franchised to the US. I also liked the huge market and the Tbar where I drank lots of tea and did some more reflecting. :)
Jaime did awesome on his presentation and the last night we got a dressed up for the Gala. Everyone got on a bus outside the hotel and we rode it 5 minutes down the road (thats how big Adelaide is) to the Wine Center. We had a delicious dinner, all the wine you could drink, and met and spoke with many of Jaime's Aussie and Kiwi colleagues. The party started to wind down and so the younger crowd decided to continue to the pub. Before leaving, I noticed a plate of chocolates set out on each table and when I returned to my table, the chocolates were untouched. So I asked the waiter if I could have a to-go box for the chocolates. Hey, even after a night of wine I know that good chocolate should not go to waste :). So they brought me a box and I plopped them in. Then some of the residents agreed it was a good idea and they went around collecting the uneaten chocolates from all the tables to put in my "take-away" box. We made our way to the pub, chocolates in hand, with most of the group already there. When we arrived there was a small line to get into the pub. Now, for those who know me, they know that I don't wait in lines for pubs/bars/clubs etc. (I used to, but now I don't, I either go talk to the bouncer or go somewhere less crowded). So I walked up to the bouncer who was an older gentleman and very nice, and told him that a big group of friends were already inside. And he said "Ok get your mates" (Jaime and one other guy) to let us in. So of course, I opened up my take-away box and offered some chocolate. The next few minutes were absolutely amazing. The first bouncer was delighted and took two and the second bouncer said "Oh! Chocolate!" and took two. A couple was walking in the door before me and the guy stopped to let me in so I offered and he said "Chocolate!" and took one and then his girlfriend in the doorway also said "Oh! Chocolate!" and also took one. This went on for a few more people until I got to Jaime halfway into the pub and we just looked at each other and laughed. It was so funny. In America, noone would take random chocolate from a random person in a pub! Here, they were genuinely excited. And we didn't make it home with any chocolate that night.

The next morning we woke up a little early, a little hungover, and got ready for our splurge for this trip. We booked a personalized wine tour of the Barossa Valley, which is said to be the best wine valley in Australia! We were thinking of renting a car and so on but we have been so busy thinking and planning and figuring things out that I was so happy to let someone drive me around all day! The tour was Jaime and I, our Adelaidian driver/guide, and a gentleman/wino from DC who was friends with our guide. We rode in a kind of limo van into the countryside. And it was beautiful!!! I can't really explain the difference between US rolling hills and countryside and Australian countryside but something about it was just breathtaking. The grass is perfectly bright green and soft and the hills are dotted with trees or large bushes and of course sheep! It was really pretty. We went through several little towns, including Hahndorf, the cutest little German town with a busy strip of shops labeled for what they sell, "Butcher" "Cheese" "Pies" etc. I love the simplicity. And the wines were delicious! We visited 3 wineries before lunch. The aussies call them vin-YAHDS, with the emphasis on the "yahds". We had lunch at just the perfect time as the vino was setting in. We tasted dukkah for the first time, which is an Egyptian nut and spice mix. So you take your bread and dip it in the best olive oil you have ever tasted and then dunk it in the dukkah and...YUM! We couldn't stop eating it.
Then to order, Jaime and I, still a little ruffed up from the night before, decided that we both wanted the meat pie. This was the BEST meat pie I have ever had. It was so delicious, I was so full, but I kept eating because it was so good. We then waited patiently, completely fulfilled, and now very tired for our guide to pick us up. Upon his arrival, our guide asked what we had for lunch and I told him we both had the beef pie. And he looked at me funny and then said, "Oh the Rabbit pie." and I said, "No, the beef pie." and he laughed and said, "No you had rabbit!". My goodness.

I am not a vegetarian (obviously since I thought I was eating beef) but I am an animal lover and I try not to eat the out-of-ordinary meat, aka rabbit! I did feel very bad that I had just eaten a soft and tiny little creature that some people have as pets. But I couldn't do anything about it, so I figured flattery was the best way to go, and so I went on and on about how it was the most tender and tasiest "beef" I had ever eaten.
They say that alot of the meat pies here are made of mystery meat unless you get them from somewhere you know what it is (i.e. a nice cafe vs. a four and twenty that comes in a microwaveable package). Now I understand! Meat looks the same coated in gravy...you could be eating anything!

Despite not being able to breathe from being so full, we wrapped up the afternoon with 3 more vin-Yahds. We went to Penfolds, which is the most famous and some bottles can be extremely expensive. We tried the $200 bottle. Definitely overpriced. You can find the very affordable Penfolds Koonunga Hill at home. We also went to a special little winery that is only open 2 weeks out of the year. It was a massive amount of beautiful countryside with a tiny cottage and teeny tiny little tasting cellar, and delicious wine. We fit in one more place which had the best Tawny, a type of dessert wine. I have never been a dessert wine gal but the girl looked at me and said, I have something for you. She had a shiraz/grappa mix called none other than Shirappa. I was so full but I managed to taste it and said "Wow! We'll take two!" And then we relaxed, satisfied and happy, for the hour-long ride back to our hotel.

Headsets...more to come...

Septic Tank?

Out for drinks one night, Jaime and I were further educated on the Aussie way of life. We learned about how to communicate nonverbally with the bartender while drinking at the bar...glass pushed forward for "Filler up", glass sideways for "I'm resting or I'm done" and glass upside down for "Looking for a fight" (note to self- only do that when with our friend Peter who is a boxer).  What was most interesting and peculiar was the Aussie rhyming slang, used widely by mostly men across Australia. It was thought to have originated with the convicts who first settled the country and was used as code so authorities would not know what they were talking about.  So they use a specific word that rhymes with the word they mean to say, often with no logical explanation. So for example (the best one), Jaime and I are "Yanks" (general term since we are from the US) and "Yank" rhymes with none other than "Septic tank" and so we are known as "Seppos" as in "Where are the seppos this weekend? Are the seppos coming to the game on Saturday? What's up with the two seppos?" Glamorous, I know. :) It gets better. A jumper is a british word for 'sweater' which rhymes with Victor Trumper (an Aussie cricketer) and so "It's a little cold I think I will wear my victor." Fridge = Harbor Bridge, Drink = kitchen sink i.e. "Will you get me a kitchen sink from the harbor?" Sydney = steak and kidney "I am off to steak and kidney". Phone = Al Capone "Will you hand me the Al Capone". And my favorite, people say "no dramas" for "no drama, no worries, its ok" etc...and so dramas = Dali Lamas, therefore you say "Hey, no Dali Lamas."

So Jaime and I have been seppos for a little over a month now. We are just about settled in and really getting to understand life here and getting around. We moved into our new apartment and had discount furniture delivered in a rooms-to-go style. Jaime had to build the beds and put together most of the furniture, I monitored and handed out the appropriate screws and tools. :) Our preloved fridge was delivered and after warming up and working for a day I think it was too old and started knocking the power out in our apt. So the balcony became our "harbor" since it was still cold enough and we had a new fridge delivered 3 days later. I turned it on this am...its smaller and newer...so we'll see if our new one can keep the balance. 

We are learning a lot in our new home across the world...learning about ourselves, learning about each other and marriage, and learning about the world and how we fit into it and live in it. Jaime has started a new chapter in his professional life and has opened up to a whole new world of learning and practicing in his field. When I turned my calendar to September, there was a very fitting quote, I believe it was perfectly placed to reassure us that we are where we should be. It just happened to be by Ginevee, an Australian Aboriginal, who said "At each stage of learning we must give up something, even if it is a way of life we have always known." For Jaime this is most evident in his growth and learning as a person as well as a surgeon in so many ways, and especially when he walks into the room to care for a teeny tiny 1-day old instead of an adult.  For me, it is also about learning about myself in a new place and in a marriage, but also for exploring and discovering opportunities to bring out and indulge in parts of me that  were sometimes suppressed by my daily routine back home and always planning for the future. Being unemployed, I have a lot of time to reflect and think. I think about all the things I could do in life and I reflect upon what it is like to be free...really free. Free to live, to breathe, to learn, to make mistakes, to explore, and to love...it is glorious! 

My job in healthcare is highly fulfilling as I do my best to directly help people. I have been looking for some part-time or hourly SLP work but I have been thinking a lot about what's missing in my daily life when I am not working. I am missing that fulfillment of doing something to help, to interact with the world and know that I am doing something special. And so I have been exploring opportunities for something I can dedicate myself to in addition to my job, even when I return home. I currently have one exciting lead that happened to find me and I will check it out and keep you posted. 

As Jaime and I are beginning to feel more settled in Melbourne, and the weather is beginning to feel the warmth of Spring, we are starting to plan our trips to discover this vast and exciting place. I have realized that in this stage of learning, we have a lot to do! We will see and do everything this continent has to offer, we will help save the world by doing our part in our careers and in our dedication of time and love, and most of all we will laugh, love, and enjoy every moment of each day with each other. 

Really, it's no Dali Lamas!