letters from down under

exciting development, folks. kp has written with his very own fravina-worthy ethnographic report of social life in brisbane, and it's a doozy. warning: there is racism and foul language in australia. and in this post.

his first installment is titled: "saturday night in brisbane"

(here's hoping for many more)

Hello Gang,

So, as Leslie knows, my flatmate Rory asked if he could have the place to himself yesterday afternoon/evening. I obliged the request, no problems, and took advantage of the opportunity to check out the Surrealism exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art. Lots of good stuff. Granted most of it is on loan from the Pompidou, but still cool to see.

With that behind me, I decided to stroll down Boundary Street, the main thoroughfare in my neighborhood, West End. I had a book with me, so I stopped in the Archive Beer Boutique and Bistro for a beverage and maybe a meal. New to the menu was "New Orleans Style Chicken Wings." These were very good, but I couldn't figure out what made them New Orleans (nor for that matter what New Orleans Style Chicken Wings would be, having never encountered them in New Orleans, where Buffalo wings are very popular).

After Archive, I was planning just to head home and watch some Friday Night Lights, which I'd checked out from the video store. But I heard some live music -- rockabilly -- coming from a bar/venue called the Boundary Hotel across the street. I was drawn in, and here I learned some valuable things:

1) In Brisbane, it is not frowned upon -- rather it is expected -- that you will bring your koozy with you for a night out at the bar. Note to self for next time. Though be advised that they call a koozy a "stubby holder."

2) There's really only one light beer, XXXX Gold (pron. Fourex Gold). It's Queensland's Miller Lite. In this bar, they have a big ad for it that says simply: "Drink it when you have to go back to work." This corroborates something another bartender told me several weeks back: "Yeah, you really only drink that when you're driving."

3) I met two dudes, brothers actually -- Glen and Dean -- who were a riot, full of many colorful observations, mainly concerning other patrons in the bar, that I would never relate here. One of them -- I never got their names straight; I think it was Glen -- was married with children, and was going on and on about what a wonderful place Brisbane was to raise a family (he was from Victoria originally). Wonderful medical care, great schools, incredibly safe. And then he says:

"The best thing is that everyone just gets along here. Wherever you come from, you're welcome here. Everyone's friendly. The only problem is" -- wait for it; classic Aussie move -- "all the f@ckin Ahabs moving in."

"Ahab" was a nice touch. Glen also told me that the reason XXXX was named XXXX is that Queenslanders couldn't spell "Beer."

As the night ended, I realized that this was really my first proper Saturday night in Brisbane. I'd been out for dinner, I guess. But I hadn't really "done" Boundary Street. Good times. And I was still home and in bed by 11.

jellies and jubes and jellies and jubes!

when we weren't out exploring, we watched a bit of aussie tv, including australian top chef. it was on almost nightly, i think. we saw at least 5 episodes, one of which was a pastry competition. two of the final three contestants had to battle for their spot on the finale by making ginger bread houses. from scratch! and throughout the entire episode, these two gals kept referring to their lollies, jellies, and jubes. and kp and i had no idea what they were talking about. of course, the context helped, so we figured it had something to do with candy... but just what is a "jelly," and how does it differ from a "jube?"

turns out, it doesn't matter. and i still don't know the answer to that one. but i do know that i'm a fan of both! there just so happens to be a lolly store on campus ("lolly," i've determined, is both the generic word for candy and a lolly-pop), where they sell ALL KINDS of fabulously bright and sugar-coated delights. think gummy bears on steroids! and in bulk!! so, you just grab a bag and go to town! i don't know, maybe this exists in the states too, and i just didn't realize... but i was hooked.

lollies and jellies and jubes, oh my!

the picture would have been much better if i'd been able to stop eating off the plate... i may have even taken the time to find some decent light. but i knew that if it didn't happen at this precise moment, it wasn't going to happen. and since these jellies and jubes were all i talked about for a good two or three days, i figured they had to make it onto the blog.

ps, if anyone know where i can find bulk jellies and jubes in the u.s., i'm all ears (get it? see the ears on the left side of the plate?? there were more... but i'd already eaten them by this point).

asking directions

what's wrong with this picture? everyone asks if the toilets really flush counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere... you know, i couldn't even tell you. i was so busy trying not to get clobbered on sidewalks and in stairwells that i didn't notice. and here i thought crossing the street in vietnam was dangerous!

i can't even begin to imagine driving over there... it's just too much for my poor little brain.

fr-AU-vina

well, it's official: kp's gone aussie on us. he's only been in brisbane for 6 weeks, and already he prefers victoria bitter to bud light and is trying to convince me that vegemite is tasty. yeah, right! a dark brown food paste made from yeast extract that you spread on toast?? i'll stick with nutella, thank you.

he really did hit the ground running over there, which is a testament to his inner strength, given the circumstances surrounding his move. it certainly helps that the aussies are so full of hospitality. his colleagues have been great and have welcomed him with such warmth and enthusiasm - two of them were even waiting for us at the airport at 6 am the day of our arrival!

day 1: we've been in brisbane for all of 2 hours at this point. and look at kp - you can't even tell!

a family of bearded dragons live at the motel uq put us up in. they spend their days lounging around the pool and have names like "arthur" and "peggy."

the forgan smith building on uq's campus

kp's office is on the 5th floor of this building - he has a view of the eucalyptus-filled quad

day 1 on the job

since my time there was brief, and since kp was a full 7 months late showing up for this gig, we didn't waste any time getting him started. in fact, we spent the majority of our time on campus, but we did get out to explore the city a bit...

brisbane straddles a river, so the catamaran, aka the citycat, is a major means of public transport

our neighborhood ferry terminal

on the citycat

city scenes... in the west end

new farm

new farm park, at sunset

the kurilpa solar-powered bridge

southbank lagoon

we totally paid $20 a head to ride that bad boy - great views of the city. too bad kp was miserable!

we were actually pretty busy little bees - the first weekend we were in town, kp ran a 10k in the brisbane running festival and managed to find himself a place to live (check out this pic of his new digs - more to come)... and all this while suffering from some pretty rocking jetlag!!

chocolate thunder down under

and while he was off running, i wandered around the botanical gardens...

it's a pretty fabulous place - so crisp and vibrant - and we were both pretty excited to be setting up shop there. kp has since discovered that it is a bit on the sleepy side - apparently everyone's in bed by 11 - but that suits us just fine.

more soon...

over 100

i know it's time to get the australia posts up (and they will be worth the wait - i have video of knox at a karaoke bar!), but first a picture diary of our last week in big d:

this is sophie, the dog who lived with us this summer

(well, we lived with her).

she is the size of a small horse.

downtown dallas

textbook depository

kp puts the new texas plates on the pathfinder...

while lb and bob lounge around in the air-conditioning!

baby c tells me about his "surf life"

the kids take over aunt sally's pool

the "lafayette" for three - a summer delight