This past weekend, I went home with Clair, her parents, and Adam to Clair's house in Bathurst. Clair invited a couple more of our friends to go, but everyone at the last minute had things to do or schoolwork to get done. I had such a fun weekend being in a home environment for the first time in 2.5 months!
Friday, May 6th:
We left Sydney around 3:30 p.m., and arrived in Bathurst around 6:30 p.m. Bathurst is about 200 kilometers west of Sydney, and is considered to be the country, not the outback. Clair's dad drove all 5 of us home, which was very convenient because we did not have to take the train, which takes a lot longer. On the way to their house, Clair's mom, Sue, and I were talking about the driver laws in America and when you can get your license. I learned quickly that in Australia, getting your license has a lot more steps and is more complicated than California!
The driving age in New South Wales is 17 years old, but at 16 years old, a teenager can get their "Learner License." Learner drivers are permitted to drive accompanied by a supervising unrestricted license holder and may not drive faster than 80 kilometers/hour.
After having a learner license for 12 months, you graduate to having a Red Provisional License, called a "Red P-Plate." 120 hours of on-road driving experience, and successful completion of an on-road practical driving examination are required to get this p-plate. When a teenager has a red p-plate, they can drive unaccompanied, but is limited to a maximum speed of 90 km/h. Another thing is that these teenagers must display red-on-white p-plates while driving. If you look around at the cars in Sydney, you will see these plates displayed everywhere! Usually they are magnets placed on the front and back of the cars.
After having the "Red P-Plate" for 2 years, you graduate to a "Green P-Plate," which is what Clair has. To get this "Green P-Plate," one must complete a computerized hazard perception test. One completed, the driver is restricted to a speed limit of 100 km/h and must also display the red-on-white p-plates on their cars. A person has to be in the red p-plate category for 2 years, until they get their full, unrestricted license, which is around 21 years-old. Here is what Clair's car looks like:
After arriving at the Patterson's house, her mom and dad went to pick us up pizza. We all ate together and then watched movies at night. Since I had such a busy week last week from getting back from New Zealand and then having to write a research paper, I could not wait to relax! Every single meal we had together, her parents would sit with us and we would talk for hours about our lives. I was so nice and relaxing being with family, even if it was not my own.
Saturday, May 7th:
We woke up around 9 a.m., and Adam made pancakes for everyone. After eating breakfast, Clair took us around Bathurst for the morning and showed us everything about the town and her life growing up. The first place she took us was Mount Panorama, which is the home of the Australian Motor Racing Sport.
Every year in October, there are are races that are built on a round on the top of a mountain. During the time when it is not racing season, the road is open to the public to drive on. Clair said that police sit with their radar guns around the track to catch people who are speeding. During the actual races, Clair told us that over 100 kangaroos are killed because they hop onto the racetrack not knowing there are cars going over 300 kilometers/hour. The road is really nice though because at the top is a beautiful view of Bathurst.
The next place we stopped was the Town Hall, where we walked up to the building to take pictures. We tried getting in, but it was locked, probably because it was Saturday.
Clair brought us to her school that she went to from Kindergarten to Grade 12. She said it is built on a swamp! Everything is built inside for when the weather gets cold outside and the seasons change.
After that stop, we went to the downtown area, where Clair said is the busiest part of the town. There were shops lined all along the street, but it was only a couple of blocks long. It was way different than being in Sydney with miles and miles of shops and attractions! Clair said this is the busiest street of the entire city:
To get into any of the parking spaces, Clair had to do a 45 degree turn and pull in backwards at a slant. She said that anywhere in Bathurst, this is the only way to park. There is no parallel parking or pulling into spaces head on. I thought it was an interesting way to park because it seemed very inconvenient to always always be pulling in backwards.
We walked around downtown Bathurst for a while, and went in some vintage shops for fun. We found some hats to try on, and of course we had to take pictures!
After exploring the central business district, Clair drove us to a famous ice cream shop in Bathurst that she said people drive over an hour away from just for the ice cream. The place is called Annie's, and must be a big hit because the inside is decorated like a diner. I did not understand why a place decorated like a diner would be so popular, but then Clair explained that there are no diner's in Australia because it is an American thing. I ended up getting caramel ice cream, which was really good! The place added character to my ice cream experience, because it reminded me of back home in America!
After leaving the ice cream shop, Clair took us to a cemetery. We went there not to remember the people that have died, but take turns driving an Australian car on the other side of the road! We thought it would be convenient if Adam or I crashed... just kidding mom! The reason why we went there was because there were a lot of empty space and not many cars around. I went first, and felt like I was driving with an instructor for the first time again. Clair had to explain where everything was, even though I was only going to drive for a couple minutes. It was so weird driving not only on the other side of the road, but sitting on the opposite side of the car! I kept forgetting which side of the road I was supposed to turn on, so I would stop in the middle of the road and think about it for a second. I also found out that in Australian cars, the windshield wipers and turning signals are on opposite sides than the ones in America. I would try and put the signal on to turn right, but instead I would flip the windshield wipers on. Good thing there was no one else around! It felt so weird to drive again, even if it was completely opposite than I am used to.
After our driving lessons, the 3 of us went back to Clair's house so her parents could drive us to the Royal Bathurst Show Fair! It just so happened that the weekend we went to visit, there was an annual fair that was going on in Bathurst. Her parents got the 3 of us tickets, so we went in the afternoon. When we first got there, we got lunch at one of the stands, and then headed out to see the fair. On our way to getting lunch, I looked over and saw a bunch of cars driving together. I then realized that the fair had synchronized car shows... only in Bathurst.
The fair had many rides like a normal fair, but there was so much more than the Orange County Fair would never have.
For example, the main attraction this year was the pig racing. There was a course set up, and you would bet on a pig, and then race it. Not only did they have pig racing, but they set up a diving platform with a swimming pool below. The owner of the pigs taught them to dive off of the platform and do tricks into the water! I could have stood there for hours watching these little pigs fly, but I think Adam, and especially Clair, were not very amazed.
The next stop we had to go to was the petting zoo. Along the way though I noticed a crowd of people watching something on a stage. They were having sheep shearing contests on the stage! When we were in New Zealand, we did not see a sheep being sheared because they only do it in the Spring since the sheep would be too cold doing it any other time. After watching the sheep shearing, I was glad I did not see it in New Zealand because the sheep looked so uncomfortable! The men put the sheep between their legs and in one shave, they got the entire fur off of them. It was really sad to see because some of the sheep's legs were bleeding from the buzzer. It was a pretty cool experience though seeing these sheep being sheared since I had never seen it before.
After the sheep shearing, we went to the petting zoo. I insisted that we went in, even though we were the oldest by about 15 years. There were so many cute animals including an alpaca with its baby, sheep, lamb, mini horses, baby ducks and chickens, and puppies! I got to hold a baby lamb for the first time, and it was so cute!
After the petting zoo, we went into this huge showroom of different things that people had made. There were contests for everything including card making, pie making, cake decorating, little kid drawings and artwork, doll making, vegetable growing, etc. The winner of the pumpkin growing contest was someone who grew a pumpkin that was 157 kilograms big! They even had a sheep shearing contest of whose sheep fur was the best. I am not quite sure what makes sheep fur better than another, but the winner was a Merino Fleece, which supposedly is the best you can get.
157 Kilogram Pumpkin:
Sheep Shearing Contest:
Merino Fleece Winner:
My experience at the Royal Bathurst Show Fair was amazing, and I learned how even a fair in another country can be different than the ones in America. Clair's dad came later that night to pick us up from the fair, and take us back to Clair's home for a home cooked dinner that night! Before we went back to their house, her dad told me that the kangaroos come out during the morning and when the sun goes down. Since it was around 5:30 p.m., the sun was setting so he took us to a place where there are always a ton of kangaroos. The entire trip, and while I have been in Australia, all I talk about are kangaroos and how I want to see them in the wild. Clair and her dad got the hint to go find some, so I was beyond excited! We drove around for about 10 minutes, and unfortunately could not find any. Clair said that she gave up because she did not see any or care about seeing any (she hates kangaroos), and a second later, she yelled out, "I see 6 of them!" Clair's dad slammed on the breaks and the 3 of us got out of the car. There were 6 kangaroos jumping around, and when we got close, they stopped and stared at us! It was the first time in my life I had seen wild kangaroos and see them hop around freely. I was so happy the rest of the night and wanted to tell everyone back at home in America, but realized it was midnight and no one would appreciate getting a phone call saying that I saw wild kangaroos in Bathurst.
Clair's parents made a delicious home made dinner with chicken, steak, sausage, potatoes, and salad. For dessert, Sue made homemade Tiramisu that was amazing! I told Clair's mom not to be surprised if I show up at her house every weekend for a home-cooked meal. It made me realize how much I miss my mom's meals! I guess I have something to look forward to when I go home!
That night, Adam knew of a Uni party at one of the close Universities because his frisbee team was having a tournament in Bathurst that weekend. He called one of his teammates, and they said that we could all come, but it was a toga party so we all had to dress up. Earlier that day, we went to a thrift store and found bed sheets to make our toga out of. Clair looked up on Youtube how to make a toga out of a bed sheet, so we were all set! We decided to wear clothes underneath though because it was freezing outside, and in case we wanted to go someplace else after, we could not walk in in just a toga.
The toga party was fun, and there was even a blow-up fighting ring that you could fight someone in with blowup swords.
Since it was a Uni Bar, it closed at midnight, so we ended up getting a taxi and going to a nightclub down the street called The Oxford. The nightclub had two D.J.s and had strobe lights everywhere. It was such an awesome bar to go to!
Since it was a Uni Bar, it closed at midnight, so we ended up getting a taxi and going to a nightclub down the street called The Oxford. The nightclub had two D.J.s and had strobe lights everywhere. It was such an awesome bar to go to!
The day was absolutely perfect, and I could have not asked for anything better! When we got back from going out, the 3 of us were exhausted from the full day and went right to bed.
Sunday, May 8th:
We slept in until about 11 a.m. and had eggs and toast in the morning for breakfast. The rest of the afternoon was very relaxing, because we just hung out at Clair's house and watched movies. Clair's Aunt came over in the afternoon for tea and to meet Adam and I. We all talked for a while, but then it was time to leave. We had to catch a train at 4 p.m. to head back to Sydney that night, so we needed to leave. The train ride was uneventful luckily, and we got back to Sydney around 6:30 p.m.
Even though Clair kept telling us that Bathurst is nothing special, it did not matter to me. I had such an amazing time seeing the town she grew up in, and spending time with her family in a house in Australia. Not many people studying abroad can say that they went to their friend's house in that country to stay for the weekend with their family. Her parents were so welcoming and kind, that I never wanted to leave. It is these experiences that make a difference in my time abroad in Australia. Everyone kept asking me if her family and house were like a family and house in America. My response is always, "Of course!" Just because I am in Australia does not mean they will have kangaroos cooking the meals and cleaning the house!
Thank you Patterson's for adding to my time in Australia and making it amazing!
Heaps of Love,
Heidi
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