LunarEclipse

I spent this past week exploring Melbourne, Victoria. I have to say, I absolutely loved it! 

Flagstaff Gardens at corner of La Trobe St and King St

I got to practice my Korean and eat Korean food (맛있는 돌솥 비빔밥을 먹었어요!) with friends.

leaving Korean restaurant (one of many)

I met lots of other researchers in my field (at several universities), participated in a discussion on a topic connected to my research, attended a seminar on the relationship between documentation and description when working with endangered languages, and learned more about the kinds of exciting projects other linguists are working on. Whew! A very fun and engaging few days, to be sure. I welcome any opportunity to nerd out with fellow field linguists.

walking in the city

I saw beautiful artwork, including some stunning work by Kate Oates at the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre. I felt very fortunate that on my second visit (I had to go back and see her artwork a second time) she was there, too, and I actually got to meet her!

a fountain outside National Gallery Victoria International

The whole time, of course, I was surrounded by Melbourne's fascinating architecture, including this building, Port 1010, which exhibits the Cafe Wall (or Münsterberg) optical illusion. The orange lines are actually parallel, but look like they taper off.

Port 1010

I got to ride on the free tourist shuttle, the city trams, and the ever-exciting, free city circle tram. Years ago, I rode on a matching streetcar, shipped to Seattle from Melbourne, with my dad, brother, and parakeet, "Rainbow".

riding on the tram, which got stuck (on a no-power spot), so the driver hopped out, cracked a joke about how him stealing his siblings' food paid off, and pushed it a few feet to get us going again

I went to the incredibly exciting Queen Victoria Market (a few times), full of yummy fresh mangosteen, okra, massive portobello mushrooms, touristy-doodads, tasty panini, hemp clothing, churros, and everything else you could imagine.

Carlton (suburb), on the way to the QVM market

I also went to the Rose St. artists' market.

houses and gardens, along the walk to Rose St Market

Rose St Market

Naturally, I did a bit of jogxploration (what else does one do in a big, unfamiliar city?).

near my hostel

Yarra River

And, of course, I spent a good bit of time watching leaves fall, like I do.

fallen leaves in Carlton Gardens, near the Melbourne Museum

leaves falling in Carlton Gardens

And, thanks to my friend, Gab, telling me it was happening that night, I watched the total lunar eclipse! Wednesday night slash early Thursday morning I popped outside my hostel in Melbourne to watch the sun, moon, and earth align at just the right time (a night with a full moon).

night sky near La Trobe's Bundoora campus

At first, the moon was gigantic. Full and bright. Slowly the shadow of the earth crept over the moon. There's nothing like watching celestial events to remind us that we are small and our problems are tiny.

full moon

I popped back inside to do some laundry, then ran back out into the crisp night. By then, the moon was glowing red with the indirect light of earth's atmosphere. I watched a while longer. It was almost gone. One more time I ran inside to check on the laundry, then ran back outside. As I burst out the door (I probably didn't need to run - it all happened rather slowly), I saw a man sitting on a bench smoking. I said excitedly, "There's a lunar eclipse!"

He responded (almost caring), "Huh. Are you into astrology, then?"
"Uh... no, not particularly. Are you?"
"Yeah. I used to be," he dramatically continued, "But I have bigger things to worry about." And then he went back to his cigarette.

After the moon disappeared completely, I went back inside. The front desk was open by then, so I told the person working there (in an attempt to explain why I had been running in and out the door at such an odd hour in my pjs) that there was a lunar eclipse. He said, "Really??" and ran outside in a hurry. Suspecting he might be a bit disappointed, I decided to go out there with him to point out where the moon had been, as there was actually nothing to see now that it was invisible. Ah well.

The sun came up shortly after and I went up to the roof to snap some photos of the city (next goal: take a photography class - I could use some instruction, hah).

Melbourne from hostel rooftop (note solar panels for heating the water)

Melbourne from rooftop 2

Melbourne from rooftop 3

For some BBC coverage of the total lunar eclipse, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13787341


And now, I will leave you with a possum.

oak with anti-possum ring

possum (I think?)

Goodbye, Melbourne and your lovely people! Thanks for the adventure.

Newcastle, it is

It is rainy and beautiful. The trees are dancing. I found two seeds in my persimmon this morning (I've never found a persimmon with seeds in it before), so as soon as I figure out where a persimmon tree might like to grow I'm going to go plant them in the soggy-soaky soil. (Why not?)

I have to apologize - I've been speaking of my experiences in Australia, but honestly I can only really speak of my experience of Newcastle. The rest of (vast) Australia remains an adventure-yet-to-be-had to me.

photo from around my neighbourhood suburb

pretty sky in my suburb

However! Tomorrow morning (4am - ugh) I head to Melbourne for the week. I hear it's cold, but pretty happenin'. I'm hoping that the cold there is more like the cold I'm used to, i.e. cold which stays outside and does not enter dwellings. I've decided to stop complaining about the cold in Newcastle, so let me just say this: the buildings here were not built for it!

Since my last post, I've had a birthday (which was lovely), celebrated Easter Monday (observed on Tuesday, naturally), given a presentation at the research higher degree symposium as part of my confirmation requirements (a fun day of interesting presentations from across the school), and been accepted into the MA in Language Documentation and Description at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (I'll be temporarily suspending my PhD here come September and heading to London). There may have been some salsa dancing and trivia nights thrown in there for good measure as well.

Tomorrow (Monday) is another public holiday: the Queen's Birthday. (The Queen's actual birthday is 21 April, so don't be confused.) I am on the lookout for more Americans so we can have a proper 4th of July celebration.

Okay, I have a lot more to do before I leave tomorrow, but there may be a few more short posts (like the one below this) in the works...

Peace!

p.s. I have discovered that my pronunciation of 'herb' usually elicits the following response:
(fits of laughter)
"She drops the haych!" 

Which then leads to several attempted imitations:

"Urb. Urb."
And more laughter. 

Ah well, I do enjoy having an urb garden.

An Observation About Crested Pigeons

Remember the crested pigeons I mentioned earlier? Well, I saw some sleeping on a telephone wire and now I suspect that their crests actually serve a purpose.

When a crested pigeon tucks its head under its wing (as sleeping birds do) its little crest sticks up in front of it. It looks quite a bit like a beak, enough so that (from a distance) the sleeping bird looks like an awake bird! And that just might be a deterrent for stealth predators.

Well done, little birds. Your cute little crests are (possibly) more than just a funky hair-do.

via Joseph Henderer

Aus-um Possum!

Cold cucumber

In addition to the various academically-oriented things I’ve been working on since jumping back into a university setting cold turkey (what a gross expression – I'm going to make it more animal-friendly by replacing it from now on with "cold cucumber" #vegetarian), I have been hard at work doing some of the more important things in life, like making friends, learning about the local wildlife, overcoming culture shock, and such.

Making friends

On some Friday or other I went to an international women’s dinner on campus, where I sat around eating delicious food with beautiful women, many of whom were dressed in their finest clothing from their home country. I exemplified some manner of typical American dress (flannel and jeans!), but wasn’t aware of the dinner until an hour or so before it began and thus did not dress up fancy.

Isobel, Yanyan (Yoyo), Song, Lydia, Katherine, and Yongxia
photo by Ruth

There were several friendly competitions, and I volunteered to compete with another woman in a game involving kicking a beach ball around an obstacle course in high heels as quickly as possible. 

I lost. 

I was given the beach ball (once it was recovered from underneath one of the many tables I had lost it under) as a consolation prize, or possibly just in gratitude for the entertainment.

I had never tried tai chi before, but thanks to the suggestion of another international student (Frank) and my own completely naive (but genuine) enthusiasm, we’ve now started up a tai chi class on campus. We had eight students for the first day. I have to say, Eduardo and I may not have known what we were doing, but thanks to Frank’s generosity and foresight in bringing spare attire, we at least looked pretty good while doing it.

Frank (teacher), Lydia, Eduardo in tai chi attire

Wildlife sightings

After class, I was walking to the bus stop and saw a MASSIVE SQUIRREL.

It had its back to me, so I quietly put down my bag and pulled out my camera. At that point it turned, looked at me like it was slightly annoyed that I was there, and hopped up into a tree.

I managed to get a photo of its hiney (cropped and brightened a bit here for your viewing pleasure) and was informed at a dinner party later that night that it was not a squirrel, but a possum. Yes, my friends, the possums here are actually adorable with big bushy tails, not beady-eyed and naked-tailed like in North America.

Moral of that story: don't assume that everything you're familiar with at home will be the same in a new place like Australia.

When you talk about spiders the locals insist, “I’ve never known anybody who’s been bit,” but the spiders here are quite big and googley-eyed. I encountered a massive one (“probably just a Huntsman – harmless!”) guarding the compost bin in the backyard. I calmly left it be, but not until after I shrieked and threw orange rinds and corn husks everywhere. Apparently they eat cockroaches, though, so they're beneficial, as many spiders are. What's your excuse, mosquitoes?

I've also seen flocks of corellas, a bajillion rabbits (adorable, but invasive), itty bitty lizards (possibly garden skinks) and flashy, crested pigeons (seriously, look at them). 

Culture shock

One thing that’s taken a bit of getting used to for me is the use of kilograms in the grocery stores, but the complete absence of scales. When I first went to buy produce, I knew that bananas cost $9.98/kg (it's now gone up to over $12/kg), but had no idea how many bananas were in a kilo or how many kilos were in a banana. With no scales anywhere to tell me, I decided I’d just have to find out the hard way, and find out I did! Turns out a banana weighs about 0.14 kg and the four bananas I bought cost me $5.67. Apparently the banana supply has been ill-affected by weather and the prices have subsequently increased and I will not be buying anymore bananas in Australia (as an unfair comparison, they only cost a few cents in Ghana).

I have completely fallen for vegemite sandwiches, though. I wasn't sure how good white bread with butter and vegemite could possibly be, but I was assured it was delicious enough to be a daily meal (some Americans might say the same for PB&J), so I finally gave in and made myself one for lunch. I cheated and used wholemeal bread and margarine instead of white bread and butter, but, amazingly, it was delicious! Vegemite has become a regular part of my diet now.

Transportation

I have a bike and will possibly be getting a motorbike license in the near future. I'm working up the mental fitness to attempt to ride the bike anywhere further than to the grocery store, after having only successfully ridden it home thanks to the kindness of one of the lecturers, who showed me the way and biked it with me.

My next priority is getting a raincoat, though. It's been raining off and on a lot. I suspect it will be a good investment for London and Ghana as well, which may be in my near future...

First week in Australia

I've gone from one side of the Pacific to the other, driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in California to visit my brother and sister-in-law and then driving along the Pacific Highway in New South Wales to get from Sydney to Newcastle.

Bro and sis-in-law at Palos Verdes beach, California

Newcastle Beach, Australia

I'm finally getting settled and it's been an exciting first week. I have a cheapo phone (I seem to keep downgrading my phones, but some day soon I may have a smart phone!), a local bank account (currently empty), and housing (I move in tomorrow morning!). I've explored campus and a good chunk of the surrounding area. I haven't starved (yes, Holmesy, there is food in Australia). I haven't been hit by a vehicle for forgetting to look right, then left. I've met most of the folks in my discipline here on campus (we had a little coffee get-together today). And, I'm beginning to figure out what sorts of student groups are around that one can get involved with (perhaps the queer, vegan, "enviro", international student, and women's collectives? Check! All in one space - with weekly discounted produce boxes available, too. And vegemite...).

View from my room in the hotel

I've been staying in a little hotel (with no internet) about a 40-minute walk from campus for the last week. For those unfamiliar with Australian terminology, the word "hotel" does not necessarily mean that the establishment provides accommodation. This one does, but it also houses a pub/restaurant below, which seems to be its main attraction.

The research group I'm a part of (the Endangered Language Documentation, Theory and Application team, or ELDTA) has its own little work space room in the building its housed in, so I have my own workstation with a computer, chair, and lockable set of drawers. And there's a kitchen down the hall where I can make tea.

It's really all quite comfortable and conducive to productive research, in my opinion.

McMullin building, where ELDTA is housed

I will be moving in to a house in a quiet neighborhood (spell-check in Australia doesn't like my spelling of neighbourhood without the u) that's in between campus and the beach and really close to the grocery store. I plan on getting a bike soon!

Next up: finishing my grant application for fieldwork funding, working out all the details of doing an MA in September (including applying for it), and beginning my preparations for my PhD confirmation (the first big milestone of my work here).

Small things, as usual...

A rock quarry turned into an off-leash dog park

And, of course, I plan on having many more adventures in this exciting new place. I've tried Tim Tams and I've finally gotten used to saying "bush" instead of "forest" (as in, "bush campus," aka, here). But there's plenty more to learn and to see.

Pelicans flying near Palos Verdes, California

Ta!

First day in Australia - March 15, 2011

I'm here at the University of Newcastle doing a PhD in Linguistics.

Getting here was not my most favored experience. I was overcharged $60 by Air Pacific for my baggage and wanted to cry from LAX to Fiji. But, as the sun came up over the mountains in Nadi during my layover before heading off to Sydney, my spirit started to warm again. I felt that many blessings were being sent my way as people started to smile at me again. Things went more smoothly and instead of being scared I started to get excited.

When we landed in Sydney I discovered that once gain I was a bit overprepared and more concerned and rule-abiding than was necessary. Customs was a breeze. They seemed almost to be chuckling to themselves that I had bothered to declare my wooden cutting board (and its accompanying ulu), pocket knives, and wooden claves. They didn’t even bother looking at them, although I’d carefully placed them in one location for easy access.

My transportation was easy to find and off we headed to Newcastle. The only other passenger was a cheerful grandmother who loves to travel and insisted on the driver playing tour guide for me, teasing his les-chatty nature with an encouraging, “I wish you wouldn’t talk so much, Bob!”

The first wildlife I saw was a flock of white birds pecking about in the grass in a park. Cockatoos!

“You’ve got those in the States, haven’t you?” Betty, my coach-mate asked.

“Only as pets. Although we have got some flocks of parrots and parakeets in California that escaped from homes.”

“Oh! Really? They’re quite common here. Bit of a pest on the farms.”

Quite tired, I finally checked in at my hotel, showered, bought some groceries and slept for a good 12 hours.

I’m still a bit jet-lagged, but I have to say it’s quite lovely here. I really do like it. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that the campus is a mountainous rainforest. Everyone I’ve interacted with has been friendly and helpful and in spite of nothing being on a grid and the sun being in a different position in the sky (relatively, of course), I haven’t gotten lost yet (knock on wood).

With everything going so well, I’m beginning to get that feeling I got while doing research in Ghana, that surely something must go wrong – things simply can’t be this perfect. But they were then, and perhaps they’ll stay that way here now.