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.