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| Tastes like chicken! |
We are amazed with how much activity there is here—people are out and about day and night. There are lectures and architecture tours and art exhibits 24/7. We went to a literary event at the town hall on a rainy Wednesday night and there were well over 1,000 people there. One evening we went to Victoria Market (500 stalls selling everything from organic produce to knock-off Addidas). At night it is an international extravaganza with live music from Africa and Indonesia and food vendors from all over the world (no American hot dogs though). We are trying everything (at least once)!
There is so much to do here we can hardly find time for school and jobs. Nina and Audrey have fit right in at Wesley College. There are not many students from abroad so most of their classmates have grown up in Australia. The girls are liking the uniforms, mostly because they don’t have to think about what to wear in the morning. They get up, dress quickly, eat their “brekkie” of passion fruit yogurt and muesli (no appetite for Vegemite!) and catch the tram to school. Every day starts with “tute” (tutorial/homeroom) and then 4 or 5 long blocks instead of 7 or 8 long ones like home. Saturday morning sports is compulsory so they have school-related activities 6 days a week. The girls say it's not too different from school at home only p.e.classes are more intense and homework is less (intense). The kids are very fit but they have a lot of free time... What a concept!
As Year 10 students, Audrey and Nina have a standard curriculum; specialization starts at Year 11. At the end of Year 12, students take exams and university acceptance is based solely on a single composite test score; extra-curricular activities, essays and who-you-knows don't matter one bit. Nearly all the local kids go to college in Melbourne and live at home.
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| It's hard to ignore signs like this |
Although the kids don’t move out of home until later, the drinking age is 18 and cafes and bars are a way of life here. Driving age is also 18, so drunk driving is a big concern. We have already driven through (and passed) several routine roadside sobriety tests.
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| Sign like this are everywhere |
City life has been exciting but we are happy to get out of town on the weekends after sports. Last Saturday we drove 2 hours south of Melbourne to part of the Great Ocean Road. The rocky inlets and hair pin turns were remind us of Big Sur.
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| Audrey at the start of the Great Ocean Road |
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| Kangaroos mowing the Anglesea Golf Course |
We stayed at a friends’ home overlooking a golf course where kangaroos mow the grass. Stray balls have been known to fly into the pouches and hit the joeys! Along the beach we watched a "Surf Lifesaving" competition. The young children train for years; they start out as Little Nippers and learn to navigate the Rip (tide) to become an official Lifesaver. It is an essential rite of passage for living on coastal waters as most Australians do.
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| Grown Up Little Nippers |
While the girls are at school, we plan to do some volunteering. Mike is networking with people from all sorts of local non-profits to see where he can help out or get new initiatives going. Jill is getting involved in health care-related projects. She is fascinated by the socialized medicine here; the government is very involved and invested in health promotion and disease/accident prevention. Health care is controversial here too, but everyone gets what they need.
