During my brief time here I have come to the conclusion that Australians and American candy do not mix. Much in the same way that Americans and the Australian “Vegemite” do go well together. But I’ll get to the second one in a bit. I want to first talk about one of the most amazing and puzzling questions asked to me by Karen, my Australian host (they don’t use Mr. or Mrs. here. Still getting used to that). We were standing in an American food store that she took me to when she preceded to ask me what Hershey bars were. After getting over the shock of the question I sought to find only the best, most elegant and wonderful of words to describe something as magnificently delicious and simplistic as a Hershey Bar. It was my responsibility, my duty, as an upstanding citizen of America to find the perfect expression to do the candy bar justice. “Um… it’s a big chuck of chocolate’ Looking back this wasn’t the most charming of ways to describe something that I find to be so incredibly amazing. It was then that I realized I must buy a pack of my favorite American candies and pass them around to the people that I know. The best American candy is of course a Reese’s (like I had to tell you) so I bought a bunch of Reese’s minis. Clearly no one would know what a Reese’s was. Even the head youth guy at the Church, who owns and runs a candy factory, had never heard of them. However, it seemed like everybody that I gave one to liked it. Success! Well…almost. One of the funniest moments here so far involved me giving a Reese’s to one of my friends. She opened it up and put the whole thing in her mouth. She was really quite for about a minute and I thought to myself “man she must really like it!” Then I noticed that she had this really funny expression on her face. The question that then came out of her mouth was not what I was expecting. “Um is there supposed to be paper in this candy?” Along with the Reese’s she had put the whole outer dark paper in her mouth too! She just thought it was supposed to be dark chocolate.
Note to Self: Do not send parents Australian food in the mail that has been washed once in the laundry. Even if it looks fine there could be soap hidden within the package and they might mistake the soapy taste for the authentic taste of Australian food. Yeah that did happen. I was so excited to mail my family Australian “Vegemite” but I overlooked the fact that I accidentally washed the package of vegemite with my jeans. However, most Americans might agree that Vegemite wouldn’t taste any worse if it had been washed. I also mailed it to Stephen and his family and I think the unanimous opinion was that it made them want to puke. I must admit the stuff is an acquired taste. I had some on my toast this morning and find it quite appetizing.
So I started my first week of classes on Tuesday and I’m going to be so busy! Over the course of 12 weeks along with my homework assignments and readings I will also have to write 11 essays and do one 35 minute presentation. Ha! I was worried that I wouldn’t be busy enough here! Nevertheless, I think I will really enjoy my classes. I’m taking the Gospel of Luke, Youth Ministry, Practical Ministry Awareness and Spirituality. These are all the types of classes that I wanted to take during my time at Ouachita but couldn’t fit into my schedule. I realized late on Sunday night that I had to report to Mitchum Baptist church early on Monday morning for a college meeting. That meant about as much to me as it does to you. I had no idea what and where Mitchum was. I had never heard of this place in my life. I had no car and I can only run so far. Everyone who could help me was already asleep so I just pulled out all the train maps and figured it out myself. I arrived in Mitchum (almost 2 hours away) but then I had to find the specific church in the city. I had no idea how to do this so I just started walking. I stopped random people to ask if they knew where I should go. Eventually I found the place and got there in the nick of time. I must admit I was pretty darn proud of myself for navigating the train system. I believe it makes up for getting completely lost the first time. Like I said I’ve been pretty busy. Some of the stuff that I’m doing in the near future include: cooking Texas Chili for the youth group (never cooked chili in my life), trying to start a new bible study group, getting to know the nursing home residents, coaching a B ball team, planning a 15 minute lesson, getting accredited so I can teach religion in the schools (you can do that in Australia!), helping out with the big expo event, learning how to become a Chaplin for a middle school and going to all the planned youth events throughout the week. Whew! But I’m glad that I’m busy doing stuff I feel is important because I want to make as much of a positive difference as I can. I feel called here for a reason and I’m leaving behind people that I don’t want to leave behind. I want to make the most of my time here so I know that it was all worth it. So far I think I’m doing just that.
Randomness:
~ It rains quite a bit here. I’m so tired of this rainy cold weather! In fact, I find it much harder to adjust to the weather here than almost anything else. I can’t ever seem to get warm! But what don’t kill you….
~ It’s common in Texas to hear the saying “if you don’t like the weather in Texas then wait a day, it’ll change.” Yet in Melbourne it goes more like this, “If you don’t like the weather in Melbourne then wait an hour it’ll change.” In any given day, I’ll wake up to “warm” sunshine, get caught in the rain on my afternoon run, get blown over by the wind on my walk to the coffee shop and watch the stars on a perfectly calm, clear night. Melbourne is called the “four seasons in one day city” and I now see why.
~ We’re having an upcoming “mystery night” for the youth. It involves things like traveling all over the city, finding one of the church members dressed as a leopard and hiding in a store, searching for a kidnapped girl, and running around a mall . I’m excited about that and I think it’s a great way to help reach the youth.
~ Once people find out I’m American (usually after I open my mouth) they generally ask me one of two things. A.) Have you shot a gun? B) What do you think about Obama? Isn’t he amazing? Hmmm……
~Wagley's Wonderful Weekly Australian Slang Lesson:
Wagging= skipping. i.e: Shelby was so excited about the A on her paper that she WAGGED up and down the hall.
Lollies= candy i.e: Matt chose a Heresy bar for his Lollie but Ken decided to go with a Reese’s. NOBODY ever uses the word candy.
Runners= sneakers or Nikes. i.e: To play basketball Mary had to bring her runners.
Floss= cotton candy i.e: At the fair Jenny had so much floss that she threw up on the ride.
Boy= girl. Just playing
~“Who is Helen Keller?” Some friends and I got into a conversation the other day and this is the question that was brought up. What? Helen Keller! So again, it was my duty as an American to find the proper words to describe this incredible women and her amazing achievement. How can I give them an idea of what she means to us Americans? However all I could get out was “um she was some blind and deaf chick who did some cool things.” Fail. Again. Man I gotta get better at describing things that are common knowledge in America.
~ 2 layers of socks, 3 layers of long sleeved shirts, a scarf, gloves, long johns, jeans, and a jacket. On any given day this is my attire. Not that I wear all of these items of clothing every single day but I’ll wear most of it. It’s particularly off-putting when I see a kid half my age running by me in shorts and sandals. It’s not that Australian winters are any colder than Texas winters but the fact that in Texas, people heat their houses and close their doors and windows.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I Don't Get Australian Humor (Warning: Very Random Blog)
What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor? Help I can’t find my tractor. What? I don’t get this. Australian humor is a very complicated thing and I can only hope to progress (or is it regress?)to that level of understanding during my year here. Ha! I find that I am quickly adjusting to my new way of life. The thick, unique Australian accent is becoming much less noticeable. Now when I speak to people here I think their accent sounds completely normal (what is normal anyhow?). Just the other day I was talking to two girls for a while. One of them eventually told me that they were Americans and had just come to this country to visit. I didn’t notice their lack of Australian accent because it's become so familiar to me! I suppose the next step is to actually sound like one myself. Hmmm that should be interesting. I’ll call it the Australian twang.
Australia still seems like some huge, unfamiliar country where almost anything can happen. However, I think that this makes it more interesting. One of my favorite things to do is to tour the city during my runs and get to know the place I live in. It’s great because I almost never run in the same place twice. I actually live on the outskirts of the city so it’s not so overwhelming to a small town girl such as myself. The most amazing thing is that I live 1200 meters from the beach, a mile away from a huge shopping centre, a mere walk to some quant shops and bakery’s, and right by a few ethnic food places. I find that almost all the restaurants here are privately owned. In fact, the only restaurant I’ve seen that I actually recognize as a chain is TGI Fridays. The rest feature authentic, ethnic cuisine like Thai, Turkish, Greek, Indian, and Middle Eastern food which seems to be conveniently placed by my house. This fact makes me happier than a kid at Christmas.
My youth job seems to be pretty busy but not completely overwhelming. I’m really enjoying getting to know the kids. They’re all great. It’s been a great experience and I’m just trying to build relationships and become somebody that they can come to. And guess what? I’m coaching a girl’s basketball team! Don’t laugh. I know, I know. Most of you have seen me play basketball but this doesn’t mean that I can’t be a good coach. Right? In America, some people would say to me “you’re tall, you must be good at basketball”. But here it’s a bit different. The Australians say “You’re American, you must play basketball.” Unfortunately both groups are wrong and this example just goes to show that assumptions are almost never true. I think I should have a microphone of something when I coach during a game because I’m so quite nobody can hear a word I say. And if they could they still wouldn’t understand it. “Um put your hands up, grab that thing. Yeah I mean the ball. Run fast. You’re the post guard now. Um… I mean point guard. No I mean post. Run fast. Go. Jump high. Punch her in the face” I’m joking about the last one.
“Um… we usually don’t put our feet on the subway seats.” These are the words spoken by my kind Australian friend after I had used the subway seat in front of me as a foot rest for over 10 minutes. I was wondering why she kept looking at my shoes. I thought she was just interested in my super cool cowboy boots. Apparently here in Australia putting your feet on things other than the floor is seen as extremely rude. Oops. I’ve also found that I tend to have some trouble identifying the appropriate bill I should give the cashier. Their money looks so different. It’s extremely colorful, completely wrinkle free and much better looking. Coins here go up to $2. I dread buying something in a store because I fumble with the bills for a while before I decide which one to use.
Randomness:
~ To get a better idea of Australia, it’s best to think of it like America except everything is mini size. The food portions are much smaller and in turn the people are generally smaller (weigh less). Coffee cups are mini size. Sometimes I want to look at the food and say “well that looks nice but do you have something other than the sample”. LOL. The trash cans are mini size! It might hold 2 egg cartons. The grocery stores are much smaller but don’t necessarily have less stuff. Everything is just crammed into a smaller space and people tend to have trouble getting their buggies down the isle.
~ I’ve seen one pickup truck since I’ve been here.
~ I get to do a little nursing home visitation in some of my time and it’s been so much fun. There’s something unique about visiting people that have lived all of their 95 years of life in Australia. They can tell me so much about Australian history plus they love my accent!
~ I seem to become quite enamored with the grocery stores here. They’re a bit different than in America. There is one by my house and I sometimes just go in it to stare at everything. There are so many different types of food! I’m sure the people there think I’m such a weirdo. Some random girl who just stands there and stares at food for long periods of time. That’s me.
~ Oatmeal is called portage, trash cans are called rubage or dust bins (never ever trash cans) shady or creepy is called dodgy, sidewalks are called walk paths, and flashlights are called torches. More to come later.
~I have liked every new Australian food that I have tried. Except one thing: pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie mind you. The Australians eat pumpkin all the time and I just can’t seem to get that stuff down. I even like something called Vegemite and eat it on my toast regularly. It’s a type of spread and I’ve never tasted anything remotely like it before. The Australians said that I was the first American to actually like it. But please keep the Pumpkin.
~ I’ve never been much of a soda drinker before but I’ve fallen in love with a particular soft drink called solo. It’s hands down the best drink I’ve ever had before.
~ Australians tend to be quite lax about all these dangerous creatures living around them. Just the other day this guy in my youth group nonchalantly told me how he picked up a brick, put it down and saw the there was a Redback spider sitting right by his hand the whole time. They say the Redback spider is the 2nd deadliest spider in the world. Second deadliest! They also have these jellyfish swimming around their oceans that can supposedly kill you with one sting.
~ I tend to forget my camera everywhere I go! I hate this because I’ve seen so many cool things but I can’t even take a picture of it! I’ll try to be better about this.
Australia still seems like some huge, unfamiliar country where almost anything can happen. However, I think that this makes it more interesting. One of my favorite things to do is to tour the city during my runs and get to know the place I live in. It’s great because I almost never run in the same place twice. I actually live on the outskirts of the city so it’s not so overwhelming to a small town girl such as myself. The most amazing thing is that I live 1200 meters from the beach, a mile away from a huge shopping centre, a mere walk to some quant shops and bakery’s, and right by a few ethnic food places. I find that almost all the restaurants here are privately owned. In fact, the only restaurant I’ve seen that I actually recognize as a chain is TGI Fridays. The rest feature authentic, ethnic cuisine like Thai, Turkish, Greek, Indian, and Middle Eastern food which seems to be conveniently placed by my house. This fact makes me happier than a kid at Christmas.
My youth job seems to be pretty busy but not completely overwhelming. I’m really enjoying getting to know the kids. They’re all great. It’s been a great experience and I’m just trying to build relationships and become somebody that they can come to. And guess what? I’m coaching a girl’s basketball team! Don’t laugh. I know, I know. Most of you have seen me play basketball but this doesn’t mean that I can’t be a good coach. Right? In America, some people would say to me “you’re tall, you must be good at basketball”. But here it’s a bit different. The Australians say “You’re American, you must play basketball.” Unfortunately both groups are wrong and this example just goes to show that assumptions are almost never true. I think I should have a microphone of something when I coach during a game because I’m so quite nobody can hear a word I say. And if they could they still wouldn’t understand it. “Um put your hands up, grab that thing. Yeah I mean the ball. Run fast. You’re the post guard now. Um… I mean point guard. No I mean post. Run fast. Go. Jump high. Punch her in the face” I’m joking about the last one.
“Um… we usually don’t put our feet on the subway seats.” These are the words spoken by my kind Australian friend after I had used the subway seat in front of me as a foot rest for over 10 minutes. I was wondering why she kept looking at my shoes. I thought she was just interested in my super cool cowboy boots. Apparently here in Australia putting your feet on things other than the floor is seen as extremely rude. Oops. I’ve also found that I tend to have some trouble identifying the appropriate bill I should give the cashier. Their money looks so different. It’s extremely colorful, completely wrinkle free and much better looking. Coins here go up to $2. I dread buying something in a store because I fumble with the bills for a while before I decide which one to use.
Randomness:
~ To get a better idea of Australia, it’s best to think of it like America except everything is mini size. The food portions are much smaller and in turn the people are generally smaller (weigh less). Coffee cups are mini size. Sometimes I want to look at the food and say “well that looks nice but do you have something other than the sample”. LOL. The trash cans are mini size! It might hold 2 egg cartons. The grocery stores are much smaller but don’t necessarily have less stuff. Everything is just crammed into a smaller space and people tend to have trouble getting their buggies down the isle.
~ I’ve seen one pickup truck since I’ve been here.
~ I get to do a little nursing home visitation in some of my time and it’s been so much fun. There’s something unique about visiting people that have lived all of their 95 years of life in Australia. They can tell me so much about Australian history plus they love my accent!
~ I seem to become quite enamored with the grocery stores here. They’re a bit different than in America. There is one by my house and I sometimes just go in it to stare at everything. There are so many different types of food! I’m sure the people there think I’m such a weirdo. Some random girl who just stands there and stares at food for long periods of time. That’s me.
~ Oatmeal is called portage, trash cans are called rubage or dust bins (never ever trash cans) shady or creepy is called dodgy, sidewalks are called walk paths, and flashlights are called torches. More to come later.
~I have liked every new Australian food that I have tried. Except one thing: pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie mind you. The Australians eat pumpkin all the time and I just can’t seem to get that stuff down. I even like something called Vegemite and eat it on my toast regularly. It’s a type of spread and I’ve never tasted anything remotely like it before. The Australians said that I was the first American to actually like it. But please keep the Pumpkin.
~ I’ve never been much of a soda drinker before but I’ve fallen in love with a particular soft drink called solo. It’s hands down the best drink I’ve ever had before.
~ Australians tend to be quite lax about all these dangerous creatures living around them. Just the other day this guy in my youth group nonchalantly told me how he picked up a brick, put it down and saw the there was a Redback spider sitting right by his hand the whole time. They say the Redback spider is the 2nd deadliest spider in the world. Second deadliest! They also have these jellyfish swimming around their oceans that can supposedly kill you with one sting.
~ I tend to forget my camera everywhere I go! I hate this because I’ve seen so many cool things but I can’t even take a picture of it! I’ll try to be better about this.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Australians like Texas Accents. (Warning: VERY LONG POST)
Jet lag is worse than being kicked by a kangaroo. I have come to this conclusion not by being kicked by a kangaroo but rater by experiencing jet lag to its fullest. How do I know this then? Well I’ve seen kangaroos and I have seen their feet which leads me to wonder if I would trade in the feeling of jet lag for the sensation of being kicked by a kangaroo. I might change my mind if for some reason a kangaroo ever actually decides to be so kind as to kick me but for now I’m going to go with that. I usually do not write such strange things in a blog post nor do I really think of such things on a regular basis. However, I think I’ll go ahead and blame it on jet lag. In fact, I’ll go ahead and blame every crazy thing I’ve done these past few days on the awful, awe-inspiring feeling of jet lag.
I have attempted more than half a dozen times to get into the drivers seat when someone takes me for a drive. (Aussies drive on the left side and therefore the steering wheel is on the right side) I have also let out a high pitched yell and covered my face when my friend proceeded to drive on the left side of the road. Why did I do this? Um….jet lag? Less than 24 hours after arriving to Australia I was asked to say a few words in front of the whole church. Everyone was sitting in silent anticipation waiting for the American to say something thought provoking. Um… did I mention I was jet lagged? I actually ended up rambling on to the congregation about how I lived in Louisiana for many years (this had nothing to do with what I was supposed to talk about). I believe I used the phase “I’m really excited to be here” about 13 times during my talk. Right before I was called to talk I had to leave the congregation because of a spontaneous coughing fit. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the last time I had a crazy coughing fit. I also did it on the first day of classes. Yep, jet lag.
The other day I decided to take a train home from the camp that I went to for a week (very good camp btw). Granted I have never used the train before as transportation system but it did seem to be a good idea at the time. It wasn’t. Long story short I took the wrong train, ended up in some random town that had graffiti all over the walls, all the while carrying a 45 pound bag on my back and accidentally knocking over anyone crazy enough to get in my way. But a few hours later I was safely back in the home that I was supposed to be in. In the end it was a good experience for me because it taught me how to get around and rely on myself. Jet lag? Um…yep sure. I also attempted to tell my youth minister and his family a joke from America. Note here that the same meaning applies for the slang term “crabs” in America as well as in Australia (do I really have to explain further?). I’m sure everyone knows this joke. Why don’t crabs share? Because they are shellfish! Well that’s not exactly how I said it. Nope. I proceeded to ask the youth pastor “why don’t we share crabs here?” Jet lag!!! Unfortunately, I’m only able to milk the excuse of jet lag for so long. By the time my next post comes along I would have already recovered and would then have to be fully accountable for my actions. Well I suppose I can always use the justification of “oh that’s just what we do in America” for every single embarrassing thing that I end up saying or doing. Eventually though they are bound to figure out that most of the stuff I do is just because I’m Hannah Wagley.
Since I’m an observer I have found some random tidbits of knowledge during my first week here that I hope you find interesting:
~ Australians are tough, Texans are wimpy. Not really but I have found this to be true when it comes to warming houses in the winter. It is so cold everywhere I go (it’s winter here now). Australians don’t really heat their house very much. I don’t believe many houses have central heating. In fact the normal temperature in most houses is around 50-58 F. This is nuts! And they leave windows and doors open all the time! It’s winter here! Winter!
~ Don’t get excited (like I did) when you weigh yourself on a scale and find the number is 53. This is not pounds! It’s kilograms. Australians also use KJ instead of calories, litters instead of gallons; centimeters instead of inches (ask someone how tall they are. It’s in centimeters!), kilometers instead of miles, and probably most importantly, Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. So again, don’t get excited like I did when you see the speed limit is 100.
~ When someone says “would you like to have tea at my house tonight” this means that they have invited you for supper. Not tea. When someone says “we didn’t get any morning tea” this means that they missed breakfast. However, when someone says “lets have a cup of tea” (which they do quite often) then this means lets have a cup of tea. But sometimes this means lets have a snack and no tea is ever actually served. Very confusing.
~Iced tea is unheard of. Chicken fried steak is unheard of. Fried catfish is unheard of! Ahhhhh! No one that I have talked to yet has ever actually heard of fried okra or even okra for that matter.
~ I’ve never seen so many cyclists and runners in my life. These people are crazy. I live close to the beach and at certain times of the day cars can hardly get past the cyclists on the roads. They are everywhere! I love it.
~ Australians seem to drink from the tiniest cups I’ve ever seen. During a meal I’ll get up several times just to refill my cup. For the most part, Australians don’t really drink with their meals. There’s been many meals that I’ve had were I was dying of thirst and there didn’t seem to be any cups or liquid around.
~ Apparently it rarely rains where I live. And the city of Melbourne doesn’t have many water reservoirs. This means they have very little water to spare. It is strongly suggested by the government that we can only have three minute showers. I’ve noticed how people here go to great lengths to conserve the water. I’ve never seen so many dirty cars. My host family will take the water from the bathtub they used via bucket and put it in their garden. I have yet to see a sprinkler in the yard. Hmmm….maybe this explains why they have such small cups?
~ Australians don’t tip (for the most part). Not even in restaurants. Most waiters make more than $15 an hour so it’s not necessary. This is the way to go!
~ “How did you go? or “How are you going” This was a confusing phrase b/c it wasn’t used in the context I was familiar with. When Aussies say this it means “how did you do?” or “how are you”
~ If you meet a girl in Australia there’s a 50% chance that her name is Kate. Well I’m exaggerating quite a bit but I’ve never met so many girls named Kate (Kat, Katharine, Katy, etc…) than I ever have before.
~Austrian coffee is so much better than American coffee. I’m a bit of a coffee addict and much to my extreme delight I have found that Australian coffee shop coffee is much better tasting than American coffee. However, when they make coffee within their houses it is much different and worse than drip coffee in America. Everyone does powder coffee instead of the real stuff from coffee machines.
~ Australians love Texas accents! I thought they might.
I love Australia and the differences in culture. Australians are some of the nicest, friendliest people you will ever come across. I look forward to my time here and writing about everything I have learned and observed.
I have attempted more than half a dozen times to get into the drivers seat when someone takes me for a drive. (Aussies drive on the left side and therefore the steering wheel is on the right side) I have also let out a high pitched yell and covered my face when my friend proceeded to drive on the left side of the road. Why did I do this? Um….jet lag? Less than 24 hours after arriving to Australia I was asked to say a few words in front of the whole church. Everyone was sitting in silent anticipation waiting for the American to say something thought provoking. Um… did I mention I was jet lagged? I actually ended up rambling on to the congregation about how I lived in Louisiana for many years (this had nothing to do with what I was supposed to talk about). I believe I used the phase “I’m really excited to be here” about 13 times during my talk. Right before I was called to talk I had to leave the congregation because of a spontaneous coughing fit. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the last time I had a crazy coughing fit. I also did it on the first day of classes. Yep, jet lag.
The other day I decided to take a train home from the camp that I went to for a week (very good camp btw). Granted I have never used the train before as transportation system but it did seem to be a good idea at the time. It wasn’t. Long story short I took the wrong train, ended up in some random town that had graffiti all over the walls, all the while carrying a 45 pound bag on my back and accidentally knocking over anyone crazy enough to get in my way. But a few hours later I was safely back in the home that I was supposed to be in. In the end it was a good experience for me because it taught me how to get around and rely on myself. Jet lag? Um…yep sure. I also attempted to tell my youth minister and his family a joke from America. Note here that the same meaning applies for the slang term “crabs” in America as well as in Australia (do I really have to explain further?). I’m sure everyone knows this joke. Why don’t crabs share? Because they are shellfish! Well that’s not exactly how I said it. Nope. I proceeded to ask the youth pastor “why don’t we share crabs here?” Jet lag!!! Unfortunately, I’m only able to milk the excuse of jet lag for so long. By the time my next post comes along I would have already recovered and would then have to be fully accountable for my actions. Well I suppose I can always use the justification of “oh that’s just what we do in America” for every single embarrassing thing that I end up saying or doing. Eventually though they are bound to figure out that most of the stuff I do is just because I’m Hannah Wagley.
Since I’m an observer I have found some random tidbits of knowledge during my first week here that I hope you find interesting:
~ Australians are tough, Texans are wimpy. Not really but I have found this to be true when it comes to warming houses in the winter. It is so cold everywhere I go (it’s winter here now). Australians don’t really heat their house very much. I don’t believe many houses have central heating. In fact the normal temperature in most houses is around 50-58 F. This is nuts! And they leave windows and doors open all the time! It’s winter here! Winter!
~ Don’t get excited (like I did) when you weigh yourself on a scale and find the number is 53. This is not pounds! It’s kilograms. Australians also use KJ instead of calories, litters instead of gallons; centimeters instead of inches (ask someone how tall they are. It’s in centimeters!), kilometers instead of miles, and probably most importantly, Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. So again, don’t get excited like I did when you see the speed limit is 100.
~ When someone says “would you like to have tea at my house tonight” this means that they have invited you for supper. Not tea. When someone says “we didn’t get any morning tea” this means that they missed breakfast. However, when someone says “lets have a cup of tea” (which they do quite often) then this means lets have a cup of tea. But sometimes this means lets have a snack and no tea is ever actually served. Very confusing.
~Iced tea is unheard of. Chicken fried steak is unheard of. Fried catfish is unheard of! Ahhhhh! No one that I have talked to yet has ever actually heard of fried okra or even okra for that matter.
~ I’ve never seen so many cyclists and runners in my life. These people are crazy. I live close to the beach and at certain times of the day cars can hardly get past the cyclists on the roads. They are everywhere! I love it.
~ Australians seem to drink from the tiniest cups I’ve ever seen. During a meal I’ll get up several times just to refill my cup. For the most part, Australians don’t really drink with their meals. There’s been many meals that I’ve had were I was dying of thirst and there didn’t seem to be any cups or liquid around.
~ Apparently it rarely rains where I live. And the city of Melbourne doesn’t have many water reservoirs. This means they have very little water to spare. It is strongly suggested by the government that we can only have three minute showers. I’ve noticed how people here go to great lengths to conserve the water. I’ve never seen so many dirty cars. My host family will take the water from the bathtub they used via bucket and put it in their garden. I have yet to see a sprinkler in the yard. Hmmm….maybe this explains why they have such small cups?
~ Australians don’t tip (for the most part). Not even in restaurants. Most waiters make more than $15 an hour so it’s not necessary. This is the way to go!
~ “How did you go? or “How are you going” This was a confusing phrase b/c it wasn’t used in the context I was familiar with. When Aussies say this it means “how did you do?” or “how are you”
~ If you meet a girl in Australia there’s a 50% chance that her name is Kate. Well I’m exaggerating quite a bit but I’ve never met so many girls named Kate (Kat, Katharine, Katy, etc…) than I ever have before.
~Austrian coffee is so much better than American coffee. I’m a bit of a coffee addict and much to my extreme delight I have found that Australian coffee shop coffee is much better tasting than American coffee. However, when they make coffee within their houses it is much different and worse than drip coffee in America. Everyone does powder coffee instead of the real stuff from coffee machines.
~ Australians love Texas accents! I thought they might.
I love Australia and the differences in culture. Australians are some of the nicest, friendliest people you will ever come across. I look forward to my time here and writing about everything I have learned and observed.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
I’M GOING TO LIVE IN AUSTRALIA!
I have this life list. On it are a few things that I would like to do before I die. It might be more appropriate to call it my bucket list but life sounds much less morbid. I just realized this, but since I have turned 21 I have been able to accomplish four of those life list goals. In the span of a year I have (in order) biked across America, ran a marathon, graduated college, and now I’m going to go live in another country. Australia! I can’t wait to see what my 22nd year brings. Man I must say God is good.
Life is crazy. I think that my initial Bike and Build “Sea to Sea” blog title was much more fitting than I would have ever thought. I leave to go to Australia today. Today! I’ll stay and work in Melbourne, Australia for a year as a youth ministry intern. I’ll also attend college there and study Bible classes. I’m pretty excited but also fairly nervous. I’m sure there will be plenty of ups and downs along the way (leaving certain people) but I’m ready to ride both. I’ve always been one for adventure so I think that this experience will be as my grandma would say “right up my ally”.
So I’m going to use this blog to cover my times and experiences while I’m in Australia. I’ll do my best to keep it interesting. My goal is to update once a week but there will be times when I write more than that. I just felt that this was the best way to share with my family and friends of my time in Australia. To be honest, I think this blog will be anything but boring if I just keep doing what I do. For those who know me well (or at all) then you know exactly what I mean. For those who don’t, um… I tend to make um… “ditzy” (I hate that word) mistakes especially when it comes to navigating myself through a big city. I’ve lived in a small town my entire life. It’s safe to say that my big city navigating skills are a kin to Barney on the Andy Griffith Show. Great. I’m coming from a town of 2,000 people and moving to a city of 4 million! C’mon this is the girl who has a whole post dedicated to getting lost in Dallas for 2 hours, barely making it to her Peace Corps interview, and then accidentally winding up in the HOV lane on the way back while wondering if that was the lane for blind people (see previous post). Um yep I’ll have plenty of stories to tell. Besides doing stuff like that from time to time just makes life more interesting, right? Well I’m sure my next post will be from the great land of Australia so stay tuned. I've got a 20 hour plane ride to get through and I barely slept a wink last night. Joy.
P.S: For those who were wondering, I did finally get accepted to the Peace Corps but have declined. They wanted me to go to Namibia. I felt that right now Australia was the best place for me to be.
NEAT FACT: I have grown up in the small town of Frankston, Texas most of my life. There is only one other town named Frankston in the entire world. And do you know where that would be located? Four miles down the road from me in Australia! The irony is crazy. I go half way around the world and still end up being only a few miles from the name of my town.
Life is crazy. I think that my initial Bike and Build “Sea to Sea” blog title was much more fitting than I would have ever thought. I leave to go to Australia today. Today! I’ll stay and work in Melbourne, Australia for a year as a youth ministry intern. I’ll also attend college there and study Bible classes. I’m pretty excited but also fairly nervous. I’m sure there will be plenty of ups and downs along the way (leaving certain people) but I’m ready to ride both. I’ve always been one for adventure so I think that this experience will be as my grandma would say “right up my ally”.
So I’m going to use this blog to cover my times and experiences while I’m in Australia. I’ll do my best to keep it interesting. My goal is to update once a week but there will be times when I write more than that. I just felt that this was the best way to share with my family and friends of my time in Australia. To be honest, I think this blog will be anything but boring if I just keep doing what I do. For those who know me well (or at all) then you know exactly what I mean. For those who don’t, um… I tend to make um… “ditzy” (I hate that word) mistakes especially when it comes to navigating myself through a big city. I’ve lived in a small town my entire life. It’s safe to say that my big city navigating skills are a kin to Barney on the Andy Griffith Show. Great. I’m coming from a town of 2,000 people and moving to a city of 4 million! C’mon this is the girl who has a whole post dedicated to getting lost in Dallas for 2 hours, barely making it to her Peace Corps interview, and then accidentally winding up in the HOV lane on the way back while wondering if that was the lane for blind people (see previous post). Um yep I’ll have plenty of stories to tell. Besides doing stuff like that from time to time just makes life more interesting, right? Well I’m sure my next post will be from the great land of Australia so stay tuned. I've got a 20 hour plane ride to get through and I barely slept a wink last night. Joy.
P.S: For those who were wondering, I did finally get accepted to the Peace Corps but have declined. They wanted me to go to Namibia. I felt that right now Australia was the best place for me to be.
NEAT FACT: I have grown up in the small town of Frankston, Texas most of my life. There is only one other town named Frankston in the entire world. And do you know where that would be located? Four miles down the road from me in Australia! The irony is crazy. I go half way around the world and still end up being only a few miles from the name of my town.
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