Week 12 – October 11th to October 17th
(Media update: turns out I have to pay $100+ to add more media to my blog – and while my heart says, “yes! Do it for the readers!” my wallet and upcoming travel plans say, “absolutely not!” I’ve been able to add some links to another image hosting site cough *Google* cough cough and although not as convenient as just scrolling through them on the post, I highly recommend checking them out…since you know…it’s my blog. Anyway – Allons-ye!I)
Sunday. What a day.
As promised in my last post, I’m going to tell you why I bought 15kgs of produce from Paddy’s Markets the Friday before. And as promised, I think it’s a pretty great reason. In fact, a most spectacular one.
But first –
The week leading up to this Sunday was a bit of a rough one. This exchange has offered so many new opportunities and experiences that I definitely never would have experienced if I was home in Vancouver attending my regular old classes at UBC. And one experience I had never gone through leading up to it was being away from my family for an extended period of time. It also so happens that Canada was gearing up to celebrate Thanksgiving, a time which for me has always meant spending time with those I care about and love. And being 12,000km away from just those people meant it was going to be a tad difficult to accomplish that this year…
I was definitely maaaybe feeling a bit homesick leading up to Thanksgiving….how was going to indulge in turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie around Gramma’s table? How was I going to come up with a multitude of excuses to get out of the traditional post-dinner walk with my big cousin? How was I going to play “Chicken Feet” or “31” for dimes? Well, the plan old truth was, I wasn’t.
And so, hence why I bought 15kgs of vegetables from the markets. I had decided that I was going to cook a poor-students Thanksgiving meal for a few (errmmm, well actually, 25…) of my friend that live with me in the Queen Mary Building. Not only would it be a Thanksgiving meal for the Americans, many of whom would be missing their own family meals coming up in November, but it also meant that many of my friends who had never experienced Thanksgiving before would get a taste of a delicious and heart-felt North American tradition.
That Sunday morning, myself and some wonderful volunteers chopped, broiled, boiled and baked our hearts out and made what I think was a pretty darn good attempt at a Thanksgiving meal (considering Coles and Aldis don’t have some of the Thanksgiving essentials), including;
- Turkey breast (because full turkeys were $13/kg outrageous)
- Homemade stuffing
- Cranberry sauce (from re-hydrated cranberries)
- Dinner rolls
- Carrots (5kg of them…I never want to look at cooked carrots again)
- Asparagus
- Brussell sprouts + prosciutto (oh man)
- Green beans
- Mashed potatoes (nothing compared to Dad’s, but a good attempt)
- Sweet potatoes
- Corn
And of course…
- Pumpkin pie, apple pie and ice cream
Trying to explain to the Australians that pumpkin pie is in fact sweet was a struggle, but watching their faces light up upon tasting it was a good feeling (success)!
North Americans, Europeans, UK-ers and Aussies alike thoroughly enjoyed the meal, with sighs of content, complaints of feeling stuffed (now you know how those turkeys feel!) and thanks pouring out after the meal. But what a lot of them don’t know is how thankful I was to have them all there with me on a day that means so much to me personally. I didn’t realize that it was possible to grow to care about a group of people so much in a span of less than three months – but turns out, it really is. I couldn’t have asked for a better Thanksgiving away from home. I was able to spend it with some people who I have grown to care about immensely and it really helped me with the longings for home I was experiencing.
Thanks QMBuddies, for helping me get through an emotionally trying time. Thanks for being there for me and partaking in a holiday that means so much for me and my family. So much love.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPHpMvUOmASrdE0xSauBJhFC7HLIUgPS37Xv53_
The rest of the week progressed on, and Friday rolled around with terrific plans in store as usual. Emi’s boyfriend Kyle made the trek across the pond to visit her for 10 days. And with a tourist in town (I have officially decided that I am no longer a tourist!) we had to do SOMETHING touristy. Another resident of our dear QMB and friend, Lily, is from the Blue Mountains and a while back had promised us a weekend at her newly built house – so with Kyle here, it was the perfect opportunity. We piled into Lily’s little Holden (Aussie car maker) and headed for our first stop: brunch. Speedos Cafe at Bondi offers a range of healthy yet delicious breakfasts, and the toast and poached egg served with kale salad and quinoa-sesame bites did not disappoint. We then headed off for real, making our way to Wentworth Falls for some quality hiking. You may remember that I hiked Wentworth Falls a while back with my Outdoor Education class…however, this time we descended below the cliff walk and were treated to a fabulous surprise. The bottom of the waterfall, feeding into a huge swimming hole. It was the perfect lunch spot and a great place to escape the 30 degree + temperatures beating down that day. I did not swim personally (looked cold) but Lily and Elle hopped in for a dip (was actually very cold). We continued along our walk to find at least three more waterfalls, before heading off to Coles for some supplies and to Lily’s place for some R & R.
An evening in the mountains – what can I possibly say? It was spectacular. Views of the rolling hills, steak for dinner (red meat!!!!), ACTUAL smores with ACTUAL graham crackers (thanks Kyle!), an evening bonfire and Netflix before bed, it was the perfect way to end the day. It felt so homey, and with how the week before had been going, exactly what I needed. Thanks Lily, for opening up your home to us and being the most wonderful hostess. Anytime you need a place in Vancouver to stay, you know who to call!
The next day we drove to Katoomba, so Emi and Kyle could see the Three Sisters (if you go to Australia and don’t see them, did you really go to Australia?) A quick 2.5 hour bushwalk had us back into the car, on our way home for an early bedtime and sweet dreams of the weekend we had just had.
Just a few photos from the weekend:
https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipO-jdkKK7u5mvdb3PBLelp-fQvRoyHObo0XGgvf
https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipO-0JPY7sqtCwbRRvRamsSme5Fh4ImL4FCi9lvN
https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipMlT1LBlYQD2hFEJCJGd6u5fQiwLGCxpBfo3rHW
https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipNPFuASCcI5x42eJWLvjkMm9fYJhmMFPjGqTjUD
Despite the rough week beforehand, there were so many things to be thankful for this week – thankful for living in Australia, thankful for the people I’ve met here, thankful for the experiences and opportunities I’ve had – all in all, a week full of thanks and gratitude.
Much love (and thanks!),
Steph