Ahh. Sweet Home Australia
The Australia Report (or what the hell is Shawn doing) - first part of many.
So . . . having been in Australia for the better part of two months, I finally feel qualified to give my views on the place. Keep in mind these are a largely “Americentric” point of view, and were I to read a report from an Aussie on the US, I’d expect that it had a “Australiocentric” pov.
To start, we arrived here and were given a lot of help getting our things to our temporary flat on the Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Campus (hereafter RIDBC). Jess’s Boss had a funeral to attend on the day of our arrival, so we were met instead by one of the Teachers at Alice Bettridge School and one of the Administrators for RIDBC.
We had a total of 11 pieces of luggage, 5 backpacks and 5 personal items to carry. This is far beyond the norm, but since we were moving, we felt the need to be a bit extreme in what we brought on the plane. That being the case it was more than lovely to have the extra hands to help, a huge school van to carry everything, and someone driving who wasn’t going to be adjusting to the “horrors” of driving on a completely different side of the road from a completely different side of the car.
But let’s back up a moment and talk airport security. American Security was horrid. Speaking solely as someone who has spent the bulk of his adult life in law enforcement and security related endeavors, I can say that America’s homeland security has over reacted. This makes it uncomfortable to travel and puts honest travelers through a great deal of unnecessary hardship. I blame those in charge since 9/11.
Both New Zealand and Australian security were quite lovely, however, so it evened out the inconvenience of the American system.
And, on the subject of differences, the Airlines were about the same difference in quality. The American leg of the journey was epitomized by cramped quarters, and the need to pay for anything you received on the airline - whilst New Zealand Air was by far the best Airline I’ve been on in my life. They were quite spacious in comparison with their American partners, served more food than I’ve ever had, had free in flight TV screens for each passenger with a good selection of movies, and took pride in courtesy and helpfulness. If you ever have the opportunity to choose New Zealand Air over another carrier, I highly recommend them. But enough about that.
The folks at RIDBC took good care of us straight off, and have continued to do so over the weeks. We’ve finally found a flat, put the girls in school and are trying to settle in. After a rocky start with a less than competent moving service, our things look like we will have them by the 17th of September.
The weather here is lovely imo. We arrived in winter to temperatures of around 9 C -27 C (about 49 F to 80 F). The average has been in the high 50’s. There are tropical birds everywhere, and each day we hear and or see the Kookaburra. The girls have adopted the sparrows that come to our small patch of back yard, and love seeing all the variety of animals.
There are fresh blooms on many of the trees and bushes. Yellows, pinks, reds, purples and oranges draw the eye almost everywhere I go.
There are a number of things to see and do here, and the school holidays are spread throughout the year, so it gives more of a chance for multiple types of family outings each year.
The people are friendly enough, and at least the ones I’ve met seem far less cynical than the majority of Americans I’ve met over the years. I’ve already been to more BBQ’s, Games and functions than in 7 years between Arizona and Colorado. We’ve been so active that I haven’t had much time to miss anything but my closest friends in the States.
At any rate, a Kookaburra is laughing his fool head off outside the townhouse, so I’ll close this for now. Perhaps in the future I’ll get some nice pictures, and I certainly can field direct questions about the nature of things here - from food differences to whatever strikes your fancy.
Cheers
So . . . having been in Australia for the better part of two months, I finally feel qualified to give my views on the place. Keep in mind these are a largely “Americentric” point of view, and were I to read a report from an Aussie on the US, I’d expect that it had a “Australiocentric” pov.
To start, we arrived here and were given a lot of help getting our things to our temporary flat on the Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Campus (hereafter RIDBC). Jess’s Boss had a funeral to attend on the day of our arrival, so we were met instead by one of the Teachers at Alice Bettridge School and one of the Administrators for RIDBC.
We had a total of 11 pieces of luggage, 5 backpacks and 5 personal items to carry. This is far beyond the norm, but since we were moving, we felt the need to be a bit extreme in what we brought on the plane. That being the case it was more than lovely to have the extra hands to help, a huge school van to carry everything, and someone driving who wasn’t going to be adjusting to the “horrors” of driving on a completely different side of the road from a completely different side of the car.
But let’s back up a moment and talk airport security. American Security was horrid. Speaking solely as someone who has spent the bulk of his adult life in law enforcement and security related endeavors, I can say that America’s homeland security has over reacted. This makes it uncomfortable to travel and puts honest travelers through a great deal of unnecessary hardship. I blame those in charge since 9/11.
Both New Zealand and Australian security were quite lovely, however, so it evened out the inconvenience of the American system.
And, on the subject of differences, the Airlines were about the same difference in quality. The American leg of the journey was epitomized by cramped quarters, and the need to pay for anything you received on the airline - whilst New Zealand Air was by far the best Airline I’ve been on in my life. They were quite spacious in comparison with their American partners, served more food than I’ve ever had, had free in flight TV screens for each passenger with a good selection of movies, and took pride in courtesy and helpfulness. If you ever have the opportunity to choose New Zealand Air over another carrier, I highly recommend them. But enough about that.
The folks at RIDBC took good care of us straight off, and have continued to do so over the weeks. We’ve finally found a flat, put the girls in school and are trying to settle in. After a rocky start with a less than competent moving service, our things look like we will have them by the 17th of September.
The weather here is lovely imo. We arrived in winter to temperatures of around 9 C -27 C (about 49 F to 80 F). The average has been in the high 50’s. There are tropical birds everywhere, and each day we hear and or see the Kookaburra. The girls have adopted the sparrows that come to our small patch of back yard, and love seeing all the variety of animals.
There are fresh blooms on many of the trees and bushes. Yellows, pinks, reds, purples and oranges draw the eye almost everywhere I go.
There are a number of things to see and do here, and the school holidays are spread throughout the year, so it gives more of a chance for multiple types of family outings each year.
The people are friendly enough, and at least the ones I’ve met seem far less cynical than the majority of Americans I’ve met over the years. I’ve already been to more BBQ’s, Games and functions than in 7 years between Arizona and Colorado. We’ve been so active that I haven’t had much time to miss anything but my closest friends in the States.
At any rate, a Kookaburra is laughing his fool head off outside the townhouse, so I’ll close this for now. Perhaps in the future I’ll get some nice pictures, and I certainly can field direct questions about the nature of things here - from food differences to whatever strikes your fancy.
Cheers