Ode to Colorado

I know it's been a long time since I last posted. Life has been a bit crazy on the Hook front the last few weeks. Here is a little update....

We arrived back to the states on May 10th and spent the following two weeks trying to fit everything we could into our last days in Denver. Here are a few things we did:

*spent lots of time (and late nights) with family & friends*moved all our belongings from the six separate storage locations (thank you friends and family) into one house & eventually the moving truck
*drove to Colorado Springs for an overnight w/ Andrea & an Australian celebration with her class
*went to my classroom at Bergen Valley for an Oz Presentation + clean-up & goodbyes
*took one last trip up to the mountains in Summit County, including a quick stop at the Silverthorne Outlets (one of my greatest downfalls)
*Had about a dozen breakfasts, lunches & dinners out with friends & family (two trips to the Rio...the greatest Mexican restaurant of all time...how I've missed it!)*took a few walks & runs around Wash Park
*Jonathan wrapping up school & GRADUATED. He's officially "Dr. Hook" now. Pretty impressive, huh?!*Enjoyed two home Rockies games...both were W's!*Hosted a little graduation/going away party

It was a whirlwind. We love Colorado. We love our friends and family in Colorado. We love the weather in Colorado. We love the mountains and endless opportunities for adventure in Colorado. I loved my job in Colorado (teaching at the best school in the history of the world:)). (Here's my school. I got to see the continental divide every day on the way to school)

So, in honor of the state we both love, here is just a SMALL glimpse of our lives in Colorado over the past three years. Just a few of our favorites.....So, we moved away from Colorado. You might have gathered that already (or know it already). Why did we move away from this state that we love, you may be asking? Well....it's because we love Spokane, Washington too. It may have really long, gray winters, but is has absolutely gorgeous summers & falls. There are amazing lakes everywhere in the northwest (including my favorite place in the entire world: Priest Lake - see first blog post ever, Leah's wedding). There are many amazing places within driving distance (the Oregon coast, Portland, Seattle, Leavenworth, the sound, Vancouver, Banff, Glacier National Park, etc.). Most importantly, though, it is "home" because it is near family (and friends too). We are happy to be back in the good ol' northwest.(Yes, we took the "long route" and drove through the Grand Tetons + Yellowstone. I love the buffalo picture. These massive beasts came about two feet from our vehicle. Wow!)

The next few weeks and months will consist of a few things...
*Jonathan studying for his PT board exam
*Jonathan starting his JOB at a PT clinic on the south hill on July 7th!
*Me looking for a teaching job
*Both of us looking for a house (hip, hip, horray!)
*Both of us trying to organize our out-of-control lives

I'm not so sure about my role in the blogging world at this point. The "adventures" of the Hooks will continue, but we are no longer living on foreign soil and we're childless (two blogging musts)...I'm not sure if I should keep this up. As you can see it's been a bit harder to post these past few weeks. Maybe it's just the MAD transition? Hmmm....

The Best & Worst of OZ!!!

Okay. It is now 3:08 in the morning in Australia and we leave the country at 3:30pm the afternoon. This is my last post on the continent of Australia - and sorry that I've updated all four of these last posts at the same time. It just didn't happen for me before now, so we'll see if I can stay awake long enough to finish this list in its entirety. After hours of thoughtful deliberating on the ride back from Sydney, we, Jonathan & Amy Hook, have agreed on our top ten lists. We'll start with the "worsts" first...

The Ten Least Desirable Things About Australia (according to the Hooks)

10. Vegemite. Okay, we know it's a bit lame. No one forced Vegemite down our throats or anything. We were just having a hard time coming up with #10 and thought we'd give our opinion on the soy sauce-type mixture that people like to spread on toast around here.

9. Lack of Drip Coffee. Although the espresso here in Oz is great, the availability of drip coffee is a huge bummer. I love lattes & flat whites, but I wish the plain ole drip was an option as well. It's quite a bit cheaper too. Those lattes hurt the budget & the presence of the filtered variety could have helped out a bit!

8. Drivers & Their Pedestrian Etiquette. I think it may say somewhere in the law books here that drivers should yield to pedestrians, but one trip across the street will prove otherwise. Without fail, we'd hear the vrooms of the engines as cars passed instead of stopping for us. We justified their actions by saying they were just trying to pass faster so we could cross sooner:).

7. Aussie Foul Mouths. I think that during our time in Australia we heard more profanity on the streets, in the shops, and on the beach than in our entire lives combined. Seriously.

6. Unfamiliar Groceries. Going to the grocery store was fun at first, and I do appreciate some of the new foods over here, but it was also a nightmare at times! I can't tell you how many nice old ladies I stopped in the aisles when I couldn't find a certain product (black beans, egg noodles, half & half, whipped cream, corn chips, molasses, the Mexican section - which doesn't really exist, cornmeal, corn syrup, etc!).

5. Australian Tax Law. I didn't earn much of an income to begin with, so when I found out a week ago that as a non-resident I owe 29% of my income back to the Australian government because I'm a foreigner, I was not pleased in the least!

4. Closing Early. I really like the idea of shops closing early. All the employees go home to their families and snuggle up by the fireplace for some hot cocoa and a bedtime story. Or...I guess it's Oz. They go home to a cup of tea and biscuits or scones. Anyways, we just hated that there was nowhere to go after five pm when all the shops closed. We miss the coffee shops in Denver that stay open late!

3. Internet/Phones. Both of these services are a bit sketchy (or dodgy, they would say) in Oz. Everyone has to pay so much for Internet (even wireless - you pay per download) and therefore no coffee shops offer free access. Similarly, our cell phone plan here was pretty bogus. Even Martin & Romana, on their family plan, cannot talk to each other for more than five minutes or they pay 40cents/minute. Ridiculous, I know!

2. Poor Road Signs. This one is near and dear to Jonathan's heart right now especially since his $250 ticket (thus the reason we slept in the car, as explained in our Sydney blog)! It might not be entirely fair to blame the road signs in Oz, but we have noticed considerably different (that's a euphemism) signs when it comes to clarity, size, and the degree to which they give advanced notice.

1. Expensive EVERYTHING. Or almost everything. We had to get over this difference pretty quickly or we'd go crazy. We did the best we could, but it was sure hard not to wince each time we checked out at the grocery store or paid at a restaurant. It would have been better if the exchange rate were a bit more in our favor (the American dollar reached an all-time low while we were here and continues to decline!) A couple random prices we saw recently (Maybelline mascara: $14.30, one powerbar: $4.52, vitamin water: $3.48. You don't believe me, do you? Here's a picture:

Now that you are probably thinking that we don't like Australia, we'd better follow-up with all our FAVORITE things.

The Ten MOST AMAZING Things About Australia (according to the Hooks)

10. Muesli & Pineapple. It's a tie. We love muesli for breakfast. It's quick, healthy & delicious and I've been recently inspired by Romana to make it myself, like she does, when we get back to the states. I don't know if it'll be the same. Pineapple is a huge love of ours & we definitely ate our share during our time here, both fresh & frozen in smoothies! Delicious.

9. Friday Night Footy. Almost every Friday night, we'd cozy up to the TV and enjoy a little Australian rugby. Jonathan was hooked right away, both for it's similarities to football (or gridiron, as they call it) and it's sheer insanity. Although we still don't know all the rules, we've improved in our understanding of the game. Going to the live match in Brisbane was a definite highlight as well.

8. Seafood. Coming from the land-locked state of Colorado, it has been wonderful to be close to the ocean and experience fresh & delicious seafood. We've enjoyed our fish & chips experiences, our yummy restaurant seafood selections, and our amazing crab day!

7. McDonald's 50 Cent Cones. Yes, you read correctly. A soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone is 50 cents (it was only 30 cents in Sydney!!!). With food prices sky-rocketing all over the place, the cone has somehow come through unscathed:). We never could figure out how everything else on the McDonald's menu was much more expensive than in the states, while the cone was so cheap. We weren't complaining though. I have no idea how many of these cones we consumed during our four months here! :)

6. Wildlife. It has been so fun seeing the abundance of wildlife Australia has to offer. In the wild we've seen koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, snakes, lizards, geckos, dolphins, kookaburras, dingos, and countless other creatures that we can't even begin to name (plus many more animals in the zoo like the wombat, another personal favorite). There is nothing quite like waking up each morning to the crazy calls of the birds in the rainforests surrounding us! (ironically, as I write this the first kookaburra has awoken. It's 4am)

5. BBQs. Aussies truly do know how to BBQ. They NEVER "throw a little shrimp on the barbie" because they only throw prawns (we were set straight on this right away). We've especially loved the clean, efficient, accessible BBQs on all the beaches and parks. They are everywhere and people use them all the time. We will miss that.

4. Scooter Rides. We have loved scooting around the coast in our little adventuremobile. Although it was a bit of a nightmare on rainy days, it was so glorious to zip along the coastal roads while feeling the wind on our faces, smelling the salty sea air and soaking up the sun:).

3. Surfing/Swimming/Reading. This is a large category, I know, but it's basically "beach activities". Jonathan fell in love with surfing during our time here and it was really fun to watch him improve (except on those four-hour days when I couldn't catch his attention to make him come in:)!). Swimming in the ocean was just heaven (most of the time), and reading was a huge highlight for both of us. I wanted to make "reading Harry Potter" a category of its own, but Jonathan said it wasn't very "Australian" and I suppose he's right. We both read the entire series for the first time while over here (in about a month and a half) and it was a serious highlight!

2. The Beach! This category, unlike the last, is just the general presence of the beach. It's glorious! Granted, you can't really separate the beach from the beach activities listed above, but it was just too big a category to all fit together. Since neither of us have lived near a beach before, we loved every second of sunsets, walks along it, beach sports, and just the general beach atmosphere.

1. Relationships/GoodLife. As great as everything else was in the country/continent of Australia, relationships easily top the list. We have been absolutely blown away by the amazing people we've met here and their kindness, generosity & loving nature (above is a scanned copy of the front of the church bulletin last week - a funny picture of our home group). It's impossible to think about our time here apart from these relationships. We'll certainly come away from this experience with a bigger view of the world and of the body of Christ. We only pray that our paths will cross again someday with all the people we've come to know and love!

Wow. It's 4:40 and I am heading to bed for a few hours at least. I hope that my strategy worked & that I sleep through the entire plane ride!! We'll be on American soil in just a few long hours.

Differences

It is sad that it has taken me this long to document some of our favorite differences about life in Oz. It's now or never, though, because we're leaving the country in just over twelve hours. So here it is, in no particular order, ten things we've found amusing in the continent/country (two-in-one!) of Australia...
Powerpoint switches (powerpoint = oulet)

In Australia, there is an additional switch to turn the outlet on our off. The current only runs through the powerpoint when the red side of the switch indicates it's "on".

Pro: Energy is saved because appliances that are not in use can be turned off.

Con: Those forgetful-types have another step to potentially forget. Forget to turn the powerpoint on when making your roast in the crockpot = ruined roast.

Accents/Slang

Everyone already knows about this one. Aussies have a language of their own. Although we usually understand 95% of what is being said around here, we still find ourselves going "huh? What did you just say?" all the time. Just a few recent ones: jumper = sweatshirt, singlet = tanktop, mozzie = mosquito.

Pro: Cultural experience and vocabulary building, plus just plain listening enjoyment.

Con: Awkward moments of phony laughter when you have no clue what you're laughing about.

Reusable Grocery Sacks

We love this one. Aussies do their part. You regularly see people use these bags for beach bags/purses as well.

Pro: Save the world!

Con: Again, the forgetful ones lose out. You must remember them when heading to the store.

Money!

The currency here is bright and colorful and also waterproof! No bills under $5 exist either.

Pro: Bills are distinguished easily and won't get ruined in your swimsuit pocket during your morning surf.

Con: As a foreigner, you feel as if you are playing with monopoly money. "Change" takes on a whole new meaning ("I only used change to buy that latte" when it was $4.10!)

Electric Tea Kettles

Maybe they have these in the states and I'm just oblivious? Everyone has these around here and they're great.

Pro: tea in seconds + hot water for cooking pasta. Just boil & transfer to a pot.

Con: another appliance? (if that's a con...)

Weather Reports
Maybe it's just the fact that we moved from Denver where the weather is constantly changing and the weather report on TV is a must-see (you could easily wear shorts on the day of a huge snowstorm that comes out of nowhere!), but here on the Sunny coast, the weather report lasts maybe thirty seconds from start to finish. "Tomorrow it will be fine, with the rest of the week looking mostly fine" (translation: tomorrow will be mostly sunny and the rest of the week will be partly cloudy)
Pro: Catching up on the weather report has never been easier.
Con: After you're done watching it, you're not sure if you learned anything new.

Double Flush Toilets

Almost every toilet here in Oz has this feature. You can probably infer the function of the double flush. Small button for small load, big for the larger load.

Pro: Smaller flushes save water.

Con: Not quite sure. If the large button doesn't do it, maybe it's more humiliating.

Tight Tuesday

Here on the Sunshine Coast at least, Tuesday is the day to buy gasoline and go to movies. Gas is substantially lower on Tuesdays (why? I have no clue) and movies are half-price!

Pro: Save $ on important things, of course.

Con: LONG LINES at the petrol station (see pic)

Left-Sided World

Yes, Aussies drive on the "wrong side" and this permeates all traffic situations. Running especially got to us when we first came, as the road rules apply to the sidewalks too. Try crossing a street! It's so hard to look right then left & then turn into the correct lane. Jonathan even mastered driving a manual with his left hand while here. Amazing, I know!

Pro: You get to see the world from a different angle (is that a pro?)

Con: You are in perpetual confusion and often make a fool of yourself, if you're from the "right" way of looking at the world:).

Mailman on Motorcycles

Don't you think that more people would have ambitions to become mailmen (or women) if they knew the job involved riding a motorcycle? Yes, Aussies here deliver mail by scootin' right up to the front door. This gentleman agreed to have his picture taken after he delivered me a package for my birthday (thanks, Anna!)

Pro: Mailmen can easily maneuver the streets & look pretty cool doing it.

Con: Kids could get deterred in their quest to become doctors and lawyers from the appeal of cruising in a motorcycle with a bright orange vest.

Sydney Splendor

After spending our day Friday at the beach and the Ugg shop, we caught a plane to Sydney where we spent the last week celebrating the end of Jonathan's academic career (or so we hope...), enjoying new sights & experiences, and processing all the changes that will take place in our lives over the next few weeks! It was an incredible five days in the most beautiful city in the world (in our opinion, that is). It's like Seattle meets San Diego: gorgeous water views with prestene white sand beaches.

We stayed in the northern suburb of Manly and took the thirty-minute ferry ride each day to downtown Sydney. It was a perfect spot: ocean beach on one side and harbor on the other with plenty of darling shops and restaurants. The unfortunate thing was the place we stayed. I would tell about it but I'd rather forget about it, so I'll focus on the more pleasant parts of our trip:). I will say, though, that I slept in a long-sleeved shirt, socks and pants because I wasn't sure our sheets had been washed (actually I was pretty sure they hadn't been)...but on to better things...this was one view from the ferry each day...

On Saturday, our very first day in Sydney, we met up with a friend of a friend (my cousin's friend's cousin) named Bethany. She's originally from Indiana and is working in Sydney for the year; she proved to be the most wonderful tour guide (thank you, Rachel!). She told us history, helped us map out all the must-sees, and took us to some unique spots that we would have never found on our own. A few shots from day #1:

Later on that evening we went to the Sydney Opera House to watch the symphony (this was another b-day present to Jonathan, seriously). I found this great deal online for young adults (under 27) in the choir section of the opera house. We faced the wrong direction but ended up in row B and got to watch the conductor & see each individual hair on the head of the tamborine player. Not too bad, huh?!

We spent the remaining days exploring different areas in the city: markets, Chinatown, the botanic gardens, St. Mary's cathedral, museums, Hillsong church, the harbor bridge lookout, parks, shops, beaches, Olympic park, and Ikea (yes, we ate at the cafe & roamed aimlessly through the displays). We feel like we must have walked at least a Bloomsday/BolderBoulder distance each day. We were certainly tired when we climbed into our dirty bed each day. Here are a few more pics...

Sunrise on Manly BeachBotanic gardens = beautiful!

Yes, that is a bat. They infest a few trees in the botanic gardens. Yuck!

One of our favorite films, The Matrix, was filmed in Sydney. We had to have a little fun w/ the phone booths/fountains. The following might just be the last jumping picture of Jonathan while in Australia, so savor it:)!

After our full days in the city, we rented a car and hit the road. With just our backpacks and a few maps, we headed north on the Pacific Highway with the intention of making it back to the Sunny Coast on Friday the 10th (today!). We took our time, stopping at coastal towns along the way. We decided to stay the night Wednesday in our car, splitting the time between a truck stop and this lovely overlook where we watched the sun rise. It looks pretty, but let me tell you that we both got about three hours of sleep total that night and were freezing! Why did we stay the night in our car? We got a lovely speeding ticket on the way up. More on that later. All in all, though, it was a lovely drive. We had an awesome pancake breakfast in Byron Bay before taking the ocean walk up to the light house. After a little swim in the ocean, we climbed back into the Hyndi Getz and cruised through the Gold Coast, stopping at Burleigh Heads & Surfers Paradise. We made it back to Martin & Romana's late last night and enjoyed one more day at our favorite beaches today. Here are a few more pics during our trip up the coast...It's hard to believe, but we leave TOMORROW to head back to Denver!!! Actually, since it's almost two in the morning here, we leave TODAY! I am up trying to catch up on our blog since I know I won't do it in the states. Two more to go! Plus I figure that if I stay up all night, I will sleep better on the plane. Jonathan disagrees. He's sound asleep. We'll see who wins the challenge tomorrow:)...