Koala Crossing

On Friday morning we walked to work not sure what to expect. When we got there we sat down to catch up with Helen and Helene. Helen gave us some ideas to contact/e-mail some of the folks that we are starting to get connected with as far as some of the independent things we want to work on. Helene gave us our tasks for the day which turned out to be checking out some touristy/historical things. We sent our e-mails and then were on our way. Our first task was to walk to the Magill interpretive trail, which was just a couple blocks away.

This was a walkway that had different artwork and bits and pieces about the history of the Magill area. The piece of information that stuck out to me most was on the first plaque which said that in 1842 there were at least 650 aboriginal people in the area, but by 1852 there were only 180. The history that Australia has with its native peoples is actually quite similar to what has happened in the US. It is just amazing to me, though, that they can actually put numbers to their history and to think that they reduced the population that much in 10 years.

I took this opportunity to take a picture of some magpies that were around. These birds are one of multiple species that make VERY strange noises. They are also supposedly known for diving at peoples heads, but I haven't (and hope to not) experience that.

After we finished the trail we walked to the Pepper Street art gallery. The gallery feature art by local artists and the ongoing exhibition was by a man who has painted landscapes of Australia with watercolors and oils etc. It was interesting to see some of the color choices. We tried to sign up to be used as models for a sketch class that is ongoing at the gallery, but they only needed one model and it was only for a date in June. We walked back to the office to have our lunch. Over lunch we discussed some important ocean safety tips, like how to survive a shark attack. This actually stemmed from a conversation about Canada and how one of the women who was eating with us has always wanted to go to Canada, but is afraid of the bears. Apparently the most successful approach to surviving a shark attack is to hit or kick it in the nose which is where most of its sensory receptors are or something like that. I just hope I never find myself in that situation in the first place. After lunch we gathered our things and headed into town on our second task of the day, to check out the Immigration Museum. As it turns out the museum was incredible. We spent about an hour and a half walking around and didn't even get through it all. We all want to go back to finish it, but we just didn't feel we could take in any more info at the time. There was an example of Filipino history which included a bit about US involvement, which was not something I feel we really learn about in the US. The most interesting part for me was the larger section that talked about the immigration movement to Australia, which was during the same time as the immigration wave to the US. From some of the information that I read it seems like Australia and America were really the two choices for people wishing to move to a new world. About 32.something million people came to the US, where as only 3.5 million came to Australia. There were some of the original posters and other advertisements on display at the museum. During that time there offered things like free passage to Australia for workers with desired skills and their families. At first they even gave away land to those who came. There were certainly issues of discrimination and of different groups that would try to come to Australia.

We checked out the Library after we finished in the museum, hoping to get library cards. Admittedly, I mostly want one as a souvenir. We will need to come back with proof of address in order to get one though. From here Morgan headed to Blair Athol to check out the hip hop night that we'd tried out the last week. Hilary and I headed back to the Magill office to get our stuff and to do some blogging and such on their computers. When we'd finished we walked back to Hosanna Heights. On the way we saw a Koala Crossing sign along the road and found it amusing.
Supper was in full swing when we arrived back to Hosanna Heights so we stopped to eat right away. When we went upstairs Hilary decided to call Matt, the boy that we'd gone to see play on Thursday night. She planned to ask for advice for what we should do on a Friday night, and in response he said he wasn't doing anything and that he'd be happy to come get us and show us around town a bit. Unfortunately this meant we had a relatively short time to get ready. He picked us up shortly after 9 and we headed downtown. We spent a bit of time looking for a parking spot and then walked to a street where there were a couple bars. We chose one that was pretty quiet at the time. When we got in Morgan realized she didn't have any cash with her so Matt walked her to an ATM and Hilary and I settled in to look at the drink menu. When Morgan and Matt returned we got ourselves drinks and visited for a bit. Things picked up and quite a few more people came into the bar. We went next door to see what that was like and it was actually a bit more interesting. There was a DJ in both places, but there was a dance floor space, which Hilary, Morgan and I took advantage of for a short time. It was interesting though, in the US usually it would be women that were dancing a lone, and possibly men would dance if they were dancing with the women, but here it was not like that at all. At one point there was a ration of 2 women to 7+ men dancing on the floor. It wasn't anything to do with sexual orientation, as most of the guys had a woman with them that was simply choosing not to dance. I guess the men here just feel more comfortable dancing? After a while we decided that we were ready to go and we left the bar. Matt decided to take us to see what the Fringe is about. The fringe was a very busy festival that started on Thursday. It goes on for a while and during that time there will be music acts and art shows, but for now there are food stands, beer tents, and a couple freak show tents. I mean that literally. It was interesting to see though. Matt had some nachos and then noticed that the Hilary and Morgan were chilly (I had rather intelligently decided to wear a sweater :) and we all decided to go home.