Christmas in Geelong

I was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year, but just in the nick of time, with a little shopping, gift wrapping and a gingerbread latte it felt like Christmas. Also, I found my first Australian Christmas song, White Wine in the Sun, and I just love it!

I spent Christmas eve through boxing day down in Geelong (just south of Melbourne) with some lindy hopper friends, Kieran, Loz and Elise. They and their families were so good to me and I really enjoyed their Australian Christmas experience.

Some Aussie traditions include:
-more deserts than you can handle
-bocce in the garden
-visits to the beach
-afternoon naps between meals
-beach cricket

Although technically I have played the game, I still have no idea how to play cricket. The instructions I got were “hit the ball and run”. In any case, it was good fun.

I do miss home a lot this time of year; the cottage, the snow, Mom’s cooking. But I will just have to look forward to next year!

Melbourne

I arrived in Melbourne a few weeks ago and have finally started to settle in. When I first arrived there was a big lindy hop weekend and since then I’ve stayed with a few very generous dancers and had a lovely time.

This week I moved into a house down in St Kilda just off the beach, with a bunch of other backpackers. I share a room but it’s a nice big house and everyone has jobs on slightly different schedules so there is plenty of space. I also managed to get a bike which makes getting to my job quick and easy!
Well, one of my jobs.

One is at a pub over in Port Melbourne, which is about a 20 minute bike ride along the beach. It gets super busy on the weekends but the staff are friendly and this week I get to learn how to make cocktails!
I’m still working on finding a good day job. I just quit one and it felt sooooo good. If you’ve never stormed out on an employer, I highly recommend trying it. It was a hoity toity restaurant where the owners yell at everyone and micromanage until you just can’t take it anymore. And it was far away from where I am living, so now I’m looking for a restaurant in the neighbourhood.

Now that I’ve sort of got the work, housing and bike thing figured out, my next to do is to get a social life! I’ve got a few good friends around the city, some lindy hoppers, some backpackers that I’ve met along the way, but I was so busy trying to get life organized that I forgot about fun!

Speaking of which, it’s a balmy 39 degrees today and even the city buses were warning us yesterday to carry water and keep the blinds down if there is no air conditioning! Such thoughtful public transit personnel. So now I need to decide whether to hit the beach or find a nice air-conditioned museum to spend my afternoon in.

Christmas is a little different down here. For one, it’s hot. And there is no snow. Also, I have only seen one house with Christmas lights and there aren’t nearly enough tacky decorations in the shop windows. But maybe that’s just because I’m not living in suburbia. It is nice to see everyone so relaxed around Christmas time, as opposed to being cold, stuck in traffic, and generally stressed about the holiday season.
So I’ll be sending warm beachy thoughts to you, Merry Christmas!