Taking control.

---

I don't know about you but I hate being scared. I like to take that feeling of insecurity and deal with it. I try to turn it into a learning experience: you're scared of heights? Go bungee jumping. You're scared of the ocean? Take a swimming lesson. This is your life and you can do anything you want with it. Take it, change it, make it what you want it to be.

So I started driving, on the other side of the road. I tried automatic first, it went well. I thought myself to slowly feel comfortable on the other side of the car, and I now drive standard and shift gears with my left hand, sit on the right side of the car and drive on the left side of the road. Believe me, I'm still trying to make sense of all of this. Basically, putting on my left turn signal usually ends up with activating the wipers, and the blinker at the same time. But I'm learning. I have seen worst though! One time, back in Canada, someone I know drove my car, with the handbreak on for a good 20kms.I then realized the parking break light was on. We were driving 80-100kms/hr. Let's just say I was not too happy, not too great for my poor little car!

Two weeks ago, I finally moved in to a two bedroom apartment in Jindabyne. It feels good to be able to unpack, and to know that you won't need to pack again for a few months. Jindabyne is a town about 30 minute drive from Perisher Valley. It has a pretty interesting story. I had to do a little research for this one. It goes like this, once upon a time, there was a river named the Snowy River and the humans decided to build a dam. "The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro."¹ In other words, they flooded the Snowy River, and created a lake. Lake Jindabyne is one the largest body of fresh water in the New South Wales region.¹ The fun fact here, is that there was a village instead of the lake before. You can now go diving in Lake Jindabyne and visit the old town! Pretty cool, but I won't be diving in any cold water during the winter!

The mountains at Perisher are nothing compared to the beautiful mountains of British Columbia. I miss my adopted province everyday. I really miss the purity of the lakes and the infinite hikes available to all in the summer. I miss the sun as well. When they give you the weather forecast over here, they talk about the UV index and actually tell you in how much time you will burn. Usually 60 minutes is all you need to get burnt over here. Some people say that there is a hole in the ozone over Australia, but let's not get too scientific about it.

Mount Perisher has nothing compared to the mountains of British Columbia. The snow here is all artificially made. Out of the three weeks I have been here, it has snowed only once. They have 180 snow guns working all night from 5pm. It is cold enough at night for the snow to "stick" around, so that's a good thing. The other day I went snowboarding for the second time here, it was 16 degrees at around noon. Quite the experience to ride in Australia, and kangaroos do hang out in the snow, if you're wondering.










Source¹ : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jindabyne_Dam

---

Photos

Jindabyne lake
This is the area where the old Jindabyne town was. It is now Jindabyne lake.

Underwater Jindabyne
Statue underwater of Jindabyne lake.

Not your usual sidewalk!
Beware!

Perisher
The view from the top of Perisher

Perisher Valley
Not the big mountains I'm used to!