Fall seems to have arrived here in Sydney rather abruptly, which basically means that it went from being swelteringly hot and humid1 to being a little chilly and very wet in the space of, oh, a day. It's kind of nice at night, but the rain makes walking home from the grocery store a little challenging. You try protecting a baguette from the rain while it's sticking out of your grocery bag, even with an umbrella. They're forecasting gale-force winds and heavy rain for Sydney later this evening. And, I learned, in honor of the occasion, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has issued a "Sheep Graziers Warning" which reads as follows:2
IDN29000In any case, since the equinox passed yesterday, we have to concede that fall's arrival is at least timely if a little wet as well.
NSW Sheep Graziers Warning
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
New South Wales
Issued at 1652 on Tuesday the 22nd of March 2005
Graziers are advised of COOL, WET and WINDY weather in the
following districts
ILLAWARRA AND SOUTH COAST
CENTRAL TABLELANDS
SOUTHERN TABLELANDS
It's been a rollercoaster week here on the GAA, with birthday celebrations3 and Angela's visit at the top, and D's really bad case of homesickness at the bottom. The newness is wearing off, and seven weeks in there is an awareness that we both have a lot of work to do and not as much time as we were hoping to do it. That said, many of the "housekeeping" issues around our posts at the university are sorting themselves out-- much less time is spent on figuring out how to make the computers work, and where our office is and when we can get into it,4 which leaves much more time for us to make progress doing what we came here to do. Of course, having Angela in for eight days from Seattle did not help to "set" our new weekly routines. Somehow, the choice between sitting at home writing a paper-- albeit a paper that's due in a week-- and going out with your sister to an all-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian buffet5 is not as difficult as it should be for an otherwise responsible postgraduate student.
We know that occasional bouts of homesickness are a normal part of the process of living overseas, although knowing that does not make it any more fun. They pass, you busy yourself doing other things, you tape up photographs of your cats and your new baby niece Alexis to the wall, and you treat yourself to the occasional ice cream.6 Sure, it does not make for riveting entries in your blog for sorely-missed friends and family back home, but it is nevertheless an inevitable part of the adventure.
On the not-homesicky side of the week, we got to meet up again with some of the US Fulbrighters we met a few weeks ago in Canberra at a reception at the US Consul-General's residence in Sydney last Wednesday night. Also invited to the reception for Fulbrighters in NSW (New South Wales) were those Australians from NSW who have just been awarded Fulbrights to go to the US next year, as well as Australian alumni of the Fulbright program who have returned from their programs in the US. Although we met at the private residence of the Consul-General, he informed us that as a result of little-remembered clauses in treaties from decades ago or longer, we were actually on US soil while we were there. Even the cocktail napkins said so, bearing as they did the seal of the United States of America in gold foil.
D also had a chance to go shopping for wedding dresses with Angela, who will be the maid of honor at D and Chad's upcoming wedding. Although no dress was bought, many choices were considered and some strong opinions developed. Plus, it was kind of fun, if only to see how gravely seriously so many people take the whole wedding-dress business here. That, at least, is one thing that is not so different from home at all!
Next week, a whole three weeks into the Australian school year, comes the long-awaited and sorely-needed week of fall break for the University of Sydney.7 Maybe without classes to go to we can start getting work done!
PS: Don't forget to play in the contest!
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NOTES
1Of course, when I say "swelteringly hot and humid" referring to Sydney weather, I actually mean "occasionally uncomfortably warm and a little sticky many days."
2This is lifted directly from the webpage where the Bureau of Meteorology (i.e. the National Weather Service) posts the warnings, but if I gave you a link, then by the time you read this it won't be active anymore. If you want to keep an eye on future Sheep Grazier Warnings for NSW (or other parts of Australia), though, you can go to http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/nsw/ on your own!
3Mostly D's, which was celebrated on Friday with friends gathering at a pub followed by cocktails at a club downtown, but Chad's was not forgotten. Thanks again to all from both families who sent us birthday cards-- they all get taped to our walls!
4Not after 5pm, which is like most other places in Sydney and Australia in general. Not being permanent or even paid staff of the Uni, we don't really qualify for getting building keys, so we can only get in when before the staff have gone home.
5It also has a movie theatre-- check out Govinda's for yourself! (Note: This is a shameless ploy to entice our vegetarian, arthouse-movie-loving friends to come and visit us in Sydney. We promise to take you to Govinda's!)
6Or gelato, in our case, since Chad's birthday present for D was gift certificates to four of the very best-rated ice cream places in Sydney, which all happen to be gelaterias. Whoo-hoo, gelato crawl!
7The ridiculously early fall break is a direct result of the fact that Easter falls early this year, as the Uni is closed Good Friday, Easter Monday, and then classes are suspended the whole week after Easter. Rough, isn't it? But then, we get a Thanksgiving and they don't.
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