watch out, i might walk into you

(ok, I wrote this yesterday on the 13th but I’m just posting it today… so just remember, I wrote it yesterday)

Today is a new day. I don’t feel that pathetic anymore, hooray! I now have twice as many friends as I had yesterday. That’s right, I have 2 friends. Maybe if I continually make 1 friend a day, I’ll feel right at home.

So things I have noticed:
Obviously they drive on the opposite side of the road here. We drive on the right side they say they drive on the ‘correct’ side. Clever, clever. However, this also transfers over in to what side of the hallway or sidewalk you walk on. I have repeatedly been staying to the right, cause that’s how it is in America, and thus many times running into or startling people who are walking towards me. I am in their walking space; I should be on the left hand side of the hall. Furthermore, their escalators are placed backwards. You go up on the left side and come down on the right. I’m not used to this yet. And their elevators are called lifts. And their restrooms are called toilets. That’s the proper public way to refer to them. The toilets.

They spell roadside curbs as ‘kerbs’. Why? I have no idea.

They have a lot of different flavors of chips like ‘honey soy’ and ‘salsa and sour cream’ but one of their favorites seems to be ‘chicken’ and all sorts of kinds of chicken. I never noticed ‘chicken’ flavored chips back home, but perhaps there is a whole market for them in American of which I was unaware.

All Aussies answer questions with ‘yeah’ then go on to give their answer. They say ‘yeah’ as if acknowledging they understood your question and now they are prepared to answer.
Fer examps:
‘so you took 3 months off due to injury, how have you been coping?’
‘yeah, well it’s been hard’

‘do you sell newspapers here?’
‘yeah, actually we don’t, but they do down the street’

‘have you seen any ‘roos today?’
‘yeah, I haven’t’

they show oprah and days of our lives here. I hope I’ll be home during the afternoon to watch.

Apparently the prime minister here is not really revered as a great man. And as luck would have it, he’s bff’s with dubya. And now that their prime minister has spoken out against obama, the pm’s level of acceptance has gone down even more here. Dubya has made some good friends.

They call convenient stores ‘news agents’
Their pharmacies are called ‘chemists’

With their light switches, ON is down.

The pound button on the phone they call Hash

Their currency, Australian Dollars, is much better organized than ours. First of all, they outlawed 1 cent and 2 cent pieces back in the 80’s. THEY ROUND EVERYTHING. Today my bill at the grocery store was A$30.23. but they round to A$30.25. I think it’s fabulous. No large amounts of unnecessary change. AND if it had been A$30.22, I would have only paid A$30.20. such practical people here. However, they are huge fans of 1 dollar and 2 dollar coins. Considering a 5 dollar bill is their lowest note, they use the 1 dollar and 2 dollar coins often. It’s strange having coins of significant value, something I’ll have to get used to.
Furthermore, their bills are pretty. And as the amount of the bill goes up, the bill’s physical size gets larger. And each amount has it’s own color. AND, I guess for blind people? On each bill, depending on its amount, has a certain shape cut out in one of the corners and replaced with plastic. Like a windmill or a flower. Anyway, it’s sensible, practical, and pretty.

The fashion here is very much like American clothes; nothing too flashy and pretty comfortable. But ladies, Australian women LOVE the dress with oversized belt look. I mean, every woman is wearing some form of it.

And watching their parliament, the house of representatives, is awesome. It’s like the British house of Commons or Lords where you just debate all day and ask the prime minister or members of his cabinet direct questions. It seems they have an underlining set of rules on etiquette and respect, but it still allows for all sides (labor, national, liberal (pm’s party)) to take cheap shots at each other
Labor Party:
Deputy Prime Minister… it is reported that you were unaware of the announcement made by the Prime Minister last week concerning water cleaning. Does the Prime Minister tell you anything?
Oohhs and aahhs from the rest of the politicians

Labor Party:
Mr. Prime Minister, why did it take a vote in order to present the queen of England a gold encrusted carriage as a gift, yet you did not ask us for permission to take over the basin management project?
Ooohhhh, aahhhhh

They also must direct all statements to the speaker... ending all sentences with “Mr. Speaker.” It’s awesome. He has a gavel and yells out ‘order, order’ when the politicians get loud with grumbles in response to the answers given. And it seems as the answers get longer and longer, the member being questioned gets louder and louder. Screaming his points out of excitement. It’s fun. And the supportive side yells out ‘here, here’ after their party speaks. Everyone is constantly in the hot seat. Real life political debating... or just middle-aged men bickering for the sole purpose of inflating their egos.

I haven’t read any local celebrity gossip mags yet, but I’m looking forward to it. I did see a commercial for one, called Woman's Day... all about celebrities, i hope it's not expensive. I also subscribed to a year of the local newspaper for only 15 aus bucks, so now I’ll be just as informed as a local.

missing you all!