Why Haven't I Been Posting More?

Even I expected to post more on this trip than I have. The last post was, what, almost 2 weeks ago? For a one month trip, that's certainly not very much!

Here's the thing.....

When I came on vacation in 2009, I posted a lot. I was seeing everything for the first time. I felt like a vacationer because I was.

When I lived here in 2010-2011, I posted a lot. I was seeing everything through a new lens. I felt like a foreigner because I was.

Visiting here in 2014, I'm not posting a lot. I'm not seeing new things or seeing things through a new lens. I'm simply enjoying a place I've been to before; I'm enjoying re-experiencing things that were once new to me but aren't any more. I feel at home because I am.

It's been a surprise to me. Because my other two experiences in Australia and Brisbane were all about how different it was, I really enjoyed documenting those observations. This trip has turned out to be how familiar (and pleasurable) it all is. I've taken fewer pictures because they'd be the same pictures I took in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

I haven't been posting  because I've been having too good a time being back and feeling at home. I'm leaving tomorrow but my intention is to come back in roughly 2 years. Brisbane could well become my home away from home. I'm just....happy here.

When I left in 2011, it was hard. I did not want to go back to Washington DC. I was afraid I'd never get back here. But I made it back. Knowing that I can come back, I'm far less anxious about leaving than I was in 2011. I will be back.

When is Air Conditioning Not Really Air Conditioning

I don't know if this is all Australians or just Queenslanders but they looooooooooove the outdoors and fresh air. They'll eat out on a restaurant patio -- in a coat with a heater next to them -- when it's 50 degrees outside. They'll open a window in England in December.  They are just crazy for fresh air.

Plus, they pride themselves on being pretty tough, not weak, able to take it (whatever "it" might be) and do so with without wingeing (whining).

But, y'know, it can be stinkin' hot here and there's this lovely invention called "air conditioning" (air con).....

I know I'm not tough when it comes to heat and humidity and I'm just fine with that. So when I was looking for places to stay I chose places that listed air con as one of their amenities. And I have yet to sleep in a house that is fully a/c'd or even a bedroom with a/c! Here's what I think is happening when Australians tick the "air con" box on their profiles:

"Well, I've got air con in the living room (though we never turn it on) so, yes, I've got air con!"

"Well, I have window fans and that's just as good as air con (harrumph harrumph) so, yes I've got air con!"

"Well, I have air con (even though it hasn't worked for 2 years) so, yes I've got air con!"

"Well, I've got lovely cross breezes and that's the original air con so, yes I've got air con!"

God love 'em, I honestly do not think this is intentional deception just to attract bookings. Australians simply have a fundamentally different relationship to fresh air, coolness, and comfort (and possibly excessive sweating) than I do.

Some Things That *Aren't* Better in Australia

by Kelly

Did you read my last post about the storm in Brunswick Heads (you should, nice pics!). I've been trying to get that post up for 3 days. The fault has not been with the author. It's been with the system of internet allocation in Australia.

If you're reading this from the US, your experience is that you pay for (or get free) internet access for a prescribed period of time -- couple of hours, days, maybe a month -- and how you use that time is up to you. Read email, post pictures, comment on Facebook, watch a movie, cruise YouTube, Skype with your friends, play games, whatever.

The places we've stayed have all said they have free wifi -- however, here when a place gave us "free" wifi, it's been for a defined period of time (2 or 3 hours per 24 hour period) and for a certain amount of GBs of data / downloads.

Take a look at the last post I mentioned above. Took me about 45 minutes to get that written and posted. How many GBs of data do you think I needed to create that post and upload those pics? I have no idea either but I know that for 3 days I have exceeded the data limits on the "free" wifi every time I've tried to create that one post. With just those photos (which are stored on my hard drive). No video, no Skype chats, no online games. Just photos.

And the extra sweet part? I never knew I'd exceeded the limit till something quit working. That's not because I'd just exceeded the limit but some time in the last, oh, 20 minutes I'd exceeded the limit so anything I was trying to save in an online application hadn't been saved in the last, oh, 20 minutes. I hadn't been told that. I just suddenly realized some function wasn't working correctly and I didn't know why.

I'm finally staying in a house with "free" wifi the way I, as an American, understand "free" wifi so I've finally been able to get that (bleep)(bleep) post loaded! I remember this system driving Jeff batshit crazy when we moved here, trying to figure out how much GBs of data we normally use (we had no freakin' clue).

So if you're coming to Australia and are choosing places because they have "free" wifi, you may want to ask what that specifically entails!

Tomorrow: what they mean when they say they have "air conditioning".

First the storm, then the sunshine

by Kelly

I've been about 2 hours south of Brisbane since Monday at Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads, two beach towns. It's been gray and rainy all week, increasingly so with each day. By Thursday night, we had quite the blow going on. The wind and rain were strong enough that I found myself asking myself:

"We're only maybe 50 yards from the river....is that far enough?"
"How fast does the wind have to blow for it to be a cyclone?"
"They'd have said something to us if this was a cyclone, right?"
"How fast can I throw things in the van if I have to? What would I leave behind?"

I did not get a lot of sleep Thursday night.

Blessedly, the storm had died down by the morning, Still gray but I decided to wander down to the ocean.

Brunswick Heads sits at the place that the Brunswick River enters the Pacific Ocean. There are two stone jetties, each side of the river, as it enters the ocean. It makes the flow quite swift and Friday morning it was a churning mess.

It was scary but it was also invigorating. I decided it would be a great time -- since it had FINALLY quit raining -- to go for a long walk / ramble / exploration. I walked back along the jetty and decided to follow the river bank. While I was out, the sun finally chased away the clouds.



Looking back towards town from the end of the jetty.

There's a lot of area along the river and ocean preserved as park land.

Looking back along the river.

One of the trails beside the river (after the sun came out!)

Brunswick Head is a nice classic small beach town. Most of the people we saw lived and worked there or had retired there. Lots of fishing, surfing, and coffee drinking.  :)  The campground here, like the campground down near Byron Bay, had camper sites, tent sites, and cabins. Once we realized how much it was going to rain, we opted for cabins for the week.  :)

Our cabin wasn't quite this large (or directly on the river) but it was a sweet little place nonetheless.

God Bless The Church Ladies

by Kelly (not Kitty)

One of my favorite things in Brisbane was the little Anglican church I attended, St. Michael and All Angels. They had the same spirit of openness and joy that my church in DC, Augustana Lutheran, does. I was looking forward to worshipping with them again.

They have a mid-week morning service on Wednesdays. I don't know why I never attended that when I lived here but I decided to drop in my first Wednesday. It was me, 4 old ladies, and the pastor. They all looked at me with that "I know I've seen you before look". When I re-introduced myself, their faces lit up. They all remembered me and were delighted to see me again.

After the service, the ladies invited me to meet them a little later for lunch. Which I did and had a great time. The ladies range in age from their late 70s to their mid 90s and have been meeting up for a weekly lunch for a very long time. Which means they have an ease and comfort to their interactions that I enjoyed furiously.

Earlier that day I spotted a flyer for a study group at another local church. The study was based on the work of an author I read quite a bit of (and is the foundation for a book group back at Augustana). When I discovered that one of the Lunch Ladies was also planning to go, it went right on my schedule.

My congregational book group has been together for several years. We've all wrestled with our relationship to orthodoxy (shaky, at best), how current scholarship is changing what we as Christians "know" (a lot), and admitting to a lot of doubts and suspicions. Makes for some very lively discussions.

This group hadn't quite gotten to the same "orthodoxy is crap" place that our group has gotten (and, again, pretty sure I was close to the youngest person there, white hair notwithstanding) but we still had a wonderful conversation. Soooo glad I went!

Where the Heck Has Kelly Been?

I know, I know, I promised lots of blogging from Australia and I've been utterly silent for weeks, even though I arrived here March 16. What can I say?

I could say....

I arrived with a sinus thing that I thought was allergies and would clear up when I got to Australia. It didn't. It got worse. My first 4 days here were all about trying to figure out how to get the appropriate help in an appropriate way. Took about a week to get that truly under control. As a side benefit, I had a killer cough that kept me up more than one night.

I could say....

I arrived in the middle of a heat wave. You say "well, sure, Australia is hot". Not THIS hot and not in the middle of March. This was 80s - 90s with very high humidity. Lots of homes do NOT have air conditioning, just fans. Combine that with my sinus/cough misery and I really wasn't getting any sleep. The heat craziness broke 4 or 5 days ago.

I could say....

When I came in '09 I came as a tourist and had lots of pics and stories to share.
When I came in '10 I came as a foreign resident with lots of pics and observations to share.
When I've come in '14, I'm just here to enjoy myself and re-visit places I've already posted pictures of (see: '09, '10). I'm on vacation and I'm just doing what feels good at any given time.

All of these things are true (which is why I'm saying them!). I'm simply enjoying myself. I'm simply happy (except for the heat and sinuses). That's hard to take pictures of or tell stories about. Which doesn't mean I won't try. Stay tuned!

And here they are....

The Dynamic Duo