1. The crazy, noisy, beautiful birds...
From our balcony this morning, I watched 8 "Rainbow Lorikeets" arguing and fussing with each other in a nearby tree. The Lorikeet is a very noisy bird, with a lot to say and is often seen in large flocks making high pitch screeching and chattering, especially when feeding. Their name gives you an idea of their colorful beauty.
The "Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo," with its distinctive sulphur-yellow crest and loud raucous screech. About 25 of them flew overhead this morning - they are not just a sight to behold but a sound as well! Sammy almost jumped out of his skin!
One other bird that never ceases to make me laugh is so far just a sound to me. I don't know what bird it is, so bird lovers, please educate me. The sound is like a very loud, strange child who is whining or crying. It sounds quite human, but comically so. (I & out what the bird is - a Raven! It sounds like ##%^$**&%^.)
[Note: Right now, it sounds like the classical hollywood version of a tropical jungle just outside my door.]
Listen to more Aussie bird calls and definitely check out the kookaburra.
2. The Weather.... So far, our weather has been perfect - warm days and cool nights, with the occasional harmless cloud floating by.
3. The friendly and helpful people I have met so far. Almost everyone I have dealt with has been professional, polite and seems to care about how well they perform their jobs. They even laugh at my self deprecating jokes and don't seem to mind staying late at their jobs if it means helping out.
I also love the low key, friendly way people spend chatting with a total stranger. And I love the term: "No worries!"
Food. You name it, they got it - oh, and it's good.
Things I am sure I will learn to love about Oz:
1. The traffic - fast, faster and fastest on narrow streets. The streets are a bit like Boston's - designed by the cows walking through the young city. Streets are hilly and windy and can often have several different names depending on which section of the street you are driving on. I don't usually need an excuse to get lost, but this aspect doesn't help much.
[Note: I am having less trouble driving on the "wrong" side of the road than I expected, however, I did find myself toottling down a local street.... well, you get the picture. I am even almost cured of turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signals.]
2. The bugs - 'nuf said.
It's great to be in our new house. I'll be glad when our furniture arrives so that we can actually unpack our bags, and a refrigerator would come in handy for food storage - but hey - we're experienced campers!
Judi
Thursday, May 5, 2005
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2 comments:
May I mention, so not fair that you guys have better weather in autumn than we have in the spring? It's frigging SNOWING here!
Say hi to the doggies for me!
The birds are really cool, aren't they? We used to have a whole tree full of cockatoos (or "cockies") outside of the in-laws' place, they would eat the oranges and limes off the neighbour's trees and deposit the refuse all over the lawn! Lorikeets are *extremely* loud at dusk as they settle in for the night.
I truly hope you don't mind my commentary -- I'm just interested in what other people's "adventures to Oz" are like, and yours so far has been soooo completely different from what I went through. I also like to share what I've learned in living here, perhaps it may help you find your way around better -- or at least save you from making some of the costly mistakes I did.
I noticed that you put traffic and bugs under "things I am sure I will learn to love about Oz". It's good to have a positive outlook, but know too that it's perfectly OK to dislike or even *hate* things about your new home city. Trust me, no one is going to be offended, and you may find that many Aussies actually agree with you! Especially about the creepy-crawlies...
:-)
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