The Clare Valley

Today Darlene took Sugi and I to the Clare Valley, north of Adelaide. Linked by scenic roads and framed by farms and vines, it is an idyllic setting. Settled by Irish in the 1840s hence its named after County Clare in Ireland. It's a collection of small, quaint towns including the namesake with bakeries, antique shops, heritage buildings, hotels, pubs, museums and galleries and of course vineyards and boutique wineries - I counted 21 in a 25 km.

Fleeing religious persecution in Silesia (now part of Poland), Jesuit priests planted the first vines in 1851.

Because of the cooler weather it produces some of the world’s best Riesling. We can attest to that!

Kangaroo Kollisions

Well I've not yet seen a live kangaroo this trip.

But I’ve seen dead ones on the side of the road.

Many animals are attracted to car headlights.

Keith and I both expressed that we had never seen so much road kill as we did travelling in NZ and Tasmania.

Deb was coming home from riding her horse tonight and a large kangaroo jumped out in front of her, as they're known to do.

She’s OK but the car didn’t fare so well.

Neither did the ‘Roo.

There aren’t a lot of statistics as most people, like Deb, don’t report the accident.

But in one state alone it is estimated that 6000 Kangaroos die per year in collisions with vehicles.

Incendies

Further to my last blog I strongly encourage you to watch a Canadian film titled ‘Incendies’, nominated for an Academy Award in 2011 .

It had been on my list since I first heard about it.

But I had to come to the other side of the world to finally see it.

It’s tough to watch in parts but stick with it.

I guarantee it will have you thinking about your own judgements.

Judging

Most of you heard me say I was coming to Australia for more than my doctorate. I see this trip as a journey of learning about life and myself. Part of the practice of health promotion is to be reflexive, recognizing your own biases when working with people. Here's just one of the things I’ve learned.

The old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ is so true. I’m meeting lots of new people and as I get to know them my opinions change…always for the better.

Every day I’ve sat near a woman from Thailand who just finished her PhD in biostatistics. She’s leaving tomorrow to go home, her mother isn’t well. We talked on Saturday for several hours. She spoke about Buddhism and massage and healing. We said goodbye both expressing how much we enjoyed our conversation. I’ll miss her.

Another student from Cambodia, whose here with his wife and two young children, shares fruit with everyone in the student room, including delicious strawberries he picked himself on a farm where he works to earn extra money.

A beautiful young woman from Bangledesh told me of her part time job. I just found out it was picking broccoli. A bus picks up workers at 6 in the morning and they work for a couple of days a week in the growing season. Many students or their partners work on farms.

Another student also from Cambodia is always smiling. He told me how his car was stolen with text and library books inside. It was found burned, he showed me pictures on his phone. “I love that car, even though it’s a car it was my friend” he told me smiling. He had no insurance.

I’m always expecting people to be surprised when I say I’m a student but no. People don’t judge me by my ‘cover’.

They grow em big here in Aus!

oh and by the way it is winter! Poinsettia

Succulents Geranium (hedge) Watermelon!

Community

I have been busy at school and the blog has suffered for it. The good news by writing on the blog my writing has improved for school.

More good news… many of you have been asking about my dissertation topic. I am ready to share.

My life here relates to the Zulu proverb Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu which translates as “a person is a person because of people.”

According to Afrikan ancestral teachings, personhood is understood as a process and the product of interconnectedness experienced and or achieved in the context of the community.

I came here seeking solitude and thinking I would be alone. But I have been accepted into many communities. I recognize the paradox Mark Nepo describes - we are both unique and the same, inextricably linked together.

One of the communities is a group of researchers who are looking into the stigma of obesity. Obesity is an acceptable form of prejudice in society which excludes people from employment, education, and health care.

I am looking at the interaction between practitioners and patients in an obesity clinic to understand what underlies practitioners' beliefs about people who are overweight and obese.

The experience of social exclusion is common to another group of people, those who live with HIV/AIDs and predominant in Africa. My friend Stephanie is working for an NGO in Botswana addressing this difficult issue. She and I are connected through this and other communities.

We are all connected.

The Dragon

Today is my daughter Stefanie’s birthday. She was born in the year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac, which happens to be this year. Stefanie has a blog and she inspired me to create mine. If you follow hers: www.whereisstef.blogspot.com you'll know how accuratly this describes her.

Dragons are the free spirits of the Zodiac. Conformation is a Dragon's curse. Rules and regulations are made for other people. Restrictions blow out the creative spark that is ready to flame into life. Dragons must be free and uninhibited.

The Dragon is a beautiful creature, colorful and flamboyant.

A bundle of energy, gifted and utterly irrepressible, everything Dragons do is on a grand scale - big ideas, ornate gestures, extreme ambitions. However, this behavior is natural and isn't meant for show.

Because they are confident, fearless in the face of challenge, they are almost inevitably successful. Dragons usually make it to the top.

However, Dragon people need be aware of their natures. Too much enthusiasm can leave them tired and unfulfilled.

Even though they are willing to aid when necessary, their pride can often impede them from accepting the same kind of help from others.

Dragons' generous personalities give them the ability to attract friends, but they can be rather solitary people at heart. A Dragon's self-sufficiency can mean that he or she has no need for close bonds with other people.

No dragons here but there are Frilled Neck Lizards, a modern version of the dragon. Happy Birthday Stef! Love Mum xo

The Fleurieu Peninsula

South Australia continues to offer up its majesty and never disappoints.

Today I went on a day trip to Encounter Bay, named logically after the place where a peaceful encounter happened between two explorers, Flinders and Baudin, despite their countries being at war. It is on the Fleurieu Peninsula named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu.

We stopped for a visit at Victor Harbour exploring the bluffs where surfers competed below and dolphins frolicked.

Many of their ships were marooned off these rough coasts.

We then took the horse drawn tram across the causeway to Granite Island and saw the endangered Little Blue penguins. I wrote about seeing these “Fairy Penguins” in Tasmania but the battery died on my camera preventing photos. New Zealand Fur Seals have reduced the population from 2000 to 200 in 25 years. That's my friend Sarah from Bangladesh.

We then went south to Goolwa, one of the many communities that has kept its aboriginal name. The Kaurna and Ngarrindjerri people settled there. Lots of spectacular surf beaches.

I’ll be back here surfing when it warms up!