Perth in the Periphery

Whoa, nelly. A month ago I took my first extended trip out of Adelaide to go to a family wedding in Perth. I finally got to meet and spend more time with the family I married into -- my husband's cousins, aunts, uncles and slightly more distant relations. I was a bit intimidated by the prospect but excited I would take the flight I dreamt of taking almost since I arrived in Australia. Well, not quite, but at least it was one step in the direction of exploring other places, an impulse perhaps nurtured by a tendency to move around.

In the end my apprehensions were allayed by enjoyable company and a welcome change of scenery. However, when I came back to Adelaide I was mildly comforted as well. Leaving and then returning to what I've recently called home helped me to realize the degree to which I've grown accustomed to life in this town. I guess I do like it here.

I was a bit negligent of my sketching practices but below are a few doodles.

Perth skyline from the south side of the city

Sleepy koala at the Perth Zoo

Up from Under

It's been a week since I've landed in Australia. Early last Saturday morning I contemplated my arrival at the airport in Melbourne, before my flight to Adelaide, over a Krispy Kreme doughnut and a cappuccino. Any time I arrive at a new a place and I'm just gathering my bearings, the days merge one into the other, the particular name of which becomes unimportant.  Time instead gets organized around specific activities, or a lack thereof.  Fortunately, jet lag was barely an issue, and I felt acclimated to the new location within a few days.

Of course there are some things that are different.  Two things I reminded myself of today were 1.) if I'm going to make a purchase, I'm not going to get one of those environment enriching plastic bags. Bring your own reusable one. 2.) Meal sizes are a little bit different from the U.S.  Some would say that they're more reasonable. If you're going to order a small meal at McDonalds, rest assured it'll be the size of a Happy Meal. There's also the steering wheel on the other side of the car and the ol' season switcheroo. All superficial but noticeable differences to a new arrival from the States. Deeper observations to come later.

What other fun things will I learn from this continent/island/nation? I haven't reignited a regular sketching habit yet but in the road to productivity this Sunday, I worked out how to use one of the scanners in the house. I can see that the scanner is is more suitable for drawings than the document scanner I used in Haifa.  Below are a few sketches, two pages from my travels this time around, the other a quick one of some of the backyard.

Waiting at the airport

View from a window at Incheon International Airport

 

Pencil sketch of the backyard

Until Next Time

I made it through one 10 hour flight and am waiting for another in Seoul, Korea. My husband and I left Israel yesterday evening. Never really knowing what to expect, it seemed that in the end we had one of the easier exits from Ben Gurion Airport.  Aside from battling a Korean tour group, the lines were short and no fuss. You can believe that you had a decent experience when one of the "worst" things that happened was discovering that the McDonalds was replaced with a Burger Ranch. Let's hope I didn't speak too soon.

Right now the airport in Seoul is quiet.  My husband will be staying in Korea for a few days to visit his brother while I go straight on to Australia.

These past few months in Haifa have gone by so quickly. I've managed to start a habit of sketching on location and hopefully a better appreciation of my surroundings, and I am looking to continue it in the land down unda! Once I work out the scanner situation (or temporarily resort to taking snapshots again) I'll be posting again.  In the meantime, better start sketching.

Ciao.