Oh to be a Newbie...

I've been reading through some of my old blogs and it's making me giggle how much culture shock I went through. I can't believe I thought Starbucks was better coffee. There's no way I believe that now. I'm a bit concerned about what I'm going to do when I move home and want a good coffee!!

And my first trip to Sydney. Now it seems like nothing to head off to Sydney. I know my favorite areas of the city - I have some favorite restuarants even. I love Sydney. I cannot suggest it highly enough to people. Here in Oz, there's a bit of a rivalry (ok, more than a bit) between Melbourne and Sydney. You typically like one city more than the other. I am, without question, a Sydney girl. I could live there very easily. If you've never been, I would highly, highly suggest it.

As much as I might complain about some things in Oz (commentating of the Olympics, no refills), I really do love it here. The people are generally very laid back and easy going people. The weather is good, there are lots of food options, and lots of traveling options.

This weekend there are around 10 of us renting a house in Ulladula. The house is right on the beach with it's own pool and it's own access to the beach. There's 12 acres of land and it should be pretty quiet. Which is good considering we're taking the Wii and the Wii fit board to have a tournament. It may just get a little bit crazy in Ulladula this weekend! :)

Next weekend is Canberra Day weekend so we get a public holiday (woo hoo!). I think HA and I are heading off to Sydney and the Hunter Valley for some wine tasting. At minimum, we'll be at the beach.

Stay tuned..I'll post pictures.

The Olympics

One of the things that I find I miss the most about living here in Australia is my affliation to sports teams. I don't really "get" most of the Australian sports. Cricket is alot like baseball but goes for five days. I'm definitely not into that. Rugby (either of the leagues) and AFL are just confusing. See my first blog for details. So, in the nearly two years, I haven't really had much in the way of sports in my life.

So, when the Olympics started last week, I was kinda excited. Everyone loves the Olympics, right? The Olympic spirit and all that. So I was fully under the impression that it would be much like the US where the Olympics were played in prime time and you get to see everything.

You'd think after living here for nearly two years, I would know better.

No no...the Olympic telecast starts at 11pm and goes for three hours. Now, if this were live or even just a few hours delayed, I could probably get in line with that. But no...it's pretty much a 15 to 24 hour delay. Which means, if I'm reading any sort of media outlet during the day at work, I'll know the outcome before I get to watch it.

But again..fine, I signed up for that when I moved to Australia. What really gets me is the actual telecast and the commentating. HA and I were watching the mens mogals the other night where the Canadian won gold and the Australian got the silver. Wow! A silver medal for a country that is known for it's beaches...and really..it's an OLYMPIC SILVER MEDAL. Be proud..be happy. But alas...they spent the next hour trying to talk themselves into the fact that the Canadian should have won the medal. A literal play by play of the two runs. AN HOUR.

Ok, if it were the US that looked like it should have won the gold, maybe we would have spent an hour detailing it out as well. But then to make matters worse, they don't really show much of the olympics. Most of the show is commentating and talking. I just wanna see the action. Show me some figure skating..and not just one couple but the whole series of things.

Maybe over the weekend I can stay up and watch some of the olympics. I just miss being in the US and being able to be a proud American without coming off like an obnoxious American.

The traffic is gonna be miserable....

President Obama is coming to town! Stay tuned for more information!