Bananas

The other day I discovered a banana plant with fruit growing on campus! Check it out:I think it is pretty awesome. The thing on the end is the flower. It can also be eaten in a variety of dishes.

More photos of UWA to come...

Mandura Crab Fest and Boating

Last Saturday I had my first sailing lesson on the Swan River. I am taking a beginning course through the UWA gym. I have lessons once a week on Saturday mornings. So far, I have learned basic parts of a sailboat and have used the main and jib sails. We get to maneuver the boat with one to two other people in it, with one person being the skipper. It is a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

After sailing I went to Mandurah, a city located about an hour south of Perth by train. I went with 8 other people from UWA. Our plan was to rent a boat and travel around the Mandurah harbor . It turned out that a crab festival was going on at the same time! Bonus! We rented a motor boat for three hours and traveled around.

Here are the boats for rent.

I'm on a boat, but it didn't go very fast.

Part of Mandurah looks like a series of cul-de-sacs, but instead of streets there is water. It was a little like Venice, but less crowded and the houses were really big and looked expensive. Most had a yacht moored outside the home. There were several vacant lots and homes for sale, so if anyone wants to move, here is your chance. We also saw GIANT pelicans, cormorants, and several other birds. We stopped at a smaller harbor where chairs were set up for a wedding, attempted to go to an island, and mostly just puttered around in the water.

Boating was fun, but a little stressful because we had to drive the boat. There were a few moments when we were confused about the signage/boating on the correct side, but we managed. That is, until we had an encounter with the water patrol because we were exceeding the maximum capacity. I was afraid for a moment that we were going to be fined hundreds of dollars but we got off with a stern warning from the boat rental man. What fun!

Imagine: you could live here

Luckily, the species Gumby is not usually fished recreationally.

After returning the boat early (because the water patrol escorted us back), we went looking for some tasty treats in Mandurah. I didn’t eat any crab, but I started my dinner off with a wonderful waffle from the “Waffle Experience” booth. I had an apple cinnamon waffle with berry syrup. Later, I paired this with a pile of chips and fish, complete with “tartare” and tomato sauce (ketchup).

Then, after walking around a bit, I shared a nice healthy piece of chocolate mint fudge with my friend Robin. I also purchased a bar of lavender soap. We stayed for the sunset, listened to some music, and then headed back to Perth on the train. It was a very nautical day.

Photo of the Day

"Dog Parking" at the Farmers Market!

Subi Farmers Market and Play

Last Saturday, I went to Subiaco, a suburb of Perth, to check out the farmers market and see Waltzing the Wilarra, a play put on by the Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. The Market runs every Saturday from 8-12 noon. It was located at the primary school and was very busy.

I bought one banana and a cup of chai tea. I also tried several olives, a rhubarb tart, local cheese, olive oil, a gluten-free bread. It was all very delicious. There were mostly produce vendors, but the market also included meats, cheeses, jams, crepes, baked goods, and live music. It reminded me of the Edmonds and Salem Saturday Markets.

My first chai of Australia!

Crepe stand

After wandering through the market we walked around Subiaco and found an "Op-shop," or thrift store. It was a Salvation Army, but in AUS they are called "Salvos." I have located several other op-shops in Perth including two "Good Sammy" stores and a "Vinnies" or St. Vincent de Paul. In general, the thrift shops I have been to are smaller than in the US and they don't have that weird smell.

After thrifting, we headed to the Subiaco Art Centre. It was located in a park, so we sat outside for a while waiting for the play to start. Here is the entrance to the theater: It was lined with lights and featured a shiny, sparkling moon hung between two trees.

Check out this giant fiddlehead! It's from a fern tree.

There was also a mosaic featuring unique Australian animals like the emu, koala, platypus, and others like a seahorse, turtle, and crab.

The theater was small and I had a ticket for the front row! Inside, there were foil stars hanging from the ceiling, which reflected in the lights and created patterns on the walls.

Here is a description of the play from the newspaper which explains the plot better than I could:

"Set in the Coolbaroo Club, a real-life Perth music hangout where both black and white Australians would gather to dance and socialise during the 1940s, the play explores the racial tension, domestic violence and inequality that surrounded the venue. It’s not until the second act however, that the character’s emotional wounds are painfully reopened and the play’s modern relevance is fully realised. Forty years on, with the club facing demolition, the singers, MC and punters that frequented the club are drawn back together in an effort to reconcile their differences in the hilariously politically-correct “learning circle”."
Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/perth-confidential/historical-musical-waltzing-the-wilarra-lives-up-to-the-hype/story-e6frg30l-1226000426989

I also listened to this audio segment about the music- all of the songs were written specially for this play:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicshow/stories/2011/3130768.htm

Overall, I thought the play was excellent. I didn't know much about the reconciliation efforts, but after seeing the play I can start to understand how members of the "stolen generations" felt. I also liked the songs and the way in which the actors made fun of the "learning circle" approach in a humorous but serious way. They also used the phrase "according to the accordion," which was funny.

After the play we walked around Subi some more and came across the Earthwise center. It is a community gathering place where people meet to garden, share meals, and participate in volunteer projects. I am considering volunteering here. They had this dragon installation hanging from a tree:

Cottesloe Beach Sculptures

I recently went to Cottesloe Beach located a few minutes away from Perth by bus. I have been there several times, but this time I went there were sculptures all over the beach. They were part of the 77th Annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. I was there when artists were setting up the pieces, so not all of them were there. 60 artists from all over the world showcase their work at this beach. Here are some photos:

These shoes looked like they were made of sand- I think the artist dipped them in glue and rolled them on the beach.

It's a little hard to tell, but this is a river of folded paper boats.

Glass orbs

This was one of my favorites- it looks like a giant game of pick-up-sticks.

Result of a really bad farmers tan.

Another favorite was a herd of fans that looked like a field of sunflowers, and one that had a bunch of white hands coming out of the sand.

I thought I would make my own sculpture:

Kings Park and Fremantle

Last week I went to Kings Park and Fremantle with other international students. We left the UWA campus in the morning and took buses to each location. Kings Park is a huge park located in Perth near the UWA campus. At night they show movies under the stars. The park is so huge that we drove the the opposite end to get photos of downtown Perth and the Swan River. There was a large war memorial and three rotundas. I plan on going back to explore more of the park and the botanical gardens.

Lemon-Lime school buses that we take to events. The bus driver played John Denver songs on the radio!

Here I am next to a Gija Jumulu (Boab tree). This tree was uprooted from Telegraph Creek in northern WA and transported to the Kings Park Botanical Garden. A new bridge had to be constructed in order for the tree to be moved. It took six days for the tree to reach Perth (3200km away).

One of three rotundas.

All of the sewer plates on campus and in the park have this stylized design of Australia and Tasmania on them. I think it's neat.

War memorial with views of Perth in the background.

Next Stop: Fremantle
Fremantle kind of reminded me of a mix of the Port of Seattle and Edmonds especially down by the marina and the beach. But, Edmonds has more flowers. There were also several indoor markets that we went to. They had flowers, food, souvenirs, and crafts. Everyone here calls it "Freo."

Here is the entrance. Fremantle had interesting architecture and the buildings looked old.

There was also cheese! Tasmanian cheese is very popular here. I would like to go there and visit a cheese factory.

Bags of lentils, yum.

This suspicious looking thing was called a buzz ball. I got it at a raw food stand. I can't remember what all the ingredients were but it had grapes, nuts, chocolate, mint, coconut, and spirulina (a type of blue-green alga). The lady at the booth told me it would give me energy all day, but I didn't notice anything different. It was delicious though!

After wandering through the market we walked through the streets and along the water.

I did not try this gelato.

Cool monster outside the Fremantle Art Center.

Naturalist Gumby with a Norfolk Pine needle.

Here are some of the internationals jumping for joy! I'm in the middle in the blue shorts.

I really liked this sign because it has a chicken in running shoes.