AT LAST! INTERNET!

okay, I know that I have been promising for ages, but FINALLY Nathan and I have an internet connection at home.

You don't know how much of a ordeal this was....internet was my planned life line to keep in touch with all of you, so to be limited to sneaking it in atwork was killing me.

Let me just say, there are some customer service issues here. I don't know whether its our provider, all internet providers or customer service in general but WOW.

We ordered DSL from Dodo at the end of January. They said we couldn't get it until we got phone service. It took 10 days to get phone service. After we got phone service, Nathan spent almost 30 minutes on hold to order DSL, they said they had to test the line. If it was okay they would install it in 2-4 weeks (!). After 4 weeks, (45 minutes on hold) we called and they couldn't find the order. I placed the order we got the modem within 10 days, but no supplementary documentation (such as how to set it up or what our user id etc would be to do security. 3 more times 30-45 minute sessions on hold. So, we figure to get online it has taken 6 weeks and at least 6 hours of personal time. We could have written you all letters and sent them by post and been faster than this!

But, we are hoping that they will be reasonable from here on out. Believe me you'll here about it if they aren't!

Topol in Fiddler on the Roof

Yes. That's the TOPOL. The original Fiddler on the Roof. As part of his retirement plan, he's committed to doing 2 world tours, and we were lucky enough to catch his one of his last shows in the southern hemisphere.

Topol was amazing--funny, sad, weary, proud. His "If I were a Rich Man," brought the house down! (although Nathan and I agreed Merle's cackling chickens were better).
Actually, despite having the biggest name possible for FOTR, we were amazed how favorably the Rochester Civic Theater compared. With the exception of the dancing (sorry Hilary, these were pros!), our cast stood its own--and managed most of the time to be funnier! In this production, Yenta stole no cookies, Lazar didn't seem quite as desperate to ease his loneliness with a cow, Golda never as strong a personality as Topol. The show was great, solid, professional, but somehow seeing Fiddler on the Roof in Rochester Civic Theater's production spoiled me for the "big show." I will clearly say, though some may accuse me of bias, that Nathan was a MUCH better Motel. Nathan found the comic moments of trying to emulate what a PaPa was supposed to be--Nathan's demands to dance with his wife at the wedding left the audience laughing, this one wasn't even noticed. Although we tried to meet the great Topol to introduce him to his younger protege we were unsuccessful. So we went home enjoying a good night of theater but even more proud of the great achievements of the Rochester Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof cast!

I just wanted to share some of the interesting,mysterious, and miscellaneous flora and fauna here in Australia. Nathan and I went for a wander in the Perth Hills (the old mountains east of the city). During our amble, we heard the laughing Kookaburra (the bird to the left). You know in jungle soundtracks the sound you think are monkeys....I think its really kookaburras. they sound just like that. Also, Nathan almost stepped on this little critter. I don't know what it is...probably a rat with big ears. BUT, since we don't have our guide to Australian mammals, (we mailed them in December and they haven't arrived...or they have arrived but the post office has sent them back to the US) we are going to count on it being something exotic.\

The plants here are amazing too. Here's a couple, I don't know what they are either. But believe me what I don't know about plants here outweighs what I do by a SIGNIFICANT margin. I've learned so far that if you don't know what something is, you guess it is a gum (like eucalytpus), a wattyl, or a banksia. So, um, its a banksia....yeah.















Parks are everywhere here, so there's lots to look at--lots of the Parks are great about identifying species (although they all seem to be gum, wattyl, banksia, so I can never remember). What else is great is that several of the parks have roving summer art exhibitions. One park near us has a "drive through gallery" with sculpture in the park. Or next week, there is a sculpture exhibition at the beach. Our next door neighbors are both artists and one of them is exhibiting at the beach. So, we are definitely planning to do a photo safari there. In the meantime, here is one of the sculpture peices at Mundaring Community Garden.

Indian Ocean

Okay...this is just a quick one. Most of you know the story behind my beautiful new SONY camera--which we took kayaking in 2002 and saved from a watery grave, only to have me drop it in the lake during a boundary waters trip. The camera still works...just never shuts off.

So, when we made the big move to Australia, we decided our Christmas present would be a new camera...WATERPROOF! Just wanted to show you the Indian Ocean.

Impatient for "Normal"

I know that Nathan and I left Minnesota seeking new experiences, breaking out of our "ruts", yearning for learning....but strangely I find myself impatient to reach normal again. I am impatient for our house to be "set-up," our paper-work finished, and our social and work networks in place. It's been just over a month, with a huge portion of that time dedicated to our to-do list and work. It took 3 years to complete the Visa paperwork, and 1 year to get our house etc in order to leave, why should 1 month be sufficient to get it all up and running again?

When I moved to London, Nathan had already been there for a year. He had friends, a bank account, knowledge of the city, school sorted out, essential paperwork done. When I arrived, he had already found a furnished place to stay and all we had to do was move in. We had Nathan's friends, but I was still lonely for my own the first few months. By November, I was working and had a social network of my own.

It seems harder this time, because it is. This time we are both starting from scratch. No furnished apartment. Everything is new--for both of us. So both of us are going through the emotional ups and downs at the same time (instead of a year apart).

Maybe because its our second time, I expected this move would be easier. The to-do list is harder, but the cultural adjustment is easier. I am embracing new language, friends, experiences much more readily than before. We are already travelling to new places (we've seen more than some residents who have already been here 1 year) and are talking to hockey, band, and church groups to develop our community connections.

I know that in 3 months, we'll be less worried about the "have-to-do" list (like health insurance, taxes, internet connection etc) and more focused on the "get-to-do" list (snorkelling, bushwalking, travelling) but I am impatient. We've been waiting for this for years, I'm ready to get to the fun stuff and stop working so hard!

Who knew that after a search for adventure that would take us half way around the world, I would be craving my rut?--Kristin

Explorer

Found this in my wallet today--it was part of a mural in the Auckland Airport in New Zealand.

Each flyer who ventures across oceans to distant lands is a potential explorer;
in his or her breast burns the same fire that urged adventurers of old to set forth in sailing ships for distant lands.

For some reason, that made this crazy trip to Perth part of a grander legacy of exploration and discovery. But then, those adventurers of old were probably pretty crazy too.

Kristin

I think it's a conspiracy -- every time I am ready to post this, a little ready-to-post sensor in the keyboard demands internet shutdown, thereby increasing the time and money that I spend in the internet cafe. Clever, but evil.

Well, it's hot again. It cooled down into the 70s, and we didn't know what to do! We almost needed both the sheet AND the bedspread. Today, it's back up in the mid-90's, so the world is back to normal.

There are almost too many things to do and try here. I still haven't been golfing, although I bought us some cheap used clubs. We haven't been out trekking, although I have found out some good trails. We have only visited one winery, haven't gone skating yet, and have only watched as others kite-surf in the evenings. I haven't even got a fishing pole yet, and here you don't even need a license!

Our new digs have some seriously nice yard out back. Of all the places that we looked at, it felt the most Australian, with a mix of native eucalypts, melaleuca, bottle brush plants, gravillia, and a large body of plants known as wattyl. It also has bouganvillea, hibiscus,roses, and the new favourite, frangipani. Not to mention figs, grapes (seeded -- alas!), locquat (new one to us), lemons, almonds, thyme, pepper tree, and peaches. It's been pretty fun just in our backyard! For those of you who remember a 7 year old nathan counting palm trees for a summer, you will be pleased to know that it was just foreshadowing. There are 3 different kinds of palm trees at this place! The guy who owns it is a horticulturalist, I guess.

it's trying to close explorer again, so the rest of the update goes -- i've got a new driver's license, a chance to try out for a play, and a new job (3 shifts a week at the university ER -- some instruction of students required, but no grading!). Kris had her first big corporate meeting last week, and all is going well, but is more challenging than she had thought.