Christmas and New Years

Well the holidays are now over and I hope everyone had a great time. I know I certainly did! I spent most of my time up North in the town on Dongara with Brett's family. They are great people and not a dull moment was had.

We arrived in Dongara on Christmas eve after visiting Zareena's parents in Perth. She has a great family, but not quite run of the mill. I am not saying that to be mean, but it's just that her father is Danish and her mother is Malaysian. We spent the afternoon with her parents, her brothers (John, Jordan, and Jahari), her sister in law (John's wife) and their two sons. It was a great time eating dinner and passing out some presents. I even got a box of chocolates!

On Christmas morning in Dongara I woke up bright and early (about 830 am) and was surprised to find that I had presents waiting for me! I brought with me a present from Lisa and a presents from Dad and Sally (thanks again!!) so that I would have something to open, but to my enjoyment I opened up presents from a few others. I received another box of chocolates, a pair of Australian flag boxers, an Australian flag beach towel, a beer cozy, a Dongara hat, and a collapsable tailgating chair. It was a great time opening presents because that was the only normal part of the day.

Opening presents aside, Christmas day was not like anything I've experienced before. The temperature was about 110 degrees, we played Cricket outside, went for a long swim in the ocean, and got a little sunburned. It was far different from freezing temperatures and the traditional white Christmas. But, being an American from the midwest, Brett's family had lots of questions about how Christmas is celebrated in the US. Most of the people have never even seen snow before! Quite different.

The rest of the week was lots of swimming and cricket on the television. Traditionally, Australian has a Test match against India beginning on Boxing day (the day after Christmas) at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). The Test lasts five days with three, two hour sessions each day. It was extremely boring at first, but at about the third day I started to enjoy it. It's weird, Australians think Baseball is about as fun as watching paint dry, but Cricket is much worse...in my humble opinion.

One day we traveled even further up North, about 60 kms to a town called Geraldton. You may have heard of this town on the news because a man was attacked and killed by his own cricket bat Christmas day. Very sad news, but the town was beautiful. We drove all around and even got to see a World War II memorial devoted to the HMS Sydney that was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean and has never been found. It sits on a hilltop overlooking the city and the main harbour. The monument looks like a grain silo with the top decorated with stainless steel seagulls and supported by four steel beams and no walls. Each seagull represents a sailor who was lost in the attack. Just past the monument is a metal statue of a woman looking out over the harbour waiting for the ship to return. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me since I was told that we were only going to Geraldton for the shopping mall. Oops.

On arrival back in Perth, Brett, Zareena, and myself met up with some Milwaukee friends at Rob Perry's house. Included were Jared, James, GD, Tony Fairhead, Dunny (not so much Milwaukee, but he's been there and supports us), Rob, and his wife Flavia. We had a great time catching up and eating some traditional Australian tucker (food). We had sausages, freshly caught fish and prawns (very big shrimp), potatoes, and salad. We all sat around for about 5 hours just enjoying the great Austalian weather.

The next day, New Year's Even, Brett, Zareena, and myself met up again with GD but this time to watch a game of Cricket. We headed into the city to the WACA stadium (I'm not sure what it stands for) for a 20/20 match. A 20/20 match lasts only about 2-3 hours and each team gets to bat for 20 overs (one over consists of 6 pitches/bowles). The games was fun, but unfortunately Western Australia lost to Tasmania 188 - 189. The game had the feeling of baseball as each person was sporting a sausage and a beer. It was quite an experience and I would love to got to another game.

After the game Brett, Zareena, and myself met up with some friends at a bar called The Saint to ring in the New Year. The bar was completely decked out in balloons and celebration gear as everyone showed up in their celebration get-up. It was a New Year's eve to remember (if I can...haha).

Now I am back at Brett and Zareena's house enjoying the weather and waiting for footy to start. I don't know the exact date, but I should know soon. I am enjoying ever minute of my time here but I still think about everyone often, especially around the holidays. I hope everyone had a great celebration with the people they love. Take care and I will write soon!!