Brisbane

They say Brisbane is subtropical, but everywhere you look you're reminded of the tropics - fragrant plumeria, palms swaying among jacarandas (in full bloom right now) and gum trees, the fruit - mangoes, numerous types of bananas, pineapples, passion fruit, and the exotic birds - ibis, parrots, and of course, kookaburras. It's warm and humid and the atmosphere is full of summertime stuff. Hard to believe Christmas is a week from today. The festive spirit is so subdued - I love it. Even when you walk into shops you don't hear those annoying Christmas songs. I haven't seen a huge amount of decorations and lights and things. But there is a large Christmas tree in the square in front of the City Hall. It's beautifully trimmed and the lights are solar powered.

The Brisbane River meanders through the city center and on either side there are beautiful gardens, cafes, etc. Walking and cycling paths allow you to stroll alongside for miles and miles. Ferries get people to the suburbs lining the river.

Yesterday evening Daryl and I strolled along the river, starting at Riverside. This is an area of enormous, shiny skyscrapers. Gourmet restuarants and atmospheric bars out here provide gorgeous views of the river and its bridges. We walked to the Botanical Gardens which has some amazing trees and a few unusual pines and came to a very interesting mangrove swamp. There's a walkway that allows you to cross this swamp. We then went across a pedestrian bridge to the south side of the river. Here there are stunning landscaped gardens which lead to a beach area. An artificial lagoon filled with turquoise water and around it, fine beach sand, makes for a terrific place to cool down and hang out. Kids splash about in the water and adults relax on the beaches. What a concept - right in the city center.
We then strolled along a road running parallel to the river - Little Stanley Road - in search of beer. Didn't have to work very hard to find a place that suited out mood, of course.

We went back to our apartment for dinner. There was a fantastic farmer's market earlier in the day where I bought fruit and veggies, excellent multigrain bread, and some tapenades. So we ate well.

Tonight we'll be at the math conference dinner at the University of Queensland. So, I'm off to catch the train.

December in Oz

After a frantic week (icy cold weather didn't help!) I'm finally sitting back and absorbing the charms of tropical Brisbane. Flew V-Australia - a new airline of the Virgin family - and what a smooth flight it was. Landed in Brisbane early in the morning and stepped out of the airport to humid, sultry weather. Our dear friend Stefan was there to fetch me, and take me to his lovely, spacious apartment where I peeled off my winter clothes and showered. Then I got into shorts and sandals and sat down to a sumptuous breakfast. Strong coffee, pain au chocolate from a French bakery, and sweet, juicy Queensland pineapple. Wow! Later in the morning Stephan, his wife Brangwyn, their one year old, Jasper, another friend Joseph (Daryl was his PhD adviser)and I strolled out to the shops. I was so excited to see heavenly Queensland summer fruit - fat mangoes, papayas, bananas, etc.
By the time Daryl arrived we had a big bowl of fruit salad ready for lunch.
We're staying in South Brisbane near a very lively part of town called South Bank.

In the afternoon we took the train to my cousin's place which is just outside the city in a sort of countryside setting. Here, my mum and my sister, Pam, and her kids were eagerly waiting for us. They had arrived from Sydney the day before.
Daryl got into a bathing suit and joined 7 little kids (from three different continents) in the pool. I sat down with an icy cold beer and chatted with everyone. It felt like midsummer - which, of course, it is, right here in the land down under!
I'm not rubbing it in - sheesh, no need to be so grumpy about huddling by the fire, y'know. I mean warm weather isn't all it's cracked up to be. All that sunscreen and wrinkled skin from being in the pool too long and the need for gelatos in the afternoon and stuff!
Anyway, for dinner everyone had chicken grilled on the barbie and many types of salads (it being summer and all that produce available - ffs, I'm not rubbing it in!). Daryl and I had pasta tossed in a sundried tomato pesto sauce.
For dessert we had the yummiest tiramisu in the entire universe. Claudia, my cousin in law, makes the best desserts ever, and her tiramisu - let me put it this way, it is worth flying half way around the world for a taste of it. I swear to god.

And so our first day came to an end. We went to sleep like contended pigs.

Day 2 was Daryl's big day. He gave a public lecture for a series called BriScience. This was held at Brisbane's very ornate city hall and over two hundred people attended. Daryl gave his dynamite hour long talk on infinity to reg'lar folks and they were a great audience. Afterwards there was a cheese and wine mingle sort of thing and then we were taken out to dinner by the organizers - a pair of dynamic, handsome, intelligent, young scientists.
Earlier in the day I explored Brisbane with my family, so it was a rather, long tiring day.
Today, Day 3, while Daryl is at his math conference, I'm hanging out with my 70 year old mother at my cousin's countryside home. We're alone. Everyone else took off for some amazing beach on some amazing island where the big activities are snorkelling feeding dolphins. I'm happy to be able to just relax and catch up with Mum.

Adieu Summer!

Well, I resign myself to the arrival of a season whose beauty I simply cannot or perhaps will not see. I mean come on, what can be beautiful about shorter days and chilly mornings and those godawful colors - yellow, orange, brown? Not to mention fall's real purpose - ushering in winter?? So daylight savings ends tonight, and little goblins and ghosts and a few Michael Jacksons will come begging for candy. The farm stands are no longer selling heirloom tomatoes. My basil in the garden is shrinking. The hammock's been put away, the down comforter is out. Gotta get out my sweaters. Oh, what a drag.
But, the good news is that we'll be doing a southern hemisphere winter vacation this year. Thank goodness for rellies south of the equator! Mum turns 70 and we're getting her to her son in Sydney where we'll all converge for a huge celebration. Yippee!

Been a busy beginning of the school year, but things have settled down a lot. Enjoying my students - all 27 of them. Got a system in place to try to reach them all and make them enjoy their 3rd grade learning experience. Pleased that I have some sharp writers.

We managed to do a few fun things in the last couple months. We saw a terrific production of THE RAMAYANA, performed by a local group called Boxtales. They did a terrific job of presenting the story clearly, using a combination of straightforward dialogue as well as creative movement - dancing, acrobatics, etc. They were quite inventive using actors in acrobatic positions for stage props (like a chair). This story is quite a riveting one, you know. I remember hearing it all through my childhood. Seeing a stage production took me right back to the time when Mum used to tell us stories while ironing our clothes.

Another fun thing was my cousin, Jaya, from South Africa, visiting me for a week. Enjoyed showing her SB and LA. Made me realize what a long way I've come from that Ladysmith bumpkin I used to be as a kid. Apart from a vacation in Mauritius, Jaya hadn't done any traveling to speak of. Her timidity to explore new places was apparent, as would be expected from a novice. The two of us grew up together and were at uni at the same time. It was so much fun to catch up on our lives at delightful places like The Beach Cafe, sipping beer and watching the surfers, and The Coffee Bean beside a fire on the day it rained. The week went too fast. C'est dommage!

And now a frantic few weeks at school getting ready for parent teacher conferences and holiday projects. Then .... summer again - first in Brisbane, then Sydney.

The book I just read

A hot September Saturday. An entire month of brutally hot days. Hard to believe that these are the dying days of summer. Had a terrific swim at the pool to start the day. Strange to say, we aren't frantically running around trying to get things done. I had time to read the paper. I know what's happening in the world - superficially, of course. G20 summit in Pittsburg, Obama and Brown blathering on about Iran, Ralph Nader has a great, fat book out, Michael Moore's new movie is about to descend, and the Republicans are still crazy. Oh yes, and Edwards fathered a child - OMFL!

Met with my new book club this week. Great group of ladies. Our book THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST lent itself quite well to deconstructing. Everybody thought the book was good overall. It's the story of a man named Changez who grew up in Pakistan, then moved to the US where he graduated from Princeton and then went on to work for a successful company. Changez embraces America and a western lifestyle. He falls in love with a woman -Erica - who remains fixated on her dead boyfriend. September 11 happens and the books characters are so profoundly affected that their lives get turned around. Erica's mental state goes on a decline. Changez re-examines his identity and loyalties and finally makes the decision to return to Pakistan.

I expressed a dislike for the format of the story, where the narrator tells his experiences to an American traveler, whose voice we do not hear in the book. Linda, who hosted the meeting, agreed with me. She said she found it irritating. But most of the others weren't bothered by this style and actually enjoyed it. Somebody pointed out the significance of the choice of names - Erica, meaning America - and therefore the character representing America. Changez, representing change - brought on by 9/11. So, of course, the unfulfilled, frustrating romance between Erica and Changez was a metaphor for the relationship between the US and Pakistan (?) or could it be the muslim world?
We mused about Changez' persistance in pursuing the elusive, unavailable Erica. Was it because he was used to succeeding in everything he set out to get, and couldn't concede failure? Or was it simply a plot device for the metaphor to be effective?
Then there was the business of the ending. Who killed whom? Why was this left unclear?

Well, a good book all in all. The style of telling the story didn't work for me. I found it dry. boring. But the theme of wrestling with identity is one I enjoy. Great insights and well framed thoughts on this in the book.

New School Year!

I'd like to have my blog be more current, but I don't have anything wonderful to say! Oops! The garage. Yes, yes, Daryl has done a phenomenal job with our garage. It's now so clean and organized it's easily the best part of the house. There's even a sink in there now ... No, no, don't let your imagination get you too carried away ...

School - three weeks of it - three pretty, bloody insane weeks. There's a level of stress permeating our school that is suffocating the fun out of teaching. It's all to do with No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Our school didn't meet the required goals. Well, duh! How can you expect to go up by 10 percentage points every year? If this not reaching the goals trend continues we'll get that humiliating label too - Program Improvement!! We will have - shudder, shudder - PI status. OMG! We can't let that happen.
We, teachers, shame on us, we didn't work hard enough; hence our scores. We better pull up our socks and devote every waking moment to performing miracles. We've got to figure out the right potions. We've got to learn magic. We've got to - what? Turn to the supernatural? I can't tell you how awful it is to feel so unappreciated. Why doesn't someone have the guts to point out the absurdity of NCLB?? All kinds of ridiculous assessments pile up. Between figuring out what they are, how to administer them, and then actually doing them, I've got even less time to get to know my students and to make learning enjoyable to them.

Anyway, on the bright side, I have a sweet group of 27 kids. They seem motivated and eager to learn. Hopefully, things will settle down and I'll be able to enjoy them soon.

Summer vacation comes to an end

I should post a blog - it's been a while. Don't know quite know what to say, though. I'm not feeling my best. My ears have been plugged for the last two weeks. It's awful. I went to a doctor in England - my first experience with the NHS (very positive) - and he explained that a buildup of mucus is putting pressure on my Eustachian tubes. So I can't hear well, and my voice sounds like it's coming from the bottom of a steel drum. He prescribed a nasal spray, which I faithfully used, but nothing changed. Back home in Santa Barbara I went to my GP who came up with the same diagnosis, but told me that my plane flight put me back to square one as far as recovery. He prescribed an assortment of pills. Now, my whole body feels strange to me. For somebody who is rarely in poor health, this experience is very frustrating. It makes me realize how important good health is.

It's my last weekend of summer vacation. Monday school starts and guess what, I have 29 students on my roll. That's right. 29. Well, I'm a world citizen. I know what it's like in the real world. I realize how privileged we have been the last 13 years with class sizes of 20 kids. So, I'm not going to complain. But, I'm going to have to learn how to adjust.
I don't feel ready yet to be in the classroom. Even though I had a fab summer vacation, somehow it feels like it wasn't long enough to really feel like last year was last year. Anyway, I'm going to work really hard this weekend to get psyched up and excited about teaching. I do love my job. I'm not one of those who counts the days till the year is over. But the first week is definitely not my favorite. I like to work hard to get the kids jazzed about school and their new grade. But, with the way I'm feeling I don't know how I'm going to manage.

Our trip across the pond was great overall. Of course there were a few negatives. Like the weather in England. My goodness, in the two weeks we were there we must have had about 3 sunny days. Summer is summer, though. Mild temperatures, long hours of daylight - so we certainly were able to do lots of fun things. When we got back from France we spent a few days in Kenilworth (near Warwick University) with our friends, David and Rona Epstein. We did some beautiful walks. My favorite thing about England is getting out into the countryside for long walks. It's always so rewarding. Green meadows, sheep and cows, rivers, canals, great English oak trees, 'conka' trees, and always a charming teahouse not too far away. That's my second favorite thing about England. Being able to go out for a decent tea in the afternoon. It comes steaming hot in little teapots with warmed cups. Then there are freshly baked cakes and scones to accompany your tea. Clotted cream and jam for the scones. Yum, yum. Kenilworth is near Stratford on Avon -Shakespeare country. A lot of the architecture is Tudor which I find delightful.

After Kenilworth we returned to London for the last days of our trip. We decided to go around the city and absorb what we could. So we strolled through the usual places - Leicester Square, Soho - where we lunched at a Chinese/Thai restaurant (fine, wholesome food) - Chinatown, Trafalgar Square, the Mall, onto St. James's Park, Westminster Abbey, Parliament Buildings, across the bridge to the south bank of the Thames, and past the London Eye and hordes of tourists. The south bank along this stretch toward the Tate Museum has become quite the tourist hub. There's a whole lot of entertainment - like the type you find in Venice Beach, CA and in San Francisco near Fisherman's Wharf. Buskers, people trying to be statues, magicians, clowns, the works. When we got the National Theatre Daryl decided we should try to get tickets for a play that evening. We decided to see "The Observer", a play about a group of journalists and external observers sent to monitor presidential elections in a west African country. It was a great production with the usual themes of African countries resentful of the west's insensitive criticisms. The National Theatre has a reputation for fine theatre. We aren't into musicals so didn't do any of those.
On our last day in London we went for a walk along Regent's Canal - from Camden Town to Regent's Park. It's a lovely walk and on a Saturday morning lots of people do this walk. When we went home Angie had prepared a huge feast for lunch. Her friends, Suzie and Richard, and her sister (my cousin) Jay, joined us. We spent a most enjoyable afternoon of great conversation and sumptuous Indian food. Later, when everyone left, Daryl and I took one last walk across Hampstead Heath. We stopped on Parliament Hill to see London's skyline and tried to name what we saw: the BT tower, the London Eye, the 'Gerkin', the skyscapers of 'The City', Canary Wharf, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Chrystal Tower. I hated the thought of leaving this great city. But, I was ready for my home in Santa Barbara.

French Riviera

Hi Folks, I'm back in England at the home of our dear friends, David and Rona Epstein, in Warwick (Kenilworth). We had the most amazing time in Italy and France, but because of a lack of Internet access I couldn't update my blog or Facebook. No Internet is seriously a drag. However, our days were so full I probably wouldn't have had the time anyway. Last week, while in Antibes, I had a few minutes to scribble down some thoughts which were saved in a draft: Here's what I wrote:


Hey there, sorry for the long delay in update. Though I have to say, there isn't exactly time for an update right now. That darn Mediterranean is just meters away and is so irresistable.... Bought a bloody fashionable bathing suit in Nice yesterday - a bikini, of course - will post glamor shots soon. Anyway, on the beach today, I thought, dang, I looked so fashionable - in my lime green and brown bikini with a belt around the waist, and stuff. I really looked cool. Honest to god. Anyway, I'm at a cafe right now sipping Rose - pink wine - 'cos that's what you do here. It's hot. God, it's sweltering. The sky bright, bright blue, the Med. azure and calm and warm.

Since leaving England last week our days have been busy, busy, busy. Really hard to find time to do email and blogs and things. Suffice it to say, we are having the time of our lives.

Last week we were in Verona, Italy to see opera. Let me tell you, if you haven't experienced watching opera at this amazing ancient arena, you must add it to your list of must do's. First of all watching opera with Italians whose passion for this is so obvious is an experience all by itself. In fact, when the tenor sang Nessun Dorma during Turandot, the audience began singing along. Then there was a demand to repeat the aria. so, guess what, the tenor moved to center stage and sang Neesun Dorma all over again. The audience loved it, seemed drunk with joy. But apart from the uber- enthusiastic audience, the venue itself is sheer magic. And the stage set up - OMG - breathtaking. This is living.

End of draft!!!

When I have a few minutes more I'll describe briefly our last days on the Cote d'Azure. We stayed in a lovely hotel in Ville Franche Sur Mer. From our room we had gorgeous views of the sea. We sipped champagne on our balcony as we watched yachts bopping on the water. But more about this later.

The next day or two we'll be in Kenilworth, then it's back to London for a couple days. We return to Santa Barbara on Sunday.