Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sydeny Aquarium


We got to go to the Sydney Aquarium, which was pretty cool. It isn't quite as cool as Sea World (you don't get to touch any marine life), but there was a lot of diversity. I think it would be better to visit it during the week, so you could actually hear the classical music they play, but maybe next time. Annabelle absolutely LOVED it! She talked to all the fish and animals. She loved that they would swim right by her. She would point and squeel with delight. I think maybe someday she'll be a marine biologist...........okay, probably not, but it was great to see her so excited.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Australia: What's Different

We have learned that when you move to a different country everything is different. Even things that may seem the same end up different. The food here is so different and will take a lot of getting used to. We've learned that Austrlians think American food tastes awful as well. American restaurants have failed here for that very reason (why didn't we get to eat at Chili's before they all shut down =(). Australia does have good bread and great fruit.

The language here is very different as well. We are learning new words everyday. I need to start an American-Australian dictionary. Below is a list of some of the words we have learned. I put the Australian word or phrase first and the American equivalent next to it.

Goodonya: Good for you!
How you going?: How are you doing?
Dummy: Pacifier
Nappy: Diaper
Pram: Stroller
Way Out: Exit
Docket: Check
Mobile (pronounce Mo-bile): Cell phone
Rubish: Trash
Brekky: Breakfast
Savo: This afternoon
Oz: Australia
Lift: Elevators and Escalators
Chemist: Pharmacy or drug store
Unit: apartment
Bottle Shop: Liquor store (we told some guys how to get to a recycling center =)).
Bogan: white trash
Sheila: a woman
Sheepshager: New Zealander (can you tell they’re fond of New Zealanders?)
Dinky-di: the real thing
No worries: thank you, you’re welcome, it’s okay, no problem and about 20 other things =)

There are a lot more, but those are just the ones we've figured out and can remember right now. Probably one of my favorite stories is from Dave's work. At lunch one day a coworker of Dave's was going off about things people put on cars here. About 20 mintues into his rant Dave was like, "why do people here put French Panties on their cars, I've never seen that?" They all laughed because they were talking about the flowers Frengi Pennies, but Dave couldn't understand them. They eventually wrote it out for him. My embarassing story comes from another thing that is different here, kissing. To greet you and say goodbye, people here kiss on the cheeks. At Dave's company party, his boss went to kiss me (he tried twice) and since I didn't know what he was doing I gave him a cool handshake and patted him on the back. It was very awkward, but I learned my lesson. Now I know people are trying to kiss me, but it still weird, I'm not a fan of it.