Melbourne, Melbourne – this is what I came for.

It’s cheesy, but had to put it as the title. I love my trash series and E-entertainment and I’m not afraid to admit it (although, I am ashamed to admit it). Yes, I watched all the episodes of Suomi-tytöt New Yorkissa (= the Finnish girls in New York), probably the tackiest TV programme in a while (excluding the Shire in Australia, which is too much even for me - Jess, it really is ;) ). Luckily the show ended and I don’t need to watch (it’s a common fact that I was obliged to watch all the episodes online after the TV programme had ended – like at gun point).

Staying at Jess’s has been tough on me and my TV-holism. I’m like an alcoholic – if I open the TV, I have real problems to turn it off. One Wednesday a few week back I had a TV hangover (at least the bad conscious,  morkkis, part of it). I did a nice run on a Tuesday evening. After a refreshing shower, I turned on the TV, the idiot that I am. I watched TV from past five to eleven at night. Say what…?! I know – spooky and a little freaky too.  Everything from news to Voice of America to MasterChef Australia. I knew I was out of control when I finished the evening with an episode of Survivor (season 20?). The last time I watched Survivor I was living with my parents after finishing high school and thinking what I want to do with my life. Haven’t gotten very far now have I… ;) 

No, I think I have. My path to Melbourne has been interesting and I can only look back and be grateful. There was a meeting in Washington that my partner in crime, Jenni, visited. And she met my supervisor, Jane. This is when Jenni learned about the low FODMAP diet that had been ‘discovered’ (well, if you can discover a diet) in Melbourne at Monash University. Since she was getting tired of listening to my whining about my numerous stomach problems, she introduced it to me. 

And I gave it a go. No evident help. Went back to my notes (the copy of the booklet Jenni had received from Jane). This time I did it properly and carefully, and I started to notice change. Then more change. And before I knew it I could start living a more normal life, e.g. run when I wanted to and not only in the mornings when I didn’t have so much stomach problems). I sometimes need to stop and think what life was like before. Sounds dramatic, but what I mean by this is evenings spend bend in two with windows open thinking I can never have a boyfriend who’d bear with me and the stupid IBS. There, I've said it. That's what it's like be it embarrassing or not. Yes, IBS can be a real nuisance on everyday life.

So encouraged by my own experiments I looked more into the low FODMAP diet and research papers that even mentioned FODMAPs, which stands for Fermentable Oligo-, Di- and Monosaccharides And Polyols. Jenni was of immense help for pointing me to the right direction and for conversations on the topic. During this time I started to introduce the low FODMAP diet to the few IBS patients that I came across. And the results and experiences were promising, although one should also remember that there are numerous other factor behind IBS. 

Jenni also invited me to Kuopio in June 2011 to listen to a presentation on gluten sensitivity, given by Jess Biesiekierski. It was an excellent presentation (and not saying this because she’s currently my landlady ;) ) and I think the audience was a little awed by the topic. On the other hand, for me and Jenni there wasn’t much new, since we had been tossing and turning the topic upside down. And we continued to do so with Jess that evening in vendace restaurant Sampo and the terrace at Wanha Satama in Kuopio. It was so much fun to talk to someone who understood what we were talking about! (=nerds, and proud of it)

Beautiful, super smart blondes by the lake in Kuopio in June 2011.

Jenni and I had all sorts of ideas, some of which lead to a major collision in our friendship. I think we both were thinking that mixing work with friendship was a mistake. But luckily no. We’ve been friends for years now, and I suppose it’s only healthy that sometimes you take some time apart – just to realize that that friendship is too meaningful to let it slip away.

Fast forward: Was heading to the UK to a birthday party in November and before that happened to be looking for courses at King’s College for the summer of 2012. And boom. There was a low FODMAP course starting in November and it required to visit the UK two more times in January and at the end of February.  I knew this was madness, but I just had a feeling – I need to do this. Did it, was great: bonding, more knowledge, perspective, and I loved traveling to the UK. : ) Fast forward  2: Noticed we have a course for a 3 month practical training, asked Jess and Jane, if could do it here, in Melbourne. Answer positive, here I am. 

 The view from Alfred Centre aka work. Love the pink building on the right. Somehow I think it's related to Peppi Longstocking's Villa Villekulla.

And these cranes can be found in front of Box Hill office, where I spent the previous weeks, because was staying at Jess's place.

And this is what it looks like when I'm giving my effort to science. Breath testing, which leads to chills and bad temper, because I need to fast overnight and then huff and puff without breakfast for 3 hours (I'm pretty sure several readers know what that means...).

 So that’s what I’m here to do – learn more, see how research world works and get some ideas that could be applied in Finland. I will write another post on the results of the learning process in a few months’ time. 

Research (read: ethics papers) are a little frustrating for someone who's not use to this kind of work, but I'm very happy to be given this opportunity. At least I know how much work and effort it really takes to provide any sort of results in research! Respect to all who've chosen this as their career path - you go, guys and gals! :)

Preparing for the hardest part

Thanks to THE loveliest Jess, I got to take a sneak peak at the place where the madness takes place. By this I mean theKangaroo Hoppet at Falls Creek on the 25^th August when me and several other ski fanatics try and kill ourselves. I’m prone to exaggeration, but this time I’m afraid I mean it. I thought I was in a pretty good shape, but what applies to running or walking for days on end does not apply to skiing. For classic cross country skiing will always be in its own category of sports. Every season it hurts to begin. It hurts, because you feel like your heart is about to push through your chest. It’s hard, because you jammed mouse-hand starts hurting about five minutes after you’ve put the skis on and started to push yourself towards glorious goals. It’s hard, because you feel that you’ve never before had skis on. And yet, every year, I put the gear on and head for those tracks. 

Although, I was mad at myself for not having trained enough (almost cried at times and swore in Finnish by myself), I did enjoy the location immensely. Probably one of the most magnificent places I’ve ever had the opportunity to ski in. Jess’s lovely family spent their days on the down hill slopes, I tried to take advantage of my time in the snowy scenery and ski as much as possible.  On the first day, I think I skied (and stopped, caught my breath, had a sip of water, took photos, skied and stopped… ) for about  5 hours, which in Finland would be a lot, but not something to brag about. Whereas here, it means I conquered Mt McKay (1840 m) on skis and the last windy bit on foot, skied the cross country ski area from one end to the other and dragged by arse up the longest uphills I’ve ever encountered. I’m very pleased I did all these things, and by the end of it, I was so tired and worn out. 

Me almost blown away at 1840 m at Mt McKay. 

Besides the scenery, the best bit of skiing at Falls Creek (and possibly this applies to other Aussie ski destinations too) is the people. In 10 minutes into my first day I met a lovely couple who offered me a pair of race skis for the Kangaroo Loppet. The second day, being Sunday, I didn’t have to ski on my own, because as I was testing the skis the lady took me to the best bits of Falls Creek. I never thought I’d say or write this, but I went off-piste on freestyle skis. :D The snow is hard like hankikanto at spring time in Finland and that meant we could visit a hut, get the best down hill rides and enjoy the views from a different perspective than when on tracks. I learned about the animals and nature on the mountains and about the ski culture in Victoria. Just wonderful. And even on the first day, I always had someone to talk to on my stops and when asking the way (which I was keen to do just so I wouldn’t end up too far off). One of those conversations ended up in an offer to come and try skikes in Melbourne the following Wednesday. For those who are not familiar what skikes are I suggest you take a look at this link. And skiking I went. I hope next week will be good weather, so I can go again and take some pictures of the skiking in Westerfold Parks. I’ll post about it more then. 

 The magical forest. The gray trees are victims of bush fires. It takes hundreds of years for them to grow back, but there are small saplings pushing through the ground already.  

 

I'm pretty sure corrugated iron wouldn't be considered as suitable material by Finnish building officials. But the hut protects and that's the most important thing.

 
Compared to the European Alps the ski culture here seems to be more sports-oriented. I had one after drink while waiting for the others to come down from the slopes (which also seemed in good condition and nice). Again a note to self moment: gluhwine in Australia is just that steaming, heated red wine. Note to self: one time was enough. Highly recommend something else from the bar. I think I was in the after ski around the time when lifts started closing (half five I think), the bar was quite quiet and people were mostly just having a snack or getting swallowed by the soft sofas. A ski holiday wouldn’t really be a ski holiday with a little bit of relaxed after ski spirit, which luckily was on menu in the evening at a local tavern. Food good, wine even better and company that made you laugh out loud every second minute.  

 Edmodson's hut's after ski. Bottle emptied.

 
Even though the Falls Creek weekend was physically rough, it was also an important part of mental training. My goal is more realistic now. It’s to survive the race in the time I don’t get disqualified. ;)  

Exotic activity. Pulkkamaki. :D

***

If you end up in Australia during the winter months, go up to snowy mountains (which are mostly located in Victoria) and try cross country skiing or if you want an easier option then snowshoe tours are available and they aren't expensive either. The landscape is amazing and definitely worth travelling for 5-6 hours from Melbourne. The bus is ridiculously expensive (170 dollars return), so try and find a group of people to share the costs of hiring a car. I was lucky to have a ride from Shepparton onwards, so I just took the train and hopped in the car that took me up the mountain to Bogong Village, where we had accommodation in nice lodges.

When in Rome…

… eat what the Romans eat.  But what if Rome is a mixture of peoples from all over the world? Whose Rome is it and what is typical for these Romans. For now, my Rome is spicy, full of flavors of all sorts and colourful.

Guardian Buddha (so nothing bad happens when washing hands)? I love it. :)

I’m presently stationed at Box Hill aka Peking feat. Hong Kong feat. Kuala Lumpur.  Just the mere walk to work is a burst of colours, sounds and especially smells (no, I would not call them scents). The route to work goes through a few shopping centres, which are packed with everything from chemists (aka pharmacies), ice cream parlour to butchers. And you can only guess, which smells delight me the most… The first shopping area I enter in the mall is butchers and poultry vendors (they seem to want to sell pork and chicken in different shops). Folded pig skin, all the pieces of meat separated into own piles and set nicely to appeal to customers. I must admit, I haven’t seen this meticulous sorting of different body parts before. It looks like they took the anatomy book of a chicken and decided to separate it muscle by muscle and intestine by intestine. They’ve done a great job at it too. But I must say this: I would prefer to smell fresh brewed coffee in the morning or a sizzling pancake or nice cinnamon porridge – not carcass. Because that is how it smells. It’s a wall of raw meat smell that greets me in the mornings.

The path to work continues by the veggie and fruit section. Not so many smells there, but all the more colour! Green of the spring onions and cucumbers and all the lovely leafy greens. Red of the capsicum, chillies and apples. Bright yellow bananas and yellow-green pawpaws.  Orange citrus fruits of all sizes, a punch of carrots.  The purplish skin of an eggplant. The only problem is that I’m not necessarily passing by on my back, or more likely, the vendors have packed their stuff before I get there. But behold, I will challenge myself to do a proper shopping session of vegetables before my time in Box Hill is up (that is – next week).

There are also a lot of shops where you can buy ready cooked food, ranging from regular sandwiches to sushi and something called rice burgers… I think might get that for lunch today just out of curiosity. And then is the sound part. It’s a cruel, cruel joke on innocent people on their way to work.

It’s opera. It’s goddam opera. Loud. And clear. And it fills the whole square in front of the shopping centre. And I have to listen to it for at least a minute before I’m in the safety of the other shopping mall and its thick walls. I guess I don’t like to like all kind of music and it’s pretty clear now that opera is not my thing. Especially in the mornings.

Actually, the perfect morning sound is again related to coffee. The purring sound of a filter coffee machine. Well, to be honest, it’s more of a gurgle or a snort. :D Because that’s one things I truly and honestly miss (I know, I have been here only for three and a half weeks…). Proper filtered coffee. Instant is what it is, instant. Wouldn’t even bother to add the word ‘coffee’ to it. And these fancy coffee houses that Melbourne is known for – they serve a squint of strong brown liquid in the  bottom of your cup or glass, it’s not the same as a MUGFUL of heavenly dark-roasted coffee with FRESH soy milk (still haven’t found one here that would please my ‘sophisticated’ taste buds). Having an espresso is nice, but I just doesn’t fit with mornings.  

I don’t know what Mrs Hong’s, the neighbour’s, preference to morning drinks is, but I sure would love to taste her cooking. Jess told me about it and I have been able to experience the lingering scent of soy and fish sauce in the hallway. Jess hasn’t got any recipes out of her, but it’s not that Mrs Hong hasn’t tried to explain. She just doesn’t speak much English, and her vocabulary mostly consists of words like ‘morning’ and ‘beauuutiful’. She seems like one interesting lady. I’m a little upset that I have only once spotted her. She was doing her morning taiji in the backyard and waved morning greetings.

My challenge is to feast on Chinese food to the max, because I think this is as good and authentic as it gets. My flat rice noodle dish from Wednesday was tasty, but not as spicy as I had hoped. I did ask extra hot, but just like Jess warned, they see a white face, not so spicy. Well, will have to try and get spicy food the next time.

***

In my previous post (in Finnish) I was thinking of having an urban jungle weekend, but no. I'm heading for the snowy mountains. TO SKI!!! :D :D :D Like proper cross-country skiing! And I will be skiing in the same place as the ski marathon is heald, so I get to see the setting before hand, yay me!

More info on where I'm heading and what I'm up to: http://www.hoppet.com.au/ and http://www.fallscreek.com.au/

Vähän erilaista telttailua

Pidän lupaukseni postata välillä suomeksikin ja ajattelin, että telttailukertomus sopii siihen mainiosti. Blogin tilastoinnista kun voi todeta suurimman osan lukijoista olevan Suomesta ja Suomessa taitaa olla telttailukausi parhaimmillaan. 

Kauheasti en ole Suomessa telttailua tai retkeilyä harrastanut, mutta mikäli olen yhtään kärryillä, meillä retkeily tarkoittaa että otetaan alle pyörä, laitetaan siihen joku kärryntapainen kiinni tai sitten satulalaukut, heitetään mukaan teltta ja makuupussi ja aletaan polkea. Toinen ääripää lienee sitten karavaanari-elämä, jossa on härpäkettä autossa tai asuntovaunussa ja mökkiä hilataan osoitteesta toiseen koko kesäloman ajan. Mitäänhän en asiasta tiedä, mutta heitän nyt ilmoille arvailuja ja mielikuviani suomalaisten retkeilyelämästä. Kolmas tapa taitaa olla vaellus, johon liittyy erämääkämpät ja pussimuonat. Sekin on vielä kokematta. 

Mutta entäs sitten australialainen telttailu? Se tarkoittaa sitä, että mukaan pakataan kärryllinen ruokaa, liikuteltava vessa, puskasuihku ja mielellään jonkun verran virvokejuomia. Jos sattuu menemään telttailemaan ammattikokin kanssa, mukaan raahataan myös vihannestorin antia, valurautapatoja ja luonnollisesti käsikäyttöinen pressokeitin maidonvaahdottimineen. Autoina nelivetoiset pelit, joilla pääsee eteenpäin pahimmastakin pinteestä, kuten tästä: 

 Hiukka jumissa - ei kiva. 

Ei vaiskaan - "pinteessa" oltiin vaan pari minuuttia. 

Hiukka tuli vetta sisallekin... 

Säätiedotus lupaili karmeaa keliä – raekuuroa ja ukkosta. Sitä ei sentään niskaamme saatu, mutta vettä kuitenkin. Toisaalta alueella on ollut vielä pari vuotta sitten järjetön lähemmäs kymmenen vuotta kestänyt kuivuus, joten sade ei tunnu menoa haittaavan tai mieltä masentavan. Ja hei, kaikki on kiinni riittävästä pukeutumisesta. Onneksi sain lainaan tyylikkään 90-luvun Billabong-laskettelutakin, joka piti lämpimänä koleassa kelissä. Harmi, ettei tullut otettua siitä kuvaa. 

 Kevyt kenttalounas.

Kahvihifistelya.

Yöpymismuotoni oli ainutlaatuinen. Seurueessa oli pari telttaa, yksi hieman vanhanaikainen telttailuvaunu, josta sai ison teltan sekä hifein kaikista – moderni telttailukärry, josta avattiin kansi, josta muodostui sänky. Sisältä löytyi vesihana, lavuaari, jääkaappi, uuni ja hella sekä lämmitys. Minulle tarjottiin tästä majoitusmuodosta sängynpuolikasta (siveellisyyden nimissä oman makuupussin kera), mutta ajattelin, että psyyke ei kestä niin hienoa telttailua. Siirtymä porukoiden lievästi homeisesta teltasta tuohon majoitukseen olisi ollut liikaa – tuntunut huijaukselta. Ihan taivasalla en yöpynyt, mutta lähes. Maalla asuvilla ausseilla on tapana lahjoittaa 21-vuotissynttärinä lapsukaiselle SWAG, jotta lapset voivat juoda alkoholia nuotiobileissä, mutta siltikin yöpyä suht mukavasti. Pitihän se testata! 

Swag on jotain teltan ja makuupussin välimaastosta. Eli pussi, jossa pehmuste, vedenpitävä kangas, hyttysverkko ja päätyikkuna, jotta klaustrofoobikkokin pysyy rauhallisena. Tosin viimeisenä yönä jouduin aukaisemaan välillä goretex-ruumisarkkua, koska näin jotain kummallisia unia ja tuntui, että happi loppuu.  Periaatteessa settiin kuuluu telttatikkuja, joilla pääty saadaan kaarelle, mutta minun swagini  (siis oikeasti ystäväni Jessin) viritettiin hifi-telttakärryn alle (eli sen sängyn alle) ja narulla saatiin hieman hengitystilaa päälle. Jännittävä kokemus ja periaatteessa voi siis yöpyä ihan taivasalla jopa sateessa. Tosin silloin pussiin könyäminen olisi raivostuttavaa, kun makuupussi (tai –pussit tässä ilmanalassa) varmaan kastuisi kuitenkin. Nyt siltä onneksi vältyttiin. 

Majoituspaikkana oli tarkoitus olla joen varsi paikka, mutta perjantai-yönä, joskus puolen yön jälkeen meitä odotti tämä näkymä:

Auton valoissa paaaaljon vetta.

Ei sitten menty yli, vaikka miesväki testasi, josko lätäkkö olisikin sen verran matala, että yli pääsisi: 

Paivalla maisema naytti talta.

Mutta onneksi löydettiin kiva majoituspaikka tasaiselta alueelta. Ennen lähtöä pohdin, että mitä ihmettä telttailureissulla oikeastaan tehdään. Ajattelin, että pakko mennä tsekkaamaan ja oppimaan, kun kutsu kävi. Viikonlopun ohjelma oli varsin yksinkertainen: syömistä, juomista, (niistä seurannutta tiskaamista), nukkumista, hieman vaeltelua maastossa, lintujen laulun kuuntelemista ja jeepeillä ajelua kuramontuissa, kuten aiempi kuva osoittaa. Päiväajelulla kävi tuuri, sillä kengurut olivat liikkeellä samoilla aluilla, eli loppujen lopuksi onnistuin bongaamaan niitä varmaan kymmenkunta, mukana myös poikanen, jota joeyksi täällä kutsutaan (miksi – en tiedä). Ja vihdoin onnistuin pomppivassa kyydissä saamaan myös hieman paremman kuvan pomppujäniksestä:

EIku siis se parempi kuva:

Ajelulta palatessa kengut olivat käyneet merkkaamassa alueensa  jättämällä tuoreen tuotoksen alle metrin päähän swagistani – luonnollisesti siihen päähän, jossa pää on. Kiitos kasvissyönnin jätökset olivat kuitenkin harmittomia ja eivät haitanneet majoittumista. 

Reissulla puhuttiin Australian hurjista eläimistä ja luonnon vaaroista, joita kesäaikaan (ei nyt) ovat käärmeet, hämähäkit , ötökät ja koilisessa myös isommat pedot, eli krokotiilit. Tänään uutisissa puhututtaa haiden hyökkäykset, sillä viime viikonloppuna surffarille kävi kalpaten länsi-Australiassa ja hän joutui hain hampaisiin. Tapaus ei todellakaan ole kovin ainutlaatuinen tänä vuonna, sillä tahti on viisi henkeä vuodessa. Normaalisti tapauksia on yksi vuodessa, joten tämä yleistyminen ihmetyttää. Great white sharksit ovat suojeltuja, joten harvennus ei onnistu. Uutisten palauteosiossa kansalainen x kommentoi, että mitäs olette kalastaneet kaikki kalat, niin hait ovat hanakampia ihmislihan suhteen. Tiedä häntä, mutta mielenkiintoista seurata uutisointia. 

Kenguista, koaloista ja muista möttösistä ei juuri harmia ole, joten telttailussa ei ollut kovin suurta jännityksen tuntua, toisin kuin safarireissuilla Tansaniassa ja aikoja sitten Namibiassa. Oli hieman outoa majoittua aussimaastossa, joka häkellyttävästi muistutti metsikköä Afrikassa ja majoittua taivasalle. Normaalisti moinen maisema tarkoittaa, että leijonat väijyvät pensaissa ja vartijoilla on kiväärit matkassa.

Minulta muuten kysyttiin, mitä eläimiä Suomessa on. Sanoin, että arvaa ja vastaukseksi sain ”että onko teillä tiikereitä… ei….” :D Sehän se olisikin. Kunnon 2,5 m tiikeriuros lähimetsässä. Marjametsälle lähtö olisi aika hc-ajanvietettä. 

Pari viikonloppua puskailua on ollut kivaa, mutta toiveissa on, että ensi viikonloppu kuluu rentoutumisen ja tutustumisen merkeissä kaupunkiviidakossa.

Finntastic

I haven't been to that many places yet in Melbourne, but I have some sort of a feel to areas around St Kilda, Armadale, Prahran and from Prahran towards the city centre, and of course the shoreline at St Kilda, which I got to know quite well during my 21 km run/walk (the last bit). Mostly my walks have been from the hostel to the Alfred Centre or from Armadale to the Alfred Centre. Not many roads or streets, but it feels like I've seen loads - maybe because I get lost in the different worlds the streets and their shop windows present. On my walk to work on the High Street, I can visit China, Afganistan and also Italy in the form of antique and rug shops or coffee houses. 

I must say, I love the High Street. It seems that the street seems to present all the items I'd want if I were to decorate an apartment or if I'd want to have nice, but expensive clothing in my wardrobe. But the best bit is that because the windows are numerous and they alternate, you don't even need to shop, because you can just admire the feeling you get passing by. :) 


But what has stroke me as odd, is the way I seem to be bumping into things related to Finland. After all I am 15 263.02 km away from home. 


Exhibit A on the previously mentioned High St:

I hope Mr or Ms Virtanen sell well their nice antique furniture. 


Exhibit B, again, High St:

Personally, I find it funny the shop is called Safari. Reminds me of my beloved sister-in-law who's bit of a Marimekko and safari fanatic. ;) 


Exhibit C on Exhibition St, city centre:

Seriously, I was looking for a cool burger place, Strange Wolf, and there they were. A lit up exhibition shelf in the middle of the wall of a bank or an office building or the sort. 


Exhibition D on High St, Safari shop, altered window decorations:

Marimekko again. 

The Finnfrenzy isn't limited to design goods. I got on the plane to Singapore, boom, Marty, the guy next to me, had been to Finland - in the middle of the cold winter. Okay, I know we get tourists in Finland, but this guy was from Australia after all. Singapore-Melbourne, Harry ("not Potter", he wanted to emphasise), a gentleman in his mature age had even been a tourist guide in Finland back in the day. Now he was returning from his fjord trip to Norway. Okay, fine, tourist, they travel, they sometimes even end up in Finland. 

Then comes the feared moment to get through the customs. After all, I'm loaded with 15 kg of Finnish products to be analysed here in Melbourne (no, we do not have the diagnostics any closer, this is THE place), and feeling a little anxious. I handed the board control guy all my carefully written papers (I must've spend several hours doing those) and started unpacking my rucksack full of food. "Oh, you're from Finland? I used to live in Tammisaari. It was good." And then follows the 3 minute talk about weather and skiing. The guy looked at THREE of my products and said "aah, knäckebröd". THAT'S IT!!! :D Lucky me!!!

This country is notorious for it's board control. Unless you happen to meet someone who enjoyed his stay in Finland... 

Henry and the hoppers

Since I've been taking about 30 pictures and talking about him for a couple of days, I think he also deserves his own blog post - or at least his the main character in it. Though, I think if this logic is to be followed, I will have to post a blog post on Chester The Dog too. But ah, well, I still think he - Henry, the Wombat - deserves his own blog post (which will include other wildlife stories and pictures too). (My dear supervisor had to point out the spelling of vompatti = wombat - sorry guys!)

So here in all fairness, here they are both: 

 
My supervisor's family was kind enough to take be to Nigel's brother's farm, which is a good 3 hours away. Since Jane and I attended a seminar on Saturday morning, we could leave until afternoon. But no matter, we managed to see and do and experience many things in this short time!  Henry not being the least of experiences. ;) 

Henry's mom was killed in a road accident, but was rescued by Nigel's brother, who has a history of helping out orphan animals and releasing them back to the wild. He's also had wallapies under his hatch if not the roof. Although, Henry was seen to hop on the couch and try and take over the dogs' beds in front of the fire. But he's not a very calm and gentle character this little Henry. He want's to cuddle, but sometimes he also wants to nibble your feet like a good vompat does. Because the male vompats show love by bite the female, it's only natural he and his teeth are known to those nearest to him. And those visiting him (luckily, it didn't hurt much). 

Here's a close-up.

Henry, like other wombats, is a nocturnal animal. Therefore, he was pretty perky and playful when we got to the farm in the evening. Chester loves Henry and shows his affection by humping him. A sight that is a bit kinky, but it's hard not to laugh at it either. Henry gets fed up with that and starts chasing Chester and then they repeat this billion times during their time together. Sorry, no illustration or pictorial demonstration to be provided. :D

Henry is still up in the morning!

But this is what wombats do in the afternoons. They take a nap in nicely coloured baskets. ;) 

The farm had other animals too. There was Diva the dog and chucks, like the Aussies call them. Took about 20 pictures of the chucks, but since I know not everyone is a fanatic chicken fan, will restrict my urge to post them all here, and limit to a few shots of lovely birdies. 


This fellow's checking out what we're up to in the house.

Where as this tweety is concentrating in finding the best bits to eat.

Since the farm is located in a proper Australian bushland, there were other wild animals besides vompats around. Already on our way to the farm we spotted several kenguroos, some were just near the house, grazing in the bush. Headlights shone as they stared at us and we stared at them. Then they decided to hop away. 

We repeated our spotting by the dawn with Jane. The night had been cold, and the fields were covered in frost! Here I am, girl from the North enjoying frosty weather at the other side of the world! :D But walking around was a success, because we did in fact spot a few kangaroos and a wallapy, which is a smaller pouchy animal than kangaroo. 

The pics aren't very good (I blame frozen fingers), but it's my humble souvenir from the morning's walk. :)

Walking back from the kangaroo spotting. The stove is on, the heat is up!

Frost magic in the forest during our daytime walk. 

Playing around with camera by the creek. Spot the dog. Btw, did soak my  feet in the icy water - cold, but works like magic - no more cold feet after that!

 All in all, the weekend was super relaxing, it was great to be outdoors and see what the nature's like around that area. Amazing trees that reach high, high up, beautiful kakadus and the hysterically "laughing" kookaburras. Plus super good food and wine. Let the new week begin, I'm ready!

Gory souvenirs from Africa anyone?

What? Don't you think this peace of art deserves to be recognized as the souvenir of the month, if not the year? I thought it reminded me of my spiritual home, Africa (yes, it's a continent, not a country, but is sounds more artistic this way), which I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. Mostly due to my previous long trip similar to this, when I did my thesis in Tanzania in 2008. And learned a lot from life in general. Probably wouldn't be here today, studying International health, having terrific friends from all over the world, ended up in Melbourne for a practical training. When you travel, you think. That's just how it goes.

Here's the lioness' head in a less majestic pose next to the oddity, the Michelin man clock. The shop also seems to sell Michelin man figurines, so I just might HAVE to pop in when it's open. The pictures were taken after opening hours, which might have looked even more weird to the people passing by. Oh, well, the privilege of being a tourist, is to have an ability to push aside the sense of awkwardness that's associated with these situations. :D

Btw, just posted a (poor) picture of the gym on the previous blog post. Went there today and must say, I think I'll be changing my religion. My soul echoes after a workout - I crave for something more and profound. I'm trying out pilates or the sort, I think. Gym's nice, but it might be time to expose myself to something more soothing, but on the other hand, more efficient. My opinion was probably influenced by the fact that I was a bit uncertain in orienteering my way there (worried for nothing) and then I realised one stop before the gym that I had forgotten my pants. Since my only pair of jeans (yes, I know, what was I thinking in the first place?!) is not the ideal set of gym pants, I first went to the gym to ask where to buy pants, then bought smelly Asics-pants at a second hand shop (yuck) for 5 dollars and THEN went back to the gym for the actual workout. The actual shop for sporting goods was somewhere too far of, and I decided to save some time. The price of this experience of exploratory journalism is therefore 5 dollars (+ myki money for the train and tram), because I had to throw the pants in the rubbish when i got back. They were too big and there's just something fundamentally wrong with second hand garments that have been too involved with the person's crotch.

Weekend went by quickly, but I managed to gain some great experiences like my modest 21 km run by the beach (lost track of distance and time, not a fancy planned "long run of the week"), and a run  the day before by Albert lake and went to see Australian footie on Saturday. Sunday was a relaxed day with my supervisor's family by the beach too. Since it was a bit rainy and rugged, our outdoor life was a little limited, but I thought walking on the beach in the drizzle was exciting. A tourist easy to please, it seems... ;) Been enjoying their hospitality ever since, and it's great to be able to see a little bit of family life too, whilst here. 

Wildlife spotting so far: an opossum up in the tree. And Chester, the dog. Hopefully more experiences next weekend

Will be writing soon a little bit on what I actually came here for... Will keep you posted! 

Thanks for reading and please, leave comments every now and then. Kaikki kielet käy. :)