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This week held lots of excitement: I received my first piece of “real” mail and phone call from the states followed by several outgoing calls on my end. I also celebrated Australia Day on the 26th. A fellow American (co-worker of Amber’s) invited us all over for a barbie near the beach. We spent most of our time inside watching cricket and tennis before grilling snags due to the excruciating heat. When I say excruciating, I mean it! Temperatures reached over 100 degrees with slight humidity. I felt like I was melting! We actually finished our Australia Day celebration on Saturday over at Ossian’s flat where we watched a 20 minute firework presentation from his balcony.<br />Earlier that day, Amber and I had the chance to visit the Tandanya (a name given to Adelaide by the indigenous inhabitants that means the place of the red kangaroo). Tandanya is a National Aboriginal Cultural Institute that is home to many Aboriginal exhibits and displayed works of art. Our visit also included an introduction to Eddie, a Torres Strait Islander who exposed us to certain aspects of his way of life. He presented a couple of dances and chants in addition to teaching us a<br />few moves as well.

Another week in Oz...

Tanya
2006-03-10 20:46:41

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This week held lots of excitement: I received my first piece of “real” mail and phone call from the states followed by several outgoing calls on my end. I also celebrated Australia Day on the 26th. A fellow American (co-worker of Amber’s) invited us all over for a barbie near the beach. We spent most of our time inside watching cricket and tennis before grilling snags due to the excruciating heat. When I say excruciating, I mean it! Temperatures reached over 100 degrees with slight humidity. I felt like I was melting! We actually finished our Australia Day celebration on Saturday over at Ossian’s flat where we watched a 20 minute firework presentation from his balcony.
Earlier that day, Amber and I had the chance to visit the Tandanya (a name given to Adelaide by the indigenous inhabitants that means the place of the red kangaroo). Tandanya is a National Aboriginal Cultural Institute that is home to many Aboriginal exhibits and displayed works of art. Our visit also included an introduction to Eddie, a Torres Strait Islander who exposed us to certain aspects of his way of life. He presented a couple of dances and chants in addition to teaching us a
few moves as well.
Needless to say, my weekend consisted of many typical tourist activities. Katie, Amber, Sabina, Doran and I took a guided tour through the Botanic Gardens early Sunday morning. The garden was lush and so massive in size, unlike the gardens I have encountered in the past. Our walk included opportunities for learning about all of the beautiful plants. After a brief visit (I plan on returning), Amber and I took a fifteen minute walk to the Adelaide Zoo. The zoo was definitely the highlight of my weekend. We spent several hours observing a variety of animals which included everything from the American Beaver to the Tasmanian Devil. When we first arrived, Amber and I ventured directly over to the Australian animal exhibits in hopes of spotting those Tassie devils we so hoped to ...