Date: Fri 07-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

schools-Austrailia-Aitchison

Full Text:

A Taste Of Down Under

(with cut)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

Fourth graders at Sandy Hook School were treated to colorful descriptions of

life in Australia by Alex Aitchison, local tennis consultant who thinks of

both Newtown and Australia as his home.

Mr Aitchison described how he had helped his father on the family ranch in

Australia. One day he had just sat down on an old log to eat his lunch, when

his father yelled "Don't move!"

He said, "In between my legs, on the log, was a black snake, seven feet long,

lying straight out. My father killed it with his spade. One part went that way

and the other part that way!"

Ranchers in Australia are used to roughing it outdoors. Boundary riders ride

alone and are usually gone all year long, often coming home only at Christmas.

They ride a horse or a four-wheel drive along the ranch boundaries repairing

fences and out-buildings so the stock can't escape.

When Australians do get together, they participate in all sorts of sports and

competitions. If they are not playing cricket, baseball or football, then they

will make their own sport. Mr Aitchison said, "I've seen two guys betting on

bugs that are climbing the wall!"

Other creepy-crawlys, soft mushy grubs that live in the soil, make a popular

snack, according to Mr Aitchison. The "wichitee grubs" of Australia are "about

as big as your baby finger and very succulent. The aboriginals eat them

alive."

According to Mr Aitchison, they wriggle in your throat.