The kangaroo, the laughing bird and the mystery of jet lag

Day two

Perth 8am 24°C

Sitting on the patio, pink flowers and blue sky above my head, a hammock is laying next to me, just waiting to get hooked to the tree. Far too hot for a wannabe pommy…

Full on day, yesterday, I learned a new word (pommy or POM or Prisoner of Mother England), met a few lovely people (4 French guys, 1 Japanese girl and a German woman living in Thailand; no Aussies so far), and got a glimpse of the Australian way…

Here you are few tips: 1. Always wear sunscreen (30+), sunglasses and a hat; 2. Don’t worry if the notes look fake, they are not trying to rip you off; it’s waterproof money… 3. Beware of red-back spiders; they are not necessarily lethal, just make sure that, in case they bite you, you faint on a fluffy surface, avoiding banging your head against the pavement…

Full on day, yesterday, I also had a close encounter with kangaroos and kookaburras (or laughing birds). In case you are wondering, I haven’t had to zoom in to take the pictures, at least not for the kangaroos’ ones; and no, it is not a park, it is a cemetery, the gravestones being plates stuck on the ground, ashes buried underneath, no real flowers allowed (as they might poison the animals).

10.43am 30°C

Time to get going, another full on day ahead and 2 goals: try the Aussie beer and get some info on kite surfing.

And a mystery to solve… Since I arrived here (i.e. less than 36 hours ago) I’ve been waking up at 8am (11pm GMT) and I’ve been getting really sleepy at 8pm (11am GMT). Am I jet lagged? Clearly, the answer is “No, I’m not”. But that’s a bit of a superficial answer… In fact, assuming my body got accustomed to Australian time zone so quickly, how it comes that me, little vampire, lover of darkness, I’m going to bed with chickens and getting up with the sun still low on the horizon? What’s the mystery behind all this? Weave, weaver of the wind…

Time to get going, the sun is taking over the patio, the words are losing the meaning.