Like much of the world, the Dacey family has been having great fun watching the Olympics for the past two weeks. We have been asked whom we are barracking (cheering) for in these games, the USA or Australia. Rick’s response has been, “yes.” The fact is, it is a bit of a challenge when the commentators are speaking in Australian accents and focusing on the Australian competitions and competitors, not to barrack for Australia. But we have certainly celebrated the victories of the USA as well. We have been proud to say that we come from the country of Michael Phelps, whom we saw a lot of, given Australia’s keen interest in all sports involving water!
We couldn’t help but notice some differences in the way that the Olympics is broadcast here. First, it was on free-to-air TV, every day, from 9 or 10am to 6pm, and then from 8pm onwards (to be fair, we have heard that another network has the contract for the 2012 Olympics, and there may not be as much free-to-air coverage). And it was all competition- none of the personal profiles and human interest stories that have become so all-consuming in the American coverage. Australia is definitely a country that loves its sport. Rick, the only one in the household that managed to stay awake for the late-night opening ceremony was also impressed that, for the first time in his memory, he watched the entire parade of nations without any commercial interruptions.
The girls really got into the competitions, and felt torn when Australia and the USA were competing against one another. They relished being able to come home from school and turn on the TV every afternoon, and spend Saturdays and Sundays glued to the TV. I know that they are going to suffer a bit of withdrawal (as will I!) when they get home this afternoon from school and it is back to the “mean-mommy” rules of no TV on school days! But I think that Lachlan will be relieved, as he has clearly been disturbed that his sisters have been tuning into the TV rather than playing with him after school. He has done his best to make this clear by catapulting himself around the living room, jumping all over the girls, mischievously pushing the TV’s power button to “off”, and generally making a pesky nuisance of himself during viewing time.
Feeling a bit of the Olympic fever myself, I decided to run a road race in Sydney two days after the start of the games. The race, City2Surf, is 14K (about 8 miles), starting in the central business district and heading east along the Harbour, ending up at the famous Bondi Beach, a gorgeous stretch of sand. The course was hilly and incredibly scenic. The stunning view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge made it so rewarding to face Sydney’s own “Heartbreak Hill” in the middle of the race.
It was great fun and a really enjoyable event, although I could have done with a little less of a crowd- reportedly about 70,000 entrants! I was glad to be out in the race world again, as my last race was back in 2003. And I have to give a grateful shout-out to our neighbours, Marg and Wes, who took the kids at 7am on a Sunday morning (even one with a fever!), and to my dear friend Anna, who inspired me to give it a go in the first place, and who even packed me a lunch for our train trip back home.
If you’d like to check out a video of my finish, check this link: http://city2surf.sunherald.com.au/results08video.php?intbib=26999 . I start coming in the upper right hand corner with a purple shirt, black shorts and a white hat, and come down towards the middle of the screen. London, 2012- here I come!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Sheep Farm
Yesterday and today, we had a stay at a sheep farm outside of Bathurst about 2½ hours from our home in Sydney. We were graciously hosted by the Robards family- Mark, Jane, Naomi and Kieran- members of our church. Mark’s dad owns the farm. He was a professor in wool and animal science, and when he retired, he decided to put into practice what he had taught in theory. He purchased one of the cottages that housed the media at Sydney’s 2000 Olympics and had it transported out to the farm so that the family could have a place to visit.
Although winter is a pretty chilly time to be out there, it is the time that the lambs are born, and a roaring fire in the woodstove kept us toasty inside. (To those of you who are wondering about the chill factor here, they had some dustings of snow last week out there in the country.) The kids (and the adults, too!) enjoyed braving the cold winds and walking out to the pasture to feed the sheep. The highlight was being able to cuddle one of the two smallest lambs. She became quite relaxed, to the point where I didn’t need to keep her still. But she got wise to Mark on the second day and would not allow herself to be caught again!
Before lunch, Mark took Rick and me out to see the full property in his car, as it was too cold for all of us to walk. As we were returning to the cottage, bouncing along in the pasture, the sheep grazed to our left. On our right, we spotted two grey kangaroos, which we had been eager to see, as we had not seen any out in the bush since our visit here in 2004. And then we realized that Waltzing Matilda, Australia’s unofficial national anthem, was playing in the car.
Although winter is a pretty chilly time to be out there, it is the time that the lambs are born, and a roaring fire in the woodstove kept us toasty inside. (To those of you who are wondering about the chill factor here, they had some dustings of snow last week out there in the country.) The kids (and the adults, too!) enjoyed braving the cold winds and walking out to the pasture to feed the sheep. The highlight was being able to cuddle one of the two smallest lambs. She became quite relaxed, to the point where I didn’t need to keep her still. But she got wise to Mark on the second day and would not allow herself to be caught again!
Before lunch, Mark took Rick and me out to see the full property in his car, as it was too cold for all of us to walk. As we were returning to the cottage, bouncing along in the pasture, the sheep grazed to our left. On our right, we spotted two grey kangaroos, which we had been eager to see, as we had not seen any out in the bush since our visit here in 2004. And then we realized that Waltzing Matilda, Australia’s unofficial national anthem, was playing in the car.
Sheep, kangaroos, and Waltzing Matilda. Does it get anymore Australian than that?
Love, Anne
To enjoy Australian country music legend Slim Dusty performing Waltzing Matilda, follow this link:
http://www.last.fm/music/Slim+Dusty/+videos/+1-CwvazMc5EfE
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Little Aussies
Today at Lachlan’s playgroup, another mother asked me whether my children speak in Australian accents. Actually, Erin was speaking Aussie with her classmates within a few weeks of arriving here. However, at home, she would speak in an American accent. Towards the end of the year, though, she would often slip into some Aussie with us if she were particularly excited about something.
Claire, on the other hand, didn’t really pick up the Aussie accent until she entered kindergarten this year. We attributed that to the fact that there was not as much language interaction in preschool, both amongst peers and with teachers, and because she was still at home for 4 days out of 7. But now that she has started full-day kindergarten, she has got the same Aussie accent at school.
It is interesting to listen when they are playing with peers but in our presence- they switch back and forth between accents so deftly, but there are always slip-ups. Now they speak in Aussie for so much of their day that even the whining comes at me in Aussie! I assured them the other day that if there was one thing more annoying than hearing my children whine, it was listening to them whine in Australian accents. I have to admit that, although I am thrilled that my children have the opportunity to be a part of every aspect of Australian life, I often find it very unnerving when they speak to me directly with the accent. It can be a surreal experience- as if it is not my child speaking to me, although my child is physically present.
As Lachlan is at home, he does not yet have the accent. But he has started pronouncing certain words the way Australians do, most likely because he has seen it that way on children’s tv. Zebra is said with a short “”, helicopter is said “hel--copter” and airplane is “aer-O-plane”.
Last night, Claire tip-toed into our room at 3AM. Mommy-radar alerted, I asked her what she needed. She proceeded to whisper that she was awake and couldn’t get back to sleep- all in Aussie.
So, this has led me to contemplate- What accent do my children dream in?
Claire, on the other hand, didn’t really pick up the Aussie accent until she entered kindergarten this year. We attributed that to the fact that there was not as much language interaction in preschool, both amongst peers and with teachers, and because she was still at home for 4 days out of 7. But now that she has started full-day kindergarten, she has got the same Aussie accent at school.
It is interesting to listen when they are playing with peers but in our presence- they switch back and forth between accents so deftly, but there are always slip-ups. Now they speak in Aussie for so much of their day that even the whining comes at me in Aussie! I assured them the other day that if there was one thing more annoying than hearing my children whine, it was listening to them whine in Australian accents. I have to admit that, although I am thrilled that my children have the opportunity to be a part of every aspect of Australian life, I often find it very unnerving when they speak to me directly with the accent. It can be a surreal experience- as if it is not my child speaking to me, although my child is physically present.
As Lachlan is at home, he does not yet have the accent. But he has started pronouncing certain words the way Australians do, most likely because he has seen it that way on children’s tv. Zebra is said with a short “”, helicopter is said “hel--copter” and airplane is “aer-O-plane”.
Last night, Claire tip-toed into our room at 3AM. Mommy-radar alerted, I asked her what she needed. She proceeded to whisper that she was awake and couldn’t get back to sleep- all in Aussie.
So, this has led me to contemplate- What accent do my children dream in?
Anne
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Never Say Never
For the past few weeks we have enjoyed a visit with my parents. We always love to have Oma and Opa with us- they enjoy the kids so much, and are great company and help to the grownups as well! We reflected several times about how this was their third trip to Australia- when they came here in 2004 to visit us while Rick was engaged in his 8-week ministry exchange, the trip was billed as the "once in a lifetime opportunity." And now, going to pick them up at the Sydney Airport almost feels like picking them up at the local bus station! Never say never!
For the first 6 days of their visit, Erin and Claire were on school holidays. We let Mom and Dad have a few days to recover from jetlag, and then we took a two-night, three-day trip to Canberra, the capitol of Australia. It had a Washington D.C. feel to it, with the government buildings and museums, although it has a lot more planned green space. Unlike Sydney, Canberra experiences 4 distinct changes of seasons, with lots of leaves falling in autumn (they don't call it fall here). Mom and Dad remarked on how strange it was to see the colored leaves when all of the trees and flowers are just beginning to bloom in the northeastern U.S.! We enjoyed visiting a good number of places in Canberra, including Questacon, a fabulous science and technology museum that we could have spent two whole days exploring, the Old Bus Depot Markets (two huge warehouses of local food and craft), the Canberra Glassworks, where we saw a gorgeous bowl blown from start to finish, and the National Museum of Australia, where the adults wish they could have spent more time visiting amazing exhibits on Aboriginal culture and Australian life and history.
For the first 6 days of their visit, Erin and Claire were on school holidays. We let Mom and Dad have a few days to recover from jetlag, and then we took a two-night, three-day trip to Canberra, the capitol of Australia. It had a Washington D.C. feel to it, with the government buildings and museums, although it has a lot more planned green space. Unlike Sydney, Canberra experiences 4 distinct changes of seasons, with lots of leaves falling in autumn (they don't call it fall here). Mom and Dad remarked on how strange it was to see the colored leaves when all of the trees and flowers are just beginning to bloom in the northeastern U.S.! We enjoyed visiting a good number of places in Canberra, including Questacon, a fabulous science and technology museum that we could have spent two whole days exploring, the Old Bus Depot Markets (two huge warehouses of local food and craft), the Canberra Glassworks, where we saw a gorgeous bowl blown from start to finish, and the National Museum of Australia, where the adults wish they could have spent more time visiting amazing exhibits on Aboriginal culture and Australian life and history.
Erin pull her weight at Questacon
Claire at the entrance to Questacon's "Eaten Alive" exhibit!
Alien creatures Lachlan and Opa in Australia's future at the National Museum of Australia
When the girls returned to school, we stayed local, enjoying some day trips confined between the hours of 9 and 3, including trips to the mountains and the coast. Mom and Dad also struck out on their own, taking a Sydney Harbour cruise and attending a ballet at the Opera House (a performance at the Opera House is always a must see for them!) Mom and Dad enjoyed getting into the daily routines, taking them to school and picking them up (even getting to know a few other parents), watching a netball game, practicing the piano with Erin, helping with homework and having tea and dinner with our neighbors!
Claire and Oma plant pansies on the front veranda (since Oma and Opa have left, Claire has reported that she wants to be a gardener when she grows up)
Sadly, they left yesterday, but save for the house being a little quieter, and me being a bit morose about the loss of all of my household and childcare help, that's ok. We will see them in 6 1/2 weeks when we return to the States for our northern summer visit!
Before they left, they gave me and Rick the ultimate gift- they took charge of the kids for 2 days, one night, so that we could celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with a short trip to the Southern Highlands, an area that is about one and a 1/2 hours southwest of Sydney. We stayed in a restored settler's hut that was built in the 1830s in Berrima, a small town that retained its historic character when the railroad bypassed it and basically cut it off from much modern development. It was the perfect romantic hideaway, with the not-so-historic kitchen and indoor toilet added for modern comfort!
We relished the opportunity to be completely free from the responsibilities of small children and church life. We enjoyed a spectacular bushwalk at Fitzroy Falls, poked through antique and specialty shops and ate grownup food at grownup times! It was truly amazing to consider how far we have journeyed in the past 10 years- the date of our spring wedding in New Hampshire has become an autumn celebration, the Pacific Ocean now lies between us and Camp Calumet, and we have children who speak with Australian accents. Had anyone suggested on the day of our wedding that this might be the case, we would never have believed it. Never say never!
10 years- we made it!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter!
Wishing our friends and family far and wide a blessed Easter!
With love from all of the Daceys
The angel said to the women,
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples:
'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.'
Now I have told you."
-Matthew 28: 5-7
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Girl Guides
This week, Erin joined the North Epping Girl Guides Unit as a Brownie. North Epping has a small, extremely well run unit, which has a substantial waiting list of girls- we were fortunate to get Erin on the waiting list last year when we arrived, so that she was at the top of the list for enrollments this year. She is beyond excited, and is loving all of the activities. We are feeling a bit daunted but excited for her options for earning her badges- there are so many exciting things that she can do, and there is no doubt that they will all help her development as a responsible, respectful and caring child.
She chose a promise which respected her status as a US citizen. In the Australian Guide Promise, a guide promises to serve "the Queen and my country." Erin chose an alternative in which she promised to serve "my country and this country." We were very proud of her for claiming her US ties!
Anne
The blue is much nicer than the US brown colors, don't you think?
(Note the Queen in the upper part of the picture!)
She chose a promise which respected her status as a US citizen. In the Australian Guide Promise, a guide promises to serve "the Queen and my country." Erin chose an alternative in which she promised to serve "my country and this country." We were very proud of her for claiming her US ties!
Anne
The blue is much nicer than the US brown colors, don't you think?
(Note the Queen in the upper part of the picture!)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Where in the World?
On Sunday, we headed into Sydney on the train for the afternoon to attend Sydney's St. Patrick's Day festivities. When Rick and I were first dating, and in the beginning years of our marriage, Ireland was a place of important focus for us. Rick, in particular, has strong Irish roots, and we both enjoyed celebrating our Celtic heritage. Our CD collection (which, I must admit, in briefly perusing it, does not seem to have been much updated since those early years) is stocked with Celtic music. We honeymooned on Ireland's Dingle Peninsula and had a wonderful time, and vowed to travel the whole island some day. We even named our first child Erin after the Emerald Isle.
But something happened in 2004. Rick found the opportunity to spend part of his sabbatical here in Australia doing a ministry exchange (Ireland was kind of out of the running for that, given that the Catholic church frowns upon us wives for their clergy). Ireland fell into our romatic past, and Australia became our real present and future. And now that Australia is our adopted home, we thought, well, time to give the kids a little taste of Ireland. St. Patrick's Day is not as widely celebrated here as it is in the US, so traveling into the center of Sydney seemed our best option, particularly because the lovely stretch of weather that I mentioned in the previous entry is continuing.
Well, I must say that our romantic longings for Ireland were not renewed. Unfortunately, what we found was a lot of alcohol, cigarette smoke and crazy drunk people wearing green wigs and orange and green body paint in a very crowded, sunny hot area of Hyde Park. Granted there was music and Irish dancing, but we couldn't see it through the crowds, and the food stalls were disappointing. The lines were too long in the Kids' Fun Area to make it worthwhile.
So, instead, we sought the cool, welcome shade of the giant avenues of gum trees in Hyde Park and rethought our afternoon strategy. First, Rick and the kids thought this would be a good place to enjoy what they call "Tickle, Tackle, Tumble", usually an evening activity, which they haven't had a chance to enjoy for a while:
After the kids brought Daddy down, we decided to walk towards the Harbour and catch the train from Circular Quay (to the uninitiated, like myself until at least 6 weeks into our 2004 stay, "quay" is pronounced "key", not "qway"), and see what we could discover along the way. We wandered over to St. Mary's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. It has impressive architecture and beautiful stained glass. Teenagers were out front making a ruckus to encourage people to attend a World Youth Day Event that was taking place that afternoon. In July, Sydney is hosting World Youth Day, a week-long Catholic youth festival that will include a visit from Pope Benedict XVI (only the 4th Papal visit to Australia).
As we made our way down Macquarie Street on the edge of the Royal Botanic Gardens, we noticed that the street was closed off. As we got closer, we could see the tail end of a parade with at least 3 Greek flags flying at the end- from what I can tell from my quick Google research, it was a Greek Independence Day march.
As we quickened our pace, hoping to find more of the parade, we happened upon, of all people, Jesus, on a donkey, and his disciples and many followers in the dress of Biblical times amongst the tourist crowds at Circular Quay! Turns out, again, from trusty Google, that Wesley Mission, a city mission of the Uniting Church, was re-enacting its annual Palm Sunday procession around the Harbour foreshore.
But something happened in 2004. Rick found the opportunity to spend part of his sabbatical here in Australia doing a ministry exchange (Ireland was kind of out of the running for that, given that the Catholic church frowns upon us wives for their clergy). Ireland fell into our romatic past, and Australia became our real present and future. And now that Australia is our adopted home, we thought, well, time to give the kids a little taste of Ireland. St. Patrick's Day is not as widely celebrated here as it is in the US, so traveling into the center of Sydney seemed our best option, particularly because the lovely stretch of weather that I mentioned in the previous entry is continuing.
Well, I must say that our romantic longings for Ireland were not renewed. Unfortunately, what we found was a lot of alcohol, cigarette smoke and crazy drunk people wearing green wigs and orange and green body paint in a very crowded, sunny hot area of Hyde Park. Granted there was music and Irish dancing, but we couldn't see it through the crowds, and the food stalls were disappointing. The lines were too long in the Kids' Fun Area to make it worthwhile.
So, instead, we sought the cool, welcome shade of the giant avenues of gum trees in Hyde Park and rethought our afternoon strategy. First, Rick and the kids thought this would be a good place to enjoy what they call "Tickle, Tackle, Tumble", usually an evening activity, which they haven't had a chance to enjoy for a while:
After the kids brought Daddy down, we decided to walk towards the Harbour and catch the train from Circular Quay (to the uninitiated, like myself until at least 6 weeks into our 2004 stay, "quay" is pronounced "key", not "qway"), and see what we could discover along the way. We wandered over to St. Mary's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. It has impressive architecture and beautiful stained glass. Teenagers were out front making a ruckus to encourage people to attend a World Youth Day Event that was taking place that afternoon. In July, Sydney is hosting World Youth Day, a week-long Catholic youth festival that will include a visit from Pope Benedict XVI (only the 4th Papal visit to Australia).
As we made our way down Macquarie Street on the edge of the Royal Botanic Gardens, we noticed that the street was closed off. As we got closer, we could see the tail end of a parade with at least 3 Greek flags flying at the end- from what I can tell from my quick Google research, it was a Greek Independence Day march.
As we quickened our pace, hoping to find more of the parade, we happened upon, of all people, Jesus, on a donkey, and his disciples and many followers in the dress of Biblical times amongst the tourist crowds at Circular Quay! Turns out, again, from trusty Google, that Wesley Mission, a city mission of the Uniting Church, was re-enacting its annual Palm Sunday procession around the Harbour foreshore.
After recovering from our Jesus sighting, we decided that ice cream was in order (much like, I am sure, the crowd that witnessed the first triumphal entry into Jerusalem). 
Just as we were finishing our ice cream, we heard pipers coming, so we rushed to salvage a bit of our St. Patrick's Day celebration. But alas, as we turned the corner, the pipers were disappearing up the street. However, during our mad dash, we did witness a number of Greek Orthodox priests with their long beards and flapping robes run across the road to catch the bus!
A 4-hour trip into Sydney, and we managed to trek around the globe- Dublin, Rome, Athens. We were transported back in time to Jerusalem. We even enjoyed some quality family time. A very surreal excursion!
Anne
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