Down Under

It's been two and a half weeks since I stepped off the airplane onto Australian soil. Where did the time go?

Have you heard of Cirque de Soleil? It is a Canadian acrobatic group that performs all over the world. Last week, our whole office went as VIP guests to see them perform in downtown Sydney. It was a jaw-dropping, nerve-wracking, thrilling experience.

As I watched them do flips and practically fly all over the stage, I felt a twinge of jealousy and reminisced on my childhood dreams of becoming an acrobat in the circus. If only I had practiced more on those monkey bars...

My big mouth has already gotten me in trouble. Sort of. When asked *ehem* about some of the beautiful places around Sydney, I happened to mention a few places that I had been on my bike. Now, to all of you non-cyclists, perceived distance and exhaustion on the bike is significantly decreased when you own the right equipment and have had some training in your legs. It didn't take long for a rumor to start going around that I am some super long-distance athlete. Monday morning at work, as I filled up my mug with coffee, my co-worker walked in and announced, "Molly, you are going on a 25km trail run with myself and three other people. You will need snacks, running shoes, a camelback, and possibly a light jacket. Oh, and you will be collected at 5:30am on Saturday morning". I wasn't sure how to respond. "Awesome"?,"You're crazy?","do you wanna repeat that?". Turns out all I could muster was a half-enthused "great!".

After late night at Cirque du Soleil, my alarm clock made the most revolting sound as it woke me up at 4:45am. I promptly made some coffee, scarfed down some oatmeal, and ran out the door for what I knew would be an interesting morning. It wasn't long into our trail run before I felt the urge to take pictures. It was too gorgeous not to at least attempt to catch some of the beauty.

God is amazing isn't he? He also has a sense of humor. Just look at a kangaroos and pelicans (two of my favorite animals).

Work... last week, I went down to Adelaide to visit two of our companies
largest accounts. The purpose of the trip was to gather information for the design of the market research project that I'm doing. One of the most important things I've been learning is not to rely on assumptions. Just because business is a certain way in the US, does not mean that it is the same down here. It is considered very "American" to think that the world revolves around us and everyone operates, or would like too, off of our system. I learned that pretty quickly by accidentally riding my bike on the wrong side of the road...
The preparation for my research project has been an ongoing process since I arrived and seems to be taking a long time. Other than my trip to Adelaide (see photo), I've spent a good bit of time sitting at my desk and in various meetings. At this point, I feel as if I am in the calm before the storm. Over the 4-5 weeks, I will be traveling to a different state in Australia every week to put my project into action. Ah!

To be honest, I am very excited about my work here. My project has the potential to be a total flop or be a catalyst for launch of a new product.

Overall, I am really enjoying it here. The ocean, the hills, the city, the culture... I love it! There is a 5k circuit that several people at the office run every day during lunchtime. Some of the guys try to act like they are not
trying to beat the rest of the group when it's obvious they really are. There's
even a course record (announced, of course, by the course record holder).