James Capitulates

A little over eight weeks into our stint down under, our youngest seems to have finally resigned himself to his new living conditions.  He told me today that since he is now four years old, we have his permission to stay in Australia.  He was initially devastated when he realized that he would not be back in Pittsburgh for his birthday, and for a while I thought he might refuse to celebrate it.  It seems ludicrous to think of a child refusing a cake, balloons and presents, but his resistance to living here has been so fierce at times that I wouldn't have been entirely surprised.

His new attitude is a big relief, of course, and hopefully will not be short-lived.  I was not so sure about his level of exuberance this afternoon, however, when we entered the library with more of a bang than I would have liked.  I noticed him crouching at the entrance and muttering something under his breath, but didn't pay too much attention until he burst through the door, into an exceptionally quiet library, screaming "Blast off!"  Apparently he had been practicing counting backward from ten.  I turned around to see the knowing kind of smile that on James's face means, "I know I shouldn't have done that, but was it ever fun and . . . I wonder what my mom will do about it?"  I did think about it, and while I reprimanded him, I concluded that I preferred this to the anger that has been surfacing at all too regular intervals lately.

We all continue to have our moments of wishing for our comfortable life back home, especially when we find ourselves desperately missing friends and family, or when the unfamiliarity of things begins to wear on us.  Yesterday I drove down the wrong side of our street again, and even though this time I managed to correct myself just before driving the wrong way around the round-about, I began to despair of ever being able to drive here without giving it my undivided attention.  My children love to catch me still turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signals, or heading to the passenger side when I am the driver (they don't do any better with this than I do however).

Yesterday, after driving down the wrong side of the road, I began to research side affects of  poisoning from lead paint.  This was more due to our exhaustion levels than anything.  We have all continued to feel so tired, especially Sophie and myself, that I have begun to worry if something is wrong with us.  When I met with several other expatriates today for morning coffee, they assured me that this was normal and could be expected to continue for up to six months. 

Ross has troubles of his own in the work world as he attempts to help make Heinz a more preferred and profitable brand in Australia.  He borrowed my camera the other day to take the following picture in our local grocery store, a can of Heinz soup abandoned in favor of a fresher version.  It illustrates one of Heinz's most pressing dilemmas:  the growing preference of consumers for fresh food from the chiller (i.e.  the refrigerated section) as opposed to canned food.

Pumpkin is a popular food down under, but is considered a savory dish rather than sweet.  I do like the pumpkin soup I have eaten, but would prefer it with just a touch more sugar as well as some creme fraiche swirled on top.  Pumpkin pie or cake seems to be almost unheard of.  Last weekend we were invited out to dinner, and I was surprised to find roasted pumpkin among the roasted vegetables served to us.  It was fantastic---very similar to roasted yams but with a better texture--and I promptly went out and bought some of my own to roast.  Our host explained that the variety of pumpkin grown here is more suited to roasting than that typically grown in the U.S.

I'll finish today's post with pictures of one of our recent favorite foods, the gold kiwifruit from New Zealand.   Ross will frequently go out for an evening walk and return with a dozen or so of them.  They don't last long in our house.  We found them once at Costco in Pittsburgh a few years ago, and watched for them to return, but without success.  The gold kiwifruit is mellow and sweet, and makes me think of butter.  I think I'll have one right now.

Comments

[John]

Love Kiwis but never had a gold kiwi. Best way to eat a kiwi is to slice it in half latitudily and then scoop out the inside with a spoon. Sort of like eating a grapefruit. Learned this trick in American Samoa.

PS did you know the fruit originated in China but due to American advertising it was decided to call them Kiwis were they were grown for mass exportation?

[Christie]

@John We didn't know about the fruit originating in China---thanks for the info. We are constantly learning new things these days. We'll be sure to have gold kiwis on hand if/when you visit.

[Karin Smith]

it must take LOADS of mental and emotional energy to be living in a new culture. i can imagine that you are exhausting yourselves daily just by existing. i remember feeling that way the summer i spent in colombia. at least you have the assurance from you freinds that it will get better. keep your chins up!

[Shanda]

We always eat our kiwi's like John describes. Now I feel smart (I thought it up myself). :) Great post, as usual Christie! I think about you constantly. Even dreamed about you the other night.