Eugowra

Let me start this off by saying that this has hands-down been the best part of my trip so far.

I have been keeping very busy at my old neighbor's, the Gibby's, 5,000 acre farm.  I've seen Season and her family twice and also spent several days with the neighbors, Ann and Colin.  I've also visited all the small towns nearby and got to see the area's beautiful landscape.

Some highlights:

-Exploring the Gibby's farm

-My reunion with Season and meeting her family.

-Colin took me to the farm he works on so I could help him check the ewes to see if any where in trouble while lambing.  I was in a 4-wheeling accident when I was in high school, and ever since then I've been a little skittish around ATVs.  When he suggested I hop on and follow him while he rode a dirtbike, I sneakily (without having to admit my fears) suggested I ride on the back with him so I could take pictures!  Success!  But what I didn't realize is that he also planned to take the dog.  So on a bike meant for one, there's Colin, me squished up against him, and then the dog leaning into me.  We were quite a sight, let me tell ya!  I still don't think my legs have recovered from holding them up for ~2 hours as we drove around (did I mention there was nowhere for me to put my feet?).

-On my second day with Colin, I got to pull a lamb!  It was amazing and was the highlight of my day.  On that same day, I also got to hold a lamb which took a very close second.  It was left behind on accident because it was asleep when the group moved due to our arrival.  Oh yes, something I thought couldn't get any more ridiculous did- the motorbike now held Colin, the lamb in my arms, me, and the dog :)  If only I could have gotten a picture of that!!!!

-Touring the Japanese gardens, WWII POW camp/cemetery, and learning the history of the POW breakout in the nearby town of Cowra with Ann.  While at the POW camp remains, I saw two kangaroos fighting- they boxed each other and occasionally picked up their feet to kick.  I must say, very cool to see!

-Picking up Jeanine and Britt from the airport and reconnecting with them.  While I've seen Jeanine during visits back to WI, I haven't seen Britt since I was a little girl.  He joked about it being hard to believe I was all grown up from a snot-nosed kid in diapers :)  He also expected me to be blonde and told all the neighbors and Season that's what I'd look like...not exactly anymore!

That's all for now.  Tonight I'm experiencing the local life at the town pub, and tomorrow I'll be spending the day with Britt, Jeanine, and Season and her family.

On Sunday it's back to Sydney and then two weeks traveling with Mom and Beck starting Monday- expect a massive amount of pictures and posts after that!

National Museum

I loved these kangaroos in the Contemporary Indigenous sculpture display

I wrapped up the day with a tour of the National Museum.  Inside, I watched an incredibly moving mini documentary on the apology issued by the Australian Government in 2008 for the “Stolen Generation,” roughly 100,000 Indigenous Australians that were forcibly removed and raised by white families until the 1960s.   And I also enjoyed seeing the heart of their most famous racehorse, Phar Lap, though I can’t imagine everyone would think this was as cool as I did!

Parliament House

In the Parliament House, I joined up on a mini tour where I got to see their Magna Carta and sit in on a House of Representative session.

On the way, we drove through the embassies (a fun fact- America has the biggest embassy; the bus driver was keen to point this out to me) and past "The Lodge" where the Prime Minster lives.

View of the old and new Parliament House from the War Memorial.  This design was influenced by Washington DC (designed by two American architects from Chicago)

The Parliament House

The High Court

I loved the High Court building.  The court is responsible for interpreting and upholding their constitution and is the highest court in the land.  I love law, and it was especially interesting sitting down with one of the court workers and discussing recent legislature as well as Australia's emphasis on personal freedoms (for instance, there is not the same type of political party division based on a case like Roe v. Wade in the US).

Last week, the High Court ruled that Australia's law to force tobacco companies to remove all company branding and market their products in generic paper packages with health warnings was constitutional.  One of the reasons this law was put in place was aiming to make smoking less glamorous to young people.  Fascinating!  There was also a big international custody case this month involving four Italian children.  They were ordered back to Italy which is where their parents (an Italian father and Australian mother) had been granted shared custody in order to respect to respect Italian laws.

I also got to walk in and watch a court case- imagine getting to do that in the United States!  Amazing!

Australian War Memorial

In order to see all four places, I joined up with a bus tour that picked you up and dropped you off at designated times.  First stop, War Memorial!

The bus driver told me that this was the best war memorial in the world, and it was impressive.  I watched a video describing the attack on shipping in Sydney Harbor by three Japanese submarines during WWII and walked through their WWI (the "Great War") and WWII exhibits.  It was interesting learning about both wars from the perspective of this side of the world.  Seeing their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well as the war exhibits were very somber and moving.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier representing all Australians who have lost their lives in war

For Dad and Paul

How can you resist the opportunity to take a photo of a John Deere on the lawn of Parliament House?

If you're in the market for a harvester, here's an antique from the National Museum:

Leaving Canberra

I am leaving in a few short hours from Canberra back to Sydney and beyond.  I’ve had an amazing time with the Gale family.  While I’ve had plenty of time to relax with the family as well, I’ve also got to see a little of what Canberra has to offer.

Last week, Donna, Eddie, and I went to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve where I got to get up close and personal with some wild kangaroos and emus.  It was odd seeing emus in the wild- for some reason those just don’t register for me as existing outside of zoos!

I spent yesterday visiting the Australian War Memorial, the High Court, Parliament House, and the National Museum.   So much fun!!

I must say, I get nerves with every move, but I'm getting better at constant change and suitcase living!