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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A drawer of bikinis and nowhere to wear them

In Hawaii my weekend attire consisted of a mix of sundresses, shorts, bikinis, and slippahs. In my excitement to pack for Tasmania, I filled my two suitcases with a brand new fancy black coat, a Patagonia black bomber down jacket, office clothes, "weekend clothes," and bikinis. Now that Ive been in Tasmania for two weeks, Ive realized I have a drawer of adorable bikinis and nowhere to wear them! Its a problem. Here in the land down under, Summer is quickly fading into Fall, and the beaches aren't that close to my small town of Launceston. Ive been feeling the urge/need to put on a swimsuit and jump in the ocean.

So when Mark said we'd take a drive to a North coast beach, I was excited to wear a bikini feel the sand between my toes, and put my feet in the ocean. The plan was to drive about an hour North to Green's Beach. Mark and his friend were going to freedive and attempt spearfishing. I wanted to lounge and recover from my hangover from the footy match shenanigans the night before. Armed with a plan, sunscreen, and dive gear we started off on our Saturday road trip. After the long scenic drive and pulling over a few times to "calm my stomach," we got to a lovely beachside town. I could not wait to get some fresh ocean air. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we were bombarded with flies. Not just a few flies. The town was infested with flies! Swatting flies away from my face, I was ready to jump back in the car and sleep, but I was on a mission. I marched to the beach thinking that the flies couldn't possibly be on the beach. I was wrong. I found a spot to set up camp. I tossed and turned on the sand, covered in flies, trying to have a relaxing beach day. It didn't work. The only thing that kept me on the beach for 30 minutes was that my massive hangover was not allowing me the energy to physically move my body. But after 30 minutes in the hot sun, I could feel the sunburn developing. The UV index was high that day. I needed to get out of the sun. I searched for shade and couldn't find any on the beach. Eventually I walked towards the spot Mark and his friend got in the water. I saw the guys floating. Im pretty sure the flies were attempting to attack them in the water too. I was sitting on the rocks, trying to ignore the flies around/on me. There were so many flies that they were behind my sunglasses...thats a lot of flies. After 45 minutes on Green's Beach, I was ready to leave. Mark was ready too, which is rare because he can easily spend 5 hours freediving. He said there was no life in the ocean. Nothing. From the pictures, the beach looks nice. Maybe it was the hangover, barren ocean, really cold ocean water, or strong UV rays, but it wasnt the beach trip I had expected. Admittedly, Hawaii did spoil me. Since Summer is ending, Im not sure if i'll get another chance to sun bathe much longer. I am looking forward to checking out the beaches on the East coast of Tasmania. I will probably be sporting a thick wetsuit for those waters though. 


Look-out to Green's Beach. It was a very sunny and clear day.

An empty-handed, wetsuit-wearing, speargun-armed Mark. Hes a sad frustrated diver here.




      

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Fortune Favors the Bold

Currently, I'm in Launceston, Tasmania. I live in Tasmania. Woah. 

About a year ago, I decided I would leave everyone and everything that made me feel content and comfortable to be with my boyfriend in Australia. Sure it gave me a mild panic attack and made me sad thinking about leaving my little sisters, but I made the choice based on love and not fear. I figured I am young, have little to no real responsibilities, and am in love. This was a choice to leave my very comfortable life in Hawaii to begin my life with the person who loves me and wants to build a future with me. 

This first week in Australia has been an emotional roller coaster. Im unemployed, in a new country, living with a guy, missing my family/friends/Hawaiian sun, and figuring out finances, but Im finally with my loving partner. 

Anyway, enough about my emotions. Ive been in Tazzie for one week. Nothing too exciting has happened...see below. 
Friday, 2/14: day of arrival aka valentines day. Honestly, it was pretty romantic to arrive that day and have Mark (the person previously referred to as my loving partner) meet me in the airport with a single red rose (hi, i won The Bachelor!). We had a happy hour(s) drinking his homemade beer. He prepared a wonderful dinner of salmon, which was cooked on his Boyscouts of America approved homemade smoker, and some sides.
Flirty red dress and double fisting beers on vday..very romantical.

Saturday: Mark did a clean up dive with a group of friends in a very small town about 45 mins north of Launceston. I didn't dive even though I am now officially a PADI beginner open water diver woop woop. I stayed on land and helped haul the garbage out of the water. 
Trash pulled out of the Tamar in George Town, Tas. Not romantical

Sunday: Mark and I made hot sauce because there was nothing in the grocery store that would satisfy my taste for spice. Ever heard of borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbor? Well we borrowed a food processor and gave them hot sauce in return. No word on if the habeneros were too hot for them. Friendly neighbors though. 

Monday: I did laundry and had to hang the clothes on a line outside under the Tasman sun, because I live in the country.

Tues-Fri: I started reading "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without me?" by the very funny Ms.Mindy Kaling, job hunted on the internet and sent a bunch of emails, tried to find networking opportunities, and started a blog. 

Apparently, this evening we are going to an Australian Football match. From what I gather, it's like a mix of American football and rugby. I didn't Google it. I'll blog about the game next post. I'll leave you with this little gem...