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| Bombs burst away |
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| Harbor bridge action |
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| Panoramic view |
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| By the end the sky was so smoke-filled I couldn't even see them anymore...haha |
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy 2011!
What better way to ring in the new year than by watching the greatest fireworks show on earth? There is no better way! Here are some shots of what I saw from my friend's apartment balcony (please excuse the poor image quality). I'm guessing it probably looked a little bigger and better on your television screens, but it was still exhilarating to see happen in real time. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2011!
Cricket, Castle, One Very Big Banana & Crabs
I spent 2 more days with Tash and her family in Coff's Harbor, which were spent relaxing, eating (more of Francesco's Italian feasts and Aussie barbies), and hanging out with family. There are four activities in particular that we did that I would like to discuss: 1) We watched cricket 2) We watched Castle 3) We went to the Big Banana 4) We went fishing for crabs
1) We watched cricket.
Cricket. When I hear the word I think of a bug, something that I dissected in my 8th grade bio class. But no, here in Australia cricket is one of the most popular sports along side of rugby and football (aka soccer). Australian's obsession with cricket has always been and will remain a mystery to me. At first I thought it was because I was unfamiliar with the game and didn't know the rules, so I had my English roommate explain it to me one day when he was intently watching a match on TV. What I cam to understand was this: cricket is sort of, kinda like American baseball except one game takes place over 5 grueling days (yes, d-a-y-s) rather than 9 short innings. There is a pitcher who throws a ball at a batter with a fat wooden bat and helmet, except unlike baseball there is no "Three strikes and you're out" rule. Technically, the batter could bat forever if the opposing team doesn't get him out. How you get "out" is a little fuzzy to me still, but I think catching a ball is one way. When a batter does hit the ball into the outfield he runs back and forth between two posts, and these count as "runs". That's basically all I have gathered. So the way I see it, if you made the posts 4 bases in the shape of a diamond and implemented a rule about balls and strikes- you would have baseball. But that's not even the point. The point is that cricket is one of the most boring sports to watch- it's on right on par with golf. Cricket is so s-l-o-w paced. I mean it takes 5 stinking whole days to finish! They have tea breaks for goodness sake. Tea breaks?! I just cannot grapple watching nothing for 5 entire days. But Olie was a huge cricket fan, and so we watched for a few hours as nothing unfolded on the screen before me. And that's it. I have nothing more to say about cricket really. I watched it. I don't get it. I vented. And I am now over it.
2) We watched Castle
On Boxing Day (Dec 26th, the day after Christmas) we went to Tash's uncle George's house for a barbie. That evening Tash insisted that we watch the movie Castle so that I would finally understand what a "bogan" was. According to Wikipedia: The film gained widespread acclaim in Australia and New Zealand, but was not widely distributed globally. Hence the reason I had never seen nor heard of the film. Well we watched it. It was about a bogan family that fights to keep their home when an airport threatens to take it to expand. I enjoyed the film, although I'm not sure I have complete clarity as to what exactly a bogan is. Still, if you are curious I encourage you to rent or legally download the film for your viewing pleasure. Maybe then you will have some understanding as to what I'm poorly trying to talk about.
3) We went to the Big Banana
Fun Fact: Australia has over 150 BIG "things" (I guess you could call them statues or monuments?) erected across the country for tourists to see. For some odd reason, Australians are obsessed with taking any aussie-related object they can think of and building it as large as they can. You can visit the Big Avocado, the Big Axe, the Big Beer Can, the Big Spider, the Big Trout, the Big Wine Bottle, the Big Boxing Crocodile, the Big Golden Gumboot, the Big Macadamia Nut, the Big Mango...I think you get the point. On Monday we went to see the Big Banana. I had been looking forward to this the entire time in Coffs because a) I love bananas, I mean really really love them and b) it is such a quirky, unusual thing to do. Do you know anyone with a picture in front of a ridiculously large banana (asides from me now)? I certainly do not. Basically we went, took a pic in front of the banana, wandered through the banana souvenir shop and ate a chocolate covered frozen banana, but as the sign outside the Big Banana read, it was "a whole bunch of fun!"
4) We went fishing for crabs
On my final evening in Coff's Harbor, Josh and Craig took Tash and I out to go fishing. (Side note: The Aussies love how I pronounce the name Craig. I don't know about you, but when I say Craig it rhymes with Greg. When they say Craig, they emphasize the 'a' sound much more strongly). The main goal was to drop two crab nets into the ocean water in the hopes of catching mud crabs to take home and gaily consume. First, we hopped in a large green canoe and paddled through an enclosed area of the ocean until we reached an "island" where we could get out and fish. I say "island" because the tide was so high that the entire land mass was under water. So, we carried on in the canoe looking for the perfect places to drop the crab traps. Then we returned back to the wanna-be-island where the tide had lowered slightly and attempted to fish. This proved unsuccessful and we returned to the house empty handed. The following morning Craig and Josh went to retrieve the crab traps and found to their dismay that they were empty. Despite the failed fish and crabbing attempt, it was fun to take part in this favorite past time activity of my host family.
1) We watched cricket.
Cricket. When I hear the word I think of a bug, something that I dissected in my 8th grade bio class. But no, here in Australia cricket is one of the most popular sports along side of rugby and football (aka soccer). Australian's obsession with cricket has always been and will remain a mystery to me. At first I thought it was because I was unfamiliar with the game and didn't know the rules, so I had my English roommate explain it to me one day when he was intently watching a match on TV. What I cam to understand was this: cricket is sort of, kinda like American baseball except one game takes place over 5 grueling days (yes, d-a-y-s) rather than 9 short innings. There is a pitcher who throws a ball at a batter with a fat wooden bat and helmet, except unlike baseball there is no "Three strikes and you're out" rule. Technically, the batter could bat forever if the opposing team doesn't get him out. How you get "out" is a little fuzzy to me still, but I think catching a ball is one way. When a batter does hit the ball into the outfield he runs back and forth between two posts, and these count as "runs". That's basically all I have gathered. So the way I see it, if you made the posts 4 bases in the shape of a diamond and implemented a rule about balls and strikes- you would have baseball. But that's not even the point. The point is that cricket is one of the most boring sports to watch- it's on right on par with golf. Cricket is so s-l-o-w paced. I mean it takes 5 stinking whole days to finish! They have tea breaks for goodness sake. Tea breaks?! I just cannot grapple watching nothing for 5 entire days. But Olie was a huge cricket fan, and so we watched for a few hours as nothing unfolded on the screen before me. And that's it. I have nothing more to say about cricket really. I watched it. I don't get it. I vented. And I am now over it.
2) We watched Castle
On Boxing Day (Dec 26th, the day after Christmas) we went to Tash's uncle George's house for a barbie. That evening Tash insisted that we watch the movie Castle so that I would finally understand what a "bogan" was. According to Wikipedia: The film gained widespread acclaim in Australia and New Zealand, but was not widely distributed globally. Hence the reason I had never seen nor heard of the film. Well we watched it. It was about a bogan family that fights to keep their home when an airport threatens to take it to expand. I enjoyed the film, although I'm not sure I have complete clarity as to what exactly a bogan is. Still, if you are curious I encourage you to rent or legally download the film for your viewing pleasure. Maybe then you will have some understanding as to what I'm poorly trying to talk about.
3) We went to the Big Banana
Fun Fact: Australia has over 150 BIG "things" (I guess you could call them statues or monuments?) erected across the country for tourists to see. For some odd reason, Australians are obsessed with taking any aussie-related object they can think of and building it as large as they can. You can visit the Big Avocado, the Big Axe, the Big Beer Can, the Big Spider, the Big Trout, the Big Wine Bottle, the Big Boxing Crocodile, the Big Golden Gumboot, the Big Macadamia Nut, the Big Mango...I think you get the point. On Monday we went to see the Big Banana. I had been looking forward to this the entire time in Coffs because a) I love bananas, I mean really really love them and b) it is such a quirky, unusual thing to do. Do you know anyone with a picture in front of a ridiculously large banana (asides from me now)? I certainly do not. Basically we went, took a pic in front of the banana, wandered through the banana souvenir shop and ate a chocolate covered frozen banana, but as the sign outside the Big Banana read, it was "a whole bunch of fun!"
 |
| Tash & I at the Big Banana |
4) We went fishing for crabs
On my final evening in Coff's Harbor, Josh and Craig took Tash and I out to go fishing. (Side note: The Aussies love how I pronounce the name Craig. I don't know about you, but when I say Craig it rhymes with Greg. When they say Craig, they emphasize the 'a' sound much more strongly). The main goal was to drop two crab nets into the ocean water in the hopes of catching mud crabs to take home and gaily consume. First, we hopped in a large green canoe and paddled through an enclosed area of the ocean until we reached an "island" where we could get out and fish. I say "island" because the tide was so high that the entire land mass was under water. So, we carried on in the canoe looking for the perfect places to drop the crab traps. Then we returned back to the wanna-be-island where the tide had lowered slightly and attempted to fish. This proved unsuccessful and we returned to the house empty handed. The following morning Craig and Josh went to retrieve the crab traps and found to their dismay that they were empty. Despite the failed fish and crabbing attempt, it was fun to take part in this favorite past time activity of my host family.
 |
| The canoe, fishing gear and team |
Christmas At Coff's
Before I begin telling you about my fabulous Christmas with Tash and her family at Coff's Harbor, let me first introduce the main family members who so warmly welcomed me into their family and made me feel right at home. There were 27+ family members gathered for Christmas, but these were the ones whom I spent the majority of my time with and who I came to adore.
Michael- Natasha's brother
Janice- Natasha's Aunt (sister of her mother)
Francesco- Husband of Janice (an adorable 60 yr-old Italian man)
Josh- Janice's son and Natasha's cousin
Amy- Wife of Josh
Skye- Daughter of Josh and Amy (the most adorable 2 year-old you have ever seen with blond ringlets and sky-blue eyes)
Chloe- Daughter #2 of Josh and Amy (precious 3 month-old who is rocking a blond mullet)
Emma- Janice's daughter and Natasha's cousin
Craig- Husband of Emma (and originally from Casino, but not a bogan)
Ana- Daughter of Francesco
Oli- Fiance of Ana
Great, now you are acquainted. Moving on. Even though I knew it was Christmas time, it never really felt like the most wonderful time of the year to me. Despite the carols, signs and decorations that bombarded me on a daily basis in Sydney it just didn't feel like Christmas with the sun shining down on me and people walking around in thongs (both the flip flops and the bathing suit, or lack there of). Instead of snow I had sand. Instead of jazzed up pine trees I had palm trees. This wasn't Christmas as I knew it! So waking up Christmas Eve in Coff's Harbor felt like any other day to me. However, over the course of the next two days little things happened, things that I associate with Christmas back home, that finally made me feel for the first time that Christmas had arrived (better late than never, hey?). For example, on Friday evening Tash and I baked cookies. This is an activity I associate with Christmas. What is Santa going to eat after he delivers your presents if there are no home baked cookies waiting for him? No cookies would surely be a crime. And these were not just any cookie, I assure you. We baked from scratch the most glorious naked Santa sugar cookies known to man. For years Tash had had this crazy desire to make naked Santa cookies- I guess it's to hot in this neck of the beaches for Santa to wear a massively warm and cozy suit- and so we made her fantasy a reality. The cookies were a hit. We also made snowmen and penguins.
While baking I mentioned that we were missing Christmas music. Janice disappeared and I heard the jingle of bells and whistles surface in the background. To my great delight, it was the Celine Dion Christmas album! I know this may sound lame and unimportant to you, but you have to understand that this is one of my most favorite Christmas albums of all time. Back home at Christmas time, Laura and I play this album on repeat and sing each and every jingle at the top of our lungs while we engage in Christmas-themed activities (like baking cookies and decorating the tree). So if there was anything that was going to transport me to Christmas, this album was it. I was giddy like a little girl as I sang along with Celine. I think Tash and her fam thought I was a tad strange, but I didn't mind- it was officially Christmas time.
That evening Francesco cooked a splendid Italian feast comprised of an entree (pasta), main (veal schnitzel) and dessert (an array of cookies and goodies, many of which were prepared by Janice). Bon appetit! In fact, Francesco cooked most of our meals (brekky and dinner) while I was there. I can assure you that I was feasting good in the neighborhood! I think I gained 5 kilos while staying there. But hey, I figured that in a weeks time I would be on the backpacker diet so it was best that I eat as much quality food as I could before it became obsolete. After dinner we gathered in the living room to watch a Christmas movie, and I insisted they watch A Christmas Story. It's an American classic, and none of my Aussie companions had ever seen it. They enjoyed it, I think. I know I did.
Saturday was Christmas day! We made our way over to Tash's other Aunt's house where the celebration was taking place. There were over 27 family members present (aunts, uncles, cousins, babies and dogs) to partake in the days festivities. I, the odd woman out, blended in nicely with the sea of guests. And fortunately, everyone was super welcoming to me. They inquired about my time in Australia and future plans, and made fun of my accent. "Who is this girl with the funny accent?" they would say jokingly. Normally, Australian celebrate Christmas by having a barbie (BBQ) on the beach. This Christmas, however, was a wet and rainy one so it took place in doors. Our Christmas meal was a "cold" lunch (usually in the summer its far to hot to stand around an oven and stove cooking food) which included chicken, pork, ham, prawns (shrimp), potatoes, and salads. Dessert was comprised of Christmas puddings with custard (this was new to me), rum balls (also new to me), rocky road chocolate (popular here in Oz), gingerbread houses (there were 2), ice cream cake and a fruit trifle. I was stuffed. Christmas crackers lined the table, enough for each guest to have one. I had never seen these before either, which Tash found astonishing. "You don't have Christmas crackers?" she asked. Nope. At least not that I'm aware of. Maybe you have them in your home, but they never made an appearance at mine. Have I lived a sheltered life? A Christmas cracker is basically a wrapped tube that contains a stupid little toy or thingy-majig. You and another person pull on either end of the cracker and whoever gets the bigger piece gets to keep the toy (sorta like pulling apart the turkey wish bone). I got a tiny plastic skeleton. Inside there is also a joke (ex: What has 4 legs and an arm? A happy pitbull). and a paper crown that you can wear on your head. Mine was orange. I wore it at the dinner table. It was silly and fun. Maybe next year I will incorporate Christmas crackers into the Speers family celebration.
After lunch, Tash and her family engaged in a Christmas tradition you certainly never do in the northeast: they had a water fight. Suddenly, everyone around me appeared in their swimmers with guns and water balloons in hand. Without warning hoses were on and spraying in every which direction. No one was safe. Everyone was a target. This included myself and so I ran for cover inside the house. Yes, I was a sissy. The thought of being sopping wet did not appeal to me. Instead, I sat as a spectator inside with the other wise souls and watched the entertaining water battle that took place outside.
Next it was Secret Santa time! Since their family is so large, they do a secrete Santa instead of buying everyone a gift. Tash kindly threw my name into the mix, and my heart swelled with gratitude and thanks when my name was called and a gift was passed my way. It was so kind of them to include me. And the gift I received was perhaps one of the best gifts I could have ever received. I didn't know what to expect since I knew that some stranger who had never met me had bought the gift, but to my extreme delight when I unwrapped the paper I saw the words: "Pass the Pig." I held in my hands the travel version of one of my most favorite childhood games that I use to play at my Grandparents house in Iowa. For those of you who have never had the pleasure to play Pass the Pig, its a simple game- one that mimics dice, except instead of dice you have two pink pigs that you shake and roll. You gain or lose points for the position that they land in (on their back, feet, snout, etc.). It's simple, mindless, time-passing fun. And I have fond memories of playing this game as a young girl at my Grandparents house. How fitting that I should receive it here from a stranger as I celebrate Christmas as far away from my family as possible. At this moment I smiled, feeling connected to my loved ones back home. For me this gift, as silly as it may sound, represented my family being there with me.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent playing games, such as Assassin and Quoits (a ring toss game). That evening Tash and I returned to Janice and Francesco's house where we watched The Santa Clause, another favorite classic American Christmas movie of mine. I was a joy-filled, satisfied little girl when I went to bed that evening. I thanked St. Nick for bringing me a holly, jolly Christmas all the way around the world.
Michael- Natasha's brother
Janice- Natasha's Aunt (sister of her mother)
Francesco- Husband of Janice (an adorable 60 yr-old Italian man)
Josh- Janice's son and Natasha's cousin
Amy- Wife of Josh
Skye- Daughter of Josh and Amy (the most adorable 2 year-old you have ever seen with blond ringlets and sky-blue eyes)
Chloe- Daughter #2 of Josh and Amy (precious 3 month-old who is rocking a blond mullet)
Emma- Janice's daughter and Natasha's cousin
Craig- Husband of Emma (and originally from Casino, but not a bogan)
Ana- Daughter of Francesco
Oli- Fiance of Ana
Great, now you are acquainted. Moving on. Even though I knew it was Christmas time, it never really felt like the most wonderful time of the year to me. Despite the carols, signs and decorations that bombarded me on a daily basis in Sydney it just didn't feel like Christmas with the sun shining down on me and people walking around in thongs (both the flip flops and the bathing suit, or lack there of). Instead of snow I had sand. Instead of jazzed up pine trees I had palm trees. This wasn't Christmas as I knew it! So waking up Christmas Eve in Coff's Harbor felt like any other day to me. However, over the course of the next two days little things happened, things that I associate with Christmas back home, that finally made me feel for the first time that Christmas had arrived (better late than never, hey?). For example, on Friday evening Tash and I baked cookies. This is an activity I associate with Christmas. What is Santa going to eat after he delivers your presents if there are no home baked cookies waiting for him? No cookies would surely be a crime. And these were not just any cookie, I assure you. We baked from scratch the most glorious naked Santa sugar cookies known to man. For years Tash had had this crazy desire to make naked Santa cookies- I guess it's to hot in this neck of the beaches for Santa to wear a massively warm and cozy suit- and so we made her fantasy a reality. The cookies were a hit. We also made snowmen and penguins.
 |
| Tash delicately cutting out our Santa cookies |
While baking I mentioned that we were missing Christmas music. Janice disappeared and I heard the jingle of bells and whistles surface in the background. To my great delight, it was the Celine Dion Christmas album! I know this may sound lame and unimportant to you, but you have to understand that this is one of my most favorite Christmas albums of all time. Back home at Christmas time, Laura and I play this album on repeat and sing each and every jingle at the top of our lungs while we engage in Christmas-themed activities (like baking cookies and decorating the tree). So if there was anything that was going to transport me to Christmas, this album was it. I was giddy like a little girl as I sang along with Celine. I think Tash and her fam thought I was a tad strange, but I didn't mind- it was officially Christmas time.
That evening Francesco cooked a splendid Italian feast comprised of an entree (pasta), main (veal schnitzel) and dessert (an array of cookies and goodies, many of which were prepared by Janice). Bon appetit! In fact, Francesco cooked most of our meals (brekky and dinner) while I was there. I can assure you that I was feasting good in the neighborhood! I think I gained 5 kilos while staying there. But hey, I figured that in a weeks time I would be on the backpacker diet so it was best that I eat as much quality food as I could before it became obsolete. After dinner we gathered in the living room to watch a Christmas movie, and I insisted they watch A Christmas Story. It's an American classic, and none of my Aussie companions had ever seen it. They enjoyed it, I think. I know I did.
Saturday was Christmas day! We made our way over to Tash's other Aunt's house where the celebration was taking place. There were over 27 family members present (aunts, uncles, cousins, babies and dogs) to partake in the days festivities. I, the odd woman out, blended in nicely with the sea of guests. And fortunately, everyone was super welcoming to me. They inquired about my time in Australia and future plans, and made fun of my accent. "Who is this girl with the funny accent?" they would say jokingly. Normally, Australian celebrate Christmas by having a barbie (BBQ) on the beach. This Christmas, however, was a wet and rainy one so it took place in doors. Our Christmas meal was a "cold" lunch (usually in the summer its far to hot to stand around an oven and stove cooking food) which included chicken, pork, ham, prawns (shrimp), potatoes, and salads. Dessert was comprised of Christmas puddings with custard (this was new to me), rum balls (also new to me), rocky road chocolate (popular here in Oz), gingerbread houses (there were 2), ice cream cake and a fruit trifle. I was stuffed. Christmas crackers lined the table, enough for each guest to have one. I had never seen these before either, which Tash found astonishing. "You don't have Christmas crackers?" she asked. Nope. At least not that I'm aware of. Maybe you have them in your home, but they never made an appearance at mine. Have I lived a sheltered life? A Christmas cracker is basically a wrapped tube that contains a stupid little toy or thingy-majig. You and another person pull on either end of the cracker and whoever gets the bigger piece gets to keep the toy (sorta like pulling apart the turkey wish bone). I got a tiny plastic skeleton. Inside there is also a joke (ex: What has 4 legs and an arm? A happy pitbull). and a paper crown that you can wear on your head. Mine was orange. I wore it at the dinner table. It was silly and fun. Maybe next year I will incorporate Christmas crackers into the Speers family celebration.
After lunch, Tash and her family engaged in a Christmas tradition you certainly never do in the northeast: they had a water fight. Suddenly, everyone around me appeared in their swimmers with guns and water balloons in hand. Without warning hoses were on and spraying in every which direction. No one was safe. Everyone was a target. This included myself and so I ran for cover inside the house. Yes, I was a sissy. The thought of being sopping wet did not appeal to me. Instead, I sat as a spectator inside with the other wise souls and watched the entertaining water battle that took place outside.
Next it was Secret Santa time! Since their family is so large, they do a secrete Santa instead of buying everyone a gift. Tash kindly threw my name into the mix, and my heart swelled with gratitude and thanks when my name was called and a gift was passed my way. It was so kind of them to include me. And the gift I received was perhaps one of the best gifts I could have ever received. I didn't know what to expect since I knew that some stranger who had never met me had bought the gift, but to my extreme delight when I unwrapped the paper I saw the words: "Pass the Pig." I held in my hands the travel version of one of my most favorite childhood games that I use to play at my Grandparents house in Iowa. For those of you who have never had the pleasure to play Pass the Pig, its a simple game- one that mimics dice, except instead of dice you have two pink pigs that you shake and roll. You gain or lose points for the position that they land in (on their back, feet, snout, etc.). It's simple, mindless, time-passing fun. And I have fond memories of playing this game as a young girl at my Grandparents house. How fitting that I should receive it here from a stranger as I celebrate Christmas as far away from my family as possible. At this moment I smiled, feeling connected to my loved ones back home. For me this gift, as silly as it may sound, represented my family being there with me.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent playing games, such as Assassin and Quoits (a ring toss game). That evening Tash and I returned to Janice and Francesco's house where we watched The Santa Clause, another favorite classic American Christmas movie of mine. I was a joy-filled, satisfied little girl when I went to bed that evening. I thanked St. Nick for bringing me a holly, jolly Christmas all the way around the world.
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| This is how Santa rolls down under |
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