I arrived in Albury, New South Wales, on a Friday morning. It was interesting, because I left Phoenix on a Wednesday and somewhere along the road completely missed out on Thursday. Flights are all the same, but the 14-hour leg from L.A. to Sydney was the longest one I've ever been on. When I left Phoenix, it was the beginning of summer (100 F/ C). When I landed in Albury, it was 50 F/ C, showing just a hint of winter. I began to wonder if I'd packed enough warm clothes.

At the airport I met Janet, my host for the next week. She took me home to shower and have a nap, and I began my Australian immersion. We sat in the beautiful sun and compared maps of the US and Australia. I became increasingly aware that most Australians have a better grasp of U.S. geography than I do of Australian geography. It was irritating, so I vowed to study the maps a bit and catch up. In the evening, we had a beer at the Ettamoogah Pub, which is a pub designed after a cartoon. So, it has cartoon proportions and is really displaced in the surrounding scenery. But, everyone recognizes it, because they are familiar with the comic.

First thing Saturday morning, Janet and I hiked up the steepest hill we could find to try to get a lay of the land. Janet had been wanting to hike up this particular hill for many months but hadn't for fear of snakes in the summer. Hiking up was fun (I saw a kangaroo!), except for walking through a very strong spider web. Attached to the very strong spider web was a very large spider that had me squealing like a little girl, especially when I found it was securely planted on my stomach. The view from the top was great. Albury is located right on the boundary of New South Wales and Victoria. Its sister city, Wolldonga, is on the Victoria side. Both cities have about 40,000 people.

I borrowed a bicycle for the weekend from Kev, a friend of Janet's. On Saturday afternoon, the three of us drove (on the left side) to a cute old mining town called Beechworth. We explored a little bit of Beechworth (mostly the bakery), and Kev and I rode the bikes to Yakandandah (Yak), about 25km away. Yak is the town where Strange Bedfellows was filmed. It is another sleepy little mining town that is just a series of knick knack shops, bakeries, and parks. The ride was quite nice so we decided to ride again on Sunday.

Sunday took us to a spot where a new Rail Trail was being opened up. All over Australia (much like the US), the old railway is being ripped up and turned into a multi-use path. A new segment was being open between Tallangatta and Historic Tallanga. Historic Tallanga is a community that was moved when a dam was built and formed Lake Hume, a large reservoir. What is left of this community is a few brick houses high on the hills above lake level, and the old outlines of foundations and streets. New South Wales is in the midst of a 7-year drought, which is punctuated by the fact that Lake Hume is currently at 7% capacity. What is left is a dryland basin filled with dead trees. It looks ghostly, especially when you look at Old Tallanga. The town should be covered by water (and has been in the past), but now it is exposed.

Albury is a town of about 40,000, and it is reminiscent of an old mid-western town before it was bastardized by Wal-Mart and McDonalds. Don't get me wrong, they have both of these establishments, but they still have the small clothing shops, butchers, and bakeries that dominated communities of the past. People of the U.S. have forgotten how pleasant it is to stroll through a vibrant downtown, which is still the norm here in Australia. The teenagers cruise the main street, shouting at each other and people on the street. It really reminded me of LeRoy. There is also an absence of traffic lights in Albury. Instead, they employ roundabouts, which tends to alleviate traffic problems. Somehow, there never seemed to be a "rush hour" and it wasn't ever difficult to get from point A to B. It seemed like there should be much more traffic, since everyone drives. Roundabouts are interesting. I don't think they would be confusing if they weren't also backwards for me (driving on the left and rotating clockwise). It is the one piece of traffic that prevents me from wanting to drive. The only other problem is trying to remember to look to the right as I'm crossing the street. I automatically look left as I'm stepping off the curb. Janet has saved me twice by hauling me back on the curb moments before I got squashed. The result is that now she is extremely paranoid whenever I am walking in traffic.

Aussie slang phrase of the week: "You right?"
This phrase is often used by servers at restaurants, bakeries, and stores. Contrary to my initial belief, this DOES NOT mean, "Are you ok?" It means, "Have you been helped?" So, my initial impulse to answer this question, "yes, thanks" would send the server away in a hurry and it would take me the next 10 minutes to get their attention in order to be helped. So, when you step up to an Australian bakery counter and someone asks you, "you right?" You say "no". This will save you much time and frustration.