Birds of Paradise?

    It's been very busy lately!  Friday was our last day in the dee-luxe apartment in the sky.  Our air shipment arrived right on time and was unpacked and sitting in the house by 11 AM.  We spent most of the weekend putting things away and figuring out what we still needed.  Everything takes a long time to accomplish at this stage so pretty much nothing gets done quickly, but we are managing to move forward.  We still are waiting on a dryer (though it will be tiny to fit the space allowed) and a fridge.  The one we have now is a loaner and is about the size of a dorm room fridge, necessitating a trip to the store pretty much every day.  Now that we won't be moving again, things should start to normalize and get easier - we hope!
    Some pics of the house, as promised.




     Jackson is getting frequent visits from the dog walking company.  They post photos (http://www.dogwalks.com.au/) of him which we love seeing.  We got a message yesterday from the assistant director of the quarantine.  I was immediately a bit concerned but he assured me that Jackson's just fine but he wanted our permission to use photos of him in promotional materials.  Mr. Photogenic should get a posher cell as payment!  Now that we have a car, I'm hoping to get out to see him this week.  Only 13 days to go!

     Yesterday was Valentine's Day here and it was not nearly as much of a big deal as it is in the States.  The kids did not exchange Valentines at school and there was even a parent-teacher meeting at the school last night.  I think parents would have a fit about that in the US.  I have to say that I found it rather refreshing.

   Now a few words about some of our neighbors.  They are quiet at night but they seem to think that everyone should shout and squeal starting at 5:30 AM, every day.  As loud as possible.  Right outside our not-so-insulated windows.  We, who stay up way too late doing exciting things like trying to figure out the strange washing machine, are not amused.  I managed to get a few pictures of them in recent days.

Rainbow Lorikeets.  Gorgeous but they are the main offenders!

Kookaburra.  Don't know if that's a gum tree or not... 





He had to bring his buddies.

       We enjoy seeing these birds during the day, just wish they liked to sleep in a bit.  Today we watched a flock of cockatoos clowning around on an electrical wire a few steps out the front door and in a tree right next to the house. 







Love the zoom lens!

I don't know if they are truly just clowning around or if it's breeding season or what, but these guys seem to enjoy themselves.

I think that's me at the top and you can guess who the other two are... :-)

     A few more views from the 'hood.  More posts to come sooner than later.



Saturday sailboats viewed from the porch.



The North Head quite early Sunday, thanks to our "neighbors."



This cafe is two doors down the hill.  Chris and I managed to get lunch here (alone! a rarity while here we're sure) between deliveries last week.  

 

Time For Us To Fly

     We're on the move again.  This time we're going down and over, over to Mosman that is.  We have the keys to the house, the furniture has been delivered, and all appliances are there minus a dryer and the permanent fridge (loaner for now).  We got word that our shipment made it through customs except for Chris's golf clubs, which were presumably too dirty to be allowed in the country as is.  I think that's a sign!  They may hold on to them, clean them and charge us a crazy fee, or do something else.  Anyhow, the rest of the stuff should arrive on Friday so we can move in and not have to rent sheets, kitchen stuff, etc.  When we get there, I'll take more photos and post them.




Chris took this photo of a flock of cockatoos outside the house while awaiting furniture delivery.


     We've been doing some shopping for various items and it is a similar, yet different experience.  The pet stores here actually have kittens and puppies in them, lots.  I haven't seen that in the US in a long time.  We've seen "Shavaliers" (cross between a Shih Tzu and a Cavalier), "Bugs" (what they call puggles here), and "Cavaloodles."  Of course, the kids in their dog-deprived state want to take them all home.  To our frustration, stores here close at 5:30 every day except Thursday - even the malls and other major shopping areas.  Seems strange to me in such a large metropolitan area.  We knew prices here would be high, and they are!  Surprisingly though, some things really aren't that different, such as many groceries and some basic toiletry stuff.  However, it can be shocking.  A shampoo that costs $7 at home is about $15 here, a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut is $3.00 here, and small bottled drinks can easily be $5.  It's movie theater pricing everywhere! 




This cool light system in a parking garage helps you see where the empty spaces are (green) when looking for a spot.  Why don't we have this in the US?  Maybe we do and I've just never seen it...


     We are happy that Jackson is getting attention from his dog walkers/visitors this week.  They post photos every time they visit and they can be seen at http://www.dogwalks.com.au/ (look under Photo Galleries).  Only 20 more days to go.

     We've been down at Darling Harbor, a large pedestrian, tourist, and recreational area just west of the central business district several evenings.  There are some unique fountains that the kids have enjoyed.  We're making sure to enjoy this area before we leave on Friday.




Sydney skyline looking east from Darling Harbor. 

Spiral Fountain at Darling Harbor.

     We're acutely aware that we're missing the UNC-Dook game in a few hours. :-(  Go Heels!!

    

  

Year of the Rabbit

     The building in which we are currently living (which is the highest in Sydney if you don't count spires), is right on the border of Chinatown.  Apart from a huge variety of Asian cuisine just outside our front door, it also means that we had front row seats for the Chinese New Year celebration yesterday.  The parade route went right down George Street by our building so we had to check it out. 



Each of the signs of the Chinese zodiac were represented by colorful floats.



   The parade was festive, humorous, and unlike other parades we've seen (no Boy Scout or Girl Scout troops in this one).  After crazy heat on Saturday (headlines here read "The Day Sydney Melted"), we were very cool during the parade thanks to strong winds and drizzle but it was a good end to our weekend.

     Over the weekend we looked at a few cars and are hoping to finish paperwork to buy one sometime this week.  Once we move out of the CBD (Central Business District) later this week, it will be nice to have our own transportation, even if that does mean I have to drive!

     Today we got the keys to our house and furniture starts getting delivered tomorrow.  Our air shipment has made it to Sydney but we still do not know how long it will be before it is inspected and released from Customs.  Tomorrow Jackson gets the first of his four visits this week from the dog care company we hired.  So glad he'll be getting some more attention and so glad it's cooled off some for him!

The Heat is On

    This morning was beautiful and clear and very hot!!  The temperature hit 41.5 C (106 F) today, a record by over 5 degrees for this day, previously set in 1913.  Whew!  Sydney is normally very temperate and summer highs are in the mid-80's F.   After exploring Paddy's Market, a huge unairconditioned marketplace featuring 100's of stalls of souvenirs, produce, electronics, etc., we headed for the beach.
     The kids took another surfing lesson, this time without any blue bottles or beach closures.  They are both enjoying it immensely and we enjoy that it wears them out! 

 The Blue Mountains are barely visible on the horizon in this photo.



 



 

Clear morning views from the 77th floor.

Sailboat bathed in sunlight seen from the Manly Ferry. 

 

Another great sunset



Not Aussie Enough for Vegemite

     The kids finished up their first week of school today, complete with surfing at Long Reef Beach for Mia.  She bounced over at the end of school asked to have a sleepover with a friend. Although it wasn't actually feasible this time, I'm thrilled that she's found a friend.  Sam had Sport (P.E.) today and was excited to show me the gymnastic equipment in the gym.  So, even though it was a bit exhausting for all of us, the first week went well.

     Mia has been interested in vegemite since we arrived.  She wanted to buy some at the grocery store the first day and has watched her classmates eating vegemite sandwiches this week.  This afternoon she gave it a whirl.  I think her face says it all.  Not quite a hit. 

     Many things here are very familiar and it's easy to see why Americans feel so comfortable here.  Things are similar, but different too.  

No idea why it's not Burger King here.
Notice the ominpresent "safety" camera in the upper left of the photo.



More Friday afternoon sailboat racing.

There's always something interesting to watch from up here.  This cruise ship was heading out to sea.

     In a funny coincidence, I met a fellow blogger this week.  In August when I was trying to get my head wrapped around the possibility of moving here, I sought out information from blogs.  I figured that someone else had probably moved here with kids and that I could learn a lot that way.  I found several great blogs, one of which is written by a Californian with three kids.  When we decided to rent the Mosman house, I looked her blog back up, thinking that I recalled that she lived in the same area.  As Chris and I stood in the uniform line at the kids' school, I thought I recognized her right in front of us.  It was her and even funnier is that she knows the folks who lived in the rental house before us! So nice to meet you and looking forward to coffee one day!
    

Cell Block # 7

       As you can guess from the title, we went to visit Jackson today.  Visiting hours are from 1:30 - 3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays only and the quarantine station is about 45 minutes west of Sydney.  So, we sprung the kids out of school early, rented a car, and drove west into the heat.  Once you get away from the beaches and harbor, the temperature goes up significantly.  Our car said it was 41 C (over 100F) on the way home!  After signing in and promising to follow all the rules, we made our way to building #7, waited for the attendant to let us in, and found the sweet little guy.  I don't know who squealed or wiggled more, the kids or Jackson!  He was very excited to have attention and the tail never stopped the entire hour and a half that we were there.  Conditions (stifling heat and humidity, wet concrete cell and dog hair everywhere) were not so great for visiting but we really didn't care too much.  His attendant seems very nice and said that she constantly writes "needs cuddles" on his chart so that he gets as much attention as possible.  We got information to hire someone to spend more time with him over the next few weeks so he's not too lonely.  The best news is that his release date is listed as February 28th, while we thought we'd have to wait until March 2nd.  Don't know how that happened, but we're not asking questions!

     School continues to go well for the kids.  They both seem to like their teachers and are adjusting a bit at a time to the differences.  Mia has met some nice girls in her class and they enjoy trying to "talk American" while they laugh at her Aussie attempts.  She said the girl next to her asked if she could borrow her "rubba."  Thank goodness that's only an eraser!   Some of the differences are truly impressive.  The Year 2 students all get to take a swimming course for 9 weeks.  They walk two blocks to the aquatic center and have 45 minutes of swimming lessons or stroke instruction once a week for 9 weeks.  It's not surfing, but still.

     We continue to try to set up things here.  It looks like the rental furniture, appliances and beds should be able to be delivered next week so we should be in the house by Thursday.  That will make things much easier as far as getting to and from school.  We are going to look at a used Honda CRV over the weekend so that we might have wheels before too long.  Chris has even"jailbroken" and "unlocked" my iPhone tonight so I have a working cell phone finally.  Now if we can just memorize all these new 8-10 digit numbers!

     The big news here is that Cyclone Yasi hit Queensland last night as a Category 4 storm.  As with the flooding, Sydney has escaped it all while Queensland gets hammered.  We are happy to be dry down here! 

     I haven't been lugging the camera bag around lately since (1) it's coming apart and I have to ship it back to Amazon and (2) too many bags to take around on the buses all day.  We'll post more soon though!

    

Now That's A Field Trip!

      We are back to reality - at least sort of.  Chris is back to work after a week off and the kids went to their first day of Aussie school today.  The kids had pretty good days, which is I think is a huge accomplishment for them.
 
       Yesterday we went to the school to buy uniforms.  The returning kids were there for their first day so we got a chance to scope out the uniforms then.  It was a brief visit but that $350 went out of my hand way too quickly!  Afterwards, the kids and I headed to the Mosman Library where we got library cards and books.  Mia has been craving books after reading all of the ones we brought and a couple that we bought while here.  Books are incredibly expensive (2 to 3 times as much as in the US) so we've been waiting anxiously for library access.  We also checked out the Mosman Aquatic Center, just two blocks from the school, where they have swim squads (teams).  It's most likely the place where the kids will swim, when we get to that in a week or two.  We do not have a car yet and are still living in the city, so we headed back to our apartment by bus.  Sydneysiders apparently aren't that satisfied with their public transportation but we have thus far found it to be great - clean, punctual, with friendly and helpful drivers.

     The kids were both nervous this morning as we headed across town on the bus.  Mia was uncomfortable wearing her new uniform but at the same time "just wanted to fit in."  A bit counterintuitive but understandable for a nine year-old.  We officially registered them and then headed off to meet their teachers in the classrooms, with the school day already underway.  Mia is starting Year 5 and Sam is in Year 2, based on their ages.  We think it will be a good fit for both of them.  Mia's teacher is named Miss Duke.  When she heard that, Mia had a hard time keeping a straight face!  Good Tar Heel girl! Mia is in a newly renovated classroom that used to be part of the school's library.  Sam is just down the hall with a teacher who immediately recognized North Carolina as "the home of good basketball."  The school day starts at 9:00 AM and ends at 3:10 PM, so it is about a half an hour shorter than we are used to.  Starting at 9:00 will feel like a Delayed Opening everyday, although I think we'll have no trouble adjusting.  :-)

      Mia's teacher handed me a permission slip and said that they were going surfing this Friday.  That put a smile on Mia's face (but not Sam's)!  And not just once, but every Friday for the next five weeks from 11:30 AM until 2:45 PM they head to a beach and have an hour surf lesson.  Most of her day for five Fridays!  Hard to believe.  Can you even imagine that happening in Chapel Hill?  I'm still a little stunned but thrilled for her.

     We learned this morning that our air shipment, which was due to arrive this past Friday, has been stalled in Anchorage, AK due to a severe backlog in cargo transport shipments to Australia.  No idea why but that means that even though we can get into our house next week, we won't have our stuff from the air shipment (includes kitchen stuff and bed linens, etc.).  So, now we are looking into renting bed linens and kitchen stuff for a month or so until the shipment arrives and gets through customs.  Just trying to roll with all this....

      Jackson is doing OK at quarantine, although his handler says that he seems to want more attention.  So sad.  The quarantine station is about a 40 minute drive and there is not a public transport option to get there.  The kids are in school the only times that we're allowed to visit but we are thinking of getting them out early Thursday and heading there to see the little guy if Chris can swing it.  Then, we'll hire a walker/attention giver to give him some more attention for the next few weeks.  Come on March 2nd!




I've no idea what their feelings are about wearing uniforms.



They both like the sport uniform much better.



Mia's much detested footwear.




We're going to miss these amazing views when we are back at ground level.