happy dance

I FINISHED MY SWEATER!!! Drew, remember the sweater I started knitting at your place back in August? Well, it's finally done (except for the buttons), I actually like it, and I think it will stretch out enough when I wash it that it will fit.

Photos to be posted soon.

5 little updates and how they grew

Steph keeping up with her new years resolution to blog is making me feel a little guilty about being so bad at keeping up with mine. It's the good kind of guilty; it's making me do something about it.

What's been going on in Sydney the past few months, you ask?
1) A lot of swimming. Well, a lot for me. My cousin, Doug, has gotten me into the ocean and swimming across Bondi Beach. I've now done it in no surf, high surf (you've got to roll and breathe with the waves... it's crazy), with millions of people at the beach, at the quiet end of the day, and most recently in an ocean covered in green guck (it was so disconcerting that we quit halfway; Bondi is usually clear as glass). I haven't gone since the shark attack last week (yes, 2 shark attacks in two days. One in the harbor and one at Bondi) but that's because the weather's been shit, not beacuse I'm scared of being eaten. I will get back in the water!

2) Some beach travelling. My cousins have a beautiful house about two hours north on the bay. Weekends there consist of late breakfasts with unlimited mangoes, dashing across the street for a swim, crying from laughing while playing board games, and long walks on the beach. It's quite a life. Thank you Gill and Andy for being so generous with your home!

3) A trip to Melbourne. In the middle of the biggest heatwave ever to hit Melbourne, I decided to visit. For two days, we did nothing but sit and drip. No one had air conditioning, the moisture was completely sucked out of the air (my hat which had stretched out and lost it's shape long before snapped back to it's orginal proportions), and the power kept going out. Let's just say, it was an experience. When the bushfires hit a week later, I truly understood how everything could go up in flames so quickly. Also on this vacation, Lucie, Joe, (cousins) and Sarah (friend) went down the coast for a music festival and then along the Great Ocean Road for some serious beach time. Both were fantastic. The cousins had so much fun hanging out that we're planning a 1st cousins Great Goulston Get Together for 2010. Details to follow. And, I got to catch up with my old POLF friend, Cyndy. It's really a treat to see familiar faces from the States over here. Luc and I drove back up to Sydney together, singing Amelia Robinson songs full pelt, stopping to swim in the Murray on the way, and getting so hot and sweaty (no air con) that we couldn't stop laughing.
A day later, the bush fires hit Victoria. The towns, trees, vineyards, bathroom where I stopped to pee of the first hour and a half of our journey is now gone. It's still hard to grasp the loss.

4) Music festivals!! In one week, Luc, Sarah, and I went to 2 music festivals- one in Victoria (chill island) and one in Sydney (st. jeromes). Fantastic. Spending a day, outside, listening and dancing to good music might be one of my favorite things. If I could make a career out of it, I would. St. Jeromes ended with Architecture in Helsinki and the Hold Steady. Too friggin awesome. If you ever get a chance to see either band live, GO GO GO.

5) Finding my new favorite bakery and cafe in Bondi. Gill heard from someone who heard from someone about this whole in the wall bakery around the corner from me. I checked it out on Sunday. They only sell one type of bread in an enormous loaf, but it's delicous. The same day, I overheard someone talking about a second hand bookstore/cafe in the area. I've been feeling like I kind of burnt my bridges with the coffee shop I'd been going to (bit of story... cross cultural miscommunication... americans do things a little differently... i wasn't trying to be a bitch... etc, etc, etc) so I was looking for someplace new anyway. Suffice it to say, new place is great. If you're ever in Bondi and love books, good coffee, and people, visit Gertrude and Alice.

So that's my overview. I've also been doing some job searching/applying (ugh!), been desperately missing my friends (it's been really tough to meet people here), and fighting to keep my spirits up as the weather has plunged (2 weeks of rain... is summer over??). Photos will go up on flickr soon. Here's one for now:
It's from a few months ago now... me, Lucie, and Grandpa up at the Hawksbury River.

Lots of love,
Tamara

Relaxation

Well, I've had an amazing past couple weeks. First off, it was off to Cleveland, QLD (outside Brisbane) to meet up with Becca. In a day and half we managed to see downtown Brisbane, attend an Aussie Christmas bbq, visit a bunch of towns on Moreton Bay, and kayak 20 kilometers. After that we went to North Stradbroke Island for 5 days. Total bliss. We met up with my cousins (Anna and Matt and their kids Benny, Joshy, and Miri) and spent every day relaxing on the beach. By the time we left, I had settled into full on summer relaxation mode.

Becca then came back down with me to Sydney where we walked a ton, saw the Sydney NYE fireworks (absolutely incredible, even though we had to wait 7! hours to see them and we didn't even get a primo location!), and went to the beach a bit more.

I've come back to Sydney with a new attitude: it's summer and I'm going to sit back and enjoy it! I'm also thinking of enrolling in a graduate certificate course to teach english as a second language... It's a significant commitment here both in money and in time, but it would be a good thing to have under my belt, and I could continue looking for jobs/volunteering/etc in the meantime. Anyway, we'll see how it pans out.

In the meantime, you can check out my latest pics on flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/tamgh654. Straddie is up there and the fireworks will be soon.

Lots of love everyone. Sending relaxing summer thoughts to those of you in snowy North America.

Tamara

it's summer (again)

It's almost 11pm, and I'm awake with not much to do so I thought I'd write. The dog (Cody) is sleeping next to me. He's generally ready to go to bed around 9 but won't go to the bedroom unless I'm there. I'm not sure if it's good training or unquestioning devotion but this dog won't leave my eyeshot. When I take him to the dog park, he'll only run if I'm moving too. If I sit down on bench, he'll come over and wander circles around me. After growing up with a dog like Tillie (who used to jump 6 foot fences with her pal Oliver just to escape the backyard), I'm amazed by Cody.

The cats, on the other hand, are a different story. Can I just say that I miss Chicken?! I always knew she was special, but having been my only cat I didn't realize quite how special she was. Pita and Nana (the cats here) are not my favorites... sorry to anyone reading this who knows and loves them. Maybe they're different with you? One of them I rarely see. The other has gotten into the habit of crawling all over me and then headbutting me while purring really loudly. And she doesn't stop until I've pushed her off the bed a couple times. After that, she just stands on the nightstand and purrs into my ear. In the morning, at around 7am (this morning it was actually closer to 6:30), she jumps on me and taps me on the head until I get out of bed and feed her. The dog generally picks up on this and starts jumping on me too. Sigh. I hate to admit that after I feed them, I lock them all outside and go back to bed for another few hours. Good thing it's summer and they all like the outdoors.

The past few days have been hot and humid. I'm still trying to train for ocean swims. There's nothing like swimming in an outdoor Olympic pool under the Sydney Harbor Bridge (North Sydney pool), or looking out at the naval shipyards (Boy Charleton), or amongst the rocks on the side of the beach (Bondi Icebergs.) This is the reason I moved to Sydney: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/travel/24sydneypools.html?scp=1&sq=australia%20rock%20pool&st=cse. My goal is to do a 1k Ocean Swim in the beginning of February. I'm still finding it difficult to swim that far in a pool, so I'm a little unsure what of my ability will be to do it in the surf (while also avoiding sharks.) I'll let you know.

The rest of my days here consist of dog walking, drinking coffee, and meeting up with friend's friends. Thank you all who have passed on names and numbers. It's good to feel like I have a bit of a social life again (or at least the potential for one.)

On Sunday I head up to Queensland to see Becca, Brisbane, and the beach.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas everyone.

Miss you and love you.

Tamara

Some things never change

There's a cat in my bed and other photos can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tamgh654/sets/72157610972339195/

The Good Life

Greetings from Rose Bay.  As many of you know, I'm house-sitting for the month of December.  Actually, I'm really dog and cat-sitting, and the house and car just gets thrown in as extras.  The place is gorgeous- you walk through a tall small purple fence, nestled between shops, and walk through a little alley to the back and you get to the house.  Perfectly private and still right on a main road.  The dog is Cody and the cats are Pita and Nana.  All well behaved.  Cody is wonderful off leash which makes things easy for me.  It is a good reminder, though, of the work it takes to own a dog.  For the foreseeable future, I will be sticking to cats.  Or to my housemates owning pets (any kind, actually).  

The internet is a bit faster here so I will try to take some photos and post them so you can all get a bit more of a feel for life in Sydney.  

Time is flying by.  I don't do much more than the crossword (quick and cryptic) and the sudoku (i'm hooked thanks to my cousin) and a little bit of work thrown in there, but somehow it's already the middle of December!  In less than two weeks, I head off for vacation with the rest of the Sydney Siders.  I'm going up to Queensland to see my friend Becca and then we're going to Stradbroke Island to have a beach holiday and meet up with my cousins.  That lasts a week before she comes back with me to Sydney for New Years.  By the time she leaves, my house-sitting gig will be over and it'll be the second week of January!  Anyone know of a house share in Sydney?  Preferably starting that second week of Jan?  And in the Paddington/Surry Hills area?  Or the inner west?  No, huh....  Thanks for trying.

It's rainy today, not much like summer.  I'm thinking of going to see a movie or taking some time to explore a nearby neighborhood.  This part of the city is fairly foreign to me.  I seem to get lost every time I walk out the door (I know, that's not unusual for me... but it's at it's height now...).  Last night it took me 20 minutes to do a 5 minute drive to pick up Indian food.  Sigh.  By the time I leave here, I'll finally have gotten it down.

Hope you're all having a good day.  Miss you!

Love, Tamara

photos

Since I haven't posted any photos (or really taken any, actually), I thought I'd provide a link to my cousin Molly's. My second week here (way back in October), Molly and her husband Jeff came to visit. The first half of her photos have tons of me, Molly, Jeff, Grandpa, and Sadhana (my aunt; she's the one who looks a lot like my mother...)
http://picasaweb.google.com/mollyrobinson/Honeymoon?authkey=OX7hNP5LMJs#5269037789933672562

Scroll through... After the Australia ones, there are photos from Molly and Jeff's trip to NZ. There are some beauties of the south island.

Ciao

Me? Cook a Turkey?

So about my second week here I got this crazy idea that i would cook Thanksgiving dinner for Rob and Ellie and the kids and anyone else that wanted to come.  Crazy because my cooking skills venture to the lazy side.  I wouldn't say I'm a terrible cook, just not a very adventurous one.  

Well, Thursday came, and I still hadn't done any shopping.  I had decided on chicken, instead of turkey (because we had one in freezer), plenty of veggies, and stuffing and pumpkin pie.  My idea was packaged stuffing and canned pumpkin pie.  I had lunch plans already with a cousin in a neighboring suburb.  We were supposed to meet at this giant shopping center with a giant parking lot.  It took me 30 minutes to find parking!  I swear, you would have thought it was thanksgiving here too and everyone was on the hunt for that missing cranberry sauce!  On the way home I decided to stop at the supermarket and do my shopping.  Again, 15 minutes to find a park and when they got in the store they didn't have a THING I needed.  No pumpkin- fresh, canned or frozen (and I wasn't even actually looking for pumpkin because they don't have it here; i was looking for butternut squash which they call pumpkin.)  No stuffing of any variety.  Nothing.  I finally got home and spent an hour doing the crossword, getting up the energy to go to yet another shopping mall.  Which I did, at around 4 oclock, after calling the guests (Sadhana and Grandpa) and asking them to come a bit later than I had planned.

When I got to the store and they didn't have any stuffing or frozen/canned pumpkin and no non-dairy creamer (meat meal- wanted a non-dairy desert for the more kosher members of the family), I called Ellie ready to give up.  She convinced me to get a fresh pumpkin, dairy ingredients, and forget the instant stuffing (we'd figure it out with the ingredients we had at home).  So I did.  And I have to say, Ellie and I made a kick-ass meal.  The pumpkin pie was a little overcooked but still good (especially with the ice cream and fruit salad that Sadhana and Gpa brought.)  The stuffed chicken was delish.  Onions and potoatoes and yams all very good.  And everyone had a great time.  Thanksgiving definitely travels well to other countries...  Especially since a few days later (yesterday) I was off swimming in an ocean pool instead of putting snow tires on my cars. 

Hope all the rest of you had very happy thanksgivings! 

Lots of love,

Tamara 

Land of Kangaroos

Well, Steph was the last of a number of people to tell me I should continue blogging even though my life is not so interesting anymore (and even though I have a slow internet connection, meaning for now... no pictures)  So here I am...

In case you were worried, I made it to Australia.  Since I don't have stories of national parks and driving driving driving (although I do do a lot of that here), I thought I'd make a list for you.

The hardest things about living in Australia:

- Technology here is EXPENSIVE and SLOW.  Seriously, I never knew how good we had it in the US.  You're spoiled people.  Majorly.  I used to complain that it cost 50 cents a minute once you go over your cell phone minutes.  Here, it costs me 75 cents a minute (true its in AUD, but still...) to talk and there's NO free night and weekends.  Oh, and internet... you can only download a certain amount a month before it either costs you an arm and a leg or it slows down your connection to dial-up speed.  Goodbye downloading episodes of The Wire from iTunes.

- I have no job, no place of my own, and no friends, and sometimes it feels like I'm getting nowhere with any of the above.  Truth be told, I can get a little homesick.  I'm living in the suburbs and am finding it difficult to meet people and make a community for myself.  Job searching feels like I'm just sending my resume into a void of nothingness.  Now, I know that things are never perfect wherever you are, but sometimes this part of moving really sucks.    

The best things about living in Australia:

- Pools and Beaches.  Summer is coming, and in Sydney there are plenty of places to enjoy.  I have a beautiful swimming pool in my backyard, and if I want to swim laps there are tons of outdoor, salt-water Olympic sized pools.  Bliss.  Instead of swimming inside a smelly, chlorine filled Y, I get to swim outside!  The beaches are terrific.  I go to Bondi Beach at least once a week, and while I don't always get to the beach, I love that I can see the ocean from the park where I take my little cousin.  

- Having family here makes everything so much easier.  I'm living with my cousin Rob, his wife Ellie, and their two kids, Noah and Theo.  They are truly the easiest roommates I've ever had.  I occasionally babysit, and in return they cook.  They are good company and put up with the occasional breakdown.  And they're just a small part of the wonderful people here.  Everyone has been job-searching, inviting me to do things, employing me (!), finding an apartment for me, and hosting me.  I don't know what I would do without them all.

- Exploring a new place.  This could probably go under both categories, actually.  Sometimes I'm too lazy and too lonely to get out and the idea of exploring is overwhelming; it gets me down even more.  But most of the time, it's fun.  My cousin Dougie drove me all around the suburbs of Sydney last Sunday so that I could get a feel for where I want to live.  I love how Sydney has a particular look and feel that extends everywhere, and yet at the same time each neighborhood is unique.  And in December I'm heading up to Brisbane and Stradbroke Island for a beach holiday in Queensland (because my life is so difficult that I already need a holiday!  ha!)

- The family history here.  A quick story to illustrate... One of the suburbs Dougie and I went to was Elizabeth Bay.  We're driving by the harbor, high rise apartment buildings on either side (some people love it bc of the views but this wasn't my favorite suburb), when Dougie pulls over and says "you have to see this."  We get out, and there's a beautiful "historic" house in front of us called the Elizabeth Bay House.  Turns out that one of our family members (a Michaelis) lived there from around 1910-1926.  When my grandmother was little, she and her family would stay there when they visited Sydney.  It's really fun to live in a place where my family has such history.  Even looking for a place to live... If I decide to live in Glebe, then I'll be living right where my grandfather lived as a young boy.   

-Skype.  It is particularly Australian, but I would never have used it if I hadn't moved here.  I'm hooked.  I love the video call, and I even have a skype number (meaning I have a US number that calls my computer here.  If you don't have the number and would like, please send me an email).  Things like skype make keeping in touch a lot easier.  

Hmmm.  I think that's all for now.  I'll try to update more regularly from now on.  That is if people are really still reading?     

Lots of love, Tamara

The End?

So I made it back to Maine.

St. Louis was filled with family and food. It was a much needed 5 days of relaxation; I dug deep into a book and even got some work done. Rachel and Russell and Janice and Mitch kept me entertained. We visited the zoo (penguins and puffins don't look nearly as similar as I had thought they would), spent an afternoon at the city wine festival, watched the Illini game (there were more people in that stadium than live in Portland, Maine), and made it to synagogue for Rosh Hashana. And then on Wednesday afternoon I set off again. This time I had three days of driving ahead of me before getting back to the East Coast. It really felt like the end of my trip.

Night one was spent in Columbus with Laura and Lee (oh those YES Ambassadors; they pop up everywhere.) They managed to convince me of the merits of Ohio, quite an accomplishment considering the unending boredom of HW 70. Their neighborhood in Columbus is filled with small houses and beautiful big trees. Bike paths run along the river and through Ohio State's campus. It was a whirlwind visit filled with learning to juggle and lots of talk on religions and zombies (two very important topics.)

I woke up the next morning, and 5 1/2 hours later I was in Buffalo. Maggie's parents took good care of me. When I woke up the next morning the thought of another 9 hours of driving didn't look so appealing. Apparently, my car agreed; it refused to start up. And no, I hadn't left the lights on. We jumped it. It made the drive beautifully and it is currently sitting in Saturn's service department. Let's all cross our fingers that it was just time for a new battery.

So now I'm back in Maine. The leaves are all turning a brilliant red and yellow and orange. Joel and Kelly had a lovely lovely wedding. And I've already hit up the regular bars and breakfast places. It has been so wonderful to catch up with friends but certainly difficult to know that in a couple days I'm turning around and saying a hard goodbye. I leave Portland on Wednesday to return to NY. On October 20th, I head down under.

If folks are interested, I'll try to update the blog now and then, but my life will certainly be more routine from now on. Let me know what you think.

Oh, and I have more photos posted to flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tamgh654/sets/72157607063780298/

Lots of love,
Tamara