Barcaldine

Jeremy was up very bright and early this morning to catch a plane. He is off on his latest adventure, a rural medicine rotation in a town called Barcaldine. Barcaldine, or "Barky" as it's affectionately known by the locals, is know for a few things:

- The town is the administrative centre of the Barcaldine region (with a busting to the seams population of 1900!)
- Barcaldine's charming facade, one that has earned it the tag of 'Garden City of the West' hides tumultuous tales of a controversial past.
- Barcaldine played a significant role in the Australian labour movement and the birth of the Australian Labor Party. In 1891, it was one of the focal points of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike.
- An enduring symbol of the strike lives on today in the Tree of Knowledge, the imposing ghost gum in the town's main street where the strike meetings were held.
- Use Barcaldine as a base from which to explore the Central West of Queensland. The extensive range of accommodation and shopping facilities make Barcaldine a relaxing place to stay, recover and explore.

I think that last point may be just SLIGHTLY exaggerated. Extensive range of shopping facilities? There is one grocery store which resembles the one in Bourget. But whatever floats yer boat! Jeremy will be gone for 5-6 weeks and I know he's a bit sad about being away from home for that long, but also really excited about the experiences he'll get to have in such a rural place. Different people, different attitudes, interesting medical problems in a whole new setting. He called his supervising doctor yesterday (Dr. Fred, I believe?) who told him to let him know when he gets into town and they'll go have a "feed" together. Our friend Sean just got back from his rural rotation in (strangest of strage coincidences) Barcaldine and it sounds like Dr. Fred is a pretty stand up guy! Particularly nice since J just finished his med rotation with a scary consultant who sounded not unlike Dr. House from House.

So yes, Jeremy's flight left at 7 am which means he should be in Rockhampton by now. He will then drive for 7 hours to the place where he'll be living for the next while. Meanwhile, I'm back here in Brisbane with heaps of assignments...group assignments at that...my favourite. Today, though, will be a day of awesome fun. First, Sean and Louise are picking Lisa and I up and we're going to Sunnybank, home of all delicious Asian cuisine. We have a Yum Cha (otherwise known as Dim Sum) date at Landmark Restaurant, which I'm hoping will be delicious. Hold the shark fin dumplings though - I'm not a fan of fishy cartilage! We will fill ourselves with yumminess and then back home, where Jess will swing by after work to bring me to her house where we will hang out for a couple of hours until it's time to go see the FOO FIGHTERS! Yes, finally, I get to see them AND it's even for a flood benefit. Totally doing good here. Bahahaha. Yes, today will be enjoyable :)

Hm, one other big-ish piece of news. While Jeremy is away I'm living with a French couple, Anne-Solene and Alexandre. I really do dislike staying in the house alone and these guys are paying me so it all works out! They've been here for a week now and it's working out really well. I get to pratique mon Francais un petit peu and they are working on their English. Anne is quite good, but Alex barely knows any English at all! They came out Friday night to Jeremy's surprise going away party at the Polish Club and I think they had a pretty good time. Yes, we planned to go to the Polish Club with Sean and Louise but I secretly invited a whole bunch of people. Jeremy being Jeremy, he pretty much had to try to invite everyone we know in this country, so he kept being rejected because the people were already coming but it was a damn SURPRISE. So I think he actually spent Friday feeling sad and unloved, becuse every person he tried to invite had other more important plans and it didn't matter that he was going away for awhile. Obviously his misgivings were put to rest when we arrived and 17 or so people showed up to send him off. Awwww...so nice :)

Alright, must begin to get ready for day of fun fun fun!