So THIS is a normal Christmas!

   For most of my adult life, I have been "away" from home...and usually working...on Christmas Day. In fact, the few times I wasn't clocking in on the 25th felt so odd I wasn't sure what to do with myself.  This is why I don't share some of the common unhappiness experienced by people who aren't living the Norman Rockwell illustrated life.  My complaint as of late is about the oppressive hot weather rather than loneliness in the face of merrymaking.
   But my last couple of years have been completely different.  Kevin's brother, Brian, lives in the area and since the birth of his son Natie has become "more normal" himself.  You know, doing "normal" things especially when it comes to holidays instead of just drinking beer with buddies.  So this is how  my holidays have become normal, also.    It's become a tradition that Kev and I will meet up with Brian, Donna and son for brunch and cracker pulling.  Imagine, how utterly normal to have pancakes (with REAL Canadian maple syrup!) , eggs and fruit  with people you know and like--even related to.  It boggles the mind.  

Assembling Natie's Toy

   I must say it was quite fun watching watching the assembly of Natie's big toy, a parking garage. Not only does it have lots of ramps, it has an air traffic control tower and a helicopter landing pad.  A really odd mix unless an adjunct kit has an airport complete with x-ray machines, Customs inspectors and airline food service delivery trucks.
  As it was quite warm today [ 38C/102F ] we couldn't wait to do something very Australian for the day- go swimming. Not in the ocean, but in our property's pool.  No one else was around.  Only then, at 3 p.m., did we bother to open presents. Who knew Australian Monopoly had a surfboard and jar of Vegemite as player pieces?  Big find of the day for Kev-- even bigger than the new vacuum cleaner he received -- were the advertising circulars my mom used to pad her package. Away from the US for several years now, he had forgotten the prices of groceries and now marvelled: "Well, bread is the same price here. What, you pay how little for beef and booze?  I'm taking this in to show at work!" Trust Mom to get the right thing for Kev.
   Completely missed some favored Christmas movies on TV for all this hoopla, but I must say this 'normal' Christmas thing isn't a bad alternative to being away from home and out of touch.
    Merry Christmas .  Happy 2011. 

My First Visitor

     Recently I received an email that stated someone I know would be in Sydney on business. It's an email I've received before, usually with a request added for me to hop over for a visit. I don't get excited about these requests, Perth is as far from Sydney as San Diego is from Boston. But my recent email was different. It was from my older sister Anne--who offered to come to Perth for a visit.  My first visitor!

Anne at King's Park

      She was only going to be in town for four (4) days.  Hmmmm, kind of made it difficult to fit in all four weeks worth of activities I planned along with a few sights she hoped to see.  If we left out all extraneous chat [it's only been nine years since I've seen her last. What's to talk about?]  I figure we could cover about 1% of Western Australia. You know, just the highlights.

'Roo at Yanchep Nat'l Park

     Kev was a good egg. He took a day off work to drive us to the Indian Ocean (EVERY visitor to WA should at least dip their feet into the Indian Ocean  and, if they can manage it, into the Southern Ocean as well)  and ,  quite importantly, through the Swan Valley so Annie and I could winery hop.  Hey, someone had to drive! We saw emu and kangaroo really close up in the bush and  koalas in a protected environment.  This is ticking off a major wildlife box, let me tell you.

Two sisters at the Pinnacles

    Well, all this tippling and animal chasing landed us in prison.  Fremantle Prison, that is.  Convict made in the 1850s and decommissioned in 1991, it's an excellent tour of the housing of..ahem... early settlers.  Can't believe they used slop buckets until the day it closed! We didn't see Fremantle in its entirety.  Both Annie and I are "on island time" except that my island is significantly bigger than hers (she lives in South Korea) and we keep a faster pace in order to cover more ground here in expansive WA.  Annie was more likely to stroll. So the car figured heavily in the plans to.....

    ...the Pinnacles.  Looks like rocks growing out of the ground. A natural phenomenon in some form in lots of countries.  Naturally, WAs are more unique than others so it is a must see.  Also a wander through the magnificent King's Park.

Polish food--smaczne!

     A "must do"  for a Westerner living in Asia when visiting other countries is eat foods you can't get at home.  Pub grub,  real Italian food and, oh my, Polish cuisine at Rembrandt's-Perth's only Polish restaurant.  [why "Rembrandt's"? The expensive artwork was already on the windows and interior when the new tenants moved in and they decided to just keep it.]  We met up with Kev's brother & family, ate too much (naturally) and had a good time.

   A list of all we missed would be extensive. Four days is simply not long enough for a thorough investigation of this area.  But it was a pleasure to host my sister for that time.  And now that we've figured out how to work the air mattress (unfolds to queen size or can stay a single) we are ready to host others.   WHO'S NEXT?!

'Tis the Season?

   The temperatures here at the bottom of the world are now just getting warmer, not colder. Friends back home bellyache about icy roads and blowing snow and I melt in envy. Australians naturally have their own connections with this time of year: beach, barbecue, cherries, mangoes, school ending for the summer.  I understand it.  I just don't feel it.  The calendar says --to me-- it's December , winter is coming!  January, a long dreary month of gray cold. February, still cold but somehow a happier month.

   As I sit here writing, I have the music from a Columbus, Ohio radio station streaming through their website and out of the monitor speaker.  They have Christmas carols playing round the clock between Thanksgiving and Christmas with an online option of non-Christmas music.  I love Christmas music, never tire of it. Never hear it here on Perth radio.  The 24/7 Ho Ho Ho and Ra Pa Pa Pum from the Columbus station lessens the disconnect I feel in December.

    TV provides only a marginal salve to the seasonal rash.  Contemporary holiday movies can be found in the TV guide and video shelf of the libraries.  But what of the classics I grew up with?   The ancient technology used in the stop-action animation staples of the season --Rudolph ["Let's be independent together"] , Frosty , Santa Claus is Coming to Town--are nonexistent.  "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Story" and Charlie Brown are also MIA.  They have no connect here. The British remember snow but don't have the American cultural connection.   And that whole winter thing just doesn't register with long time Australians.

   So this day will find me baking gingerbread cookies for various parties to be attended, listening to Kev plan the prawns (shrimp) he plans to flip on the barbie, dreaming of shoveling snow and pretending Gene Autry is singing to me. It's an odd life.

   A touch of irony here.  The tag line for  the Columbus radio station  is : "WSNY...where it's always sunny and 95."
  

Refugee Camps

   I suppose any country which is still afloat in these tough economic times is a magnet for those people wishing to escape their current circumstance.  Australia is no different although getting to this island nation can prove problematic.   United Nations-classified refugees and economic migrants drop from the sky and splash onto the shores ... and now what?   The refugees (and do not confuse economic migrants with refugees) need to be held while their identities and backgrounds are checked for legitimacy.  And where does the government warehouse the growing number of people-including families with children- arriving almost daily any way they can?  Many of the purpose built immigration facilities are becoming quite crowded.  So the federal government starts thinking outside the box.

   Enter Northam. It's a community of 4500 people about 60 miles from Perth.  It has an old WWII army camp nearby that originally held 150 soldiers.  The federal government recently made a surprise announcement that it intended to expand the facility to hold 1500 refugees within a year. Dropping this kind of bomb certainly begs reaction.

   Some people became instantly hysterical ("They'll rape our women and steal our kids")  and others calmly remembered the integration of European refugees after the Second World War.  The majority of the people remain in the middle wading through a sea of unanswered questions in topics of genuine concern.  How will this impact our economy-will local business benefit from this camp?  How will an influx of 33% of our population affect the land and infrastructure?  What are the security measures?  The national health service cannot provide the community with a doctor yet international law will require  medical services for those claiming to be political refugees - a very thorny issue for taxpayers.

   The State of Western Australia has its own questions.  WA is the closest point of entry for many of the people coming in through SouthEast Asia.  Immigration is a federal issue yet this state feels it is being asked  to handle the peripheral issues and problems associated with this people traffic unfunded.  Sort of like the Feds picking up and delivering the goods, the rest of it is the state's bother.  A bit of an oversimplification, but the feeling is an undeniable itch that is tough to scratch.

   I watch all of this with semi-detached interest.  It's not my house.  But while I'm thinking about the medical angle, let me put this message out.   The government is paying a $3000 bounty, er... referral fee, for the successful transfer of  qualified doctors from other countries.  WA needs 50 General Practitioners immediately to fill the needs of rural areas in particular.  Body snatching and midnight raids on foreign hospital staff may be more expedient but less politically correct, hence the financial incentive to residents to bring in medical family, friends and friends-of-friends.

  Any  docs looking for a sea change?