My Belly Dances

Drumroll please....  Today - for the first time since attaching a giant purple bow to my head and tap dancing in pre-K - I performed in a dance recital.  I've been taking Belly Dance classes for a few weeks, and although I joined late in the semester, I managed to learn the routine in time to perform in the Christmas showcase (I almost said winter - I can't get me head around the fact that it's summer here).  Performing was so much fun!  By the time you're out there on stage it doesn't really matter if you lead with your left foot instead of your right - you're just surrounded by a room of people who are encouraging you.

The school has a huge spectrum of dancers - from beginner to professional, kids to grandmas, and all body shapes and sizes - but everyone looked gorgeous on stage.  It just shows you how important confidence and attitude are.  And it's pretty amazing when an activity can make every sort of woman feel beautiful and sassy.

Lately I've been trying to do more classes and activities to meet people in the city and have my own routine, especially since Mark's been working nights.  Belly Dance was great, but now it's on summer break for a month and a half.  I'm taking a great outdoor boxing class a few days a week, but I'm also trying to think of other interesting classes and activities.  I'd love any suggestions, challenges, or input!

The Ashes

This week in Australia, it's been all about Cricket.  The Ashes are on, and although you probably haven't heard of this series, the entire cricketing world has its eyes on Australia to see the English and the Aussie's have it out.

The Ashes is the name for the five cricket test matches played between England and Australia every few years.  Although I haven't quite figured out cricket (or, for that matter, heard a convincing argument why I should put in the effort), I have learned a few interesting things about the series in the run-up to the first test, which was played just blocks from my house in the Gabba, the Brisbane cricket ground:

                  1. Since cricket is a summer sport, and England and Australia have opposite

                      summers, the series is played not every year, but every 18-30 months, 

                      depending on some factor that probably makes sense to Cricket fans.  

                  2.  It's not just the English Cricket team that's in town.  So is the Barmy Army - 

                       the semi-organized fan group that follows the English Cricket team on 

                       international tours, including, most passionately, The Ashes.  I've actually 

                       seen quite a few Brits strutting around town proudly displaying Barmy 

                       Army shirts, and English flags have been popping up more frequently, 

                       including on a ferry that drove down the river covered by the Union Jack.

However, my favorite fact about the Ashes is the story of how the test got its name.  In 1882, an Australian cricket team beat the English in England for the first time.  The homeland was horrified to be beaten by the former convict colony, which had  been discovered only a century before.  So horrified, in fact, that the British Press, ever one for a theatrical story, declared English cricket dead.  In the obituary, one newspaper said that the body would be cremated, and the ashes sent to Australia.  Fully appreciating their come-from-behind win, Aussie fans presented the English team with an urn filled with ashes (of a cricket ball, a wedding veil, or various other items, depending on the version of the story you listen to).  And so, even 120 years later, smart British humor hangs on, and the series continues to be known as The Ashes.

The Story of the Day

I'd like to say that I haven't blogged in a week because I've been working non-stop, or because nothing too exciting has been going on (ok, well, I probably wouldn't like that reason), but neither is the case.  I haven't worked at all this week, so it's turned in to a bit of a mini holiday.  Mark and I have kayaked on the river, picnicked in the gardens, and really been able to enjoy the great weather and the great city.

Today we climbed the Story Bridge, which is in the picture above.  The Story Bridge is a Brisbane landmark, and it's basically in our back yard.  Bridge climbing is not so close to home.  Apparently there are only three bridges in the world open for the public to climb - the Story Bridge, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and one in New Zealand. 

The climb was great.  We started on the left side of the bridge, and climbed to that peak. Then, we went half way across the bridge before looping back.  It's a shame that Mark and I were less than photogenic this morning, because the pictures would have been stellar.  Because bridge climbing is a dangerous activity, for the climbers and for the cars speeding along below, there were heaps of safety precautions.  Everyone was zipped into a lovely blue jumpsuit (read: prison garb).  You couldn't wear bobby pins, jewelery, or anything that could possibly fall onto the traffic below (including cameras).  Luckily everyone is subjected to the same humiliating outfit - it's probably really a team building exercise rather than a safety measure - although of course there was one woman in the group who managed to make a blue onesy look glamorous.  Bitch.

The view from the top of the bridge was beautiful.  Brisbane has a very unique landscape, not like any other places I've been, especially in America.  The city is set along a winding river, which makes three 180 degree turns, splitting the city into a number of peninsulas.  The ocean is just visible in the distance if you're up high enough, and on the other horizons here are mountains - a group of small mountains that look like a wall around the edge of the city, and three peaks that jut out of an otherwise flat area near the coast.  All in all, it comes together to make a gorgeous view.  

The weather here this week has been perfect - it's in the 80's or low 90's, and although it's humid, it's bearable.  One thing that's great about Brisbane is how outdoors oriented the city is.  Bars, shops, and malls are all open-air, with tarps and tents at the ready in case it rains.  Even gyms and trainers take advantage of the weather - I've been working out with a training company that runs boxing and bootcamp classes in parks around the city.  I know the unbearable heat will come, but I'm trying psych myself up for it and not let it get the best of me.  I'm not ready to give up Brisbane outdoors.

And Picnicking

Paddling

Heating Up

The Pier directly behind our Apartment

Finally, we're getting some proper Australian weather - blue skies and heat, heat, heat!  Just as the fireplaces put to work at home, we had to fire up our air conditioner (AirCon as the Aussies say) for the first time this week.  Today I walked outside and thought "It can't possibly just keeping getting hotter for three more months!"

One Australian tradition that is especially nice in the heat is the markets.  Australians have all sorts of markets, from craft to clothing, but on Saturday and Wednesdays the food markets set up.  They're a deal, since grocery stores are very expensive here, but it's also a very fun environment.  You're buying your pineapple from the farmer who grows it just down the road, which is something you really can't beat!

Another thing that can't be beat is my hard work paying off - the stories I've been writing for Totally Wild are finally starting to go to air!  It takes a few months for the stories I write to be filmed, edited, and prepared for TV, so the stories I wrote at the beginning of September are now having their time in the spotlight.  You can see Totally Wild here: http://ten.com.au/watch-tv-episodes-online.htm.  For Monday November 15th's episode, I wrote everything the presenter says, and wrote & produced the story on Quolls.  On Wednesday's episode I wrote the presenter's lines, and  the young author story (and went to the shoot!).

For the stories I produce I write the script, choose the vision I want, and do a rough cut of the story before the editors work their magic (in the form of a 10-hour shift) to make it look great.  It was awesome seeing my work on TV - I think the whole office knew when my segments were on!

Monkey Business

 Don't let this peaceful, adorable picture fool you - these little monkeys were crazy!  Wednesday I went on the road with the Totally Wild crew, who was shooting a story I'd written on marmosets.  These photogenic primates are the smallest monkeys in the world, growing about seven inches long, and they certainly are cute.  Until you're in their cage, that is!

When we arrived and got into the marmoset enclosure, the monkeys were thrilled.  The four adults rocketed around the enclosure like ping-pong balls, paying no attention to the two-week-old infants grasping their backs.  The Marmosets leapt from the camera, to the sound-equipment, taking frequent breaks to land on our heads or bite our ears.

Once their curiosity was satisfied, they settled down a bit, and we were able to shoot the story.  The man who owns the monkeys, who has a small back-yard zoo, had ordered four male marmosets a year ago.  Lo and behold, two weeks ago he walked out to find two infants in the enclosure!  The babies were adorable - they were no bigger than my pinky, and were just old enough to hold their heads up and look charming from their parents' backs.  The adult marmosets were also cute, but for the most part they were too flighty to really interact with.

Overall it was a great day.  All I could think was that the people I was with got paid to do stories like this all the time!  Needless to say, a career as a television producer is looking pretty appealing - as long as there are no snake stories.

Horses Race, and So Does My Heart (for all the wrong reasons)

Today was the 150th Melbourne Cup, an institutional horse race and cultural phenomenon in Australia.  This picture about sums up what the day is about - fast horses, and beautiful hats.  In some states, the race day - always the second Tuesday of November, like US Election Day -  is a public holiday; where it isn't most people take the day off or do with the office for an afternoon of high fashion and betting.  To get into the mood of the day I joined in the office pool (or "sweep"), but none of my horses won.  Instead, a French horse called Americain (your guess is as good as mine) sped to victory. 

The Cup is a tradition that plays right into another Aussie passion - gambling.  Australians love to bet.  The lotto is played at least twice a week; pubs are constantly showing horse racing, dog racing, and Keno; and slot machine are everywhere.  Even small restaurants boast "Pokies," or poker machines, and the casino is proudly displayed in downtown, blocks form City Hall. 

The only bets I've been hedging since touching down in Oz have had to do with how long I can go without seeing any deadly natives.  So far so good, but today was a close call.  This morning everyone at work received an email:

             re: snake

             Just so everyone knows, there is a large brown snake out back near the smoking

              area

Followed shortly by this email, from someone with slightly more authority than the first sender:

             re: snake(s)

             A brown snake has also been spotted in the parking area.  It goes without 

             saying that  you should use use caution.  We've called the environmental 

             agency to get advice on how to proceed.      

Now, these emails do not seem very alarmist, with their lack of punctuation and casual tone, but after spending lots of time with Australians I was able to read between the lines and realize that it was time to panic.  First of all, for an Australian to acknowledge that a snake is "large," means, in simple American terms, that the snake is freeking huge.  My nerves were on edge before I even opened the email because if the snake-charmer Aussies thought these reptiles were significant enough to send an email to the entire office, something was going on.  For them to call an agency to "get advice" meant it was time to start sealing the doors and windows.

A quick Google search enlightened me as to why this was a serious situation.  Going back to the first email, I realized with a shiver that a "large brown snake" was actually a "large Brown Snake," the second most venomous snake in the world.  If I were a smoker, this would have been enough to make me quit immediately.  As it was, I considered just sleeping in the building to avoid walking outside, where massive, deadly snakes were surely waiting to sink their teeth in to American flesh.

I wish I was exaggerating for effect, but when it was time for me to leave, about six hours after the snakes were spotted, I walked directly down the middle of the road, not stepping within striking distance of the garden on either side.

"Did you see the snakes out here this morning?" I asked the security gaurd.

"It was about six foot long," he replied.

Needless to say, please don't expect a blog post on the day I actually do see a snake.  I will be in hospital recovering from a bad case of shock.  Until then, you will find me searching the ground before each step and sticking to pavement, praying for a modern-day Saint Patrick to come drive the snakes from Australia.

(Note: Since I'm busy trying to forget they exist, there will be no pictures of Brown Snakes attached to this post.)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  Unfortunately, for the second year in a row I'm in a country where this holiday never really took hold.  Asking around, a few people remembered trick-or-treating when they were younger, but overall, not many people celebrate Haloween.  I spent the morning running errands, and although the cashiers at the supermarket had witch's hats on, no one at the pub I visited in the afternoon was dressed up.  Not so much as a pumpkin pin.

However, you can't say that the Australians don't take full advantage of holiday celebrations.  After all, the mall is already decorated for Christmas!