From the middle of one country, to the middle of another...

It seems I am more Nebraskan than I thought. Growing up among cattle pastures and cornfields, miles from any sort of coastline, I always assumed I would spend the rest of my days making up for lost beach time by residing as close as possible to the sand and sun. Yet, after six months in Australia of morning beach strolls and splashing in the salty waves, I have found myself back in-land, right smack in the middle of the Aussie Outback. Perhaps growing up in the Midwest has ingrained itself in my subconscious, an intrinsic pull to the center. As in yoga, we are told to find our core in order to balance ourselves, and in the hectic days that have passed with all the issues afloat in this world, it doesn't seem far fetched that I would need to find some balance of my own. And, as crazy as it may sound (particularly when said aloud), a balance is presenting itself to me one blazing hot day at a time...

So here I am in Yulara, Northern Territory, just 20 kilometers from the infamous Ayers Rock (a.k.a. Uluru) and I am quickly learning that the middle of Australia has little in common with that of the US. Nebraska's sprawling fields of beans and corn are replaced with uninhabited red dirt and dried desert shrubs that stretch as far as the eye can see. Raccoons and skunks are replaced with venomous snakes and scaly lizards, while the sticky humidity is swapped for a dry, moisture sucking, heat. With temperatures regularly reaching 45 degrees Celsius and a lack of clouds to cover the fiery orange sun, there is little one can do to beat the heat. Although Nebraska is far less dangerous than the rugged desert life, I must admit that I feel well equipped to battle its extremities. After all, you never know what to expect in the Midwest...does anyone remember the 1997 October storm?