Somewhere Out There

Once again, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of a friend. I arrived on Thursday, and as soon as I came out of customs Liz was waiting with open arms to guide me to her home. She and her partner Jim, another intelligent geologist, have a great apartment in North Sydney, just across the Harbour Bridge. She showed me around, pointed out buses, trains, and made me easy to follow maps. We've had a wonderful time catching up, cooking, and cocktailing. I watched last night as she made a deliciously intricate Rogan Josh from Scratch while I whipped up a simple pumpkin hummus. It was definitely a world fusion moment, sitting in Australia, eating Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food (albeit with a new world twist), and hearing a cricket match play on the TV. Jim plays, and we're going to watch a match before I leave. They explained the basics, and I think I'll really enjoy seeing it live. Over the weekend we took a couple of nice walks, from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach, and then on the North Shore in and around Manly Beach. The weather is still a bit temperate, but very comfortable. Liz and I leave for Magnetic Island and the tropics on Thursday for a week of beach, hikes, scuba along the Great Barrier Reef, and many good books. She's earned it, working hard on her PhD Thesis, and it's been marked as a highlight on my journey since the first stages of planning. While I really enjoyed wwoofing, and am looking forward to more of the same or similar workstays as I continue on my travels, it's nice to be working on my own (or my friend's) schedule, versus a supervisor or stranger. I've felt so welcomed by Liz and Jim. To be treated as a guest in the home of a loved one is a privilege not to taken for granted. Any part of me that was feeling a bit drained by the constant changes in faces, places and activities is being recharged in the best way possible. When I head to SE Asia and volunteer there, it will be with a renewed excitement and positivity. Pictures to come tonight or tomorrow, I've been having some software troubles. Happy Halloween to everyone! It's so strange to see people celebrating in the summer. Apparently, it's only taken hold here in the last 20 odd years - with some disapproval from the more conservative sector. It doesn't have the same history in the southern hemisphere of course, as the seasons are turned around. I did have a bit of licorice, and as I said, Pumpkin Hummus, but I missed watching Garfield's Halloween Special, among other traditions. Between Halloween and Thanksgiving, I'll have a lot to make up for next Autumn.