Since I left you last (or neglected you sounds more like it) our excitement level has sky rocketed! We are in our new place and it is certainly a change from where we were. Life on a budget sucks but you got a do what you got a do. Enjoy my blog and let me know how much you miss me when you are done reading!
I believe when I last wrote to you, we had just spent a wonderful Christmas with Maureen’s family and we were packing our suit cases to head to Albany to visit Liz’s relatives. The packing we did but the heading to Albany part got a bit tricky…let me fill you in. We booked a bus ticket from Perth to Albany with the intentions of leaving on the 28th and coming back on the 31st because I had to work New Years day. We arranged to have Maureen drop us off at the station and Joe and Donna planned on picking us up in Albany. To prepare for the trip Liz had a bake fest and made the entire family her yummy muffins to take with us so we loaded those up along with a couple of sandwiches for the bus ride and then we packed up Maureen’s car. She drove us to the station and helped us unload while Liz went to get our tickets. Once we unloaded, Maureen and I headed over to Liz at the ticket counter. The lady was having some issues finding the tickets so she just printed new ones. Liz handed me the tickets and I began reading the information. I thought to myself that it was a bit odd that the tickets said the bus departed an hour ago so I brought that to the lady’s attention. She kindly informed us that we did indeed miss that bus to Albany and the next bus to leave was full so we wouldn’t be able to leave until the following day. Lesson learned here was not to let Liz read military time! Needless to say we canceled that trip and saw it as a chance to get in some apartment shopping.
Maureen took sympathy on our situation and decided to take us to Burswood casino for a lovely smorgasbord and some gambling. Liz and I exchanged some Christmas cash for a few chips and we gambled the night away. After losing a bit on the slots, we decided to try our luck at the Roulette tables. Maureen had a blast losing her money and for some reason she was dead set on the number six so for the next 20 bets we always put one chip on the number six. Our very last chip landed us thirty five to one odds when the mark hit six! We didn’t win that much money but we definitely left with more than we came with. I could not believe that it actually hit six on our very last chip! I always knew I was addicted to gambling but unfortunately this experience has made that addiction ten times worse.
Those were just a couple of fun experiences in the midst of our apartment hunting. Maureen let us take her car to go apartment shopping and she was kind enough to come with us and lend her opinion about certain areas. Trying to find a place to live was an absolute disaster! Apparently real estate agents are pretty busy around here because open houses only last fifteen minutes and you are required to go in order to get an application for the residence. It was an insane process and right when we were preparing to live on the streets we found a place not to far from where we were. It is a bit old with no air conditioning but it will suit our needs! I have already started a long to do list for our realtor and I graciously add to it on a daily basis as things around the place fall apart. We have this jank water heater that you can hear turn on and off and it is pretty sensitive so when you turn the cold water a little too far it shuts off and the water turns to freezing or vice versa if you are trying to adjust the warm water! It is dreadful hearing that clicking noise that lets you know you are about to get third degree burns or hypothermia...take your pick! “No worries” is what an Australian would say so I am sticking by that.
Shortly after getting settled into our apartment, Liz’s grandparents arrived with their friends Larry and Beverly. They spoiled us rotten while they were here and Liz and I enjoyed every minute of it. Hearing the four of them talk was entertainment enough for me. They have that deep Northern Louisiana accent that I actually had trouble understanding when they first arrived. It didn’t take me long to get back into the swing of things and before you knew it I had my little twain back. We took them down to Margaret River where we enjoyed a couple of wineries and some amazing food. We stayed at a place called Cape Lodge that was a stunning location. It was a far cry from camping in a shitty tent our first go round in Margaret River. We stopped at a shearing shed on the way home and it was probably one of the coolest things I have seen since I have been in Australia (not to sure what that says about the things I have done). The man showed us how to shear sheep and how the dogs mustered the sheep which was probably my favorite part. The man was even kind enough to let Granny cop a feel of a sheep’s ball sack.
It was so great having visitors from home and when we returned to Perth, Liz and I took them to the wildlife park and to Janebrook so they could see where we worked. I introduced them to all of my favorite animals and we sat down to have a group photo with Little Lawrence, my favorite wombat. Once Granny and Mrs. Beverly wiped out the wildlife park’s gift shop we headed to Janebrook for some lovely wine and another great meal. Liz got to show off her wine tasting skills and was really impressive when it came to bull shitting! For their last night in Perth, we arranged a dinner with Maureen at our favorite Italian restaurant, Spaghi’s. It was a fun night for everyone and it was really sad to have to say good bye. It left me missing home for sure. The next morning, Liz drove them to the airport and I took off on my bike for work. I hadn’t been to work in five whole days and I was seriously missing it! Everyone gave me a hard time about how quite it had been around the park but I know they had missed me. Things are going fabulously at work and by that I mean no recent animal attacks!!!
For the time being we are just settling into our place and enjoying our time in Australia. We have already been here for four months and it still feels like we arrived yesterday. My home sick meter goes up and up but I know I will be back before long. My Australian vocabulary usage has increased dramatically so when I come home saying funny things, I better not get any lip from any of you and for all of my Cajun friends with thick accents don’t be offended when it takes me a while to understand you again.
*Funny story of the week: Grandpappy and Mr. Larry were reimpressed at how well Liz and I could navigate throughout Australian and how well we had adjusted to driving on the wrong side of the road. Being guys, they were dying to give it a try. Thankfully they both did very well and we all survived their trial drives with no accidents. Since the guys had their turn, Mrs. Beverly thought it was only fair that she try too. She hopped in that driver’s seat, made a few comments about how different it felt, and not five seconds after putting the car in gear did she crash right over the curb. This lady cracks me up beyond belief so when this happened I about peed my pants! She said, “It’s just a rental, it will be fine!” Her driving privileges were removed after that.
G’Day
Lindsay Ezell
LC
Snook
Ez-E
Merry Christmas to all! I miss my peeps from back home but the way things are going in Australia, I may never come back…just joking of course (kind of). Christmas has been wonderful so far. Santa made his way here and it made for a pretty entertaining morning. Uncle Joe and Aunt Donna were so freaking thoughtful and left us each a pile of gifts and then Liz and I did a little exchange as well. She got me a mini license plate for my bike and it says STACY…which cracked me up and should make everyone else laugh if you think of that song “That’s not my name” by the Ting Tings. Apparently she couldn’t find Lindsay. I got her muffin pans and she put them to good use and made us walnut and banana muffins. Pretty unusual Christmas, don’t ya think?
Uncle Joe’s daughter made her way to Perth with her husband and two children last week and it was lovely getting to meet them. In order to make sure everyone had a comfortable place to sleep, our neighbor Maureen let us stay upstairs in her spare bedroom. Aunt Donna told us that it is pretty unusual for her to offer her place like that so she thinks that Maureen really likes us…duh, who wouldn’t? It was great for the few days that we were up there. It was like a big slumber party every night. Each night we took turns making dinner and for our turn Liz and I made another Mexican feast but this time we had mango margaritas!! Yummy in my tummy J they were a hit and so was the dinner. The family has traveled down south to spend Christmas in Albany, Australia so we are back in their place for the time being. It is time for us to get a place of our own which is kind of stressful. It is going to be difficult to find a furnished place near a train station because since it is summer time here places like that are in popular demand.
Things at work are bitter sweet because people keep leaving due to other job offers but every time someone leaves we throw them a party (hints the sweet part)! This past week my friend Aimee had her last week at work so we met at a restaurant and had a big group dinner. It is always difficult to plan things when I am burdened with my bike but Tracey was nice enough to let me stay at her place so I didn’t have to worry about finding myself and bike a ride home. After the exciting dinner, we all headed to Tracey’s house for some pop culture game called Buzz. I had never played it and I don’t remember much from playing but all I know is that it was one fun night!
The next morning, Tracey’s boyfriend, Shane, got off of work early and took us for a ride in his boat. Boat riding made me terribly home sick and all I could think of were the all the fun memories at the lake house! Once I got over my home sickness, Shane encouraged me to try wake boarding and man was that entertaining! I did manage to stand up on my second try which seemed to impress them but I never stayed up for more than like five seconds…mad skills for sure! Tracey got some good video footage so I will be sure to post that. Tracey packed a wonderful lunch so we stopped off at a little picnic area and made rolls (a.k.a. sandwiches.) We spent the entire day on the boat and I was super burnt on the whole front part of my body which made holding the 57 lb wombat a difficult task the next day at work.
Liz and I have really done a good job of keeping ourselves distracted this holiday season so that we don’t fall into a deep state of depression once we realize how much we miss home. I have decided that we are the worst backpackers in the entire world. Not only have we lived rent free in a place people could only dream of living but for Christmas Eve we treated ourselves to a lobster dinner…we don’t really know how to live on a budget! We decided we were luxurious backpackers but backpackers none the less. For Christmas dinner, we were invited to Maureen’s cousin’s house and we were told to bring something American…I thought HOT DOGS! Liz wouldn’t let me do that so we decided on deviled eggs and pasta salad. So many people have invited Liz and me to spend Christmas with their families so that we weren’t alone and it has been comforting to know that we have such great friends. Even a volunteer at the wildlife park told me that I could spend Christmas at her farm with her family…keep in mind I barely know this woman! Maureen has been so hospitable to us and she is such a hoot to be around. She is learning a lot from us as well, like how to properly use the word douche when insulting someone…we taught her this after a bottle of wine!
The Christmas dinner at her cousin’s house was so much fun. We were welcomed with big Christmas hugs (because most people thought we were just distant relatives they were supposed to know) from everyone and showered with lots of Christmas spirit. They made a special dish for us…SHRIMP ON THE BAR B! The funny thing is that Australians don’t even call them shrimp, they are known as prawns so how that saying came about beats the hell out of me. We met quite a few people that night and a lot of youngins our age so we have a few more friends to add to the list. It was fun getting to experience an Australian Christmas even though it was pretty much the same as any traditional Christmas back home with the exception of funny accents.
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season and spent it with the ones they love! I wish I could be there with all of you and know that even though I am having the time of my life I still think of you often. I would love to hear from everyone since you don’t all have hilarious blogs that keep me updated on your life!
*Amazing Story of the week: I am not sure how many of you will actually appreciate this story so I will try to paint the picture best I can. I was cleaning up our koala enclosure and chatting with a volunteer who was doing some weeding for us when I heard a funny noise from one of our female koalas that was sitting by her self. I thought it was a bit unusual because it is normally the males that make noise and only females that are being disturbed by another koala. I walked over to her and noticed that she had some fluid down under so I watched her for a bit. She made random noises and seemed to be in pain so I made the assumption that she was giving birth. I called Maureen (the volunteer) over and we both sat there watching. I had to carry on with my work so I walked away and not five minutes later Maureen called me back over because she said she could see a hand. It definitely wasn’t a hand, it was the little itty bitty joey that she had given birth to and it was now climbing into her pouch! You see koalas are only pregnant for a month and they give birth to a peanut size joey so to actually witness the process is remarkable because the birth is virtually unnoticeable if you aren’t paying close attention. I was basically in the right place at the right time and I got to see the WHOLE THING! Just so you know how miraculous that is, only one other person working at the park has ever seen it…even people who have been working there for over five years haven’t witnessed it. Everyone was so pissed (in a joking way) that it was a damn American that got to watch a koala give birth! It was probably the coolest thing I have ever seen (do I sound like an animal nerd yet?)!
G’day,
Lindsay Ezell
LC
Snook
Ez-E
RSS Feed