Merry Christmas (It is still Christmas after all, just no longer Christmas Day)! Christmas Day was wonderful. Apparently one gets 'Chrissie prezzies' at Christmas time in Australia. This was slang we learned before arriving. I've been to Australia before, but the slang still kills me. Just shorten things and add and 'ie' or 'y' and often you've got the Aussie slang. There is also an almost Cockney type rhyming thing they have going on. To tell you the truth I love it... Australia is like a weird and wonderful mix of Canada and England with a much nicer climate.
We were invited for Christmas Eve dinner to a BBQ at the new Head of Geography's (Lynn Bouvier) house on campus. Lynn and her husband were wonderful hosts for about 30 people. They did a teaching exchange to Vancouver College almost 20 years ago, so were excited to have us over. They had actually driven by Brentwood on their travels. I also met another woman from my department who is from Bellingham, Washington. It's a small world.
We love being around our extended family at Christmas, but Christmas with just the five of us is special in its own way. It is great to celebrate such a special occasion and grow closer as a family. We went to Mass at the basilica in Geelong and spent the day just relaxing. Of note, the priest at the basilica has mentioned the current cricket test match between Australia and India being played at Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) all three times we were at Mass there this week. This is certainly a sporting nation.
The Fitzgeralds were also very thoughtful and left presents under the tree for us. Stuffed animals (two koalas and a kanga) for the kids and a sampling of some Australian food for us. TimTams are oh so good... the jury is out on Vegemite.
We love being around our extended family at Christmas, but Christmas with just the five of us is special in its own way. It is great to celebrate such a special occasion and grow closer as a family. We went to Mass at the basilica in Geelong and spent the day just relaxing. Of note, the priest at the basilica has mentioned the current cricket test match between Australia and India being played at Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) all three times we were at Mass there this week. This is certainly a sporting nation.
The Fitzgeralds were also very thoughtful and left presents under the tree for us. Stuffed animals (two koalas and a kanga) for the kids and a sampling of some Australian food for us. TimTams are oh so good... the jury is out on Vegemite.