While our electronics have the paradoxical effect of leading us to feel so interconnected while isolating us from eachother, it seems that our reliance on an automobile just isolates us.  It has been quite an adjustment relying on public transportation.  Melbourne has an elaborate tram, train and bus system which is what we are relying on to get around.  Purachasing a "Myki" gives you acess to all these forms of transportation and we have already become old hands at taking the tram into the CBD.  At first the idea that we wouldn't have a car, wouldn't be able to just jump in and drive anywhere we wanted was very unsettling, leaving us feeling stranded and stuck.  I have to admit that there is still some of that feeling at times but looking at a road/street system where they drive on the left side of the road and have roundabouts everywhere I am thankful to have reliable publich transportation. 

Traveling by tram involves alot of walking and patience.  The trams run often and it is quite easy to get one, but they stop every few blocks so a 14K trip which would talk very little time to drive becomes at least a 45 minute ride.  This requires alot of planning a willingness to give up our impatient hurry to get every where quickly.  It also reaquires a willingness to be in contact with alot of other people - strange people, interesting people, smelly people, loud, kind, and rude people.  I didn't realize how isolated I have become living in the bubble of my car and house;  how little contact I have with other human beings being so connected to my car.  If nothing else this adventure may open my eyes to our interconnectedness (and shed a few pounds from all the walking).

It is amazing how much our technology and electronic gadgets have become a part of our lives.  Without them we feel isolated and alone.  With them we have a sense of security and being connected to what is familiar somehow.  It's like you take your home with you.  This hit home very vividly for us after arriving in OZ.  We have had difficulty getting our internet connections up and running - particularly the wireless.  After a number of unsuccessful attempts to get things working when we first got here we hit the holiday weekend (Australia Day) so there was no IT available until Tuesday.  The local McDonalds does have free wifi so on several occasions we trudged to Macca's with our devices in hand to sit over a very expensive drink and feel reconnected.  A sad sight I think.

Today I was able to get to the IT desk, get my Uni id and password and get us all connected in the appartment.  What a relief for us all....  we feel connceted to the world again.  I have to admit that it is something - Graham (sitting in Melbourne Australia) is able to use his IPod to face-time with his grandparents in Louisiana, seeing their faces and talking directly with them in real time on the otherside of the world.

All of that said we are in our second week, learning our way around, more settled by the day and adjusting very well.

 Apartment 5 in La Trobe House.  Our home for the next 24 weeks.

 There is a nice yard outside the apartment with alot of shade - good place for drinks in the evening.

 We are on the northern edge of campus. Across the road there is a wildlive sanctuary and yes there are kangaroos in the area although we haven't seen any yet.

What an exciting experience.  We moved our arrival date up a week so we could attend a day of the Australian Open – or “The Tennis” as they call it here.  Everything is shortened or has a nick name.  McDonalds is Macca’s, Woolworths is Wooly’s, University becomes Uni.    We had a ground pass for the tennis on Thursday and went down when the gates open.  A very hot day (36C) but a great time none the less.  We were able to see the men’s double semifinal match and a variety of other exciting matches.  The atmosphere and people were fascinating.  After watching this on TV before leaving the US it was amazing to be walking around the grounds and seeing all the same sights.

It turns out that we had a connection to someone who is involved with putting on the open and were able to add a number of other experiences.  We went into the AO club for a bit (where the celebs hang out),  got a behind the scenes tour of Rod Laver Arena, and got tickets to the Women’s Singles final match on Australia Day – quite a show.



Junior Boys Semifinal on Margaret Court Arena



Behind the scenes - G taking the walk down the Hall of Champions in Rod Laver Arena





David Farrar warming up before his semifinal match.


G ready for Australia Day



Rod Laver Arena - Womens Final



Li Na warming up


Azarenka in the final.
 

 As you can see the trip was a bit stressful for us all.  We left PGH at 11:20 AM, flew to JFK and left there (after a 5 hour lay over) on a 6 hour fight  to LAX. 

 14 hours from LA to Sydney (that's our 747 above) - something I wouldn't recommend to anyone.  I did manage to sleep on and off, starting when it was 9:00 Melbourne time to get us on schedule.  It would have worked well if not for the young boy of about 10 in the seat next to me who keep shifting around and elbowing me, ploping his head against me unexpectedly and kicking me.  A polite young man when awake but a not much help when he was asleep.  We got through imigration ok and then only 4 of our 6 bags showed up. After some time trying to get some information about the baggage 2 - and only 2 - more bags poped out and they were ours. Of course we are now about an hour since landing we got to and through customs. The dog took his time sniffing all our bags but in the end he seemed to like us and let us go.  The delay didn't matter in the end since our flight from Sydney to Melbourne was cancled.

I have to say that flying through Sydney was one of the most confusing things I have ever done.  We were in the international arrival terminal and had to get our bags and transfer them to our next flight (which has been cancled of course) ourselves, and every person we asked how to do this told us a different story.  It seemed that the concensus was that we had to take our 6 cheked baggs and our 6 cary on bags onto a bus and find the terminal.  As we're standing outside the terminal looking at busses in horor at the thought of getting all these bags on to the bus we luckily spotted a sign indicating Qantas passangers should take the transfer bags through the next door.  There was a check in with very helpful people who had us booked on a new flight to Melbourne, checked our bags and put us on a shuttle to the next terminal.  This of course was a bus that was driving through hangars and around the runway.  We did get to the gate with time for G to face time friends back home and tell them he was sitting in Sydney Australia.  After all the time in the air a 1 hour fight to Melbourne seemed like nothing.

Just about packed.  You would think we are going away for 10 years from the look of this.  It's hard to pack for 3 seasons and keep each bag under 50 lbs.  Unbelievable how many chargers and cables and electronic devices we have accumulated and believe we need. We made sure to bring personal items to put in our appartment - bringing some sense of home with us will hopefully help us adjust quickly.  For Graham this is a spoon he likes to use.  You never know what you might feel connected to.  We leave tomorrow morning and arrive in Melbourne Tuesday the 22nd.  We have one day to adjust and then have ground passes for the Australian Open on Thursday.  The day promises to be spectacular.

After a lot of driving and an exhausting holiday trip we are back in Pa with less than two weeks until we depart for Melbourne.  Now it is a long list of details to take care of.  I have a tablet with 5 plus pages of things to do.  Get phones changed over, print insurance forms, suspend cable, arrange transport to the airport, etc. The looming task of course is packing and fitting 6 months into a limited amount of luggage.  We'll see.