Australia Day

Yesterday, January 26th, was Australia Day. It commemorates the landing of the first fleet in 1788 in what is now Sydney. It's somewhat the equivalent of July 4th for us Yanks - a day to celebrate Australia and being Australian. It is not without controversy but you can read up about that elsewhere if you're so inclined. From what I can tell it's mostly a reason for everyone to get out with friends, have a party, and fly the flag high. The highlight of the day was the Perth Skyworks - 3000+ fireworks blazing away over the Swan River and the roofs of the buildings in the CBD with a simul-cast of homegrown Aussie music playing on the radio. Anyone with any sort of view of the Skyworks is pretty much obligated to have a party so we joined in and had four Aussies over to show us how it's done. Apparently you start with a beer and proceed from there :-) It was great fun sitting on the balcony with all the neighbors around us also entertaining. A couple of boats tied up at the floating dock right outside and sometime around 6PM people started walking up and lining the path and grassy areas below us. By the time the fireworks started there was an excellent crowd, several radios (including our own) blaring the music, and a general sense of camaraderie. The fireworks were spectacular and it was all excellent fun. We finished the evening with the best pavlova I've ever eaten and the sample Australian citizenship test. I scored a 90% so it looks like I'm in with a chance if we manage to stay here for 4 years (the minimum residency requirement). Cheers Mates!