To the Outback!
and I'm not talking about the steakhouse
Hello friends,
I finally made it to Australia!
It is winter here, but in Western Australia it feels more like early Spring would in the states: highs of 60s and lows of 40s. Definitely an adjustment coming from the peak of summer, but having spent the past four years in Arizona heat, I welcome the cooler temperatures.
Here are some insights into my first 48 hours on the other side of the world (brief ones, I promise!):
I landed around lunchtime, and after stopping at the house for a quick shower, Trent took me for a late lunch by the marina.
Afterwards, we went to the grocery store — one of my favorite things to do in a foreign country — to get some ingredients for dinner. What stood out the most were the wax tipped bananas. It was not all of them, but a certain section were all dipped in red wax? Trent could not really explain the reasoning behind it, so if anyone knows please LMK.
Later that evening I finally got to meet “the client.” For reference, the last time I saw Trent (my brother for those of you who don’t know) was about 10 years ago in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I can remember him telling Maggie and I that he had a crush on one of his clients and was going to ask her out when he got back to Perth. Fast forward to present day, they have been together nine years and own a home together. She is just as lovely as Trent described if not more so.
Heather has three children of her own, one of which is about my age and lives with them full time. A 76ers fan, Trent and I have had a fun time teasing him on Philadelphia’s record stacked against that of Boston. I even got to see the holy grail, Trent’s signed Paul Pierce jersey from the Celtics’ 2008 Championship Win, before it gets hung on the wall in his living room.
The jet lag began to hit in many respects the following morning, so it was a slower day. Trent took me to the beach around lunchtime for a 7 kilo walk which was awesome.
At the end of the walk we went to one of those shower stations to get the sand off our feet, and I ended up clicking the top button effectively washing my entire body. To Trent’s disappointment we did not get that bit on camera.
After dinner that evening we started the David Attenborough movie Ocean. I can only speak for the first half of the movie, but it has been exceptional thus far. I imagine we’ll watch the other half tonight.
That brings us to today, where I am writing to you from a coffee shop in Perth City. The time is 11:35 am (12 hours ahead of EST), just an hour shy from the 48 hour mark since I landed in this beautiful area of WA.
I woke up at 7 am this morning to get ready. For breakfast I made avocado toast, yogurt with fruit, and a double espresso. Heather was talking about “lemonade” and I realized that is what they call Sprite. I then learned that she had never heard of American lemonade nor sweet tea, both of which are staples in the states. It is always intriguing to learn the differences in norms across the globe.
After breakfast, Heather took us to the train station which then took us into the city. I got to meet Trent’s work team and did some email check-ins at his office before setting out on my own to explore the city. Here are some snaps of my adventure before I settled in this coffee shop (or at least the ones that did not turn out blurry — my phone camera is semi-functional at best).
I am sure once I hit publish I will realize there was something I forgot to mention, but for now that’s the gist of it. Now I am off to meet back at the office for a lunch outing. I will be back soon with an update!
P.S. - A random, but important fact I forgot to share is that the milk here is superior. It was the same way in Barcelona. I don't know what these countries are feeding their cows, but the U.S. has got to step it up.
P.P.S. - I have just learned that using the long dash (—) is now considered a flag for someone using AI rather than their own work??? Not sure how that tracks. I can assure you that my use of the long dash is a result of my time in grammar school, and this post is my own original writing!
Sending love to all.
xx
Ruby