A week to go and a note on time
I'm a week out from the departure date, and its really starting to hit me: I'm going to Australia. This is kind of a big deal to me, as my previous International traveling experience was a few day trips to Canada.
No big developments on my preperation. Its time to pack and the such, but nothing big to tell you about. But some news and notes...
~I picked up some adapters today. Australia uses a type I plug, in case you were curious. AAA has these for fairly cheap.
~Also at AAA I picked up an International Driver's Liscence. Its about ten bucks, and you get it on the spot. I'm not sure if I'll be doing any driving while in Australia, but in case I do...I'm covered. Hooray.
In other news, the most common question I get these days is, "Whats the time difference?" Besides the obvious answer of, "Its tomorrow.." here's how we go.
Australia is 18 hours ahead of Pacific Time (15 hours on the East Coast) Personally, I think adding 18 is kind of messy (math was never my forte) so my answer is that Canberra is 6 hours behind, but tomorrow. For example, itss currenly 12:45 A.M. on February 2 in the Pacific Time Zone. In Canberra, its 6:45 P.M. on February 3.
Aren't time zones fun?
The other common question or comment is something along the lines of, "Thats one long flight." Yes, yes it is.
When I depart for Oz, I will be flying out of San Fransisco. The flight leaves at 10:30 P.M. on February 7. I arrive in Melbourne at 11:15 A.M. on February 9. Thanks to the International Dateline, my flight skips Thursday. To make the math simple, let's say I arrive at 5:15 P.M. Pacific Time, and we can see that I'm in the air for about 19 hours.
How I plan to spend those 19 hours...
~Sleep
~Puzzle books (I like Sudoku, Kakuro, things of that nature)
~More sleep
~Pray for a good inflight movie
~Write various notes about the experience to share with you, the reader.
~Paruse the fligh's beer/wine selection, order accordingly.
Any ideas on how else to pass the time? Leave 'em in the comments.
(BTW, those of you reading this on Facebook...the URL should be at the top of this "note".
Labels: News from home, preperation
posted by Alan @ 12:33 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Alan Hoffman, you world traveller you,
How far away in space and time you'll be, and in another hemisphere! Wait. Weren't you always far away in space and time? So it's just the hemisphere that will change - the southern cross will guide you there. Of course you know the magnetism is different - it may send you askew - but fear not. Good luck learning their slang and their beer and all their marsupials. We'll expect journal entries regularly, and hope you'll bring us all loot from Perth or Sydney or Melborne or wherever. Personally, I intend to go to Europe at least seven more times before I venture to southern climes, so I look forward to your impressions. When was the Australian renaissance? I forget.
Post a Comment
<< Home