Golf: Not Actually a Good Walk Spoiled

After a 5 week beginner golf course, we decided it was time to play a real game. So Rob and I ventured out yesterday to play our first 9 holes. It was great! I always was a bit bored by the thought of golf, but it was actually really nice. I think it also helped that the golf club we played at was very laid back, not pretentious like most clubs. We had a really nice day in the fresh air and sunshine, and it was a good amount of exercise pulling those clubs around the course.

In other yuppie pursuits, we are thinking of taking up sailing. Kite surfing has been great, but there are some other things we want to try as well. We are going to give surfing a try, which seems really fun, and sailing is something that we can do once we leave Australia too.

On a musical note, I've been taking drum lessons, and I love it. It's one of those things that just makes sense and clicks, unlike some other musical instruments I've tried. It's a lot like dancing actually. The way you count and divide up the beats is how we would in a dance class, which makes it a lot easier for me. So, if I can't find a real job then drummer might be next up on my list :)

Still in the interviewing stage, this job hunt thing is harder than I ever realized. I'm having a nice time not working, and I'm sure once I start I'll be wishing for a vacation, but it would be nice to work. I need that, I like to have that purpose and I like earning a salary. I miss all that, and also the comraderie of office friends. So, hopefully that will happen soon.

Well, Rob and I are off to do a little shopping, help boost the Australian economy. We like to do our part. Have a great weekend all.

Lots of love,
Sandra

Winter is here, but not here!

Ah, it's you again. Welcome back.

It's winter for most of you, but here in the land of Oz it's so summery I can't envision drinking anything but lemonade. It's hard to believe that it's the holiday season when the first thing we do is come home and turn the AC on. However, that doesn't stop the Aussies from portraying the holiday season with snow-covered santas in the store windows, and dreaming of Christmases in white. We actually miss the cold, although when it was a little chilly over the weekend we were pretty happy not to be heading into a traditional winter. Still, we miss wrapping up in sweaters and scarves and the coziness that this time of year brings. Or maybe we miss complaing about the weather. Either way, we'll appreciate cold winters when we have them again. For now though, we'll bask in the summer heat and really enjoy it, because we know once January hits we'll be gloating (in the nicest way possible of course, you can gloat this month though).

So, what have we been up to the last few weeks? Rob-work. Sandra- searching for work. That pretty much sums it up. We've also been having some fun though, we're fun people. We went up to the Gold Coast, which is beachy, flashy, and fun. This past weekend Rob took me away for a pretty fantastic birthday weekend to the Yarra Valley. It started with a trip to Prahan Market, a foodie's fantasy. We stocked up on fresh french bread and cheese. Then we went off to the zoo, to see koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, and other Aussie specialties. Went out for a beautiful dinner, red wine and porterhouse steaks for two. The next day I got spoiled with spa treatments, then we went to a winery for some tasting and another picnic (cheese and bread again, we would eat it everyday if we had the metabolism of teenage boys).

So now I'm 27. It may sound young, but I'm officially now in my late-twenties. It goes fast, as I'm starting to really appreciate. Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday so special with cards, gifts, emails, and phone calls.

And Happy belated Thanksgiving to the USofAers. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and that you have a lot to be thankful for. I do.

Love,
Sandra

We have phone numbers!

So, we are finally all sorted out here in Australia. We are now traceable, contactable, and flexible. Oh, the last one's just me actually, yoga classes. So, if you want to call us, email us, write us a nice letter telling us how much you miss us, or call us from a fabulous party to show us how much we're missing not being with you, here's how you can do it:

Find us or write us at:
576 St. Kilda Road, Unit 911
Melbourne, VIC 3004
Australia

Call us:
Sandra's mobile: 0406889046 (if calling from outside Oz dial +61 406889046
Rob's mobile@: 0437456309 (if calling from outside Oz dial +61 437456309

Call us for virturally nothing on our skype numbers:
Skype-skype: sandra-and-rob-burley

We pay a monthly service fee so you can now call us for just the call of a local number for you. We have the following three numbers, one is a local MD number, one is a local London number, and one is a locl Melbourne number.

US number: 301-637-4472

UK number:020 3287 4621

Even an Australian number: 03 9005 6194

No excuse for not keeping in touch now, huh :) We miss you all, and wish you a lovely weekend.

We're off to go fly a few kites.

Love, Sandra and Rob

More new pictures

New pictures posted, click on our picture link below.

Great Ocean Road

Our New Apartment

xx S

New Photos

New photos are added to our Picassa page (link below- the picture archive at the bottom of the page). Check frequently, we update it often. The new album is called Greece.

Cheers

Kite Surfing Part Two

Before I start in on our spectacular second kite surfing lesson, I must clarify something from a previous blog. I am sure Vegemite is really nice, and I hope I didn't offend any Australians by saying I thought it was scary. I will definitely have to try it now, and prove myself wrong. I hear great things, and so far no Aussie has led me wrong!

Well, this past weekend we plunged into the water to let a kite drag us around. That was really fun. Rob is great at it, I believe the instructor used the word "perfect". For me, well, a bit of practice won't hurt before our next lesson. I'm comfortable admitting I'm not perfect (at least with kitesurfing, as for everything else....) :) At first we were pretty irrated because the wetsuits they gave us were just that. WET. And cold. And full of sand. It was a rather chilly day. Just imagine stripping down to your bathers, pulling on a wed, cold, sandy wetsuit while the wind whips you like a bully holding a towel in the locker room. That was less than fun. And our wetsuits were holey, and not in a saintly way. But we got over the indignities of being freezing and exposed, and hopped into the water with our harnesses and kites. We had a good session getting dragged around the water, and think it's going to be a really fun sport. Tough work, but a great time.

Had a house-warming party on Saturday which was great. We now know lots of nice people, and that's nice to feel so settled in already.

Till next time,
S & R Down Under

How to be a Good Australian

I'm feeling pretty proud today. A small accomplishment in the scheme of things, but still a shining moment. I have learned to drive on the left side of the road. Comfortably. And Rob even felt safe enough to close his eyes and have a little snooze. Yes, I am multi-conducir (to drive in Latin, although that doesn't really make much sense does it. You know what I mean anyhow). So, that's good.


We had a fantastic road trip this weekend. Pictures to come, and maybe Rob will even post on that adventure. Australia is a huge, amazing country. Pretty too.


We saw a Wallaby (which looks like a smaller, darker, kangaroo). We were consumed with seeing Australian animals on this drive, so it's so nice that we saw one. I also saw a kangaroo, but I don't think it counts, as it was sadly laying still by the roadside. They are prolific here, like deer, and people hunt them sometimes, which is apparently legal. No koalas yet, which is a big goal of ours. Are they not the cutest things? Would like to see one in the wild, but might resort to an open range zoo just to take a closer look.

We're adapting to Aussie culture pretty well I think, although after the Netherlands any English speaking country is a peice of cake. However, there are a few things I haven't quite picked up on yet.

Reasons I have been told I am a bad Australian:

1) I only own one pair of thongs (refer to previous post if this sounds scandalous)

2) Although I will maneoever a huge steel object around at 60+ mph (our car) I am afraid to try Vegemite

3) I laugh at words like "bonza." I mean, doesn't that sound like a sound that comes from a comic book when someone lands a punch to an evil villain?

I am sure I will adjust.

In the meantime, I am celebrating an Obama victory and a world of hope. I'm sure there is much more clever commentary out there than I can write here, but I will just say that this is a new beginning to a new world I think, and I am really looking forward to this change.

Here's hoping,

Sandra and Rob