Bill Bryson's "Sunburned Country"

Just over a week ago, I was talking via Skype with an old buddy from university (Mark). I mentioned how I was planning to move to Australia next year, at which point he told me about a book called In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson. Immediately, I downloaded the audiobook version from iTunes and spent the past week listening to Bryson's account of his treks through Australia.

It was a wonderful book, with the added bonus of listening to the author read the story in his own voice. Mr. Bryson has a distinctive style -- he's obviously funny, but he's also a master of prose, leading the listener through a study in the richness of the English language.

As I listened to Mr. Bryson talk about Australia, I paid fond attention to three parts of his story in particular. First, his visit to Sydney and environs (including the Blue Mountains) interested me greatly, as I had recently been to those places myself. Hearing names of places that I could visualize made his story more meaningful to me.

Second, his visit to the Northern Territory fascinated me because I kept imagining what my Uncle Allan must have experienced all those years (about 25) during which he lived in the outback, teaching Aboriginal children. I certainly realized that I would have to visit this part of Australia at some point, undoubtedly with Uncle Allan as a guide.

Third, as Bryson finished his book with an account of Western Australia, I was keen to hear what he had to say about Perth. He pointed out that many wealthy people live there, especially in the western suburbs. He had his only encounter with an exotic Australian creature (something similar to the platypus, but I forget the name) in King's Park in Perth. And, unsurprisingly, he praised the gorgeous weather. He then described visiting some of the interesting sights in and around Perth, and it made me feel good knowing that my family and I are planning to go there in about one year.

Even if you never plan to go to Australia, In a Sunburned Country is worth reading or listening to. I highly recommend it.

More climate info about Perth

http://members.iinet.net.au/~jacob/climate.html

Interesting facts:

• highest recorded temperature - 46.2 Celsius
• number of days with snowfall - 0
  

Photos from Australia

Here are a few pics from my recent vacation in Sydney and environs.

Time for an update

A few days ago, I posted a brief summary of my vacation in Sydney on my other blog, the Brain of Phil. It makes sense that I should comment on that trip on this blog, however, since this was meant partially as a scouting trip to the country my wife, kids, and I plan to call home in about a year.

Although we expect to be going to Perth, which is on the other side of the continent, I did get a pretty good sense of what to expect in Australia. I did find myself somewhat disoriented on the roads because they drive on the left side. How many times did I think we were going to hit an oncoming car??

As well, I found it difficult on occasion to understand what people were saying because of accent and the vernacular. I had to ask people to repeat what they were saying more than a few times. This made me feel somewhat foolish because I responded incorrectly a couple times.

Another aspect of Australian culture that was 'odd' for me was simply the sports. Australians have almost a completely different set of sports that they enjoy. Cricket, rugby, Aussie rules football, soccer -- except for the latter, all sports that enjoy virtually no coverage in North America. As I listened to the sports report, a story about cricket left me completely bewildered to the point that I actually started laughing. What the hell were they talking about???

And the most embarrassing moment of all? It had to be in the checkout line at the supermarket, where I used the word "downtown" instead of CBD (Central Business District) or 'the city' to describe the main business area of Sydney. The cashier laughed at me and made a somewhat derogatory comment about me being a tourist. Hmph!

On the other hand, I felt that with every day that passed, I was becoming more comfortable. This is natural, of course. I mean, if I could get used to living in Korea, surely Australia can't be that hard.

Being there in the summer, I felt the intensity of the Australian sun. Even applying sunscreen on a regular basis, I was burned easily, including the top of my head. Not even a full head of hair could prevent a scalp burn. Nevertheless, I loved the weather, and I've been assured that winter is quite mild.

I look forward to going back to Australia and having the opportunity to do and see things that I simply didn't have time for on this short visit. Seeing wildlife is one thing I'd like to do. Visiting the Outback (perhaps with Uncle Allan as a guide) is another. The Great Barrier Reef calls on all adventurous people to make an underwater visit.

So I feel that this was a good introduction to life down under. I now know that there are some differences and we will need to go through a period of adjustment, but the good things - the weather, the relaxed lifestyle - should be enough to make the adjustment relatively painless.

The next step will be to apply for school. That will come in the spring, and if I'm accepted, then we'll begin the next stage of our planned move down under. Stay tuned.