Diario - 15 July
================
:CreationDate: 2003-01-29 10:51:59
:tags: viaggi
Today I'll go to a park, to see some animals. Had a shower, and noticed:
bathroom heating is done with lamps. This, and the fact that thet have
electrical plates to cook, an electrical oven, an el. kettle, and so on, makes
me think they're not very concerned with energy consumption.
Oh, yes: the bathroom seems not to have been cleaned in ages. Just a
superficial cleaning from time to time, but nothing really deep. Hope next
house will be cleaner. Have to bear in mind that they inherited British
taditions.
Before Maryann can drive me to catch the bus, a Thai student arrives. She
understands maybe one word out of ten. However she consents to come to the city
with us. So Maryann drives both of us to Station st. (North Wollongong railway
station), where I had to catch the bus (the Thai student returning home to
rest). The excursion had been organized for a group of HongKong students,
mostly girls. Pretty ones, too. First stop: riding! The scenery is magnificent.
Nobody had ever rode before, so they put us on very tame horses. We ride
through the wood (bush they say here) in line. Nice experience. Next stop: BBQ
lunch. I was the only one not to have brought something to eat, so I just got
more BBQ'ed sausages than any other one. We were BBQ'ing in the park near
Woronora Dam, nice view of the canals & basins.
Then we went to see the animals, at Symbio (greek word?) Wildilfe park.
Kangaroos, koalas, wonbats, emus, ostrichs, birds. Made pictures.
Back to the bus, we return towards Wollongong via the coastal road. Great view
of the ocean: must go see the beach sometimes.
Returned home, only to find that the Thai student hadn't understood a
fundamental thing: she is not to remain here! She had unpacked most of her
baggage, and when we succeed in explaining her that she has to move to her
homestay family, she runs packing all her things. Had to watch for her not to
take any of my things!
Dinner with pizza (oh hell! why they don't change the name? it has nothing to
do with Italian pizza!), and a rented movie: Inspector Gadget. Not bad, but the
French cartoon was funnier (and less pretentious).
Thought of the day: streetsigns. In Europe (and US, I'm told) there are
symbolic signs: you don't need to know the local language to read them, they're
the same everywhere. Not in Australia: No standing with left/right arrows,
Wrong way, go back when you enter a one-way street from the wrong side, left
turn permitted on red after stopping (at a crossing, with traffic lights: and
maybe they complain about accidents!)
