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Published: February 8th 2005
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I would have to say that my visit to Mt. Lofty Summit and Cleland Wildlife Park were the highlight of my week. Mt Lofty Summit was incredible. It was only a quick ten-minute stop on the way to Cleland but it was all I needed to take in the breathtaking views of Adelaide. I really did not realize how very close I live to the ocean. I am surrounded by water! As you look through the pictures you might want to note that I live in the upper right hand corner of the city. What an amazing place to live…
Mt. Lofty and Cleland are only a 30 minute bus ride outside of the city and definitely worth the trip. Cleland was quite different from my experience at the zoo. I actually fed kangaroos and mingled with emus, wallabies and water birds. Oh, and of course, I interacted very closely with Abby, the koala bear. It is funny to look back through the photos as I post them for all of you to view. The majority of the kangaroo photos were taken within the first five minutes of our visit because we were so engulfed in our close proximity to the
wildlife. Moments after the photos were taken we discovered how close we could actually get to the animals-long enough to touch. We lost some of our timidity when approaching the animals as we toured the park but I still found myself a little anxious around Abby. Holding a wild animal is a different experience from your typical household animal. I also managed to see my first (four) wombats although they were sleeping. I am still awaiting an encounter with a platypus. I recently had a conversation with a fellow staff member at the Centre and she claims that in her sixty years of living in Australia and traveling to different regions she has yet to see one. I still have a few months!
I also toured an opal mine museum and an Aboriginal art gallery this weekend. The Aboriginal art gallery was worth seeing but I have to confess that the opal mine located underground was hardly what I expected. It is a mere display unlike the real mines located further north. The Aboriginal artwork made it worth my time, however.
Besides that, I also enjoyed a nice dinner at the Belgium Beer Café located just near our flat. I
love having chips with every meal! I also attended St Matthews Church on Sunday evening per a conversation with another volunteer at the Centre. She and her husband were gracious enough to transport me to service and another member volunteered to take me back into the city afterwards. The service was great and I am hoping to make regular visits. Oh, yes, I baked for the first time internationally this weekend, as well. Baking is a task in itself but even more so when you have to convert oven temperatures and measuring. We received large quantities of fresh zucchini at work so I decided to bake a couple of loaves of zucchini bread for the staff members. Can you believe that they had never even heard of it? They all seemed to enjoy it and are wondering what I will bake next. Do any of you have suggestions? I have considered pecan pie…
Well, the only other news I can think of is pretty big-at least for me- and some of the rest of you will wonder what on earth Australia is doing to me when I tell you that I might just be developing a habit of drinking coffee. Before you get too alarmed, let me explain. I am not nor have I ever been a coffee drinker. I don’t like the smell and I do not like the taste-not even when it comes disguised in a dessert. Since my arrival into Adelaide, I have observed advertisements for Farmers Union Iced Coffee at almost every street corner. We had some donated to the Centre last week so I decided that I might give it a go. Turns out, I actually like the stuff and have had it several mornings in a row. They say it’s addictive so I hope I don’t develop any habits that are hard to break.
Word Bank
Flat-apartment
Ta-thanks
Runners-sneakers
Tea-dinner
Dinner-lunch
Rock melon-cantaloupe
Ripper-that’s good, fabulous
Yep or Yeah- (this doesn’t mean anything different but it’s used as often as we use “uh huh” when talking)
Culture Shock 101
FYI: I do read each one of your comments and e-mails and I appreciate them greatly. Yes, Mindy, there are definitely days when I feel like I am on the constant move. It doesn’t even feel like I have been gone for over a month, really, but I know that I have. It is interesting to me how being in an unfamiliar place can have that effect on you when you engulf yourself in the country and culture. It’s entertaining to look back and note some of the cultural differences I have mentioned. There are, indeed, more profound differences but I am still working on how to word them, so to speak. There are some things I just cannot explain quite yet.
I think that it’s important to mention tennis and the end of the Australian Open. I am usually not a tennis fan but, again, being in another culture has a way of exposing you to things that you wouldn’t otherwise be accustomed to being a part of. It seems that everywhere I went this last month (work, church, the supermarket or back to my side of the city) there were reminders of the sport everywhere. Anyhow, in the midst of the Australia Open, I watched the movie “Wimbledon”. For any of you interested in the language portion of being in Australia, I would recommend watching that movie if you haven’t already. The British influence is evident here and I found myself enjoying every moment!
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