So Robbie and Joe and I have settled in a bit in our new surrounds and are starting to work away on the different tasks we have. Joe and I have been doing a few lab tests with a post-doc here, working on a reconstituted clayey silt. For soil geeks, this stuff is magical. Cuts like butter and is a perfectly homogeneous sample, it makes for beautiful test results. So far we've done just a few consols, but more to come.
Dome is the local coffee house and it's actually quite good, if expensive. Good quality coffee and excellent food, sort of like an upscale Denny's. One funny tradition here is the tea break which comes around 11:00 AM every day. Most people drop whatever they're doing and walk to the local bakery, coffeehouse, or cafe, and spend about 15-30 minutes recharging and talking with friends. Enjoyable, but certainly different style from us yanks.
Australian screaming birds wake us up every morning. Probably there is a better name for it, but unofficially we've dubbed it thus. These obnoxious little buggers sound like whining babies and constantly squawk. Our latest theory is that they might be "barking owls" but we're undecided until further evidence presents itself. Robbie thinks they're laughing or chuckling to themselves. I have my doubts.
Apparently vegemite is actually eaten on a regular basis around here, though not as widely as might be implied by television parodies. I decided to one up the local populace and purchased a bottle of "Cheesymite". It is as foul as the name implies.
Tomorrow a new roommate moves in. We'll try not to scare him too much.
