This has been an interesting week to say the least.  We are finally in Liz’s uncle’s house and it was well worth the wait.  He arrived home today and it was a pleasure to finally meet the infamous Uncle Joe.  He is quite a character a very accommodating.  It wasn’t so easy getting here so I thought I would fill you in on our journey.

It all started with the day that we had to check out of the hostel.  You see it pretty much meant that we were homeless until the key arrived from the US.  Liz’s Aunt informed us that she would be sending it to Sandwell (her Uncle’s office) and that the employees were aware of the situation.  Since we had the address we decided we would stroll on down there.  There was no key at the office and our little optimistic attitudes were shattered.  Haley, the receptionist, was an absolute doll and pitied our current situation.  We left her with my cell number and crossed our fingers that it would be in the next day.  So began our relentless search for a hotel.  With our handy dandy rental car we drove and drove and drove.  Every where that we stopped was too expensive and all the places we called were booked.  After a good two and half hours we ended back at one of the first hotels we started at.  Luckily there had been a cancelation and we were able to get a decent room for an affordable price.

We woke up with eagerness because we knew that today would be the day that the key came in.  A few FIVE hours later there was still no phone call informing us that the key had arrived and again we were desperately searching for a hotel.  Luckily we were able to book a hotel room over the phone so with some time to spare before bedtime, you guessed it, we headed to the local pub.   We had a couple of beers and then hit the road for our hotel (I know it sounds bad but we were very responsible about it.)  As if we didn’t have enough to deal with, the lady at the reception desk was a frigid you know what!  Apparently we were supposed to call and verify our room if we were arriving past seven o’clock.  I guess you have to be a psychic to figure that one out.  She was kind enough to put us in another room after giving us a glare or two.  It was the smallest room I had ever stayed in and just to paint a picture for you, the toilet was practically in the shower.

That Friday proved to be just as disappointing as the other days because there was still no key.  Haley was nice enough to let us sit at an office desk and use the company computer and phone.  We knew that we were spending the weekend in the hotel that we chose so we made it a good one (with a kitchen!)  While we were at the office we got to meet Scott who is an employee of Sandwell and only a couple of years older.  He is from Georgia so he was desperately searching for some cool chicks to hang out with (how lucky for him that he found us.) 

As you can see we didn’t do too much sight seeing for the week because there was little time for fun when all we were doing was waiting.  We spent Friday night relaxing and most of Saturday sleeping but we did get up in time for the semifinal round of Australian rule football.  I am already addicted and next week is the grand final a.k.a. the super bowl.  Footy, as the Aussie’s call it, is a like a combination of rugby, soccer, and a tiny bit of American football.  There are no pads and just a bunch of damn good looking players smacking into each other.  I think I will marry a footy player while I am here.  Any way the day went on and we cooked in our little kitchen and enjoyed a new kind of Australian beer.  After sleeping in on Sunday we spent most of the afternoon being lazy and watching Fool’s Gold (super cute movie by the way.)  We decided to give our new found friend Scott a call and from there we met him for drinks and dinner.  He was kind enough to go to our favorite Italian restaurant Spaghi’s.  This place is BYO so we stopped off at the conveniently located liquor store right next door and purchased some wine.  Things got pretty out of control and I think the restaurant owner was keeping a very close eye on us. Liz would toast every chance she got and for some reason she always wanted to toast to America.  I don’t think the locals were too thrilled with hearing “To America” every five minutes.  At least we enjoyed our selves.    The next morning was a little rough but we still managed to check out of our hotel on time.

Monday was the start of a new week and the return to our key dilemma.  Liz and I decided that instead of staying cooped up in a café all day waiting for a phone call about the key, we would enjoy the beautiful weather at a local park.  I went for a walk along the Swan River and it turned out to be quite an adventure.  First I found grass tennis courts and I was so excited because I have never played on grass.  Then I past this really cute old man that struck up a conversation with me and as we were talking two dolphins swam passed us.  He said there our dolphins in the river often but it is hard to see them if the water isn’t calm.  I was so geeked about seeing dolphins but when I shared my adventure with Liz she didn’t believe me so she was a total party pooper.  As the day went on we decided to take a more active approach to finding the key.  We called the local FedEx and low and behold it was just sitting there.  We raced over to pick it up and Liz told some lie about how Joe was her father and her parents had split up so the key was lost in confusion. Out of shear desperation she was able to convince the FedEx worker to give us the key.

Home at last!  We unpacked all of our things, walked down to the local supermarket, and enjoyed a lovely dinner on our balcony.  The sight from our balcony was stunning and as the sun set the skyline lit up.  I felt like a failure because even as a backpacker I was being completely spoiled.  It just follows me every where I goJ.  Unfortunately we had to return our rental car but we did get to enjoy a nice little ferry ride from the city to South Perth.  Now that we have our tax number and permanent residence we have no more excuses for not having jobs.  It will be tough to go back to the working world but I think we can manage.  Things have been unimaginable so far and I only expect our adventures to get bigger and better.  I hope everyone is doing well back home and I miss you all sooooo much!

 

*Funny Story of the Week:  On one of our desperate attempts to find a hotel, Liz and I drove threw Fremantle and as we were driving over the Pacific Ocean I looked out over the bridge. There was a school of Whales!  I screamed with excitement and told Liz to look at the whales she couldn’t really see them so I tried desperately to get close to the guard rail.  I finally reached a spot where we could see better but only to discover that they were indeed kayakers and not whales.  I have never felt so let down before…those damn kayakers.

 

Sincerely,

Lindsay Ezell

LC

Snook

Ez-E

It has officially been a week since we arrived in Australia and I am freaking exhausted!  Everyday we think that we are used to the time change and it just comes back and bites us in the rear.  The sites we have seen are breathtaking and it still seems so surreal.  I still have not comprehended the idea that we are actually going to be living here so when that sets in I will let you know.

We only got a quick three days in Sydney but it was plenty of time to capture the beauty.  The city tour bus was a fabulous way to travel around the city and we enjoyed the crisp air from the top deck of the bus.  We stopped off at the Sydney Aquarium first which was funny because Liz and I discovered that we really don’t enjoy aquariums as much as we thought.  It was still a neat attraction and we had no problem having fun.  The next stop was The Rocks, the origin of European settlement in Australia.  They have done an amazing job of preserving the exterior of old buildings but still allowing the interior to be renovated for more practical uses.  The Sydney Opera House was in plain view from The Rocks and pictures definitely fail to serve it justice.  Did you know that the architect who designed still hasn’t seen it in person?  The adventure continued into a town called Bondi Beach.  This was really exciting for Liz and me because on the plane we watched an Australian reality show about the lifeguards of Bondi.  We were star struck even though we didn’t recognize anyone! We ended the night back at Darling Harbour where we ate dinner in front of the Opera House.

The next day got off to an interesting start when we realized that we were going to have to pay to store our luggage.  It had already been pointed out by fellow onlookers that we packed way too much. It was going to be quite a feat to fit our luggage into the lockers without going broke.  It was a sight to see!  We managed to squeeze 6 pieces of luggage in 3 lockers.  We were ready for bed after that but that wasn’t really an option so we went to our favorite place in Sydney, the IEP office.  This is where we had our orientation for the International Exchange Program when we first arrived.  The people there were so nice and we got a kick out of the way they pronounced names…Linda was Linder and Amanda was Amander!  After some internet surfing in our safe haven we bought sandwiches and ate in one of the many parks in Sydney.  We got to watch a game of chess on a life size game board which was pretty cool but I was personally more entertained by the pigeons that were crawling up my leg to find food.  Oh and the crazy lady in the park was pretty frightening, Liz and I were so scared that she was going to catch us staring at her so we got out of there as fast as possible! 

After lunch we gathered our things and headed to Perth, a whopping 5 hour plane ride!  We got to Perth and had no place to stay.  It was kind of funny but Liz didn’t enjoy that adventure so much.  There were a few debates but in the end we decided to fork up the cash and treat ourselves to a nice hotel for the next couple of nights.  It was totally worth it, not that I minded that hostels all that much but I totally got the shaft in Sydney on roommates and I didn’t want to risk that again.  We took a taxi to the Perth Ambassador and had a good nights rest with TV!!!!  The next afternoon when we woke up we took a leisurely stroll down the road to find a nice little café for breakfast/lunch and then ventured out to explore Perth.  We were dead in the middle of the city and things didn’t seem so exciting at first.  As a matter of fact, it was so not exciting that Liz compared it to Shreveport!   Jet lag still lingered so we decided to buy wine and order pizza that night.  Just a little word of advice for future visitors of Australia, a large pizza is about the size of my head. 

The next morning we packed up our things and headed to the youth hostel of Perth.  We booked a private room so we didn’t have to worry about roommates and it was actually very nice.  Once we settled into our hostel, we took off to find some dinner and man did this turn out to be an adventure!  We ended up at this pub called BD’s and started off with some cold glasses of beer.  The waiter recommended the Australian delicacies dish so we agreed to try it.  We were served kangaroo, emu, and crocodile!  It was surprisingly tasty.  I didn’t care for the emu sausage but the crocodile and Kangaroo were very good.  After a few beers we walked back to the hostel to call it a night! 

Our next great idea came when we decided to rent a car.  It is so much fun to drive on the wrong side of the road but it is so difficult to use the blinker.  It is on the opposite side from what we are used to so Liz and I are constantly turning on the windshield wipers.  The first destination in our new ride was South Perth where Liz’s aunt and uncle live and also where we will be living when the key arrives.  We were relieved when we made it to South Perth because it was very different from the city.  We found our house and it was such a quaint little place.  It overlooks the Swan River and sits right on a public park.  The best part is that it is a five minute walk to the Perth Zoo and we all know how much I love the Zoo! 

Later that afternoon we took off to a town called Fremantle.  It is a harbor town with a lot of shopping and food.  We went to a Maritime Museum that had some pretty cool stories about shipwrecks and then we enjoyed a cup of coffee overlooking the Indian Ocean.  Our exploring led us to an Aboriginal art store that was pretty amazing.  The art work was beautiful but the best part was didgeridoos!  The woman that worked there was kind enough to give us some tips on playing a didg so we did some experimenting while we were there!  Liz couldn’t resist purchasing a boomerang while we were there so we planned for a day of learning to throw it.  That evening we made our way back to the harbor and ate at a restaurant with the number one fish and chips and indeed they were!  The fish and chips were amazing and definitely the best I have ever had. 

Yesterday morning was pretty uneventful so we took some time to catch up with friends and family over skype (I highly recommend you all download it!)  For lunch we decided that we both wanted pasta but if we knew how hard it was going to be to find Italian for lunch I think we would have craved something different.  It took us a good two hours to find a place and I swear we just made one huge circle around Perth.  I don’t think we even know where we actually ended up.  The food was a let down but at least we got to try another type of beer!  After our big lunch, we went to the park outside of our future residence and Liz took a try at throwing the boomerang.  I would give her a 7 overall because the boomerang would head back in her direction but stop short of actually reaching her!  She for sure did better than I did so I won’t even rate myself in boomerang throwing.  We ended the night with a movie and a trip around the city to find fruit.  Apparently everything shuts down around 7 so the fruit was a no go but cereal worked just fine for dinner.

All of our adventures bring me to today and I would have to say that I am loving it so far.  Liz and I are really enjoying ourselves and the fact that we try to be as independent as possible provides much humor when we are driving around trying to find things.  We are crossing our fingers that the key comes in today but if it doesn’t we are just going to enjoy a night at a hotel and who knows we might stay up past 9 tonight!  The people here put southern hospitality to shame and I can’t wait until we make friends and eventually find work (not to high on our priority list).  I find every male attractive as long as he has an Australian accent so I am going to work on improving my standards before I meet the Aussie of my dreams. 

I miss everyone from back home so be sure to keep us updated on all that is happening!

 

*Funny story of the week:  I was sitting in the airport by myself as Liz searched for food and all of sudden our gate was swarmed with middle schoolers.  One girl asked her friend for a bite of her burger and the friends response was this (in an Aussie accent); “You betta make it a small one or I’ll punch ya face!”  For some reason this made me laugh for a really long time and I am sure if you actually got to hear me mock her then you would laugh too!

 

G’day,

 

Lindsay Ezell

LC

Snook

Ez-E

 

 

\.