fear of sharks has not been unwarranted. Although I am repeatedly told that you are more likely to be struck by lightening than attacked by a shark, I have read about 6 shark attacks on the island/country/continent since my ARRIVAL. Some may say that these take places hundreds, thousands of miles away from where I am, and from each other- however, I have not heard about 5 people being struck by lightening since my arrival. Great Whites are not cool in my book. Surfing is not on my list of things to do in the near future anymore.So this is Australia. The land down under. The outback. Crocodile Dundees’ territory. Steve Irwin’s holy land.
Don’t get too nervous about my wellbeing. I have not been affected by any of the potential dangers that are oh-so-present in this bizarre mass of land that is inhabited solely on the coastlines. However, I am located in the most isolated city in the world, Perth, Western Australia. It doesn’t feel like I’m isolated though. Perth is a beautiful city that I have become quite fond of in my 6 weeks here. Locate
d thousands of miles from the well-known cities of Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne- it’s quite easy to get lost in the laid-back, environmentally friendly, and outdoorsy atmosphere of Perth.I am living in a cute suburb which is only a 15 minute bike ride into the city center. Lucky for me, the Railroad system is not only efficient, inexpensive, and run on gas, but there is also an extensive bike route that runs throughout the entire city, suburbs, and parallel to the rail stations. Biker friendly places are cool. And, so I have purchased myself a bicycle to get around town. There are always times when we try to take the cheap-way out of a purchase. In my case, I opted to look in the newspaper for the cheapest bike I could find. Knowing absolutely nothing about bicycles, and als
o suffering my overwhelming desire to buy anything, I quickly agreed to a bicycle at an old man’s house because he told me it was just serviced and there were brand new tires. That sounds awesome. I started to regret my decision on the ride home when I was looking at my
bike questioning WHY I would EVER agree to purchase a HOT PINK bicycle. I hate pink. This was the first mistake, and soon I would learn that I would pay the price for my cheapness. Just because the bike has new tires I have learned this means nothing as far as performance. Unfortunately, the tires and brakes are not adjusted properly and to make a long technical description of my bikes problems short (unless you k
now something about bikes, in which case, please email me so you can tell me how to fix it), I have had to dismantle the front brake, and rely and use only the back one. The gears also have a mind of their own and change without warning or initiation by me…which can be quite a surprise, and an unpleasant one for that matter. So my bike is now permanently stuck in the gear that it chooses for the week, and unless I am willing to hold the gears in place with my hand, I must accept it.Since I am still unemployed, I am waiting to get my bike fixed. However, I already know what the people at the bikeshop will tell me. For the amount of money I will have to put into my bike to properly fix it, it will be cheaper and better for me to purchase an en
tirely “new” used bike that is $200. This is something that I am not looking forward to, and therefore, I will continue to ride my pink rocket as long as possible.Moving on from my bike woes. I have adjusted to the Australian lingo without problem. It helps living with Jeremy Nath and Liz. In fact, I forget that I am a foreigner and wonder why people look at me weird or don’t understand me when I speak to them. I’ve learned what Australian Footy is, and I understand the rules. I’ve come to the sad realization that I will never be able to watch a baseball game her
e. They don’t believe in baseball in oz. It’s sad. I have finally learned the color associated with each money-bill and no longer look like a fool searching for the right change. I stopped throwing the little gold coins out when I realized that they are worth $ 2, and are quite valuable although easy to lose.Most of all, I have learned that I must stay on the left side of the road when riding my bicycle and driving, to look right before left, and that the turn-signal is located where the windshield wipers are in America, and vice-a-versa. I successfully scared Jeremy s#@%less when I first took the car on the road.
Life has been good in Australia this far. One of these day’s I’ll venture out of the ‘burbs and see the real outback.. Although, it doesn’t seem like the trek cross-country is as easy as it sounds. Hot, dry, desolate climate and scenery create a difficult journey, but it will be well worth it when finally done. The locals refer to anything that is remotely rural as the bush. At some point, the bush becomes the outback. Eventually, you’ll return to the bush, than hit a city, and than hit the ocean. I think that’s fair to say about the entire continent as far as location
For those of you whom are concerned with the possibility of me never returning home, have no worries, I’m not staying here forever.
I did finally see kangaroos and koalas last week which was pivotal to confirm that I am actually IN Australia. The roo’s were amazing and I was able to get sooo close to them before I decided to run wildly through the field of 50, creating a chaotic scene of Marsupials hopping all around me in a total frenzy. It was awesome. The Koalas looked like some of the laziest and happiest creatures alive. I was tempted to climb the tree and cuddle one til I saw the enormous claws that protrude out of their paws.
Hopefully one of these days someone will employ me and put me to work. I’ve been keeping busy doing volunteer work at the Organic Farm and Garden which is a super place. And I’ve invested in a pair of padded-butt biker shorts, which make me feel somewhat less of a dork, and more like a serious biker despite my old-school white-mushroom helmet and hot pink bicycle. At least my butt is no longer sore.
