Day 11 | MANDURAH– First holiday get together today! The Rock Club was gracious enough to invite us along to their holiday party at the local Chinese Restaurant (Happy China BBQ). Common in Australia are BYO wine at restaurants. I’ve never experienced this in the states, but I am curious to the cost savings that go to the customer. I’ve yet to buy a bottle of wine yet, but soon as I do, I’ll share some more studied thoughts. What was also particularly unique about this dining experience was the many dishes we got to sample one after the other (honey chicken, pepper steak, satee chicken, and bbq pork). As always, no tip was necessary.

Day 12 | WARNBRO- Honestly, pretty much a relaxed day. Isaac has been working so much and the digital pace has been difficult to keep with internet speeds. What is supposed to be a 20 hour work week quickly stretches into 35 hours with the upload/downloads from the servers. Unlike the US, Australia hasn’t quite got the fiber optic cables and such; they internet is mostly provided by copper wire. The speeds are accordingly much slower. We are both still getting acclimated here and are happy enough just to be daring enough to work remotely. There is a sustained and conscientious effort to try and be as punctual as possible. Isaac is succeeding a bit better than I, though this isn’t his first rodeo. He has been doing this every winter for the past few years. This winter will be a true test to our 6mo Aus/6mo US plan. The best destressor we’ve learned though is hugs, and plenty of walks along the beach. It’s wonderful seeing all the beautiful beach houses and the flora glistening under the sun. There’s a lot of magic here. We walked along Warnbro beach path today all the way up to “nude beach” sign. Definitely gave me a giggle.