Guhday Mates, from Donnie The Blue Mountains guide (yours). 🙂
Australian late Fall – April 12th, 2014
Today, we journey into and through the Blue Mountains near Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia. It is an awe inspiring journey into some of the finest, picturesque and photographic adventures, I have ever experienced. But our adventure is for more than just the area’s calling card which is, The Three Sisters Rock formations. For more on the Three Sisters, their lengends, The Three Exploers and etc. from this blog, click The Three Somethings
Our trip begins at Echo Point and The Three Sisters, then we will hike around the mountains and through the forest to Katoomba Falls. The trek is quite rigorous, but I am sixty years old and if I can do it, so can you! My Keene sandals are more than up to the task. Wear warm clothing (long pants, a nice wool shirt and an undershirt, a hat and some sunglasses if you like, but we will be passing through the forest floor of shade and shadows). Grab some water and a camera and prepare yourself to transcend into an incredible state of mind as we ascend the mountains and descend towards the falls. The air is crisp and clear. The sun is full and the clouds are gorgeous. We may even see some bird of prey, soar the thermals above the mountains.
Caution: There will be times that you feel as if you are all alone. You may be able to hear yourself think? You may at times be so at peace within the quiet that the only sound you may hear if you stop moving is, the sound of your own heartbeat. That my friends and companions, is the sound of exuberant joy! 🙂
Glad not alone, for you are not alone. We are all pilgrims here, just passing through. It is a gift to us and to all. The Blue Mountains was made for all to enjoy. For joy, get en (in) to it, all of it and all of your all – en-joy!
Our trip below Echo Point along the mountain side to the falls, will take about 2 hours in and back another way. It is a well made path, but there may be some water from many small mountain streams that may trickle over it sometimes. This will be some good exercise, but well worth it. I do highly recommend this trip to most anyone of fair to good health. Take it slowly if you must, as they say here down under, “No worries!” Catch every breath from every moment that leaves you breathless from such breathtaking views! 🙂
Immerse yourself in this, perhaps a once in a lifetime experience. So, this ends and your vicarious adventure begins with photographs and captions. Enjoy!
Dahni
The Boomerang Bench at Echo PointThe Three Sisters at Echo PointBird of Prey Over The Blue Mountains
Note: The Haze over the mountains from which it derives its name is from the oils released from the thousands of many varieties of eucalyptus trees that cover the mountains.
Another ViewThe Sunlit BluffsBlues, Greens and PurplesAnother View IIOne of My Favorite ViewsSubdued & BluedMy Favorite ViewAt Cliff’s EdgeThe Three Sisters from another point of viewMoving through the forestMajesticSunlight on The Cliffs IIInside the Living ForestThe Mysterious EucalyptusKatoomba Falls
Our journey ends here as close to the falls as we could reach as the lower path was closed. We will just have to return for more views and closer views sometime in the future or in our dreams. My sincerest thanks for allowing me to be with you in this place of beauty. You are beautiful and Donnie Luvs Yah!
Donnie
P.S. WE THANK YOU AUSTRALIA, FOR SHARING YOUR TREASURE!!! 🙂
Guhday Mates from Donnie, your Aussie Blue Mountains guide
Yes, tis’ me! I am no longer wearing shades, eating eucalyptus leaves and looking like a Koala Bear! 🙂 A brand new, Akubra hat, exclusive to this one hat store (The Hattery) and this area and actually dark navy blue and appropriately named, Blue Mountains,will do that to you! 🙂
I am standing at a rail at Echo Point in front of The Three Sisters/Explorers/Rock Formations/Somethings, immediately behind me to your right.
Last weekend (April 11-14), we had the breathtaking, perhaps a-once-in–lifetime experience of the Blue Mountains around Katoomba, N.S.W. (New South Wales or NSW), Australia. NSW is a province or like a state in the US. It is a large area and includes: Sydney, Katoomba, The Blue Mountains and Camden (where we are staying), among others cities, towns and areas. I wrote “perhaps a-once-in-a-lifetime experience,” as we never know where the roads we travel or may one day travel lead, until we take them or find ourselves upon them.
But the road we traveled this weekend, was only about an hour’s drive from Camden to Katoomba. Traveling by car, we noticed large parcels of land and large beautiful homes as if estates or ranches. And there was an enormous amount of construction going on. We were told a brand new International airport has been approved to be built soon and that there are estimates which suggest that over 1,000 people are moving to this area every month. But for us, soon, in the distance, we could see our destination, The Blue Mountains and the gradual, soon-to-be, ear pooping ascension up into them.
With all due respect and credit to Jimmy Buffet, the change in altitude, definitely inspired a change in attitude. The temperatures were cooler, the air seemed to be more pure and with much less humidity. All these factors were a much needed and appreciated relief. We checked into our cottage, unpacked and set out to explore Katoomba and find some grub (food). At another time I will share more about Katoomba, our cottage, the hundred or so sulfur crested cockatoos that flew over our heads, more about my hat and perhaps other things, but today, this is about, The Blue Mountains and more specifically, The Three Somethings. 🙂
The Three Sisters, The Three Somethings or The Three Explorers?
The Three Sisters is the Blue Mountains’ most spectacular landmark, equated by numbers of people that visit and their comments. Located at Echo Point in the town of Katoomba, around 1.6 miles or 2.5 kilometers from the Great Western Highway. This spectacular view and destination is experienced by millions of people each year.
The picture above was taken in the early morning when we were about the only ones there. The smaller picture above with me in it, was taken the same day, hours later, but it was then crowded with people. I was asked to take a picture for a lady and her friend and she in kind, took a couple of me.
Road Sign
But, The Three Sisters/Three Explorers/Three Somethings is essentially an unusual rock formation. The character of these formations change throughout the day and throughout the seasons as the sunlight brings out the magnificent colors. These rocks are also floodlit until around 11 pm each evening looking simply spectacular, set against the black background of the night sky.
Each stand at 922, 918 & 906 meters or 3,025, 3,012, & 2,972 feet tall, respectively.
That’s over 3000 feet above sea level! It has come to represent three sisters, who according to Aboriginal legend were turned to stone or to represent three actual explorers to the region in 1813. The legends are two, so lets start with those.
The Three Sisters
Legend I
The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, ‘Meehni’, ‘Wimlah’ and Gunnedoo’ lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.
These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry.
The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters, causing a major tribal battle.
As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witch doctor from the Katoomba tribe, decided to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witch doctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.
The Three Sisters
Legend II
Three sisters, Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo had a father who was a witch doctor. His name was Tyawan.
Long ago there was a Bunyip who lived in a deep hole who was feared by all. The bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. A Billabong is a Wiradjuri word (essentially a dead language that efforts to revise are in progress) that is used for an isolated pond that is left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end.
Passing the hole was considered very dangerous, therefore whenever Tyawan had to pass the hole in search for food, he would leave his daughters safely on the cliff behind a rocky wall.
One fateful day, Tyawan waved goodbye to his daughters and descended down the cliff steps into the valley.
Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff, Meenhi was frightened by a large centipede which suddenly appeared before her. Meenhi took a stone and threw it at the centipede. The stone continued on its journey and rolled over the cliff, crashing into the valley below which angered the Bunyip.
The rocky wall behind Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, then began to split open and the three sisters were left stranded on a thin ledge at the top of the cliff. All the birds, animals and fairies stopped still as the Bunyip emerged to see the terrified girls.
As the Bunyip began to approach the girls, to protect them from harm, their father Tyawan used his magic bone to turn them into stone.
Angered by this, the Bunyip then began to chase Tyawan. Becoming trapped, in order to flee from the Bunyip, Tyawan changed into a magnificent Lyre Bird, yet in the process dropped his magic bone. Tyawan and his three daughters were now safe from the Bunyip.
Once the Bunyip had disappeared, Tyawan returned in search of his magic bone, yet this was never to be found.
The Lyre Bird has been searching for this magic bone ever since. Remaining in rock formation, The Three Sisters stand silently overlooking the valley, hoping that one day he’ll find the bone and turn them back to their former selves.
When visiting The Three Sisters, if you listen carefully you may be able to hear the Lyre Bird, Tyawan, as he continues his quest for his lost magic bone.
The Three Explorers
Not legend 🙂
“In May 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth, set off on the first successful European crossing of the Blue Mountains. Tracing what is now the Great Western Highway route between Glenbrook and Mount Victoria, the explorers reached Mount York, before descending into the Kanimbla (now Hartley) Valley and then ascending Mount Blaxland, arriving back at the colony, a month later in June.
Gregory Blaxland (17 June 1778-1 January 1853) was an English pioneer farmer and one of the three explorers to cross the Blue Mountains in 1813. The Blaxlands were friends of Sir Joseph Banks. Gregory sailed in the William Pitt on September 1805 with his wife, 3 children, 2 servants, an overseer, a few sheep, seed, bees, tools, groceries and clothing. He bought 80 head of cattle on arrival in the Sydney colony and entered the meat trade.
William Lawson (2 June 1774-16 June 1850) was educated in London and became a qualified surveyor. In June 1799 he paid 300 hundred pounds for a commission in the NSW Corps, arriving in 1800. After a post on Norfolk Island, he returned with Sarah Leadbeater and their children to NSW, eventually settling in Prospect. In 1813 he set out from Prospect to meet Gregory Blaxland and William Charles Wentworth at Blaxland’s South Creek farm, from which the three of them left for the expedition which discovered the first satisfactory route over the Blue Mountains. In 1814, Governor Macquarie offered each of the three explorers 1000 acres west of the Blue Mountains. Lawson accepted the offer and in July 1815, he crossed the Nepean and set out to drive 100 head of cattle to Bathurst to take up his property, which he named Macquarie. In 1819 Lawson was appointed Commandant of Bathurst and during this period, he led a further three major explorations to open up the Mudgee district, where he became the first and largest landholder. Lawson went on to play an important part in the horse breeding and racing industry of early Australia and became a member of our first partly-elective Legislative Council from 1 July 1843 until 20 June 1848. William Lawson, known as ‘Old Ironbark’, often walked to Sydney on business, returning the next day. William Lawson died on 16 June 1850 and was interred in a family vault at St Bartholomew’s Anglican Cemetery, Prospect.
William Charles Wentworth (13 August 1790-20 March 1872) was an Australian poet, journalist and politician as well as one of the three explorers to cross the Blue Mountains in 1813. W. C. Wentworth was one of the leading figures in early colonial New South Wales. He was the first native-born Australian to achieve a reputation overseas, and was a leading advocate for self-government for the Australian colonies.”
Source: Historical notes collected by Robert Brown
Old Ironbark, William Beard
Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788-1900), K.R. Binney
Australian Dictionary of Biography http://www.prospectheritagetrust.org.au/page5.html
So how these three explorers were associated with these three rock formations, I have no clue other than the number three (3). I made the comment that if you look to the right of the ‘The Three Sisters,’ in the picture above, it looks like to me, one or all of them may have had little rock formations or children? 🙂 So, I suppose which of the legends or historical journals you choose to accept or believe, depends on the level of your romantic or imaginative nature. If this helps, there was only one place I found that mentioned the The Three Explorers, and it was a local motel bearing this name, close to Echo Point and the otherwise known as, The Three Sisters. Well, here is another theory, it’s the Three Amigos or The Three Stooges?! 🙂
Three Sisters & Three Amigos or Three Stooges 🙂 Donnie, Susan & Jonathan
We just recently returned from the Blue Mountains where we rented a rustic cottage with a gorgeous overlook in Katoomba, NSW, (New South Wales), Australia. While I’m picking and choosing the pictures, I’ll give you an update and background information.
The day before we left, baby Felix came down with the croup. Mom, Papa and Grandma took him to the emergency room about 5:00 am – 7:30. I held down the fort with the three cats, one dog and the three chickens (Chooks).
Felix received some medicine and was given instructions that he should definitely go to the Blue Mountains and that all should enjoy the weekend! We followed those instructions to the letter! 🙂
Today, Tuesday 4/15, he went to the doctor and we received a good report. He is a happy boy again and Mom, Papa and Felix just returned from a walk to the supermarket, for stuff to put into the chicken soup, son Jonathan and Mom Susan are making for dinner. We had a lot of chicken left over from last night. Last night? Yes, last night. After we all got back from the Blue Mountains, Jonathan, Susan and I drove to Sydney for dinner. It was NOT an ordinary dinner, to say the least!
We were invited to this dinner and shared it with 16 other people, in a Jewish home. It was part of the Jewish Festival of Passover and called the seder.
The seder, the ceremonial feast held on the first two nights of Passover, is one of the most intricate rituals in the Jewish calendar, kicking off an eight-day stretch of complicated and demanding dietary restrictions. The initial meal, which ranges from eating bitter herbs to reciting Talmudic passages in a foreign language, usually lasts for several hours—and dinner isn’t served until more than halfway through.
The festival commemorates the exodus from Egypt, a key step in the formation of the Jewish people. The seder is not just a retelling of the story, like the weekly Torah readings in synagogue; it’s an invitation for Jews to relive the liberation from slavery as if they had actually been there in Egypt, to teach the narrative to the next generation, and to claim the history of their people as part of their own individual identities. But even in orthodox Judaism, families have long been accustomed to inviting non-Jews to share in this meal, alongside of them. I suppose this is because the desire for freedom and any exodus we may experience from bondage, is common to all.
But this particular seder was somewhat orthodox with some other unorthodox stuff, all thrown in together.
Guests included those from Poland, China, Sri Lanka, Australia and of course, we from the United States, but those are all the countries I can recall. Give me a break please, there were 18 people there besides me! 🙂
Just the guests themselves made an international and unusual impression. I am not quite sure, but I think all the major religions were represented at this dinner. I do know that Judaism, Muslim, Hindi, Christian and Roman Catholics were present.
Parts of the service were read by our host in Hebrew and most was in English and read by whomever desired to read and from the text re-written with a more modern update, by one of the three daughters of our hosts. The reading was done from 2 iPads we passed around the room. 🙂
It was at least to me, quite humorous to hear the readings by those Jewish with an Australian accent.
Part of the service includes the necessity of having “new” plates and utensils for each part. By “new” I mean that the same plates, bowls and utensils had to be changed during the several courses of the service. But in our case, the “new” was plenty of plastic ware. I can’t recall how many plates, small plates, bowls and utensils we used, but it was a lot! Our hosts were very giving in buying all this stuff that was thrown away as we went through each part. Once the ware or utensil was used, it was immediately thrown into a large plastic trash bag. You would eat or drink one thing and then toss the plate or bowls or glass or whatever, as these were now the “old” and had to make way for the “new.” If that seems like a lot of effort, you should have seen all the food! No one left hungry and I would imagine it took 1-2 days of chopping, dicing, cooking and so forth, to prepare this meal! And there was no bread, only Matzo.
Matzo is a flat cracker like food made with flour and water that is baked without yeast or “leavening.” I actually liked it, especially with the pickled (vinegar) beet-horseradish used as part of their “bitter herbs” requirement for the service. I sat right next to our host Lindsay and across from his wife Cheryl. I think they liked me because, I loved the beet-horseradish so much and told them about my tearing eyes and purple thumbs from making this at home. 🙂
The conversations around the room were about Jewish meanings/symbolism, history, WWII history, veterinarian medicine, teaching, psychology, sports food, differences of food between the United States and Australia and other topics! There was so much going on that I was nearly speechless and just did a lot of listening. I know, to those of you that know me best, it’s about next to impossible, for me to keep my mouth shut! 🙂
The whole event from start to finish, took hours. Sometimes, OK, most of the time, it was just loud and raucous. I loved it! And especially among the three Jewish daughters and their mother and father, the banter back in forth was hysterical! I even told Lindsay that I couldn’t believe that from across the room in the midst of all this volume, any of his daughters could still hear if their names were mentioned in conversation with others, but they did!
There were two dogs hoping for scraps that made the rounds. There were a couple of cats, one that is 18 years old that did make the rounds. I think that cat must have sat in every person’s lap that attended this meal. They liked the cat and the cat sure seemed to love the attention and the stroking. I even petted Tibet, the cat. Lindsay confessed that he loves the two dogs, but hates the two cats. But he is still the one that feeds them and they know this, but just keep their distance the rest of the time. I really don’t think he hates them though! 🙂
I enjoyed all the food and even the sweet red wine with grapes from Israel, grown in California, and blessed by some Rabbi in Hoboken New Jersey before, being exported to Australia! 🙂
That was real, but also a joke as there were several like these from the host family including what they call the Jewish chicken soup, ‘Jewish Penicillin Soup’ (good for what ails you and sickness prevention) or simply, ‘Jew Soup.’ That might sound racist and not funny to some, but I’m not the one that said these things. Well, it’s what Susan & Jonathan made for tonight’s supper from the massive quantity of chicken our hosts sent us home with, for Caitlin, as she and Felix did not attend, to everyone’s disappointment, I might add. But all seemed satiated with not just the meal, but from pictures and videos shared by Papa, with Felix as the main attraction! 🙂
The reason we are having soup tonight is because, everyone here was not feeling too well, except for me, I HAD THE CHICKEN SOUP LAST NIGHT, (while Susan & Jonathan had the orange soup)! 🙂
It was so very nice of our hosts to open their home and their hearts and share the costs and time required to prepare their food with, so many non-Jewish people and even with strangers like me that they had never met. I mean come on, can you get any stranger than me? 🙂
I thought it not polite to take pictures, so there are none. but there are 18 other witnesses (not including the two dogs and two cats that it happened and that I was there! 🙂
But this experience is one I will never forget! It was informative, historical, delicious and hilarious with some really good conversation, all thrown in together. And I would like to think that there, just a for a few hours, it seemed the world people in all their many differences and separations, were all ‘In Common, for this meal!
OK, so that’s a lot of content, where’s the pictures? They are coming! It has been difficult for me to get these posts done on a regular basis. For one thing, we are doing a lot of stuff. For another, I have been having problems with my camera, which needs to be addressed when we get back home to the United States. Another problem I am having is with my laptop. It is good to have it, but it does not perform like or have all the programs I use on my desk top at home to edit and quickly reduce the size of pictures to post. I cannot just use full size pictures in these posts, as I will quickly go over my maximum allowance through my WordPress (free blog). The resolution on my laptop is not as good as my desktop at home. But there is much visually, I do want to share with you and I will just have to work it out when we return.
It has also been difficult for me to adjust here. Last night and while in the Blue Mountains, I was layered, including a wool shirt. This morning, I was wearing a short sleeve shirt, sandals with no socks and I would have had shorts on, but they were all in the laundry. This is how it is here, in Australia. It is fall or early winter here, while it is nearly spring 🙂 in New York where we live. In New York, we ‘fell back’ last fall, when daylight savings time ended. Daylight savings time just recently started here. When you are sleeping there, I am awake here. When I should be sleeping here, you are probably awake there. Sometimes here, it’s tomorrow there and sometimes your today is already yesterday here. Then there is the up and down thing. You are up there and we’re down under here. Please don’t ask about which direction the water swirls here as supposed to there, I have not seen it nor can I tell. And when we leave here in a couple of weeks, we leave on the morning of the 30th, spend the night in Tokyo on the 30th, wake up on the 30th, fly home and by the time we get home there, its already tomorrow here and yesterday there! Everything is really messed up, but people that live here, just like you there, are all probably doing fine. It must be just me that’s messed up! 🙂
Oh, about the hat. Yes, I found my Akubra hat, not the one I was looking for, but one better and $30 cheaper and at size 58 not 57, it fits great! More about that later. Closing for now until again. OK, one picture then! 🙂
Blue Mountains from Echo Point, Katoomba, NSW, Austrailia
Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala eucalyptus tree specialist
I could have just as easily called this post, On: Gum Trees because, it is. And a Gum Tree is certainly easier to say than perhaps, an Eucalyptus Tree and I suppose it is, even though gum trees and eucalyptus trees are related and not to mention our cousin myrtle.
Let me see if I have this straight. Not every gum tree is an eucalyptus tree, but every eucalyptus tree is a gum tree? Huh? What? These trees are called gum trees and are classified as trees and shrubs which have smooth bark which exudes a lot of sap from any break in the bark. Hence, sap, sappy, gummy or gum.
As a Koala Bear, surely you would think that I am quite particularly partial to eucalyptus trees and especially since I dine on their delicious leaves! 🙂 But I am not the only one in Australia that loves the“eucalypts” (as they are often called here down under) and not everyone loves them like I do!
The kookaburra sometimes sings from a Coolabah (a type of eucalypt), waltzing Maltilda often rests against one as does her swagman, just to mention a few. For more information about these names, terms and characters on this blog, see Waltzing Maltida, Damper and the Kookaburra song from Music Down Under.
By the way, the Coolabah is also the name of a certain style of a special Australian hat made by Akubra. I am hoping and waiting for a email that my size and color has bee found. I am anticipating a simple reference that reads: Found Hat – Bring Head! 🙂 If you are an Aussie reading this and you can help me locate one in black size 57 I will love you forever! 🙂
Long Straight and Tall
With the eucalyptus/gum/coolabah species of trees having so many varieties, it’s obvious that there are many of them in the country of Australia. Many of them grow really tall and grow mostly straight. They are excellent for timber and for telephone/utility poles. I have seen several in our neighborhood where one seems to be its natural color, another tinted green as a preservative I assume and another with saw cut beveled edges. Perhaps the differences may be understood by the dates when they were installed and methods that have evolved through the years
These are remarkable trees with little that bother them, but there are a few exceptions. There is one insect, Psyllids that leave behind sugary secretions on the underside of the leaves they ingest. These sugary secretions are called Bell Lerps and attract some ants and the beautiful sounding birds called the, Bell Birds. Yes, this is exactly what they sound like! For more information see on this blog: Bell Birds
Closeup of a seemingly naked tree
There is a very rare type of eucalyptus known as the White Gum which is nearly extinct, but it is seen in and around Camden, New South Wales, Australia.
Many of these eucalyptus trees shed their bark annually. And here in Australia, the bark is just simply called, ‘fuel.’ The trees might look like they’re naked, but the bark will grow back.
In addition to the bark falling off in either strips or chucks (depending on the variety) sometimes, entire branches will fall off. The Aussies know this, but for us foreigners that do not, signs are sometimes placed near some of these trees, especially in the Australian summer (December to February) to alert and protect others from unexpected and sudden branches falling. These fallen branches are actually hollowed out from within by termites and yet the tree still survives.
The Aborigines, walking in the forest would tap on the appropriate size of fallen branches they were seeking, to determine the quality of sound it made. Some of these chosen fallen and hollow branches are suitable for the famous didgeridoo instruments, used in Australia. They are carved, and decorated by skilled craftsmen and artisans.
The Didgeridoo is quite possibly the oldest instrument in the world – and still one of the best. Forever associated with Aboriginal Music, the sound of Australia is now available everywhere and growing in popularity.
Aboriginal Man Playing a Digeridoo
Modern Music with a Digeridoo, Xavier Rudd – http://www.xavierrudd.com/
It is estimated that there are over 700 varieties of eucalyptus tree with just 15 of these outside of Australia, but of those 15, only nine are not found in Australia. I suppose you could say, we Aussies have cornered the world marketplace on “eucalypts.“
The tree looks dead, but it’s not
Other uses of these amazing trees are: pulp, paper, charcoal, ornamental uses, as an antiseptic, disinfectants, dyes, insect repellents, mosquito repellents, cough drops, deodorizing, decongestants, toothpaste, sweets and bees from their flowers produce delicious honey.
Image from Wikipedia – Eucalyptus leucoxylon var. ‘Rosea’ showing flowers and buds with operculum present
They are fast growing and some trees, even if cut off from the roots, will grow back. Their roots dig deep into the earth and to some people, this water sucking tree is a good thing, as it helps to reduce the spread of malaria from stagnant pools of water the roots will just suck dry. To others, these sponge-like trees steal the water from everything else that needs it.
Due to the depth its roots reach in the earth, they are often called – prospectors, gold prospectors. Yes, you read that correctly, gold! They will actually transfer some all the way into its leaves. These gold-leaf-nugget-clusters may not be worth collecting, but they can sure tell one that this tree, where the gold may be found in its leaves, could be sitting on a fortune below its roots in a huge vein of gold!!!! 🙂
Some believe these trees are not so great as they are a fire hazard. Much of the time, Australia can be quite arid and dry, even though humidity, for example, just yesterday was at 98%. Bush fires have spread and burned perhaps, 1000’s and 1,000’s of acres. And the eucalyptus does not endear itself to many, when it contributes greatly to these consuming fires, since it sheds its bark and drops branches – adding fuel to the fires. But how quickly whole forests grow back and how fertile the soil, after a fire, is amazing. Despite how anyone may feel about these trees (favorably or unfavorably) they have most likely been here a whole lot longer than people have. And the most amazing thing to me about these trees and the purpose of this post is, their ability to adapt.
A small local forest as it might have looked a hundred years agoImage from Wikipedia – Eucalyptus melliodora, showing flowers and opercula
To continue life, life most reproduce itself. It is no different for these trees. They grow, flower and are pollinated by bees. They produce fertile seeds and many are as hard as, little green rocks. The trees drop bark which is like surrounding their trunks with kindling to attract fire!
Its bark, sap and leaves are full of volatile chemicals. The Blue Mountains (which we will be visiting this weekend) is so-named because of, a blue-like haze from the tree-leave combustible chemicals in the air. It’s like these trees are waiting for and setting up conditions for a lightening strike to start the fires that will destroy them.
But here is the conclusion of the seemingly purposed set-up of its own destruction and continuation. There are two dominant theories on this. Some believe those hard as rock seeds will not open unless there is a fire. Others believe that they will only open when the soot mixes with water, after a fire Whatever is factually accurate the truth is, these trees continue their species through FIRE and they seem to try and bring the fires!!!!
Seeds will only open to either fire or soot mixed with water
Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala Coles’ Trolley Expert
Well, first off, I do apologize for this post running a little behind. I have been working on several to try and get ahead. We are leaving on Friday, I believe, for the weekend to the Blue Mountains and I’m not sure if I will have Internet/WIFI access until we get back to Camden, Sunday night? So, after today’s post, I will schedule a couple of posts to publish automatically around midnight of Eastern Standard time (EST) in the United States.
For today, On: Trolleys.
I’m not exactly sure, but I think Australians refer to “trolleys” as anything that has wheels and moves including: elevators and escalators, but certainly what we call shopping carts in the United States.
In Camden, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the two local and frequently visited places by the general public, for grocery shopping are: Woolworth’s (not the familiar past 5 and dime department store) and Coles’. This post is about Coles’ and their trolleys (shopping carts).
Have you ever grabbed a shopping cart at the store and it seems like you always get the one that has a flat spot on one wheel and as it rolls it goes frump, frump, frump, squeaks or just doesn’t roll right? Me too! Problem solved at Coles’!
Coles’ Trolleys
OMG, these have BIG O’ HUGE wheels and roll so smoothly, you check between the wheels and the floor, just to make sure the trolley (cart) is not actually floating over the floor! As shown above, there is one size for quick shopping of a few items or the average size for more items or say, your weekly grocery shopping. I say “weekly” shopping loosely as, it appears just like in Japan, many people shop daily. Like Japan, Australian refrigerators are smaller than in the U.S.A., which seems to suggest that many Aussies shop frequently. They also, as the Japanese, like their stuff, really fresh!
There are, of course, some other carts with baby seats similar to the car seat or child-restraint seats used in most vehicles. The baby seat carts are attached to the trolley/cart and have seat belts.
There are trolleys/carts for those that are walking impaired or challenged.
Then there is another kind of trolley/cart that I have never seen before!
Jolly Trolleys for Kids
These are much more than just adorably cute! They are constructed with the same quality of materials as all the others. The flags attached are not to advertise the name of the store. The flags are so the adults (any responsible adult) can easily find the kids. And the trolleys/carts are for much more than mere amusement, to keep the children occupied. They are important teaching aides. And they help instill in the child the – “I’m not a little kid, I’m a grown-up,” attitude, most kids desire to embrace. And each child is instructed that if they do not return the cart to the place where they got it at the end of their shopping experience, they will not be allowed to use one next time. That’s a pretty good lesson in personal responsibility, good manners and discipline.
Father and daughter shopping
Notice how the little girl is in front, leading her father? Oh, and she is taking this so seriously too, just like an adult! 🙂
Oh, I love these trolleys/carts! They are the best made and the easiest to steer and guide and glide that I have ever seen! And yes, just like in the United States, I’ve seen these in and around the neighborhood. I know of no complaints at Coles’ so, I guess these wandered off trolleys/carts, make their way back home, eventually! 🙂
With all this sincere and honest praise about these trolleys/carts, there is just one problem…
…what’s missing in this picture?
Yes, what’s missing in the above picture? Yes, that’s my foot you see. But there is no bottom rail!!! I can neither be pushed nor run fast and jump on and ride this cart through the store and the parking lot! 😦
I suppose these were built this way because, either my wife Susan told them they should or they just knew I was coming! 🙂
Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala Camden Show guide
Well the Camden Show. Where do I begin? The Show was held April 4th and 5th, 2014 in Camden, New South Wales, Australia. I probably took close to 300 pictures and with the exception of perhaps a small handful, I’m pretty happy with the rest of them. Choosing which ones to share and sizing them (down) has been quite time consuming. But I had the time.
Thus far during our stay here, it seems we have some activity on one day, followed by a day of rest. This has worked out very nicely for me. I’m not sure what factor or factors may be involved (my age, physical condition, the high humidity, intense sun or all of the above), but walking a lot and the activities have pretty much left me spent the following day. Adjusting to the time zone and/or jet lag may have made their contribution to my tiredness as well? But nothing hurts, I feel great and enjoy the walking just like we did much of it in Japan too. Days have been really pleasant. The temperature rose during our visit to the show, but was cooled off by the weather-predicted rain or actually, the downpour. It was nice, fun and funny. We were all able to duck into a large tent of interesting demonstrations and wait out the rain.
Well anyway, back to pictures. I have chosen 50, yes 50. That may seem like a lot and they are not because I believe they are such great shots that I want to share them with you, but because they reflect the wonderful Camden Show. It is very similar to any county fair you may have ever been to, but still different. So I will just start with pictures and some text and some captions and see how it goes. Perhaps it will end up with more posts about the show? Here we go.
Lady in a lovely 1960’s style dress as we walked inBalloons and colorsInteresting – Lady Funerals?Beautiful display all made from fruits, vegetables and seedsHorse and Riders nicely dressed and groomedWhip crackingSusan’s New Aussie HatAussie HatsPainted Pony. Do you see the silhouette of the head of a horse on its side?Aussie Coats – lanolin/bees wax coated
Well yes, camels! We missed the camel race, pooh. 😦
Authentic Aussie Wear Wearers 🙂Brahma Bull Yee hah mates I mean partners! 🙂Some baaaaad Sheepies 🙂Sheep Shearers Shearing Sheep 🙂Close Shave Sheep Shearer!Beary CuteAussie Snake WomanBuy what you want and put it in a show bag
Show bag shops were everywhere. Very decorative and artistic billboards. You find the stuff you want for a certain price and then put it all in a show bag. There were many of these vendor/shop/kiosks. Very popular with the youts (youths). 🙂
Henna Tattoos anyone?There go the sheep again, heading for their sheep shearingSand Sculpture First Prize. WOW, did the artists know they would win?Cattleman Cattle Cart Hauling20 Cattle Cart Team 🙂Kite flying and there were several balloons lost to the clouds.Large Christian Commune eatery.
The Common Ground is a totally self-supported and self-sufficient Christian Commune. The support themselves by places like these eateries. We ate in one in Picton Australia where I recorded the Bell Birds. see: Bell Birds here
They make their own clothing and grow their own organic food, some of which they use in their restaurants. Their food is excellent! I believe they have a sister cafe in Ithaca, NY in the United States.
Common Ground
Bundaberg Distillery Display
This was an interesting and miniature museum. It was filled with history of the company which is a major producer of rum in Australia. Various shapes of bottles were on display as well as the process involved in how rum is made from raw cane sugar. We even got to taste samples of the molasses. The next picture is of a bottle of rum made to look like one of those pirate movie pistols.
Rum PistolPetting Zoo for the kids. OK, kids younger than me. 🙂
Soft & Fluffy Feely Touchy Thingies
Touchy Feely For Kids of Every Age
Old Carriage and a Wheel Maker
Blacksmith making horseshoes
All kinds of…
…Rides!
Beautiful Horses and……Clydesdale Horses too!
Airplane displays and rides.Cotton & Wool Displays
A Real Cotton Ball
Edible Art for KidsMore Edible ArtA Bloomin’ OnionA Beautiful Swan Fit For Feasting
There was something for everyone at the Camden Show! So many different kinds of food, animals, shows, rides, demonstrations and people of all ages having fun. It rained both days and was not perhaps the greatest for the vendors pocketbooks, but it was a wonderful experience. They even put down straw and other materials so people did not have to walk through the mud. That’s was real nice and something I have never seen in the United States at any of the fairs I have ever been to. And the children were all so engaged, curious and their excitement was well contained, controlled and managed. People were all, for the most part, nice, friendly and well behaved. No alcohol was allowed except for the two wineries that gave samples. All in all it was a wonderful time. I was like a young child again. I would have loved every minute of both days, rain and all, but glad for the time I had. It was all eye candy for me. My camera was not unhappy either. 🙂
After we left the tent where we ducked under after the downpour of rain had stopped, we had to take the ardent and difficult task of getting home. WE HAD TO WALK LESS THAN SIX MINUTES TO GET HOME!!! 🙂 Around 9:00 PM, we watched the fireworks from the middle of our street. That was perhaps the closest and best view of fireworks I have ever had. And it was produced by a world class and world renown top pyrotechnical company, F0ti International, based in Australia.
Then two of us walked back to the carnival at night and watched the wild Brunby run. The Running of the Brunby are wild ponies in Australia, similar to the Mustangs of the southwest in the United States. So I will conclude this post with a small Youtube video I made and uploaded.
Well, not even a year ago if you would have told me I would be in Australia, I would have been just as surprised then as I am now! Once the reality set in (whenever that was), one thing for sure I wanted to see here (besides grand baby Felix, his Mom & Dad and the animals of Australia) was the Sydney Opera House. I would have been glad, just to see it from the outside and with a further glad, to seeing it inside. I spent several hours on line at http://theoperahouseproject.com/ looking at a timeline of the making of this beautiful architecture. I invite you to click on the link above, do yourself a favor and do the same thing! It is interesting, informative and awe inspiring!!
Harbor BridgeDarling HarborSydney Opera House sails
WOW, were we in for a surprise! Surprise and excitement is really an understatement!!! Why? Well not only would we see outside and inside of ‘The House’ we were treated to a whole day downtown Sydney, a fabulous dinner of fresh oysters and on-and-on, and tickets to a live performance of the world-class Sydney Orchestra and choir! Did I mention or emphasize enough the word, “LIVE’?!”
DESCRIPTION:
“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
Powerful, spine chilling and epic. Ridley Scott’s blockbuster, Gladiator, comes to Sydney for its world premiere, and the film score will be performed live in concert by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Lisa Gerrard.
The Sydney Opera House will transform into the Roman Coliseum as Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard’s sweeping and dramatic score, among the all-time favorites, is brought to life by a full symphony orchestra while the movie is played in high definition live on the giant screen above.
Gladiator, winner of five Academy Awards, and a Golden Globe for Best Original Score – Motion Picture follows loyal Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe – born in New Zealand, but now an Australian citizen), who is betrayed when the emperor’s ambitious son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), murders his father and seizes the throne. His family dead, and reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his emperor.
Now I have seen this movie a couple of times previously, but NEVER like this! There was an intermission where you could move about, get something to drink, go outside and etc., but OMG, by the start of the rest of the movie, I kind of got lost into the music itself and the vocals from the choir and the lead vocals from Lisa Gerrad that actually performed on the original soundtrack for the movie. The timing and the volume and the acoustics of the opera house were incredible!
Inside Sydney Opera House
The performance received and was much-well-deserved of a long, standing ovation! And by the way, the people of Australia generally and genuinely love to dress up when they go out. It was nice to see this!
Many years ago and even before my time, 🙂 the first movies were black and white and before the “talkies” (movies with sound), background music was performed by a sole pianist, some other musician, musicians or a small orchestra. Our experience at the Sydney Opera House was like a trip back in time. By this I mean, the old becoming new again. Obviously we cannot go to the movie, rent one or buy one and expect like “fries come with that,” to count on a live symphony and chorus to show up. But WOW, wouldn’t it be great if this was the common thing!
For me, I have never appreciated the importance of music in a film as much as I now do! And it was just beyond words to express my gratitude for this experience, for the incredible seats and to not only hear this music “live,” but to see the musicians as they played and the vocals as they were sung by such a world-class orchestra, choir and the vocalist that sung on the original soundtrack. All together, this was perhaps a lifetime experience being first in Australia, 2nd in this theater, 3rd to experience the movie/live music/visual display acoustics and to share this with my best friend and the love of my life! And I am thankful that Jonathan and Caitlin our ‘gifters,’ were here to join us and that they had some much needed time together. A big shout out to Wendy that took care of baby Felix, so they could enjoy date night! 🙂
I do apologize for some of the pictures above as they are not to my satisfaction. I have been having some difficulty with my camera recently. Also, the favorite digital media card for many professionals and me is compact flash. Unfortunately, it is a terrible design for downloading via a card reader to my computer. Before I left for our trip, I bought a new card reader so I could download my pictures to our laptop. Yesterday, the pins got bent and I had to get a new reader today. Today was raining so I spent it recouping my energy, and catching up with pictures and posts. I will need to address my camera with perhaps something new after we get home and I find some money or knock out all my teeth so the tooth fairy can visit me big time! 🙂
Sydney Opera House is a marvel of vision and construction. I believe I am correct in saying that each year, Sydney and Australia celebrate this icon in what is called, ‘The Lighting of the Sails.’ This year, the event starts on May 23 through June 9th, 2014. I would love to be here for this, but we will already be home. Each year it is different. I will close with a beautiful picture from http://vividlive.sydneyoperahouse.com/lighting-the-sails/?gclid=CO-Ph9Pixr0CFQUJvAodA7IAIg and two (2) YouTube videos, highlights from 2013 and 2012. If possible, crank up the volume and watch these FULL SCREEN! Enjoy! 🙂
So waltz Matilda and tie me kangaroo down sport, we’d put some shrimp on the barbie for you, but I don’t really think they say this in Australia?
Paul Hogan, yep the same mate that played the lead in the ‘Crocodile Dundee’ movies
“Shrimp on the barbie” is an often-quoted phrase that originated in a series of television advertisements by the Australian Tourism Commission starring Paul Hogan from 1984 through to 1990. The actual quote spoken by Hogan is “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you”, and the actual slogan of the ad was “Come and say G’day”. It has since been used, along with some variations, to make reference to Australia in popular culture.”
Perhaps there is no better way to title this post than by the word, purification and using a single picture showing incense burning? It will be the only picture given in the post, but as it is written, said and known, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” One picture here and we will just have to see how many words will follow. OK, maybe two pictures? 🙂
Purification
Burning incense may be thought of as having a spiritual and a practical implication, for both purification and cleanliness. Both the words are interchangeable or synonymous in Japan.
Every temple and shrine has an incense burner, sticks of incense to share and some means to light them to burn. Throughout Japan and our travels here, the lovely fragrance of incense fills the air and is seen burning as sticks and sometimes like clouds, clouds of smoke rising in the sky. Indeed, this does have spiritual significance and is symbolic of purification. Items you purchase in Japan, often have the aroma of incense. And I just love the smell of it and the surprise of it upon my senses when least expected. Whether for spiritual reasons or not, I would love the West adopting this custom to make our countries, communities, shops and homes fragrant and conducive to the promotion of peace and harmony, it seems to bring with it as it burns and purifies the world around us, our consciousness and the attitudes we harbor within us.
Purification II
Water is important in Japan for both spiritual and the practical application of purification. There is a lot of washing of hands in Japan especially when entering in to a temple or shrine area. Warm moist towels are common everywhere in restaurants, tea houses and in homes prior to the consumption of a meal, to freshen your face and hands. One side of the towel is used for your face and the other for your hands. For the purpose of cleanliness or purification, it is extremely important not to commingle. Another example of this is understood from the picture of the water bowl above. The long-handled dipper is usually made out of bamboo. It’s purpose is to keep your hands as far away from the pure water as is possible. You dip the cup into the water and pour some over one hand (outside of the bowl), change hands and pour more over the other hand. The last step is to pour the last remaining water over the handle where your hand was to clean it for the next person and then placing the dipper back to its original state as shown in the picture. The purpose of this again, is for purification. The cup stays clean, the handle stays clean for the next person, water in the bowl stays clean and nothing is supposed to commingle.
Purification and cleanliness is seen and observed throughout Japan. It is not a mere novelty or even just a tradition or a custom, it is a way of life here. Cabdrivers, bus drivers and train personnel all wear clean and freshly pressed suits and ties or uniforms. The vehicles they drive or work in are always clean inside and out and void of trash and debris. Efforts to remove trash and debris are kept at a minimum because, people in Japan for the most part, just do not leave their trash. For the longest time, I could not understand why it is next to impossible to find public trashcans anywhere I have been in Japan. Now I think I might? The Japanese do not encourage the placing of trash in public. They want their surroundings to be clean and to reflect their desire for peace and harmony. Trash is not solely the responsibility of refuse collectors, it is everyone’s! Also, along with what is to follow here, in Japan, space is just limited so there is a conservative aspect to cleanliness-purification.
There is an order to order here. People generally only smoke in designated areas inside and out and generally, only while standing. There is a lot of bowing that takes place here – towards places of significance and out of respect for others.
Bathrooms in homes, businesses and shops are always separated into three parts and are compact areas. I humorously suppose when England refers to a bathroom as a water closet (WC), they must be talking about Japanese toilet rooms. These are are not much bigger than a closet. 🙂
Toilets have a tank for filling the flushed bowl and it fills at the top from a curved pipe that acts like a waterfall. I suppose you could rinse your hands in this clean water, but I would have a personal issue with washing my hands in toilet water, even if it is clean. Besides, the sink and laundry facilities are in another separate room, next to the shower and bathing room.
The shower and bath are in the same room but they are separate. You turn on the hot & cold water to adjust to your desired temperature then turn a lever to activate just the shower. A custom of the Japaneses is to fill the tub with hot water and shower first getting clean as possible, then soak in the tub for a few minutes. This same tub may be shared by all the members of a family. The water in the tub is already clean, each person has already washed in the shower and well, water is not to be wasted. Still, space is limited in Japanese homes so public bath houses, a sento, are not only popular here, they too, are a way of life.
A sento allows for much more space to stretch out, more features than are found in a typical home and are a way for families and friends to spend more time together. Most people here visit a sento at least once or twice a week at around about $7.00 per visit. Some do this daily for the added extra space and the features offered by the sento. These bath houses just relax you after a hard day or a week’s built-up stress.
At first, even though men and women bathe separately, one’s first experience at a sento can be a little intimidating, because in Japan, you bathe nude, just like everyone else. Fathers bring their young sons, other male family members and I suppose, a friend or neighbor’s child? And the same goes here for women. Public nudity is no big deal in Japan, only to westerners I guess like I once was somewhat uncomfortable the first time. But as the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” However, body piercings and tattoos are not allowed inside a sento. The only focus the Japanese want in a sento is, the result of the experience, not looking at anyone’s body. The result of the experience? You feel great, clam, refreshed, relaxed and ready to conquer whatever life throws your way.
For the price of admission, you are given a locker to store your stuff and a key which you can either wear around your ankle or wrist. You are given another wrist or anklet bracelet to purchase anything you might need. Most people bring their own towels to save money or they can be rented. Shampoo, conditioner and body soap are pump containers and are supplied by the sento. They are fragrant and really good products, for your skin and hair.
First, you enter the bathing stations which have the pump dispensers, a mirror, a small bucket and plastic seat with a hole in the top. You rinse out the bowl and the rinse off the seat then sit and wash yourself as clean as is possible. Then you clean the bucket and the seat for the next person. Now one is ready to enter the bathing facilities, clean!
There is a hot sauna (one of my favorites). When entering, again, you clean the seat and area where you will be sitting and again, when you leave. In this hot, steamy environment, there is a large container of course salt. The salt is rubbed and scrubbed all over your body except for the face, any sensitive areas or obviously not any cut or wounded area as the salt would burn. The salt removes many callouses and polishes your skin smooth. It is an incredible and wonderful feeling. You stay in as long as you desire then move on to the next area. This could be a dry sauna, cold or hot tubs, individual or groups. There are fountain areas and waterfalls. Some areas are surrounded by walls with no ceiling so you can sort of be outside and seen the moon and stars and feel the cool night breeze on your heated skin.
There was one area where you lay flat on a constant stream of warm water and your head is slightly raised on a rectangle block. You place the rolled towel you have been carrying throughout that is wet from constant cleaning, rinsing and drying under your head for extra support. I call this the horizontal stretching pool as this is what it is does, stretches out your spinal column and makes your possibly otherwise aching or sore back from a lot of walking, just feel terrific.
There was a mineral warm pool of minerals and ginseng and etc. designed to relax, refresh and rejuvenate you. These baths are changed from time to time with other minerals etc. which are supposed to do give other therapeutic benefits and give variety. On two corners of this bath is a series of electrical pulses that have different cycles and degrees of duration and intensity. One side is mild and the other corner is more robust. It’ like getting a lower back massage with magic fingers.
There are many other areas we did not have time to explore. We chose to be here only for an hour, but I suppose if you wanted to, one could stay all day or night until they closed. The facility is constantly being monitored, inspected and cleaned for the maximum amount of efficiency, purity and cleanliness that it humanly possible. The Japanese have been using sentos or public baths for centuries, so they are masters at it!
Men and women, young and old come out of their separated areas fully refreshed and clothed and meet in the center area to share in food, fun, frivolity, conversation and drink. Special (private areas) are stationed all along the perimeter of the central common area. These are for more specialized areas like a special massage, yoga and etc.
But the whole point I am trying to make here is that in about 1 hours time, you leave the sento just feeling great!! 🙂
You leave the facility, turn in your bracelets, pay any charges, pickup and and put on your shoes and off you go into the night air FULLY SMILED AND RECHARGED. I would love to have a sento at home where we live, but due to our western thinking about public nudity and perverts lurking almost everywhere in the United States, this will probably never happen. Still, I would love this to be possible along with importing the Japanese art of barbering and so I’m told, hair styling for you ladies.
I mentioned shoes earlier. Most rooms that I have seen in Japanese homes are separated with raised thresholds when leaving one area into the next. As you enter through the front door, you immediately remove your shoes and leave them by the door. There is a step up to enter the hallway. There you find sandals/slippers and place them onto your feet. This act keeps dust and debris confined and kept to a minimum so the next area you enter remains, relatively clean. Every entrance to every room has a raised threshold, keeping each room clean from the others, as much as possible. The toilet area have their own set of shared slippers/sandals. You remove the ones on your feet and leave them outside the door while slipping on the ones in the toilet area and leaving them there when you leave. It may be possible for a man to stand at the toilet to urinate, but it would be pretty difficult to do, so is is preferred and appreciated if all remain seated. Japanese people are for the most part, pretty non-confrontational. They do not like to offend or confront. I have even seen a little wall mounted picture with visual descriptive images and instructions in French, to make the point that men should remain seated. 🙂
We of the west with our large bathrooms, wall to wall carpeting and one level surface between rooms might think the Japanese way is all fuss, much-ado-about-nothing and unnecessary? You might think the same about this post and its length of time to write it and to read it? But the entire subject and purpose of it is, purification.
The Japanese work very hard and quite often have limited time, space and resources. Adopting some of their customs in the west for a practical reason is that, if our stuff just stays cleaner, we may actually use less time for cleaning and have more for living life. And I may have discovered a practical reason for bowing too? If you change your shoes/sandals/slippers a lot between rooms, as you bow or bend over, you can turn your shoes in the direction of your exit so it’s easier to slip them on and go! 🙂
This may be my last post until we reach Australia for the 2nd leg of our travels. Susan is by far the better journal-er as she posts a series of pictures and brief overall descriptions on her Facebook time-line. I am, obviously more wordy or be it, verbose. But I am a visual learner and a post-processor. It take me a long time to process the incredible amount of information and experiences I have had here in Japan. Why just yesterday, I believe I took over 800 photographs. And that is just one day and does not even begin to suggest all the places we have been to or seen. It will take me some time to process all this information, edit, choose or discard the pictures taken and to decide what to do with them. But I will share something with you at some time later. At the present and I’m sure while in Australia it will be just, experience-point-and shoot! 🙂
I am told that the best way to learn a new language is immersion. By immersing yourself into the culture and being constantly exposed to the hearing, seeing and reading the language, you have a great opportunity to pick it up rather quickly. Although I did not come here to learn the language, but have picked up some words, I have for the most part, immersed myself in the Japanese culture. This is not our first time in Japan and perhaps some of my previous experience spilled over into me, this time. I was paid a very nice recently by Yoshi, the father of of Saiko and father-in-law of of Chris, whom we came here to see and his their new child Kai. Yoshi in speaking about me told Chris, “He (me) takes Japan with ease.” Whether this is by nature or something that has just evolved in me, I must make a confession.
In 2006 (our first trip to Japan), if I was not prejudiced, I at least harbored a lot of stereotypical attitudes about the Japanese and the culture and especially their food. But I am by nature, curious and generally like people. Still, despite my profound experiences here, I am quite sure that there are many things I would never try, repeat or eat in my own country. Food like the title of this post if pure, it is a fresh as is humanly possible, free of additives and chemicals often found in the United States. At home, I can hardly even drink a single beer or glass of wine without falling asleep. I am very selective about eating fish at home because, if I can smell it, I’m not eating it, Here in Japan like Yoshi told Chris, I seem to take Japan with ease and it has seemed to be genial towards me. If this is immersion than, it has served me well and I only hope that it continues in Australia.
When you really think about it, prejudices, fears, intimidation, and stereotypes are really just the consequences of ignorance. If memory serves me correctly, the rising awe inspiring pagodas are symbols of wisdom. The carry the message, ‘Come with an open mind!’
Where ever I have had the blessing to go in my life and the privildge to share with others, I have found people to have more in common then we might first believe.
From my point of view, the main difference between the United States and every other person in the world is that we put into writing, into our form of government that, “all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are…-
…Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.”
excerpt from: The Declaration of Independence
And those those certain truths are universal we all hold and that about purification!
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