Blogs from Orange, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 2

I didn't make the name up! I was added into a facebook page for the aupairs living in and around Orange, from there we decided to make a new one and Kaddy (crazy German) named it European Flavour. Although we are out numbered by the Germans (again lol) we make some world war III jokes which are sometimes over the line, but we laugh. So the crazy new friends are from all over, German, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Italy and I am the only British one. They listen to how I pronounce the language so they know whats right, I've told them it may not be a great idea! We have been meeting up for coffee, dates with the children, for icecream and I have a birthday party on Saturday. We are also planning a weekend to ... read more

not so cute .. My first experience of just how farm-like this place is, not only did I stain my nice white pumps with green lamb poo!! I was covered in mud and God only knows what else when I got back. Needless to say I will be better dressed in 'farm' clothes next time. It didn't start great as Cherrie took some of the children up while I tried to pull together an outfit that was acceptable as 'rough clothes'. It ended with leggings, a strap top with another over the top and the only shoes I has which weren't stappy sandles or heels, I did look at myself in the mirror and didn't think I had gotten it spot on really. So armed with my not so great clothes, my phone and Gus the ... read more

In Canada and in the US, and I'm fairly certain parts of Europe as well, the seasons are defined according to the Earth's position around the sun. Thus the longest and shortest days of the year, as well as the equinoxes, define the season boundries. I never really knew any other system, so it surprised me that here in Oz, the season boundries are simply dates on the calendar. So summer here offically starts December 1st and ends with autumn's start on March 1st. It's already confusing enough for me to have my seasons reversed, but to also have different definitions of seasons...oy veh! Adding to that confusion: the fact that this year's spring, summer and autumn didn't really feel much different... This has been a slow summer. Summer is so slow that there's a festival ... read more

Sunday 23rd October – The night hadn’t been too bad - the late conversations diminished enough not to be a nuisance (eventually) although I could hear some city revellers making merry quite late on. Some kids were up and about early although we were ready to rise anyway so they didn’t really disturb us. We weren’t in any real hurry as our next destination was to be Orange – a journey of about 160 kilometers. It was slightly out of the obvious way back towards Melbourne but we had a particular reason for travelling to Orange. During their travels around Aus, Sarah and Darryl met up with and enjoyed the company of Jane and Tony who they first met on the very top of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and spent quite some time together. Later in their ... read more

One of the most common comments I got while I was in Orange, NSW was "Oh, you're Canadian, you must be loving this weather!!" Grrrr. I don't mind the cold. Okay, that's a lie. I totally mind it. My Canadian blood has been spoiled with Canadian double-paned glass, central heating and proper winter clothing. I was not prepared for a winter in Orange, NSW. Go ahead, make fun of the Canuk who can't handle an Aussie winter. Sure. But if it's -7°C outside, I do not expect to walk inside and still see my breath in the air!! I expect to walk inside to warm up, not continue shivering! I am also used to there being snow on the ground if it is -7° outside. Give me snow any day over just plain cold with no ... read more