Day 4: Arrive in Adelaide

We left Sydney and flew into Adelaide, South Australia today. We told a few locals in Sydney that part of our trip included Adelaide and each time we were met by a bewildered look that said, “Why would you want to go there?” A few people directly asked this very question and our answer was something to the effect of “Why not? It’s part of Australia!” It seems that the general consensus is that there’s not anything in South Australia except some great wine country (about 80% of Australia’s wine comes from this region).

Honestly, after the fast pace of Sydney, I’m looking forward to things slowing down a bit. And it was a slower pace; almost glacial. It’s a good thing too because the day we left Sydney I was starting to feel sick. Last time I came to Australia with Allison DuBois, I fell ill halfway through and was miserable the rest of the time. I came prepared this time with an arsenal of herbs for immune fortification and Adelaide became the battlefield for my assault on viral threat.

I’ve found myself bargaining and pleading with body using mental dialogues something to the effect of: “Come on, Body, please fight this. Please let me stay well enough to swim with the dolphins. Please don’t get sick… we have to dive the Great Barrier Reef later this week; if you stay well through Cairns you can get sick in Brisbane. Never mind that, I need to stay well the whole time. Can you just save it until we get home and then you can take me down?”

Then I got angry and began threatening my body: “Alright, bitch. You WILL NOT get sick, do you hear me?! If you take away my experience here I will never forgive you and you have to live with me forever, remember? Don’t you DARE get sick!”

Then on to apologizing: “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean that. I love you. Can you forgive me?”

And finally, coaxing: “C’mon, Body… that’s a good Body. You can do this; I’ll treat you to an early night or a lovely tea. Remember the Little Engine That Could? I think I can… I think I can… That’s a good, strong, body.”

It’s was like that most of the day and after a delayed flight, I was anxious to get into the room and create a safe haven of preventative healing. We checked in and made our way up to our apartment. We didn’t have a hotel room to my surprise; it was a bloody apartment, complete with full kitchen, washer, dryer, and a couple of bedrooms! Even though the place is named Franklin Central Apartments, I didn’t make the connection until I got in here. I’m ecstatic about it so pardon my enthusiasm…

I pulled out the industrial bag of herbs I brought, downed heaps of them, and set out to find lunch. Everything is so close to us here; restaurants galore, an awesome and huge marketplace (reminds me a lot of Pike Place Market in Seattle) with lots of organic produce, and Chinatown (there’s a Chinatown here?) are all a 5-minute walk from our place. We walked down a few blocks and found a delicious vegan restaurant called Bliss Garden Café. They had a very strong, spiced concoction of a tea that was specifically designed for cold-busting. It took about 20 minutes for them to prepare it and arrived with our food. The smells of cloves and exotic spices danced their way to my nostrils where they stung a bit before hitting my brain, creating a sense of cranial expansion. I knew this sensation was indicating that my prayers were answered and Spirit (perhaps along with my coddled body) had directed me to exactly what I needed in order to kick out whatever has begun to root itself within.

This curative tea ironically smelled and tasted very much like a spiced orange tea my mother made every winter growing up in North Carolina. She called it “Russian Tea” and it was essentially Tang (an über-sweet, orange-flavour powdered beverage for those who don’t remember it) mixed with cloves, cinnamon, and sugar to make it sweeter than it already is. The tea at Bliss was twice as spicy and just as sweet as the one Mom used to make; I enjoyed the evocation of such a pleasant childhood memory and the way it made me smile on the inside as I every drop descended down my throat, charged with its purpose of eradicating sickness.

Feeling fortified, we went back to our room/apartment and rested for an hour or so before I had to go meet with a client and her friend for coffee in the late afternoon. First, I have to stop and say how much I appreciate that any time of day is coffee time for the Aussies. I had already sort of met Rachel (my client) over the phone in a previous session; she has this lovely, quiet, and soft demeanour that doesn’t fool me one bit. I know that this is also a girl who loves a rollicking good time and when I met Annie (her friend) I saw the mirror. The people we hang around often reflect different aspects of ourselves so I always look at who a person associates with to learn more about their character. It’s true that Annie has a warm, nurturing, and joyful energy (much like Rachel). In fact, I wanted to give her a hug before shaking hands, that’s how instantly comfortable I felt her (both of them really). But Annie definitely carried this vibe about her that also said, “I love a good laugh and I want to laugh with you, but if you mess with the people I love I will make you cry.” I respected her instantly and we all became fast friends; it was no time before we were in hysterics while talking about the “Oh-crap-oh-shit-oh-crap-oh-shit!!!” moments of our lives. It was fantastic and the time flew by. We hugged at least 3 times before saying our goodbyes and I headed back home-for-now to dose on more medicines.

It was a great day despite feeling a little immune-compromised; I hope I feel better tomorrow as we have a private tour through the Barossa Valley for a day of wine tasting and I don’t want to miss out on it! Good night, morning, afternoon, or whatever it is where you are.