On 28 January, I went to my first cricket game, which happened to be the Big Bash League Final, played at Manuka Oval in Canberra ! My host parents took me with them while Caroline's mother watched the kids, & it was such an exciting game. I learned a lot about the rules of T20 cricket from Caroline, & the Perth Scorchers (who we cheered for, since Matt's from Perth) came out on top of the Sydney Sixers.
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| With my host parents, Matt & Caroline |
Then, the weekend of 1 February, I spent in Sydney with Al for the Laneway Music Festival, which was a Christmas present to Al from me. I bought tickets to this festival in particular because it is known for having lesser-known acts before they make it big, & I was familiar with some artists but not all, so I thought it'd be fun to hear some new music, too! We had wonderful weather for the event, with intermixed sun & clouds & just a few sprinkles to keep the heat down. Favorite performers of the day included Banks, Mansionair, Flight Facilities, & Jungle. The crowd was a fun one (with the exception of the absolute creep who got wayyyyy in everyone's personal space during Flight Facilities; I was thankful for tall, intimidating Al who made him go away). I also found my latest favorite "cheap beer" in Australia - Melbourne Bitter.
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| Banks! |
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| Flight Facilities |
I stayed in Sydney on the Sunday night, since I was exhausted & had been drinking at the festival, then got up at 4 a.m. to make the drive from Sydney to Canberra on Monday morning in time for Andrew's first day of kindy (which explains how rough I look in the pictures haha). It was so exciting to go with the whole family to drop him off for his first day at French kindy in his adorable uniform! I am soaking up every second of time left with my precious kids. I will miss them so much when I leave!
There have also been many goodbyes lately, as I have passed the 6-month mark for my time in Canberra, & many of the friends I met when I first arrived have already left. I can't wait to meet up with them all in different parts of the world & have enjoyed the last bits of time spent with friends still here, too. The week before Valentine's was a fun one, with the Chet Faker concert in Canberra, baking cookies with the kids (& a special cookie for Andrew's kindy girlfriend, Maya), & going out with friends.
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| One of my weekly dinners: chicken sausage gnocchi with Cheddar Bay biscuits |
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| Alisa, Marlies, myself, & Hannah |
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| Decorating Valentine's cookies |
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| Andrew looking creepy hahaha |
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| The finished products |
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| Annabel the artist! |
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| Chet Faker |
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| Chet Faker with Leslie & Char! |
For Valentine's weekend, I went to Sydney to see Al, & we spent Saturday & Sunday watching Gone Girl (since we both recently read the book), walking around Cronulla beaches & shops, & at Al's basketball game, which was fun to watch! Then we broke up.
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| "A minute without you..." (watch) "...is a minute wasted." (liquor) ...I thought I was clever! |
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| Basketball game at Sydney Uni |
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| Cronulla |
Back in Canberra, I drank lots of wine, went to lots of brunches, & bought myself flowers. I met lots of the new au pairs who have arrived (in large part Americans near me, in contrast to the majority of Germans and French previously). I got up at 6:30 a.m. three days last week to run & was rewarded with beautiful views over Lake Burley Griffin each morning. I was introduced to a speakeasy I never knew existed that is legitimately impossible to find (just an unmarked door on an empty alley leading to stairs seemingly to nowhere then you open another door into the thriving 1920's scene...& the cocktails are fabulous). Unfortunately, I came down with a cold on the weekend I was supposed to get scuba certified so I stayed home & went out with friends instead! I also had an interesting experience getting my industrial bar done at a shoe store....like "Sketchers, Converse, Reebok, Body Piercings"...& my instructions were to "go outside & to the door leading to a staircase then go around the corner & there's a door with a beaded curtain, & the piercing guy is in there." Not sketchy at all, right?! Haha.
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| Last night out with Marleen, one of my first friends in Canberra! |
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| Industrial bar |
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| Sunrise on Lake Burley Griffin |
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| When I ran by at first, this was on the ground, then I looped back to see it in the air. |
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| Manhattans at Molly with Hannah & Alie |
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| Uni Pub with some favorite au pairs! |
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| Benji didn't particularly love running. |
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| Brunch at Urban Pantry. |
For the last weekend in February, I was back up to speed, so I headed down to Batemans Bay for my scuba certification. Because Matt was in New Zealand for the Australia v. New Zealand cricket game, the grandparents were watching the kids, & I had Friday off, too! So I had a nice beach day to myself before two full days of scuba diving! I got certified with Pure Scuba & had a wonderful experience. There were two others in my "class," a French girl from Canberra who researches & teaches about glaciers (She also got her doctorate in Tasmania, which got my wheels turning about coming back to Australia for school) & a Batemans Bay local who is a full-time lifeguard/beach patrol, so he wanted to have the opportunity to dive when they search for missing bodies.
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| Beach day allllll to myself. |
The first part of the day on Saturday was spent passing the swimming/treading water requirements then practicing skills in the pool. The eLearning modules for the course had been quite extensive (5 modules, which took me 3-4 hours each to complete) but all of the skills were much easier to learn & practice in person, with the gear right in front of me & on my back. In short, I am absolutely hooked. I have always loved bodies of water & know I need to live near one but being able to breathe & explore a habitat like the underwater world is the most amazing thing I've ever done. I think I love it in the same way I was absolutely obsessed with caving (which was previously my favorite thing I've ever done)...in both instances, I have the privilege of seeing an entirely new world that most people never get the chance to see, which belongs to the various plants & animals who inhabit it...& just existing in that environment with its owners is such a privilege!
The second part of Saturday was our first open water training dive (of four required). We did a shore dive in Guerrilla Bay & mostly just explored & practiced the same skills from the pool but this time in the open water. We were lucky enough to have two grey nurse sharks come to swim around us for several minutes before disappearing after schools of fish. We saw several stingrays & a wobbegong shark as well as various plant life.
On day 2 of certification, we had our second open water dive, where we finished all of the skills we had to practice so that our last two dives could be just for pleasure. We dove again from Guerrilla Bay for dives 3 & 4, although in a different location from the first dive. This time, we descended between several rock walls, where we were greeted by several blue flounder who are used to divers & acted like dogs, swimming with us & letting us pet them. We even would pick up sea urchins & smash the underside so that the flounder could eat the fleshy insides out of our hands. We saw many more stingrays & beautiful fish. The ocean bottom was also so beautiful, with all of the plants & aquatic life swaying with the currents. For our final dive, we took the shop's boat out to an island, where sharks congregate on one side. Unfortunately, due to stormy weather, we couldn't get the boat in on the shark side, so we relocated to the opposite side of the island to dive again with various fish, stingrays, gummy sharks, & an eagle ray! I had such an amazing weekend & am even more excited about my trip to Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef.
Unfortunately, this past week, I have experienced the worst back pain of my life (which I think is due to lifting my heavy scuba cylinder or my weight belt or both...even though I intentionally tried to lift "with my legs"). The back pain has been absolutely crippling, with Thursday being the worst day, during which I could barely walk, barely get into the car, & not even pick up Emily or buckle the children into their car seats. Sitting down was excruciating, standing was excruciating, sleeping was excruciating. I am a thousand times better now, but I'm still somewhat bent over when I walk & it twinges when I turn or bend certain ways. I think I'm on the uphill now, thankfully, & I'm thankful for Chris, who was able to Skype me, evaluate me, demonstrate proper car transfers, & send me exercises to help.
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| Chris demonstrating back exercises with a pillow |
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| My little physical therapy student doing his thing! |
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| Teaching me to get in & out of the car like an old person |
Also this week, my family's new au pair, Louise, arrived from Brisbane. She is French but has already worked as an au pair in Brisbane & also worked on a strawberry farm. She has helped so much with the kids & things that have been difficult with my messed-up back. I have also had fun since I love the French language, & she is still improving on her English. Language exchange is my favorite thing in the world, so we have had lots of time to ask questions & learn from each other. Since we have three weeks together before I leave, I tried to do most of the duties this past week with her watching & learning. This coming week, she will mostly take over, & I will watch & help, making sure she knows the routine. The last week, we will share duties as I prepare to leave Canberra for good. On her second night in Canberra, we both got to take the kids to join Matt (host dad) at the Ireland v. South Africa cricket match, which was tons of fun!
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| At the cricket with Louise & the kids! (+ Matt & company) |
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| Emily, sitting on my lap & eating, per usual |
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| Beautiful sunsets from Manuka Oval |
Despite the back pain, I have loved this past week. It really feels like the start of fall in Canberra, & as I have waited an entire year of springs & summers for my favorite season, I am so so so excited!!! The mornings are chilly, & although it gets warm during the day, it is still so crisp & beautiful & fall-feeling that I am on a high simply from the beautiful weather. Earlier this week, Louise, British Alie, & I went to check out Canberra's Enlighten Festival & the night noodle markets.
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| Beef yakisoba |
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| Old Parliament House lit up for Enlighten Festival |
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| Lanterns at the noodle markets |
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| Mini pancakes with chocolate, caramel, & strawberries |
Then, on Saturday morning, Louise & I managed to leave the house with all three kids at 6:20 a.m. to see the Canberra Balloon Spectacular, where 15+ hot air balloons ascended over the capital. It was such a beautiful sight, & I want to go again this week to take pictures from a vantage point further away from where the balloon take off.
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| Emily loved watching the balloons rise |
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| Chilly & early Saturday with the kids |
I spent this past weekend mostly resting my back, despite wanting to be able to go out & see friends. However, I still made it to Pine Island beach for some sun on Sunday as well as stopped by the Old Bus Depot Markets, which are a favorite of mine in Canberra. Monday was a holiday, which I took for (even more) rest & some suntanning on our beautiful new deck.
Today, I relinquished my role as Emily's partner for swim class, which was a sad hand-off because I love being in the water with her. It is strange to slowly hand my duties over to a new au pair but Louise is fantastic, & I am thankful the kids have her for their next au pair. In just 10 short days, I will leave Canberra for Sydney & the next adventures, so I plan to make the most of my time left!
Till next time,
Alli
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