Grange Central

The last day of international orientation was a day at beach. When you think of a day at the beach you probably think of a little sunbathing, some reading, listening to music, going for a swim, maybe a little Frisbee or something of that sort. Nope, the Aussies had something else in mind for us.

Gorgeous Grange Beach!

We took the public transit down to Grange beach just outside of Adelaide. Its a lot like Toronto's GO train system with trains going out into the suburbs where people live and many people use these trains to commute in to work. The main difference is that these trains are part of the same public transit system as the city core and the city core transit is free. So commuters are not hit with double transit fares like in Toronto. Adelaide's main Train station is located across the street from my house and you can see it in my post called "Here!" or to see the picture click here.

Upon arriving we were given a safety talk during which we were informed that all beach lifesavers are there on a volunteer basis. It is such an ingrained part of Aussie culture that kids grow up wanting to be a part of it and donate 100-200 hours per season to guard the beaches and compete on behalf of their club. We were then divided into groups of about 10 and sent to different stations on the beach. My group started with duck diving and bunny hopping on the beach. These are basically just terms to describe the movement that lifeguards do to get into the water quickly. But the water was too shallow so it didn't really work.

Next we got to take out the life boards and learn how to paddle and maneuver on them. It was actually really fun and luck would have it, several day ago I turned on the tele while I was making dinner and watched an Ironman elite competition that was happening up in Brisbane. So I got to see the professionals doing all this stuff and had some semblance of context to go off of which was great.

Next we got a crash course in the basics of cricket. Let me just say it was awkward and hard and no one was any good at it. Try throwing with a straight arm when all your life you've been taught to bend it. And then figure out how to release the ball at the right time. Ugh. Let's face it- I'm really not that good at throwing even with a bent arm. Onwards and Upwards.

Next we played a game called flags. You start on your stomach on the sand with your chin resting on your hands. Your feet are pointing in the direction which you will eventually be running. When the whistle blows you have to get up and run across the sand and grab a flag first. Its like musical chairs where a person gets eliminated in each heat.

Heather and I run for the flag in the final heat- Its a tie!

Next it was just straight sprinting on the beach. I opted out in order to head back into the water and wash all the sand that had found its way into every nook and cranny. The sand here is white and fine and beautiful on your feet- not so beautiful everywhere else.

Our last station was life rescue. We were put in pairs and then practiced land and water rescues with a foam floaty. My partner Linette and I won 3 out 4 races we had. We were very proud!

Linette (Ottawa) and I were life rescue partners

After a nice BBQ lunch, we had free time to enjoy and relax on the beach. I have to admit that though we were warned many times about the strength of the Aussie sun and most of us reapplied sun screen more than once on the beach, most of us also burnt at least a little bit. This "most" includes me. But overall it was a great day and left us all so tired from the day that no one wanted to go out last night.

My feet in the warm, soft sand

Is this really my life right now?

Tansi (Mongolia/Germany), Jazz (Turkey/Germany), and Bertine (Holland) are bathing beauties

Ali and Heather (Ottawa) have some fun in the water

I'm at the beach in February!

Yesterday was a really fun day but like I said, we all got burnt. And it didn't show up till 4 or 5 hours after we left the beach but I know there are some people hurting today! Temporary plans to go to another beach on Sunday look like they're going to be cancelled.

Today is Saturday and I finally got my first sleep in. The first few days I was jet lagged so I wasn't sleeping in and then I have been getting up every morning for orientation so I was excited to be able to sleep in. At about 1pm my friend met me in the lobby of my building and we headed to the Central Market together. The Central Market closes at 3pm on Saturday and is closed Sunday and Monday. So at about 1:30pm on Saturday, the sellers start marking down their produce to sell it off before the market closes. Since food is SO expensive here in Adelaide, we tried to take advantage of this opportunity. Of course, the longer you wait, the cheaper it gets. Also the longer you wait, the poorer the selection so you might not be able to find what you want or it might be going really bad and really not worth it. Regardless, it was a good excursion. To give you an example, Avocado in the super market goes for about $2.78AUD each. That's like $3 a piece in Canada. At the market I was able to find them for 3 for $3 which is significantly more reasonable though not cheap by any extent. I did find 3 for $2 right towards the end but they were very over ripe and bruised so not worth it.

Bertine makes a deal with a vendor

Fresh fruits and vegetables galore!

All the seafood you can imagine

In Canada we have Elk and Bison- here they have Kangaroo and Crocodile

Tonight some friends are coming to my building to pre-drink before we head out to the clubs to celebrate Gerald's (Italy) 25th birthday which is on Monday. Alcohol, like everything else, is also very expensive here and had I been smart or advised, I should have purchased some stock at the duty free on my way in. At 34 hours of travel, alcohol was not exactly the thing I was thinking about. We're talking $46 for a bottle of Vodka! I did manage to find some $5 and $7 bottles of wine so that is my drink of choice till I can find something else at a reasonable cost. Good thing I'm not a big drinker, and a cheap drunk- keeps things much less expensive!

I love hearing your comments so keep them coming!

And as I gaze at yet another beautiful sunset, I say good evening from Oz.