Week of BREAKING NEWS!

The ‘happenings’ are not coming from me….news from home are stealing the headlines: Ingrid and Cam are expecting their first baby, and Amber has decided to fly down under and meet up with me in Sydney in a couple of weeks. YAHOO!

The week was on the down-lo: classes take up all of my time during the week, and since there’s only one more week till the final exam, this weekend is going to be spent studying as well. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my classmates, learning about their part of the world and making plans to visit some day.

But I did manage to squeeze a few laughs here and there, starting with a wine and cheese hosted by our instructors. I learned this terrible game (yes, Anna, worse than some of the camping games Sean and Mike put us through) called, “Sing, sing, or show us your ring”. I’ll let you guys decide first, what this means, and second, why I was so ‘bummed’ that I lost……

Some of my classmates.....

The gentleman in the middle is Kim Robinson, one of my instructors. Note the beer in hand...

This is my other instructor: Toby Hall, and one of my classmates, Lotte

Having a drink after class...but still in the class!

I'm gonna be an aunt!!!!!!!!

God bless the man who fermented grapes

The day after the rugby match was one of the best days I’ve had in Australia so far:

2-hour cruise along the Swan River
3 award winning wineries in Swan Valley
More than 40 bottles of wine tasted
Outdoor lunch in a vineyard
Beer brewery
Margaret River Truffle Chocolate Factory
Temperature: reached 45.5 degrees Celsius

It was soooooooooo hot

Now, if you’re worried about the heat, rest assured, I drank plenty of water and had a sunscreen with SPF 70 (thanks Kathleen!). Still, by the time I got home, my ankles were so swollen.

The day was incredible….

We started off on a cruise along the Swan River, heading towards the valley. We sat on the bow, enjoying the sun, the heat, and yes, the wine tasting started at 10:30am on the boat. We sampled 4 wines from the region as we enjoyed our individual cheese platters. And we learned the 5 S’s: Stem, Sight, Swivel, Smell, and Sip. Now that’s some learning I can get used to!

Enjoying the cruise...especially the wind on such a hot day

It took about 2 hours for us to reach the Swan Valley by boat, and once we got there, the real deal started. We visited 3 wineries, tasting over 40 bottles, including some incredible bottles of Shiraz, which this region is famous for around the world.

Windy Creek Estate

Sitella

Chesters

Here is something I learned. It looks like the Aussies save their best and export their worse. Consider this: as I was sampling these incredible wines, I naturally found a few bottles I was particularly fond of and wanted to buy them. As I contemplated dragging half a dozen bottles of shiraz with me throughout the next 3 months of my trip, I realized that maybe the wine was taking effect, and maybe I should ask about their exports, and whether I could find any of these at the local LCBO. Answer: NO! Apparently, Canada taxes foreign wines at 85%! When exported to Canada, a $20-bottle of Western Australian wine costs another $17 in taxes, plus shipping and handling. It becomes a $50 bottle of wine, something the average consumer does not buy often. Therefore, to make it cost effective for the wineries here, they have to export their cheapest wine, in the largest quantity possible, in order to be competitive in the Canadian consumer market.

Now, it’s a little more complicated than this simple explanation one of the wine makers gave me. But you get the idea. Besides, this system protects local wine makers (e.g., in the Okanagan and Niagara regions). And so, only because I can’t enjoy these bottles at home (heeheehee), I tasted and bought to my heart’s content!

Lunch on the Sitella winery

Line 'hem up, boys!

At the brewery.....a little mixing never hurt anyone....at least not today!

Disclaimer: this next section of photos is dangerous for chocoholics. They were taken at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, which we visited after the brewery. Proceed at your own risk….Anna, naturally, this is dedicated to you…..wish you were here!

Truffles, truffles truffles!

Dig in: it's free!

WESTERN FORCE

Bring on the rugby!

Western force fans

Friday night, some of us from school organized an outing to the season opening game of Western Force, Perth’s very own rugby team. The match was in Subiaco, which gave us the perfect opportunity to visit this young and hip spot that neighbours Perth city.

Reaching up for the ball....can you see him?

Me and the girls at the game

Now, let me start this off by admitting that I know absolutely nothing about rugby. There is a ball that resembles the one used in the CFL, some of the players wear these very strange hats to protect their ears, and they all push on each other a lot. I went for the experience, and since the whole town seemed to be into the opening game, I was too.

We had a blast! Beer in hand and chatting with the Aussie crowd proved to be a lot of fun. The home team lost 8-7 to the New Zealand Highlanders, in case any of you are enthusiasts.
Afterwards we headed out in Subiaco for a late dinner and some drinks. Here’s the problem: none of us are used to drinking alcohol when it’s this hot out (it reached 40 degrees Celsius the day of the match). So we all end up ordering more water than beer, and so the night goes. But boy did we make up for it the next day…

You can see the stadium...and us!

COTTESLOE

I am sorry I haven’t updated my blog in awhile. School is very busy these days. I leave my apartment at 7am and sometimes I don’t get home till 8pm. Since I don’t have access to the net at home or at school, I only have the opportunity to come to the internet café on the weekends.
School has been a bit intense, and some days are quite long. But I am still enjoying being back in the student life. Plus, I am learning sooooo much! I have accumulated so many new assessment skills and treatment techniques, not to mention the concepts that are now much clearer to me. The best parts are these: everything I learn stimulates me to learn more, and the second best part are the friends I am making. We have so many laughs in between lectures…..

Gathered around to use EMG unit to isolate lower trapezius activity (as best as we can, of course). The one with the tie is Kim Robinson.

So why don’t I pick up where I left off? Last Sunday I went to Freemantle again. My loyal readers will remember that I went there the first day I was in Australia, but this time, I brought my camera with me! Check out some of the pictures around the town:

Grilled fish for lunch on the pier

Overlooking the marina

After lunch, we took the train to Cottesloe beach. This was heaven!!!! It was only a 5 minute train ride away, and when I got there, I was in pure joy: the sun on my face, the sand beneath me, and the sounds of the ocean. Who could ask for more? The beach is pristine, so clean and full of young Australians soaking up some rays. It’s unique in the way that there’s a pavilion ON THE BEACH! It’s called Indianna Tea Room and it’s completely different from anything you’d expect to see on the sand:

Needless to say, I had a wonderful time. I lay on the sand, listening to some tunes on my IPod (thanks Gerry!) and I think it was one of those times when you are truly in the moment.

Aussie lifeguards: the epidemy of sun protection!

This is the view from the women's bathroom!

42 degrees Celsius

Let me tell you what 42 degrees Celsius feels like: HOT!

It has been a scorcher around here for the past few days and I must admit that I am loving every second of it! The sun is bright, there is always a lovely breeze, and the heat has been browning my skin. Life is fantastic down under….

I am having the time of my life. It is easy to love Australia. In many ways, it’s much like home: big houses, cheesy TV shows, people love a coffee break, and most things are pretty expensive. The differences, well, refer to paragraph 1. But that’s not all. The aussie attitude isn’t just laid back, it’s easy-going. Their humour isn’t forced, and there isn’t that politically correct conscience all of the time. Yesterday, I read the bumper sticker of a construction company that said, “Our business is erections!”. Get it?

School is ‘brilliant’, like my new Irish friend Emily always says. The course is fulfilling my expectations and surprising me in many ways. Yes, I am learning some new techniques, which I crave so badly. But more than that, I am beginning to have an appreciation for the theory behind it, and a MUCH clearer understanding of the anatomy that underlies it all. We learned the simplest concept today, which I have been previously taught in both my undergraduate training and in some of my post-graduate courses. But I admit that I have never understood it as I did after our session today. I wish I could turn back the clock and go back to some of my old patients…..so many future ones will benefit from this…and isn’t that enough reason to attend this course?

Ok, I realize I am boring you with all my physio gushing. Here’s some of the other great stuff I keep smiling about:

The apartment where I’m staying is an 8-minute walk from Swan River. If you look on a map of Perth, you can’t miss it. After school, some of the girls and I often walk down to the shore, lie in the sand and let the sun kiss our skin. I was so relaxed the other day, as I listened to the sound of the waves, that I fell asleep! Oh, and what a nap it was!

The beach on Swan River

This is the view from the bridge I cross to get to the beach

Swan River near my apartment at sunset

Catching some sun

On Australia Day, we went out for dinner:
Australian beer named Hahn and fish-n-chips, what else!

This is me in town....SHOPPING!

Back to school

My stomach did a flip when I got my first glimpse of the university campus!

The view from my class....

Curtin is absolutely beautiful, the campus is spacious and so green! After a bit of confusion we found the physiotherapy building and met our instructors: Toby Hall and Kim Robinson. Besides their impressive resume and ‘physio fame’, I was thrilled to see their relaxed attitude, friendly demeanor and a sense of humour that comes easily, not forced.

There are people from all over the world: Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, India, Germany, Denmark, Canada (2 guys from Vancouver and me, of course), and a couple of Aussies too. Everyone seems open and friendly, ready to learn and make new friends.

Here are some of my classmates and I on campus.

The curriculum is heavy, but already on the first day, I can say I learned new things! The anatomy review was so clinically based, and the assessment tools we learned today are so easily incorporated into my daily practice! The upcoming lecturers are incredible! I want to bore you all with all the details, but really, only other physios will care. So for my physio family, look out for an email with more details on my program…..

Time to get to work and hit the books. The weekends will present opportunities for some fun so I’ll post some better pictures soon…..