Ch-ch-ch-changes

So, the first major change is, I'm changing the url to just www.kangarooamy.blogspot.com. Since I still think it's hilarious, the name at the top will still be Kangaroo Amy and the Wallaby Kid, but I figure this way people might actually remember the site name, and come visit more often :) I won't change it until I send out another email, just before I leave, to "remind" people of the address and that I'm leaving.

The rest of the changes are related. Not only will other people be able to remember the url, but I will also be able to get there quickly from internet cafes, which will be useful as I use it to hold all of the links currently held by my bookmarks, which I won't have with me. For these changes, please look to your right! -->

Most notably, I'd like to point out the very first link, under "What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?" The website shows a real-time world clock, with any two locations. That link is set to US Eastern Daylight Time and Sydney time; I'll try to pay attention and adjust it if need be when daylight savings ends and if any changes occur in Australia.

Wahoo! :)

UPDATE: I am still in the US! You will know when I've left. Trust me. No more freaked out phone calls, please! ;)

Book recommendations?

I'm putting out an all-points bulletin looking for book recommendations. Here's what I'm looking for: One long book to take to Australia to tide me over while traveling.

Long ones already read include: War and Peace, Gone with the Wind, Anna Karenina, Brothers K, Don Quijote, East of Eden, most John Irving, all Harry Potters (you can see more at goodreads.com).

Thinking about: Crime and Punishment, Hunchback, Les Miserables, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Dickens?

Any recommendations?

Photo attempt

http://www.flickr.com/photos/horninga/

Comments? Questions? Concerns? If anyone wants to give it a look, feedback from another user (yahoo ID or no) would be much appreciated - I don't know how things look to an "outsider"! (If you're not familiar with flickr, it's run by yahoo so if you have a yahoo ID you shouldn't have any problems accessing the photos.) Thanks...

UPDATE: Thanks to Becca for helping me!

Australian cooking measurements

According to allrecipes.com, Australia has its own cooking measurements. Who knew?

I was baking my yummy chocolate chip cookies recently when it occurred to me that I might like to have that recipe with me in Australia, and wouldn't it be convenient if I converted all the measurements ahead of time. My magical cookbook (whence comes the magical cookie recipe) only gave conversions for liquid measurements for some reason, so I started poking around online, relatively sure that Australia uses metric like the rest of the world. In addition to some nebulous term called "Australian Standard", which no one ever explains, all conversion charts I've seen give you large and small liquid measurements (1 teaspoon of vanilla or two cups of water, for example) and large amounts of drys (1 cup of flour), but no small measurements. I couldn't figure out how to convert small dry amounts to metric (like a teaspoon of baking soda - do you really measure baking soda in mL?). I think the librarian at my friendly local public library and I determined that it's kind of a crapshoot because it's all based on weight, so a cup of flour is different than a cup of sugar in metric (150g vs. 225g). She directed me to a website for help with conversions, but I don't know. Might just steal one of my mom's measuring spoon sets! If anyone's ever baked in metric and wants to offer tips, please share!!!

In other news:
The USPS apparently came through this time, because BUNAC sent me the Step 2 (visa application) information. I filled it out, got the passport photos and certified check for the insurance, and finally sent it all out yesterday. Phew!

I recently met a British ex-pat who's spent the past 30 years living in Australia who kind of rained on my parade. He said that lots of companies promise you a visa and take your money and don't get you the right thing because it's really difficult to get a visa "unless you're under 30 or are skilled" - which I am. Luckily my friend Rachel, who went to the UK with BUNAC, reassured me that it was a very reputable company and besides, I am under 30! So that made me feel better. He also warned me about the animals, but I already knew that. I'm not touching anything down there; it can all kill you.

Also: if anyone has advice regarding electronic adapters, please share! I know I need to buy something but I'm not sure what.

Also: apparently the different provinces in Australia pick and choose which holidays they want to celebrate. For example, they all have their own Labour Day, and one celebrates the Queen's birthday (but no one else does).

I'll be playing with the photos section of this site soon to see how well that works. If the answer is "not well," I may be changing servers. I'll keep you updated with any new site info...

I can apply!

I called BUNAC yesterday and asked the nice lady a bunch of random questions, the first being "when do you think I'll be able to apply?!" She said, "Oh, we just got clearance from the Australian government." Never mind that they were going to send out an email to let me (and presumably others) know that it was time to apply. But I can send in my application - or as soon as I drive up to Waterford to get my reference form from Stuart, since apparently the US Postal Service can no longer be trusted to get a simple envelope thirty miles. We'll see if my application gets to Connecticut...

I also asked the BUNAC lady if I should get my plane tickets now or wait till Step 2, the visa application step. She said to wait. I'm getting antsy. The student travel agency helped me find a really great set of flights for cheaper than I'd found on my own, plus a two-week stay in New Zealand on the way back AND my one-week stay with my cousins in Hawaii on the way there! So I'd really like to nail down that flight... Sigh.

It also occurred to me to ask about the medical insurance. She said it covers basically emergency care but not preventative. So, no check-ups, no teeth cleanings, no pre-existing conditions (like allergies). Then we got into a discussion of whether ragweed grows in Australia (it sounded like she'd never heard of it, which made things more difficult). We determined that it did, so I've got to remember to get more allergy medicine before I go!

Austramerica

I've started having the headlines of the Australian newspaper Herald Sun emailed to my inbox, just like the New York Times and Washington Post have been for a couple of years now. It's very interesting to me how America-centric the Herald Sun is, with stories about Wall Street, Naomi Watts, the Minneapolis bridge, and an Australian musician who left for LA to "break into the American music market," all in today's headlines. As an American Culture major, I'm very interested to learn how America is viewed by another English-speaking country.

On another note, apparently this season of MTV's The Real World is taking place in Sydney. I missed last week's episode, which was the first, but hope to catch it this week. I don't have high hopes though; it is still the Real World, but I'd be interested to see what they show of Sydney and Australian culture.

Ah, logistics...

So I finally got around to looking up flights online... and eyeing my bank account... and crying a little... Okay, it's not that dire. $1,500 (not including airline miles that I will probably also use) is a lot of money, it's true, but it's better than a lot of what's out there. Plus, the cheapest flight configuration that will also allow me to visit my cousin Laura and her family in Honolulu is about the same as the cheapest "direct" flight to Australia (without stopping for fun long-lost cousin time in Hawaii - but still including about 4 or 5 stops over two days), so that might actually be a possibility! It would be so nice to see her and her family, whom I haven't seen in probably four or five years.

I had been wanting to get a job before spending any big money (plane tickets, application fee, visa fee, etc.) but some things might be coming together on the job front, plus I have the time to mess around with these things now, so I figured I might as well at least start to look into them. I ended up spending the better part of Friday morning on the airline websites and then dug out the application, which I'd printed out a few weeks ago and which I need to send in at least 8 weeks before departure, which is actually coming up. Good thing I looked at it - I need an employer reference! Good old Stuart comes in handy yet again. I swear I abuse his brotherly love sometimes ;)

I also emailed an old high school friend, the one who told me about this program in the first place and got me thinking about it, with some practical questions. In my surfing for traveler's insurance, I came across the STA website. I'd been stressing a bit about booking these flights on my own since I might just try to cobble together three or four flight segments, without using a site like Orbitz - mostly because, by booking on the airline's actual site, you can get more flexibility and options if you have to change something, and also because it is sometimes cheaper. Booking separately would allow me to use my airline miles, too, for a segment of the trip. Those sites are incredibly handy for general research, though! Anyway, the point is that I might try to use STA for booking my flight, and might get an IYTC (like an ISIC), since I do still qualify. STA also offers to help you get a visa and find work, so I'm going to call them tomorrow and have a nice long chat!

It seems like things are starting to come together, at least a little bit!