Christmas on the West Syde

What is the best prevention from feeling homesick during the Christmas season?

a) Take 2 Gravol tablets, and some ant-acid.
b) Make drunken prank calls to everyone back home.
c) Flying the family down to visit.

Luckily for you, I chose c). I was very fortunate to spend yet another Christmas with my family, despite of being 100’s of miles away.

Mama and Papa “Island k-nuts”, wee sister “Island coco-nuts”, and Uncle “Island spice”, were all added to make the best “Island Rice” ever! Our family friends Juanita and Glen hosted a very Yummy Christmas. Thanks to them, we continued the same family traditions from back home: cooking for hours, sitting on Santa’s lap, eating for hours, playing crazy games, and staying up late with plenty of ‘toasts’.

Perth was a good fit with our “Island Rice-Family” sense of humour. The airport had comedians dressed up as Santa, Turkey and fig pudding, to crack jokes as we arrived, while playing out of tune instruments.

The lifestyle out west is more laid-back than fast-paced Sydney. I would end up spending ½ hour in the store to buy only one item, as I would hear about how “my sister, Sheila just had a baby; my new dog tore up the garden”…people are very friendly and love to chat. And just like in Canada, the west-coasters love to “take the piss” (Oz translation= “make fun of”) of Sydney-siders.

The state of Western Australia is almost ½ the size of Australia. This may explain why it became normal to see 7 dead kangaroos and only 1 car after 2 hours of driving!

The “Island Rice family” traveled from Perth to the most southern tip of Australia (Albany).

Highlights included:

- Wine tasting at some of Australia’s most popular wineries.
- Stunning untouched bright blue crystal clear water of the Indian Ocean, with white sparkling sand.
- Hugged Australia’s largest trees, then climbed a 60ft tree, using only metal rungs coming out of the trunk.
- Hitting our sticks really hard along the bush walks to scare off snakes and other creepy crawlies.

Although my mission was to learn about West-coast life, I also took away a life-lesson which I learned from the “Island Rice Family”: Although this rice is on an island, one needs the side-dishes to fulfill the appetite.

Hope Christmas filled all of your “life’s appetites” to your heart’s content.

- Island Rice