Weekend in Freemantle and updates

Last Saturday we went to Freemantle, ate some Fish n' Chips and went to the beach.

The name of the restaurant has slipped my mind, but it is known for having the best fish n' chips in town.

Ginger beer, my new favorite beverage! It is similar to ginger ale, but it's made from real ginger and has more of a kick to it. (non alcoholic of course)
I love this sign. hahah Mom this one is for you... sorry for the time I ran towards a flock of seagulls, which startled them, causing them to poop on your head.

Freemantle beach

Brandon, sporting his new board shorts I bought him for his b.day. :)

This is my third post today and I'm finally all caught up! Here is just a quick update on some other events that are going on.

1. We had the biggest storm in Perth history on Monday March 22nd. (click on the link to see pictures) The storm hit at about 4:00 pm. An hour before the storm hit it was bright, sunny and humid as ever... the calm before the storm. We didn't even see it coming. I got a text from Brandon saying, "are you alright? I hope the hail doesn't dent the car." Hail literally the size of golf balls came down, lighting, thunder, harsh winds, and rain like you wouldn't believe. I was in class, in the basement of the building when the storm hit and you could hear the thunder and hail outside. All the power in the University went out, and my professor continued to lecture... nothing was going to stop him from finishing his lecture, even if it was the biggest storm in 50 years. All the sirens and alarms were going off on campus. In a way it felt like it was the second coming; people were frantically running for cover, lighting was flashing in the dark sky and the streets were flooded. By the time I made it to my car I was soaked from head to toe. It took me an extra hour on top of my normal commute time to get home. Parts of the freeway were flooded, cars were broken down, and large tree branches were obstructing the road. It was pretty terrifying... especially being a new driver in the city. Driving on the left side of the road was challenge enough, now this! I drove home gripping the steering wheel white knuckled, but I made it safely. Brandon took the bus home and luckily made it home safely as well. We didn't realize the extent of the damage until the next day. We have dents on the roof of our car from the hail, but that is nothing compared to what most people have experienced. A lot of peoples houses were flooded, the hail broke peoples windshields of their cars, and trees smashed into peoples cars and homes. Most eople were out of power for two full days, some still are, and schools were closed the rest of the week due to flooding. We were very blessed!

2. On to a happier note, my mom and sister are coming out in a week! They will be here on April 2nd and will be staying for 8 days! I can't wait. I am so so so so excited. I can hardly stand it. 3. Brandon will be going on a business trip to Papua New Guinea for 10 days or so. He is testing work capabilities and doing fatigue analysis for employees in Papua New Guinea. He will basically be camping out in the middle of the jungle Indiana Jones style. He is really looking forward to it, but I'm going to miss him like crazy.

That's all the news for now.

More pictures

Come take a peak into our new home...

Front Door

Back yard... yes the lawn is a little dry. We have a lemon tree, grapes, strawberries, bell peppers, and a variety of herbs. This telephone wire looking thing is where we hang our clothes out to dry. It is so hot that your clothes dry in 30 minutes or less.

Our little patio set, which is missing one chair.

Computer desk (provided by Executive Step, until our stuff arrives)

The Kitchen

In the living room/dining room looking out towards the front door.

Living room

Dining room

Bedroom

Guest bedroom, which is currently also our junk room for the time being.

(Don't worry mom, it will be clean and ready for you when you arrive)

Okay there is a cute story that explains this vibrant yellow shower curtain. When we first moved in I asked Brandon if he would kindly run to the store and buy a shower curtain. (lesson learned ladies if you ask a man to go out and buy something be prepared for what he will come back with) So he comes back grinning from ear to ear with this steal of a deal he found. It cost him $4.00, the best deal we've come across in Perth, and definitely worth every penny. I couldn't help but slightly cringe when I saw it, but he was so happy I didn't want to let him down. A yellow shower curtain... really? It doesn't really go with the color scheme in the bathroom (which girls are particular about), but Brandon said he liked it because it makes him feel sunny ha. So, if it makes him happy then I'm happy. Now whenever I go in to take a shower I chuckle to myself, and think what a wonderful hubby I have. This yellow shower curtain just might be my favorite thing about the house, because it reminds me what's important in life, which is the people we love... :)

Our little bathroom. You may notice that something is missing... a toilet. In Australia the toilet is in a separate room from the bathroom. In our case it is more of a closet than an actual room. I finally understand the term W.C (water closet) now. I didn't take a picture of the W.C because whatever you are imagining is pretty much it.. toilet + closet and a small window= W.C

Oh and we have a laundry room as well, which I forgot to post, but that's not too exciting, so you're not missing much.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Our home

Home Sweet Home!

Pheww.. It has been ages since I last posted. Apologies! Sorry to keep you all hanging. These past few weeks have been crazy busy. Uni is now taking over my life it's been hard to find time to blog! But enough with the excuses...we are finally all moved into our new place. We spent the first couple weeks cleaning and getting all unpacked. The house was in pretty bad shape, but nothing that some good elbow grease, and a little oust couldn't cure. We are in Dianella, which is about 15 minutes north of the city. As I said before we are renting out a duplex, while a lady from our ward is in the UK for 6 months. This has been such a blessing in our lives. This house has worked out perfect for our situation. We are still waiting for all of our stuff to arrive, so it was nice to move into a house that is partially furnished. (Executive Step provided all the extra odds and ends we were missing, such as a desk, entertainment center, lamp, sheets, cooking supplies etc.) We are in a perfect location. There is a bus stop right outside our house and Brandon takes a twenty minute bus ride into work every morning. Then I take the car to Uni, which takes me about 30 minutes. We have a shopping center, gas station, subway and library a block away from our house, as well as a great park to go running. Best of all, Trigg beach is just about 10 minutes away! We are finally getting in the groove of things, and getting all settled in. It is starting to feel more and more like home everyday.

Cottesloe Beach

Finally pictures of the beach!

We have been to the beach a few times, but I keep forgetting to bring the camera. On Saturday Brandon and I went to Cottesloe beach. It has been SO hot. It has been in the hundreds the past few days, so we were excited about being able to go to the beach to cool off. It was a beautiful day! We made sure to lather on tons of sunscreen. Brandon apparently missed a tiny spot on his ankle, and by the time we got home it was bright red. The sun rays are so much stronger here. Most of the elementary schools in Australia require students to wear hats out to recess, to protect them from the harsh sun rays.

Fish n' chips on the beach! mmmm

It was an awesome day at the beach. I am loving living on the coast, where we can go to the beach whenever we want... but I do miss the Utah mountains.

Update: Brandon and I found a place to live and bought a car! The bishop from the ward we have been attending mentioned that a member of the ward would be moving to the UK for 6 months and was looking for someone to rent her house while she's gone. This worked out perfect for us, since we are still waiting for our stuff to get here, and could be waiting for at least 6 months. She is leaving the house fully furnished for us, and is giving us an incredible deal. We have been so fortunate! She also sold us her 2007 Hyundai Getz. They don't sell Getz in the US. It is a little compact car, and is amazing on gas. They are really popular cars in Australia. We pick up the car on Thursday, and will be moving in on Saturday. I officially started Uni on Monday. I really enjoy my classes so far. Brandon is working hard, and loving his job.

Pictures to come of the new house and car!

Having a "Gaytime" here in Aussie

So I may be slightly immature... but does anyone else find this advertisement amusing? ha Every time I see it I can't help but chuckle to myself. It is an advertisement for a "golden gaytime," which is a type of ice cream bar and shake. They couldn't have picked a better slogan in my opinion. Speaking of "gaytimes" I had one of them, a shake from KFC, (yes they have KFC here) and it was quite splendid. My friend Mel and I enjoyed one together... so I guess it's true, it's hard to have a gaytime on your own. ;)

Moving on... we are having a gay time here in Australia, ok I'll stop now with the gay time... But we are having "heaps" of fun (another fun Australian word). We met a young couple in our ward, Jacob and Mel, who are our ages, and they have been amazing to us. They have been so friendly and helpful, with getting us acquainted in the new city/country. They have taken us on various tours around the city, shown us the hot spots around town, helped us look for places to live, and introduced us to the Australian culture. I have learned a whole new vocabulary in these past short couple of weeks. it is fascinating, how even though we speak the same language, we say things completely different. Here are some of the fun words I've learned thus far.... a rubbish bin is a garbage can. Lolly stands for any kind of candy, and usually is referring to something with chocolate in it. They call red heads "rangas" (like orangutans), similar to how we call blonds toe heads, although I'm not sure how that term came across. They are found of using the word reckon... as in I reckon so, or what do you reckon. If you call someone trailer trash, you would say they are so "derrow", that could be an actual word, I'm not really sure. Here's a great one, they can say damnit and hell all they want and it's not considered a swear word. Just to clear this up... you may have heard that fanny is a swear word in Australia, which is actually false. As our friends so kindly put it, fanny mean the front end of a girls bum, but is not really offensive to say. ha But they don't use the term fanny pack... so we're going to have to say bum bag from now on. I thought this was humorous... this is particularly for the Reese family, who enjoy potty humor. :) I was enrolling for my classes this week, and a lovely Aussie woman was helping me, as she pulled up my schedule she said "oh you have a tute" ummmm excuse me?? "tute" is short for tutorial, which is a session where students go and ask questions, and refresh their memory on the past lecture. I thought this was pretty funny. They like to shorten words, much like the term uni (short for university) they say brekky for breakfast, and Mackers for Mcdonalds. There are so many other fun terms I've learned, but I'm spacing them at the moment. I'll make sure to write them down next time I hear them, so I can pass it along. Now if any of you fellow readers ever come to Aussie you'll be pros at their lingo.

Mel and Jacob are trying to teach us how to speak "Aussie" and Brandon and I are teaching them how to speak "American". They think we say our "r's" funny, and that we lengthen our words out more than them. I'm trying my best to acquire the Australian accent, but so far it is just coming out British sounding.. but with some good coaching, hopefully I'll make some improvements. They also think Americans have amazing teeth. lol

Miss you all. have a lovely weekend!!!

Bushwalking through Kings Park

Brandon had meetings all day today, and I had the day free from orientation, so in a search of something to do to pass the time, I decided to take a walk up to Kings Park. It is about a thirty minute walk from our hotel. It was a perfect way to spend my afternoon. I was able to walk through the beautiful Botanic Gardens, and familiarize myself with some of the local plants and animals that live in the bush, as well as get an amazing view of the city. Great view of Perth; such a beautiful city!

Ipod check, sunscreen check, sunglasses check.... ready for bushwalking

The bushwalking begins.... This is a loop trail that goes all around Kings Park. The loop didn't have the best directions, and at one point I wasn't sure which way to go and ended up literally in the bush. I was all of a sudden on a dirt trail scrambling through the bushes, searching for the way out. This may be sound like an adventure... but knowing what I know now about dangerous creatures in the bush, I wasn't too thrilled. I am currently reading In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson, which is a humerus account of his experience traveling through Australia. (I highly recommend it) Although this book tends to dramatize things, it still has left me slightly paranoid... As I was walking through the bush, all I could think about was Bill Brysons account of all the deadly creatures that live there. In Bill Brysons words, "Out of the worlds ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of it's creatures the funnel web spider, box jelly fish, blue ringed octopus, paralysis tick, and stonefish are the most lethal of their type in the world. If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback... it's a tough place." So Although I knew I was safe from any aquatic creatures at this point, I was very cautious at to where I was walking on the trail, to make sure I didn't run across a friendly snake sunning itself on a nearby rock (which has happened to me before in Salt Lake.)

Beautiful view of South Perth


This was my favorite part of Kings Park; a walk in the treetops. It had amazing views of the city!

Walking in the trees!

Another beautiful view of the swan river and city.

Tomorrow... Kayaking! :)

We miss you all so much! We are having a blast, but wish our family and friends were here with us to share the experience.

Freemantle

On Saturday morning we took a boat tour up the swan river to Freemantle. Freemantle is a cute beach side town, that has a lot of personality. Freemantle is the "hang out" place for young people on the weekends. There are fun shops and restaurants up and down the beach. There are tons of people out surfing, sun bathing, walking their dogs, and enjoying the warm weather.

For lunch we went to a restaurant on the beach called Little Creatures. Rebecca from Executive Step (the woman helping us find a place to rent in Perth) highly recommended it, so we thought we'd give it a try. It's a popular brewery in town, known for having the best beer, and great food. Although we did not try the beer the food was great! We ordered oysters as an appetizer, which I took a picture of because I thought they looked pretty cool.

One thing we have learned about Australia is that coffee and alcohol is a huge part of their culture. There are coffee shops everywhere, and Australians are very particular about their coffee. I was told by an Australian that Australia has the best coffee in the world. Perth is also known for their wine... So in a way we stick out like a sore thumb since we don't drink coffee or alcohol. The woman probably thought we were pretty strange going into a brewery and ordering water.... but hey this time the water was free, so we were happy about that!
Every weekend Freemantle has a market with fresh spices, fruits, vegetables, and fish. There are also different little booths with people selling homemade things. It reminded me a lot of the flea markets they have in Europe. We bought mango's, nectarines and snapper. (Brandon cooked the snapper tonight and it was delicious!) We really enjoyed Freemantle, and plan on visiting regularly.

Things are going great on our end. We are just trying to get in the groove of things. I started orientation on Monday, a two week process (love how relaxed the Aussies are over here), and Brandon started work on Monday as well. Brandon has been doing orientation and leadership training and is loving his job so far. I am having a good time going to Uni (this is what they call university.... they don't say "college" I said "college" once and they looked at me like I was a crazy American.) Today I went to a presentation called creating connections... which basically taught me how to communicate with people, make friends and avoid isolation. Phew glad I didn't miss that presentation or I'd be in BIG trouble. Tomorrow there will be a presentation on Australian culture, and then booths around campus to sign up for different clubs. It's all pretty relaxed so far.. it will be interesting to see what uni is like when I actually start my classes. I met a girl from Canada who will be in the program with me... Yay we'll both have accents together. I also met a girl from Singapore who told me her friend from China is doing her masters at Curtin in Speech Language Pathology.. looks like we'll have a pretty diverse class.

That's all for now!