The Australian Plague

Well, as most of you know, I have been incredibly ill the past week or so. Actually, I feel like I've been sick pretty much the whole 2 months I've been here. Yesterday Ben made me go to the doctor's (good husband) and they took swabs and a blood sample, instead of just giving me antibiotics this time. I should have the results tomorrow. Basically, the doctor explained that here in Australia we have very similar illnesses and sicknesses to what I was exposed to in Maine. BUT, they're different strains. And because they're different strains, I have to build up an immunity to the new bacteria. I'm a little concerned, because I just spent 24 years of my life building up immunities in Maine. How long will I be sick here? How long will it take to build up a decent immunity in Australia? I work with kids, so I'm constantly exposed to new bacteria and new viruses. I take the necessary precautions, like trying to stay healthy and hydrated, washing my hands, etc. but it's like "Bubble Boy". It's like I've stepped from my Maine-Immunity bubble and into AustraliaWorld, and now if there's something to catch, I WILL catch it. Tomorrow I have a follow up appointment where we can discuss why I was so sick this time around, and if there are any immunizations I can get, what kind of vitamin regimen I take to help my immune system, etc. So that's that.

We do have a couple of pictures to share! We made our lemonade last weekend and it's really good. My friend Melanie sent me a new lemonade recipe so we're going to try that one next time. We found out that the lemon tree doesn't belong to anyone--the other side of the fence there is just, nothingness. So we think it's safe to pick the lemons. Plus when I drank the lemonade I didn't look down and realize I was naked or anything, and no evil Satanic kangaroo tried to talk to me, so I think we're all set as far as forbidden fruit goes :) Here's a picture of our fresh lemonade:



This weekend we are heading up to Perth for Ben's business awards/dinner thing. I think it's going to be really fun. We booked a nice 4 star hotel that is a 2 bedroom suite that Mark and Nat and Ben and I will be sharing, and it was very inexpensive! Also, Nancy reimbursed us for our hotel, which we didn't expect. What a good boss! Since dinner and the hotel are all paid for, we'll mostly be paying for breakfast, gas to Perth (which we'll split 4 ways), and the zoo the next day. I can't wait--from what we hear, the Perth zoo is pretty epic. I feel like we're finally getting to see more of Australia.

Ben went to Nancy's sister's house for dinner on Sunday night. I really wanted to go but I was feeling extremely miserable. Nancy's sister has recently begun flower arranging, and she arranged a little bouquet for Ben to bring home to me. How nice! They are really pretty. The big purple one is some kind of Australian Iris, and the really tall burgundy/yellow ones are called Kangaroo Paws. I'm not sure about the others, but the really small white-ish ones are REALLY fragrant and they look like tiny white daffodils up close.


We have decided that when our 6 month lease is up, we're going to move. We're looking at going to Withers, which is a suburb of Bunbury (I don't remember if I've already written about this. So if I have, skim past it.) I would be closer to work, and if we got lucky enough, I could walk to work. I really don't want to buy another car. The car we bought is the nicest car either of us have ever had, and if we're only going to be here for 3 years, I don't want to spend another thousand or whatever on an extra vehicle--that just means more registrations, more maintenance, more gas...this car is nice and I'd like to just have one if we can. Plus, because Withers is outside of Bunbury, we could get a newer place for less money. We've scrubbed the mold out of the showers in this apartment, but I suspect it's under the carpets as well. These carpets ARE from the '70's. When I was vacuuming, the hose was lifting off the carpet--which just makes me think, ew, what could be under there?! We need to find a place that isn't going to encourage me being sick all the time. Plus we had a big problem with out Property Manager recently and don't want to give them any more of our business.

That's the update. Will have lots of pictures to post after this weekend at the Zoo and the awards night!