The Adelaide Fringe Festival

So apparently The Edmonton Fringe is the second largest in the world after the original in Edinburgh. I beg to differ. The Adelaide Fringe Festival is huge. In a month, besides theatre, dance, street performers (I saw a couple of Canadians ) and stand-up comedians, there is an Aboriginal Spirit Festival and a variety of music festivals each weekend, including a large folk fest called Womadelaide.   

Some of the Fringe is held in the ‘Garden of Unearthly Delights', pictured below, a magical, old world amusement park reminiscent of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.  I attended a performance called "The Hedgehog's Dimemna' in an very old theatre here.

 

I experienced the Aussie sense of humour  (more British and crude) and amazing music from all over the world. It’s painful to hear locals try to pronounce the French names of the jazz tunes they so beautifully play. 

My Nephew

13 years ago on a grey, cold and snowy Ottawa morning a beautiful baby boy came into this world.  Like another babe there was no room at the Inn (that’s the Canadian health care system for you). So after a few hours his parents and I brought him home from the hospital, stopping for a box of Tim Horton’s donuts enroute (truly Canadian).

Now he’s an amazing young man, an athlete, a puck stopping goalie (hockey of course), a stand-up comic, a loving big brother, a good cook, an all-around great kid and, hard to believe, a teenager!

Happy 13^th Birthday Nic!

Love your proud Aunty Cynthia

Tea for One

I found a lovely tea shop near the market that is cosy and a has a good selection of teas. The tea and the atmosphere is warm and soothing. I like to sit here and read and ponder and watch people. I'm not the only one alone. There are others like me.

Sometime I need to be reminded of that.

Note the cover on the spout to keep the tea hot.

Dancing Dolphins!

Today I went on a kayak trip organized by the wonderful, welcoming and kind people who work at the International Student Services Union. About 20 students from all over the world (Singapore, Philippines, China, Malaysia, Germany, Iceland, Spain, India, the US and 3 Canadians) went to Port Adelaide and paddled the Port River, an inlet with mangroves inhabited by heron, gulls, pelicans, terns and cormorants. There's also a ship graveyard with the hulls of several ships including the one in the background left there.

And there were dolphins! About 30 dolphins of all ages live there and gave us a show. Before we even entered the water we could see a couple of dolphins swimming together. Suddenly a female named Tallulah did a ‘tail walk’ along the shoreline, right in front of us. Very few dolphins do this in the wild, but about 30 years ago a dolphin from this sanctuary who mistakenly landed in captivity learned how and passed it on to her offspring. As you saw in my earlier blog, dolphins are very social animals. Later on we paddled over to where they were feeding. Not only did they come up to the boats but they turned on their backs and to our amazement, swam under us. Most of the group had never paddled before, let alone seen a dolphin, including my paddle partner who is from Bangledesh.

Check out this website for more images: http://www.adventurekayak.com.au/dolphin.html

The Market

I'm a regular at the Strathcona Farmer's Market in Edmonton.

It’s Friday. I left school a little early and took a bus to Central Market in the city (they don’t say downtown here). I'd heard about it even before I left Canada. Many of my friends go weekly. It is a permanent space with mostly fruit, vegetable, meat, cheese and bakery stalls. It blends into an Asian Market which is where I entered, through a red, lion adorned gate. The first place that caught my nose’s attention was a food court selling various soups and snacks. I had a bowl of Laksa, a spicy, coconut milk based Singaporean soup. It fit the bill on this cool, blustery day. I then wandered to a stand selling a warm custard like muffin with vanilla, lemon, chocolate or coconut filling which they make while you wait. You know what I chose. Comfort food!

The photo below says a few things about this place. If you look closely you can see a woman pulling a trolley. People of all ages use them here whereas in Edmonton only seniors do. They even sell them at the market. On the right there is a young woman with a red and black shoulder bag. This tells you she’s an international student. I have one. The sign on this stand says Fruit and Veg. No one says vegetable here.

I think I'll become a regular at this market too. Can't wait until next Friday!

Awesome

Finding an ITunes card in your Xmas stocking from last year…and it still works. Awesome!

Finding in Adelaide that toasted coconut chocolate bar you had once but couldn't find again. Awesome!

An e-mail from work to say that the salary on the contract you just signed was too low and here is a new one. Awesome!

These are my personal and real takes on the stories in "The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha . The author started off with a blog of these 'little things' and turned it into two bestselling books. His include "picking up q and u at the same time in Scrabble" and "Bakery air" and even "taking your bra off after wearing it for hours" and he's a man!

I highly recommend it. As one of the reviewers states on the back cover "THE AWESOME PART about the Book of Awesome is the realization that if you enjoy the simple moments in your life, you will be happier." I agree!

Oooooo

I got out of the shower yesterday and there was a small shiny black button on my upper arm. I was a little confused but picked it off and put it on the counter. Two seconds later I looked and it was now 10 cms long and walking away. Millipede!

On my way home today I went to pick a small leaf off the back of my hand. It didn't come off but smeared all over my fingers. Bird poop! Its considered lucky here too!

Music

Many people ask if I get lonely here without my friends and family. Yes I do. I miss you.

But Skype and e-mails and comments on my blog help.

Keith gave me some small speakers that I hook up to my IPod. I listen while I’m in my room working or blogging like right now. The music reminds me of home and keeps me company. Certain songs remind me of certain people and experiences, some sad some happy. You know what it’s like.

Music is powerful and soothing and therapeutic.

"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness."

Maya Angelou

Birds of a feather

Funny story. I nearly didn’t rent this room as I could hear a parrot and thought the owner had a pet bird. I’m not fond of caged animals. Yes there was a parrot… a wild one singing outside.

There are many varieties of birds with lovely songs. They even have magpies but they don’t cackle.

Pigeons with tufted heads

Minah

Magpie

Rainbow Lorikeets

Bedroom Owls (I have 8 owls on my walls given to me by my daughter Stefanie)

Some of the great things about living here

Swimming and soaking up the rays at an amazing beach 10 minutes from home.

Fish and chips shops every few blocks. The box says it all ‘fresh from the sea’!

Mussels, oysters and calamari are delicious.

BBQ chickens from the grocery store have yummy stuffing in them.

Avocados are the best I’ve ever eaten.

I can ride my bike everywhere.

Perfume (needed due to riding my bike to work) is cheaper.

People are relaxed here. "No worries!"

Palm trees. I love palm trees. This one is in my back yard.

Unique things in Aussie

Although its not so different here than Canada, there are a few unique things I've never seen before.

Here’s one.  Cross walks that only go halfway across the road.  You press the button to get to the middle then have to press another button and wait to get across the next three lanes. 

And since cars have the right of way (don’t expect them to stop for you, if they do they’re tourists) you can wait a long time.

I can’t figure this one out.  Actually I do have an idea, but if I write it you'll think I'm crazier than you already do!   

It makes no sense especially when only two blocks away there's a cross walk where you can walk completely across the road (well almost , you only get halfway when the red man starts flashing).   

You get what I'm thinking?!

This is especially dangerous when you’re on a bike and you get stuck on an island in the middle of 8 lanes of traffic that's not large enough to accommodate the length of your bike! 

I don’t ride that way anymore.

Myself

Many of the people I’ve met have expectations of the professors, their colleagues, their work associates, and their friends that are unfulfilled.

I too came here with expectations.  After the first week I threw them to the wind.

Expectations of others can only lead to disappointment.

"Happiness depends upon ourselves."

- Aristotle

Living Simply

I left Canada with two large suitcases.  During our travels I compiled a list of 14 things I wanted my daughter to send me.  That list is now down to nothing.

" All you need is deep within you waiting to unfold and reveal itself."

 Sign beside my bed at Warkford Lodge, Warkford New Zealand

You can't always get want you want

I'm not a fan of the Stones but these lyrics strike a chord :) right now.

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you'll find
You get what you need
You get what you need

The Rolling Stones, 1968

Autumn in Adelaide

Here's some of what's blooming in my neighbourhood.

Lavendar, which smells divine!

Ever seen a Geranium Hedge? They are common here.

Hibiscus

Rhododendron

Fragrant Yellow Rose

Horses, Snakes, Sharks and …

Today is a state holiday, the Adelaide Cup. When I asked a colleague what the holiday was she replied “It’s in honour of a horse race. You know we Aussies, we love sports and drinking beer.” So true.

I had the flu on the weekend. I had no energy to even ride my bicycle yesterday. Deb, my landlady, is sick too so she rented some movies. One was called “The Cup” and was based on the true story of a family of jockeys, the last of which won the Melbourne Cup (run today as well) a week after his brother was tragically killed in a horserace. Quite the tear jerker but I learned more about Aussie culture and I relaxed. Aussies are much more relaxed than Canadians!

So I felt better today (must have been the relaxation) and decided to try out the bike and take a test run to the Uni. With Deb’s help I found a short cut with fewer hills. Part of the route is on a gravel path. As I approached the path there was a sign, mostly obliterated with spray paint , except for the word ‘snakes’!!!

My heart was racing as I pedaled along checking the ground. Stupid me, I was wearing sandals! As I got to the end my bike came to a sudden and noisy halt. All I could think was a snake was caught in the wheel or if not, one was going to get me now. But it was just the strap to my bag. I fixed it and went on my way. Whew! Have wheels , will travel …so I headed down to Brighton Beach, about 10 minutes away.

I waded and lay in the sun and read. The water is still warm and the air temperature is 30C. Beside me was a mother with two young girls. What a nice place to spend an afternoon. I wished I could have brought my girls to a beach like this for an afternoon.

The helicopter went over as it does regularly, checking for sharks. Yes there are Great Whites in this part of the world, they call them “White Pointers”. Not far from me was the Lifesaving Station.

As I was packing my bike to leave I saw the Lifesaving boat circling in the water. One of the lifeguards was pointing to something. I stopped and got out my camera. People around me on the Esplanade were stopping and looking too. And there she was. A lone, friendly dolphin. She swam within a few metres of the shore and close to many swimmers. A woman beside me said they will swim right up and brush against your arm.