Days without internet: 22
Days without internet since we ordered it: 15
Maximum days they promised to take to start internet: 10
Number of calls to the internet company since day 10: 5
Customer service is not a strong suit around here. I wish we could say that this particular company1 was the exception to our impression of customer service, but it is about average. Some better, some worse.
So, if you're frustrated that all the really fantastic pictures of fishies and wallabies and lava tubes have yet to be posted on the GAA webpages (not to mention the photos from before our vacation that haven't made it up yet), blame the internet company. Or Telstra,2 which is who the internet company is blaming.
Culture shock and homesickness are supposed to come in lengthy cycles, much longer than the first few weeks in a new country. After the initial euphoria wears off, when things become mundane, usually about six months in, most expats report a significant dip. We're there. The fact that it gets dark at 6pm and our apartment is freezing cold at night3 has not helped. The fact that we've been waiting almost three weeks for internet service has not helped. The fact that Australian television seems to have a total of six commercials that get aired four million times an hour is not helping. The fact that D is spending ten-hour days on the department's annual project, or that Chad has injured a ligament in his knee-- these are not helping.
There are bright spots, though. A professor in the dept has just tonight loaned us some (more) heaters. Chad is hooked on the Australian TV show called "Big Brother," which is a reality show that is almost but not entirely different from the US television show of the same name. And, more excitingly, D's parents are coming to visit us in one week!4 They've never been to Australia before, so we are looking forward to showing off our adopted land.
To cheer ourselves up this weekend, we hopped the bus down to our old neighborhood at Darling Harbour. In the middle of Darling Harbour5 there is a (more or less) traditional Chinese garden, walled off from the city and even kind of quiet. So, we meandered along the stone walks, admired the funky trees, pointed out the huge goldfish in the pond, and enjoyed some nice Chinese pastries at the tea house. Then, we continued down through Darling Harbour to the Sydney Aquarium, to visit our friends from the Great Barrier Reef-- including the sharks!6
Other than that, we work during the day, try to go to the gym, watch lots of American television after dinner,7 and then fall asleep around 11:00pm from the cold as much as anything else. Ah, springtime... come quickly!
;)
- D
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NOTES
1IINet, because I have to exert my consumer influence to affect the company's reputation. If any of you, by chance, are potential customers, please use this information.
2Telstra is the phone company that used to be wholly owned by the Australian government and now is merely 51% owned by the Australian government. They own all the phone lines, even the ones in your house. But now, with capitalism and all, they are generous enough to let other private companies also provide phone services... as long as they rent the lines from Telstra.
3Yeah, we both wear fleece winter hats in our house after the sun goes down.
4In addition to themselves, they are also bringing essential supplies from the motherland... Hershey's Syrup, Lawry's Seasoned Salt, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and pictures of the kitties!
5Well, not the middle, exactly, because that would be in the water. But around the actual water, Darling Harbour is a big public/touristy kind of park thingy, and the garden is in the middle of that.
6Okay, so we only saw one kind of shark on the reef, but we saw it three times. It was a Whitetip Reef Shark, and there are lots of them at the Sydney Aquarium, though D insisted on identifying them as "my shark." In Cairns we also bought a toy shark that was a Blacktip Reef Shark, christened "Adam" after the skipper of our boat. So, all the Blacktip Reef Sharks at the aquarium were "Adam sharks." It was a fun day.
7Oddly enough, there is nearly as much Law & Order on the free-to-air channels as there was on the Foxtel at our old place!
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