Sabbatical End

Sabbatical End.  As the title suggests I have successfully found employment in Hobart and have already completed my first week of work.  I owe a big thank you to our friend, Alicia who put me in touch with an ICU nurse (a friend of hers) who is currently working at the Royal Hobart Hospital.  Alicia and I had tea with the ICU nurse, Kate and I was able to ask her multiple questions about the critical care department and process for employment.  My name was passed on by Kate to the ICU manager and I was directed to apply online.  The rest of the interview process went smoothly and I found myself quickly employed.  The Royal Hobart Hospital is a government owned and managed facility (socialized medicine) that has been around for... wait for it... 200 years.  It's Australia's second oldest hospital, established in 1804 and it's Tasmania's largest hospital with 550 patient beds.  There are 25 patient bed spaces in the ICU serving a general, varied patient population.  From heart surgery patients (my forte) to neurology and trauma patients with the occasional pediatric patient.  To be perfectly honest, after just one week of orientation, even after being an ICU nurse for four years, I am overwhelmed.  Rob asked me after my first day of work, "so, what do you think?"  I replied, "everything is different".  The monitors, the IV pumps, the medication names, the charting, the procedures, the people... are all different from what I'm used to.  I feel like I'm on a steep learning curve once more in my career which I expected, but not quite to this degree.

What's this I hear about you going back to work?
I was not consulted on this decision.

The best way I can compare my  nursing experience (thus far) is by saying it's much like learning how to drive here in Australia.  I know how to drive a car but everything is different in how I manage the car down the opposite side of the road.  The same principle in driving applies to my new nursing job- I know how to care for a patient but I don't fully know how to go about it here.  The good news is that Rob and I are driving on the left, mindlessly now; with caution, practice, patience and time, we have mastered the left sided driving technique.  I hope my nursing abilities take the same shape as I continue to work.  Keep calm and nurse on, Suz.  I am working as needed (casual) which means I manage my own work schedule. Our point while living in Australia is to travel while we are here.  Keeping my schedule flexible will allow us to plan our trips when Rob has the time off from work.

As a side note on the topic of driving...

This machine is mounted on a wall just outside a local bar.  Keeping Hobart responsible and safe.
However it has an "out of order" sign posted on it,
much to Rob's recreational disappointment.

Prior to the commencement of my new job, Rob and I took the time to sight see in Hobart.  Our first stop was to the much appraised and widely controversial Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).  MONA opened in January 2011, and is the largest privately owned museum in Australia.  Tasmanian millionaire, David Walsh owns the museum which holds many of his private art collections.  A variety of antiquities, modern and contemporary art pieces fill the three story museum.  Past and current exhibits have been very sexual or anti-religious in nature, leading to an edgy and sometimes offensive experience. Yet much like a car accident on the side of the road... you cannot help but stare.  There are also beautiful, creative and fun pieces of art that delight the senses.  One of the most interesting museums I have ever visited.  I would recommend the museum but I must warn our visiting friends and family, it can be rather shocking.  An example below...

I always thought God would drive a Porsche Cayenne.
No, really- these are the car spots for David Walsh and his wife.  Lettering above "God" and "God's Mistress" is "Reserved".

I did not take any pictures inside the museum because I am trying to tempt all you readers out to Tassie to see it for yourself!  Actually, I don't think cameras were allowed in the museum.  Rob and I took a few hours to browse through the building and subsquently returned a week later to finish up the last few exhibits.  At that time we had a glass of wine and bite to eat at the restaurant located on the museum premises, which was well worth the second visit.

In the parking lot, in front of the museum among the parking spaces...

Gosh, it looked like it was going to fit

Rob walking up to the entrance of MONA

Our next Hobart sightseeing stop had us reconnecting with our Fort Collins roots, a brewery tour.  We visited Cascade Brewery by riding our bikes (once again, a nod to Fort Collins), having an official walk through the factory and enjoying a beer tasting.  Cascade Brewery is located just beside Mount Wellington, using it's ever-flowing fresh mountain water for it's production.  Established in 1824 the brewery has never stopped beer production since it opened.  It is Australia's oldest brewery and exports around the world.  Cascade Brewery is unique and rare compared to other breweries in that it produces it's own malt for the production of it's mainstream beers.  During the tour, we had to wear fluorescent yellow vests and protective eye wear... in case the 189 year old building decided to burst open and shower us with beer.

It's as big as it seems.
Mmmm, beer.

This entrance (still in use) was measured to allow horse drawn wagons to export beer... to all the thirsty people.

The assembly line was not in operation on the day we visited but we watched a video on how quickly the bottles are processed

This is a poster you could buy in the gift shop.
The captions read, "solid head, plenty of bite, distinctive markings, strong full body" Cascade Pale Ale.

As we did for MONA, Rob and I actually made two trips to the brewery.  We arrived one afternoon around 3:30pm to discover that the brewery tours are only at 11:00 and 12:30 and the restaurant/tasting room closes at 4:00pm each day.  The bartender was kind enough to offer us a "last call" before closing up for the day.  Perplexed, Rob asked the bartender why every place closes so early in Hobart.  We have noticed a trend here in which most stores and businesses keep traditional bankers hours (9am-5pm) and almost all businesses are closed on Sundays.  The bartender replied, "ah, we Hobartians like to knock off early.  We don't like to work all day or on the weekends."  Inconvenient from the consumers standpoint, but otherwise a reasonable argument.  We finished our beers and booked our tour a few days later- during "trading" hours.

Since we have moved to Hobart, Rob has been expanding his knowledge and passion for single malt whiskey.  A few months ago, at a local farmers market Rob befriended a local distiller, William McHenry, the owner and operator of William McHenry and Sons distillery in Port Arthur.  Rob has spent a few of his days off at the distillery, learning the craft from William.  On one of his days away, I indulged in one of my passions (chocolate) by visiting the Cadbury factory.  I had to twist the arm of our friend, Greg to come along and bring his 18 month old son, Griffin.

The Cadbury Factory is located in Claremont, Tasmania,
only 15 mins from our home in Hobart.

Outside the visitor's center, Griffin points at Freddo, one of the mascots for Cadbury.

Once inside the visitor center, a large chocolate bar hangs above the store entrance.  It's all I need to see.

Oh the possibilities!

Griffin points and says, Look! As I fill my hands with chocolate bars.

Griffin plays in a truck that I could fill with my purchases ;)

The natives say that Cadbury used to have a tour through the manufacturing line and allowed for chocolate sampling.  Our experience was far less sweet; we sat for a short presentation on how the candy was made and watched a video of chocolate being packaged.  Then we were directed to an extensive Cadbury store (as seen above).  There were only two free chocolate samples available and we didn't see any part of the production.  Kinda disappointing and I wouldn't recommend paying for this "tour".  I did learn that five years ago, Cadbury was bought out by Kraft - an American company.  Needless to say, Cadbury chocolate and other confectionary products are abundant in the grocery stores and gas stations here.

In a previous post I mentioned how Rob, Maggie and I went to Ian and Kate's farm for dinner of pulled goat shoulder.  Two weeks ago Maggie and I went back to the farm to see newborn baby goats and help Kate feed a set of triplets.  I had a lovely time visiting with Kate as we ate cheese, crackers and tea.  Dressed in farm attire (washable pants and boots) we headed out to the fields in search of the baby goats.  I believe Kate and Ian had twelve total goats birthed by several mothers.  Kate said she wants people to come up to the farm to handle the baby goats so they become accustomed to humans touching them. The babies gave a bit of a chase and voiced their disapproval of being held but eventually, I could feel their heart beats calm as I cuddled them.  Kate snapped a few pics of me "nursing" two of the triplets.

Sweet babies and eager to eat!

After we fed the goats, Kate, Ian, Maggie, Kate's dogs (George & Sam) and I went for a walk on the beach.  The dogs ran wild as we collected sea shells and threw sticks into the waves for the dogs to fetch.  Maggie was in heaven; wet, sandy dog heaven... total bliss.  As we came to the end of our walk, the tide got the better of our path back to the car.  Kate and Ian were in knee high boots and Kate offered to piggy back me through the deep water.  So, with me on Kate's back, we three attempted to traverse the watery patch.  The water grew deeper and we turned back to shore to come up with "plan B".  As the dogs effortlessly swam across the water way, we removed our boots, socks. and pants and quickly waded through the water, in our underwear- laughing the entire way.  It took only a moment for our feet to go numb and therefore unbothered by the cold.  Once more on dry land, we got dressed and headed back - for me, eventually to home for a hot shower.  It was a very fun day.

A side note on one other time we were unexpectantably cold these last few weeks...

This is Rob's car (named "Seamus") being towed one night after we finished working out at the gym.  The car was having difficulty with starting up and earlier that day we talked about taking it to the repair shop.  Well, it got to the repair shop that day.  We waited, dressed in sweat-soaked clothing, in the cold for the tow truck to arrive.  It was not fun.  To quote Rob that night, "F@#*ing Seamus!"

We got pretty hungry waiting for the tow truck to arrive and Rob still had to work a night shift that very night.  So to save on time, we decided to forgo our home cooked meal, and try the one Mexican restaurant in Hobart.

Maybe this nice looking margarita will make this night better...

Unfortunately, the one and only Mexican restaurant in Hobart was terrible.  Greg and Alicia had warned us that Australia does not produce good Mexican food.  The margarita was no bueno (no good)  and sure enough, the food was pretty bland.  Well, you don't know until you try!  We have vowed that the next time we are home we are going to eat Mexican food about everyday.  

We have, however, fallen in love with the Indian curry here in Hobart.  We have eaten at several Indian restaurants and can't get enough of it.  We are a lot closer to India than Mexico.

Our Mexican food "fix" is coming soon, though.  We'll be back in the US in about three weeks.  Rob and I are attending a very special celebration - the ten year wedding anniversary for our dear friends, Mike and Jess.  They will be renewing their vows in Windsor, Colorado and we will be visiting home for about ten days.  Rob and I took full advantage of the frequent flyer miles he earned from his locums work.  We "cashed in" the miles to purchase round trip tickets at very little cost.  We feel excited and lucky to be able to fly home again and to be a part of Mike and Jess's anniversary.

After this trip back home, we will be setting our sights for new places and countries to travel... we are ready and excited!