Lighter fare

I've been getting requests for blog topics, so am happy to oblige as much as possible. We will begin with Australian oddities.

First, $$$$$$$$$. Everything here is SUPER expensive. At first, we thought it was just apartments, then just drinks, now we realize it is everything. Let me give you some examples.

A banana - $1
An apple - $1
Green peppers - $7/pound
Loaf of bread (not specialty, just the mass produced stuff)- $4
Head of lettuce - $3
Paperback novels (not the nice, bigger trade paperbacks, just the crumby little glossy-covered ones) - $30. That's right, three-zero. Paul nearly choked.
A bar of chocolate - $2. Small bars are $1.20, and Cadbury's bars like Fruit and Nut are $2.50
A movie - $15.50 (per person, and that is at the alternative cinema. No cheapie nights. That said, the concession food is cheaper than in North America)
2-bedroom apartment - anywhere from $300 to $1000...per WEEK. The $300/week apartments aren't nice, so we aren't at the bottom, but we aren't near the top.
Bike helmet - cheapies are over $50
Sneakers - $200 (not the special ones, just a pair of normalish joggers. But if you go to the markets and are willing to buy last year's models, the prices come down to $100).
Cell phone calls - $1 per minute on the cheapest plan we could get

As you can see, the increase in salary here is necessary, because the cost of living to soooo high. Paul and I are easily spending $100 a week on groceries, usually more.

That said, there are a few things we really like about society here and how it functions. First is the fresh food. All of the fruits and veggies are grown in Australia, and so the transportation of food over long miles is less. Also, the farmers here receive no subsidies. None. That means that they have to charge more for the food, but all of the farming is sustainable (at least until the water runs out) and only based on demand. So, we have been okay with paying a bit more for the fresh food.

Second is their water conservation. Years ago, they legislated toilets that had a maximum of 6L per flush, and all of the toilets have the option of a 3 or 6 L flush, depending on what you are trying to flush down. You get the drift. In North America you have to buy specialty water-efficient toilets to get as low as 6L. Of course, you do kind of lose the energy efficiency if you have to flush more than once ;-) People save their shower water to water their plants, and you are not allowed to put a hose on to your grass or garden. There is an ad campaign encouraging showers of less than 4 minutes, rinsing food in standing water rather than running the tap, etc. It all makes a lot of sense, and it is necessary in this desert country. Paul and I are realizing how much we have always taken water for granted.

The counter to that is that they seem to be terrible at energy conservation. On the one hand, every appliance comes with a sticker touting its energy efficiency. On the other, you can pass stores and government buildings on any hot day, and the air outside, around the door is cool with air conditioning.

Australians like to speak with as few syllables as possible, though sometimes the abbreviated form isn't actually shorter. Everything is shortened with "ie", or just cut off altogether. Residents in the hospital are resies, registrars are regs, tutorials are "toots", Australians are Aussies, Tasmania is Tassie. Bickie is a biscuit (no cookies), prezzie is a present, brekkie is breakfast, footy is football (they have their own version that is a mix of American football, soccer, and rugby), mozzie is mosquito, barbie is bar-b-que (obviously), cardie is a cardigan. The list goes on. Needless to say, Jenny is easy for them. The most readily apparent strange saying is "How you going?" whic gets slurred together a bit to sound like, "Hayagowen?" It doesn't look all that strange when written, so you will just have to take my word for it. Whenever asked, and people ask frequently because they genuinely care, I still have to resist the temptation to raise an eyebrow at the grammar. Of course, we aren't much better. We ask, "How are you doing", which is regularly shortened in normal conversation to "Ha-ya doin'?" and don't bat an eye. We haven't really heard much "How ya goin' mate?", and have only heard "G'day" a couple of times.

Whenever you apologize for something, the standard response is "no worries", and flip-flops are thongs. Everyone seems to own a pair of thongs. Paul got a blister between his toes trying them, and he hasn't put them back on since. The other day one of the registrars fed one of the babies, and said "I was feeling clucky", to indicate motherly.

There is a park called Batman Park, and a street named Batman road. Apparently someone with the last name Batman was an early settler, and Melbourne was almost called Batmania.

We have seen the stuff called Vegemite, but are a bit afraid to try it. They do have cream-cheese spread in a jar, and it looks tempting. Can't find molasses, and although they have giant sections of baked beans, it is all in tomato sauce or bar-b-que sauce. The bar-b-que sauce, by the way, is gross. They don't have vegetable shortening, and I can't even find lard, though they have this stuff called copha that is coconut shortening. I'm a bit frightened to cook with it. The gummy bears and jellies are WAY better than in North America - they actually have flavor. The chocolate cooking squares and chocolate chips suck - less flavor. One little treat we have found is Turkish Bread. I don't know if it is actually Turkish, but it is a really yummy. Especially toasted with butter. Mmmm.

Overall, though, people here are people, and they are very kind. We've been invited for beers, and on trips with our building superintendents. We have had no problems getting around, and are loving our time here. We are settling in to as much of a routine as my crazy schedule will allow (I just finished 3 12-hour days in a row, and tonight I go in to work from 8pm til 9am for 4 nights in a row.) We miss home, but I'm now going to start planning our first trip, to Tasmania, so there is lots to look forward to.