Hey, everyone!
The main highlight of this week for me was whale watching on my day off work. I mentioned in my earlier posts that I was trying to get a job as a deckhand on a whale watching boat. While that job didn’t work out, I still wanted to support the company… and figured I might as well try to take advantage of the humpbacks while they’re around Perth for the moment! They migrate down to Antarctica and will no longer be around near the end of November – so the clock is ticking.
I took the bus down to Fremantle and hopped on the 10am whale watching tour. It was cool to be part of it as a guest as opposed to observing the crew / having an informal interview like the first time.
We saw about eight whales in total during the two hour tour. They were in pairs of two – one mother and one calve for each group. At one point, two moms and two calves were hanging out together which was cute.
I am quite spoiled when it comes to seeing whales at this point. I’ve seen them in Maine, South Africa, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and now Australia. Nothing has compared to Hawaii, though. I unfortunately didn’t blog about my Maui trip, but the whale sightings there were insane… and a dream come true for me. We would be hanging out at the beach and see whales fully breaching out of the water all day long. A dream come true for me!
Honorary mention for Oregon, too. The whale watching there was incredibly cool – seeing a bunch of grey whales traveling down the ocean during sunset with my parents was very memorable for me.
Anyway! Back to Australia. A baby calve did a full breach which was adorable, but otherwise there wasn’t much activity. Still, you can’t control wildlife behavior. Every tour is different. You might see whales that are very chill and not exhibiting any impressive behavior… other times, you go on a tour and a whale fully breaches out of the water four times in a row. That’s what makes it so exciting!
It was cool to see the humpbacks with the city of Perth as their backdrop. I couldn’t help but compare it to Maui, where the island of Maui was the backdrop. Such different settings, but both beautiful in their own way.
I might try to squeeze in another whale watch or two before the season ends. In April, blue whale season starts so I’d like to do that before I leave Perth! I’ve never seen a blue whale before and they’re the largest mammal to ever exist on planet Earth. How cool is that?
I love whales! I always thought they were cool, but there was some kind of seed that was planted after I saw a whale in real life for the first time in Maine. I really fell in love with them. Similarly to elephants, they are massive creatures and yet they are basically vegetarian – feeding on teeny, tiny krill. I find them majestic, enigmatic, larger than life. I hope to see many more whales in my lifetime.
Reflections
Australian Phrases
Taking the piss = joking around
Mate = dude/buddy (can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this one yet)
Fluoro = neon/fluorescent
This is perhaps the strangest one… and it’s actually an American oddity. In America, we call the main meals “entrée,” but in Australia and many other places in the world, it’s a starter dish or an appetizer. The more you know!
Speaking of food – I haven’t even mentioned one of the most polarizing spreads in Australia: VEGEMITE! People love it, people hate it. There are a lot of feelings about it. I’ve tried vegemite on toast, vegemite and avocado on toast, and cheesy vegemite. Cheesy vegemite is hands down my fave, but honestly, I don’t hate regular vegemite haha.
Have I mentioned how strange it is that the metric system is used out here? I am so lost between meters, kilometers, Celsius vs Fahrenheit haha.
Oh! And I would humbly like to share… that whenever I tell someone in Australia my age, they are shocked. Everyone thinks I’m younger than I am, which I love hahaha. Thanks for the good genes, mom & dad! Love it.
Another bit of excitement this week was that my roommate informed me Björk is coming to Perth in March of next year. When Björk comes to America, it is typically only to New York and tickets are sold out instantly. I decided I will likely be staying in Perth until April, so I scored myself some tickets. I’m excited to see her – it may be the only time in my life I’ll be able to. And the concert is only three blocks from my apartment, so it felt serendipitous.
I’ve been thinking lately about how this adventure I’m on feels like a series of forks in the road. Do I choose to stay in Perth? Do I go up north after this or down south? Do I go to New Zealand once my Australian visa is up or do I go right to Asia from here? It’s interesting to ponder. Every decision I make can lead to a number of exciting outcomes. There will be excitement no matter where I go, I’m sure.
Some of the friends I’ve made out here were sad to hear I won’t be able to extend my visa after the year due to my age. They’ve jokingly suggested we get married so I can stay here, which is a cute suggestion, but at the end of the day, when I think about it… I don’t want to be in Australia forever. It’s been amazing so far, and I’m excited to see what else the country has to offer over the next ten months, but I know in my heart that I want to be in America near my family and loved ones once all is said and done.
Art of the Week
I had to draw a whale in honor of the beautiful whales I saw the other day!
That’s all for now, folks! I am working the next several days and then will be leaving on a brief road trip this Thursday until next Monday. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of pictures and stories to share after that one.
Sending you all my love!