A couple weeks ago (they use the term "fortnight" here like a normal word, hehe) we went to a sustainable living festival here in Melbourne and stopped by the Engineers Without Borders booth and subsequently joined the group online. Tonight we went to our first EWB meeting in the city along with about 20+ other local members. We met at a downtown bar and fully expected a handfull of middle aged men in suits dryly discussing engineering topics. We were pleasantly surprised to find a mostly younger crowd (our age or a bit older) about half of which were females and who were all very into the multitude of projects, big and small, that the organization orchestrates. They were also a very social group, appearing to be "our kind of people": smart, involved, fun, professional, extremely good looking...you know who I'm talking about.
As an added bonus, we talked to a few people who suggested that we send our resumes their direction to be passed along to interested parties in their respective companies. Frankly, we were hoping for some sort of networking like this to occur, so we're glad that we fit in and got to talk to some nice folks who may have openings at their places of employment. A group of them even invited us to dinner after the meeting, so we shared a nice meal around a lazy susan in Chinatown. All in all, it was a success and we will be contacting the 2 represented companies tomorrow with our resumes.
In other news, our travel visa runs out (i.e. requires us to leave the country and come back in to renew it) on March 15th. We are planning on heading to NZ just before then for a couple weeks to meet our visa requirement and to apply for a different visa that will allow us to work. This temporary work visa was not available when we left the States and it should help us to get work upon our return. We have to apply and receive this stupid visa while outside the country, which is the only tricky part. They say it only takes 2-4 weeks to process, so we're really hoping that they go faster than the US government is known for so that we can come back and get one of these jobs before the fire goes out. I have faith that we will 1) get our foot (feet?) in the door at at least one company, 2) have an awesome NZ vacation, 3) receive our new work visas in a timely fashion while on vacation, 4) come back to a nice job that pays us money. Cross your fingers for us.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Footy
We attended our first game of Australian Rules Football last night, loving nicknamed "footy": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Rules_Football. We live about one block away from the Telstra Dome, a large sporting field with a retractable roof that can hold just over 50,000 people. I thought it might be bad living right next to such a monstrosity - that there would be lots of noise and traffic during events - but it's so unobtrusive that I had previously thought that they weren't even hosting events there at all. I was wondering how they actually make money there, but I found out that events are held there all the time without any sign of noise or congestion to speak of - excellent.We attended this event at the invitation of a couple that we met through the meetup.com event about a month ago, Lindsey and John. This is not the couple I just introduced, this is the couple that took us to the beach (damn sunburns) a few weeks ago. They had two friends (an Aussie couple from work) along as well.
We got there at about 6:30pm, about 45 minutes before the game started to get good seats since it's general admission. I find it strange that the footy game is general admission while the movie theaters assign seats...I digress. So, we got seats at the field level right at center field - pretty much perfect. And we were slightly under the overhang of the balcony above which allowed us to avoid the rain when it started about halfway through the game. It only rained for a few minutes anyway, but I was happy to have cover.
To start, the field is huge. I see why they use 18 players from each team to play a game - there's no way to cover the field otherwise. The field is a giant grassy oval - Kane estimated it to be about twice the size of an American football field (lord knows I have no idea). Footy is not American football. It's not soccer and it's not rugby. It's a whole different game entirely from any of these games. There is a ball which is oval shaped - sort of like a football but smaller and with no points at the ends. There are goals at either end of the field, but instead of there being two goal posts to make one goal area, there are four posts making three goal areas. If you kick the ball between the middle two posts, it's 6 points, between the outer posts is only 1.
You can pass the ball by either kicking it in the air (drop kick) or by hand passing, which is like serving underhand in volleyball; you can't just toss it to someone. There are no time outs and the game does not stop at all unless the ball goes out of bounds or a goal is scored at which time they either throw the ball back in or do a jump ball type thing, respectively. It is virtually continuous for the entire 4 quarters (with 5-15 minute breaks between quarters) and it looks exhausting. To get the ball from the other team you either tackle the person with the ball (no pads) or intercept, and these two actions are often intermixed. It's basically complete chaos on the field for four 25-ish minute quarters.
My favorite part of the game was the shouting coming from the fathers, brothers, and other random men (and women, they're just not as loud). It was great. Standard heckling and anger at what they envision to be poor calls by the umpires was ever present and just as entertaining as the game itself. There was one guy a couple rows behind us that had the perfect coliseum heckling voice: loud, gruff, assertive. He kept yelling insults at whichever team that he didn't like, but he kept all the abuse to a G rating which made it even funnier. "You idiot!", "Get up you wimp!", and simply, "Girl!", were among his most commonly used taunts, though he did venture toward some more obscure name-calling with "Mongrel!" and "You're such a twit!". It was great, the crowds here are excellent.
We both had a good time, despite it being a bit to cold for my taste (they left the damn retractable roof open for some reason). They do the standard coliseum-style food: hot dogs, chips, french fries, soda, beer, but they actually had a bit larger of a menu including meat pies (very popular here, it looks like dog crap in a pot pie), burgers, ice cream bars, and a few other things. I was sad to see nachos missing from the menu, but that crap is poison anyway. I even saw a veggie burger on one of the menus, though we made a point to eat before hand to avoid that junk.
All in all it was fun and, though I don't think I'm going to start attending religiously, it was a nice event to go to with friends once in a while (like an A's game), and a good old fashioned Aussie experience. After the game we hung out at John and Lindsey's place, ordered some pizza, watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and played with their newly acquired didgeridoo. It was a good night, see wiki for info on the strange native Australian instrument: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoo.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Introducing
I would like to introduce everyone to our new friends Marc and Alana. I mentioned them briefly before as the couple who invited us out to dinner, but we ended up having to leave because Kane was sunburn-sick (for those that are blog followers). Since then, we have hung out with them multiple times and they are both very cool. Marc is a Kiwi (New Zealander) who does web design for a company that his parents own. Alana is a native Minneapolis-ian (?) who has lived in NZ for the past three years before coming to Melbourne with Marc almost a year ago. As they are our best (and pretty much only) friends here, I will likely mention them again in the future. So, everyone, meet Marc and Alana, they are very cool.
On a different topic, we're into month three of our stay here, and therefore approaching the final third of our allowable stay on our visa. After three months in the country on a travel visa, you have to leave the country and when/if you come back, you get another three months. This can continue for a year. We were intending on having jobs by now which would have hypothetically sponsored us for work visas that would allow us to stay for up to four years. Those of you who have been in contact with one or both of us know that it has not been as easy as we had thought/hoped.
The easy way to get a job in Australia is to go to a recruiter. These are middle-man firms that match up employees with employers and take a fee from both to do so. It doesn't sound so bad except that it is not uncommon for these businesses to take 15-18% of your negotiated salary for the first 6 months! That is like thousands of dollars! So, we've been trying to do without these people, and figure that this much time with no income is better than giving a bunch of money to them. It's been relaxing at least, if not boring, not to have a job for a while.
So, we've been looking up companies online, getting references from people we meet, etc. Kane called a place Monday to ask about a Mechanical Engineering job that they were advertising on their website. Once they heard that he had done structural work, the woman indicated how they were really hurting for structural engineers, so Kane sent both of our resumes over. Their immigration lawyer called us later that day to ask about our visa situation. So that's promising, but we'll have to see how it works out. I don't know if they are willing to go through the hoops of sponsoring us for a visa, but we'll see.
Next week we will start looking for tickets to New Zealand if we haven't heard from that company- yeay, a forced vacation. Until then, we'll just have to see what happens...
On a different topic, we're into month three of our stay here, and therefore approaching the final third of our allowable stay on our visa. After three months in the country on a travel visa, you have to leave the country and when/if you come back, you get another three months. This can continue for a year. We were intending on having jobs by now which would have hypothetically sponsored us for work visas that would allow us to stay for up to four years. Those of you who have been in contact with one or both of us know that it has not been as easy as we had thought/hoped.
The easy way to get a job in Australia is to go to a recruiter. These are middle-man firms that match up employees with employers and take a fee from both to do so. It doesn't sound so bad except that it is not uncommon for these businesses to take 15-18% of your negotiated salary for the first 6 months! That is like thousands of dollars! So, we've been trying to do without these people, and figure that this much time with no income is better than giving a bunch of money to them. It's been relaxing at least, if not boring, not to have a job for a while.
So, we've been looking up companies online, getting references from people we meet, etc. Kane called a place Monday to ask about a Mechanical Engineering job that they were advertising on their website. Once they heard that he had done structural work, the woman indicated how they were really hurting for structural engineers, so Kane sent both of our resumes over. Their immigration lawyer called us later that day to ask about our visa situation. So that's promising, but we'll have to see how it works out. I don't know if they are willing to go through the hoops of sponsoring us for a visa, but we'll see.
Next week we will start looking for tickets to New Zealand if we haven't heard from that company- yeay, a forced vacation. Until then, we'll just have to see what happens...
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Smokers
To precede this rant, I want to say that I mean no personal offense to anyone. To each his own and all that, everyone can make their own decisions and suffer their own consequences and that's fine. Having said that, this cursed town is full of smokers!! We walked some errands today, traversing probably three miles around the CBD during mid-day. It was nice to be out in the bustling business district and to walk around this rather impressive city. There are a lot of cool venues, old rad architecture, sweet skyscrapers, sculptures, public areas, parks, etc. in this town. Overall, I would say Melbourne is set up very well and has a lot to offer a resident. I'm really enjoying living in a large metropolitan area.
The only major complaint I have about this place is the ridiculous quantity of smokers. All ages, sizes, shapes, men, women...so many folks smoke!! And I couldn't care less if they're not bugging me, but walking around town during business hours means being constantly accosted by second hand smoke from people who are now doubt on their smoke breaks, or, as I like to call it, their slacker/cancer breaks.
I guess I've never lived right in a big city before, but I could swear that there aren't this many smokers in California. I know there are plenty of them, but they seem to usually be limited to the eternally addicted, the white (or insert appropriate color) trash, and the hopeful juvenile delinquents. These people are just random business people. They are dressed nicely, they look professional, and they're standing around in an alley next to their resident high rise smoking a cigarette. Maybe I've been brainwashed by PSAs, but it just looks wrong.
So, I basically dart around the sidewalks strategically holding my breath to avoid the big whiffs, attempting to dodge the hot end of their cancer sticks that they wave around rather carelessly, and ritualistically bitching about them once I'm out of ear shot. I think I may instate a smoker kicking policy when walking down the street. Or, maybe I should try something more subtle like sedative darts. Or, maybe I'll just keep walking, scowling, and silently cursing the smokers who are slowly murdering me while they kill themselves to get 5 minutes off of work every two hours.
The irony is that my face got a bit sunburned while we were walking around today. I'm an idiot. Maybe I should just take up smoking and get it over with.
The only major complaint I have about this place is the ridiculous quantity of smokers. All ages, sizes, shapes, men, women...so many folks smoke!! And I couldn't care less if they're not bugging me, but walking around town during business hours means being constantly accosted by second hand smoke from people who are now doubt on their smoke breaks, or, as I like to call it, their slacker/cancer breaks.
I guess I've never lived right in a big city before, but I could swear that there aren't this many smokers in California. I know there are plenty of them, but they seem to usually be limited to the eternally addicted, the white (or insert appropriate color) trash, and the hopeful juvenile delinquents. These people are just random business people. They are dressed nicely, they look professional, and they're standing around in an alley next to their resident high rise smoking a cigarette. Maybe I've been brainwashed by PSAs, but it just looks wrong.
So, I basically dart around the sidewalks strategically holding my breath to avoid the big whiffs, attempting to dodge the hot end of their cancer sticks that they wave around rather carelessly, and ritualistically bitching about them once I'm out of ear shot. I think I may instate a smoker kicking policy when walking down the street. Or, maybe I should try something more subtle like sedative darts. Or, maybe I'll just keep walking, scowling, and silently cursing the smokers who are slowly murdering me while they kill themselves to get 5 minutes off of work every two hours.
The irony is that my face got a bit sunburned while we were walking around today. I'm an idiot. Maybe I should just take up smoking and get it over with.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Itching
It has been over a week since Kane and I went to the beach and received well-deserved yet unfortunate sunburns. We spent the following four days without leaving the house at all. I realize that this doesn't deviate from our standard schedule as much as it perhaps should, however, it was awful nonetheless. We were in significant pain the first few days - neither of us could sleep any other way than on our backs, underwear was the only welcome clothing, and Kane even opted to take Advil to ease the pain a couple times. Needless to say it was terrible and we won't do it again.
For the past few days we have found that the pain has mostly subsided and that we are peeling. We used an inordinate amount of aloe lotion on these burns, but alas, a couple layers of skin are so irreparably unhappy with us that they are leaving despite our efforts to make amends. I don't really blame them, but I'm still sad to see them go. Not because of the ridiculously uneven tan that I'm giving up, but rather because it's just really annoying.
I remember peeling being fun when I was a kid, and a small amount of that joy did manage to make it through to this episode of skin loss. However, I had forgotten about the initial and continuing symptom that plagues a peeling sunburn: itching. No, the title of this post was not some artistic metaphor for our need to really get out and explore the land or something; we're not that cool so you should just stop hoping that we are. Itching, you think, isn't really that bad - either scratch or don't and then it goes away. Firstly, I'm a scratcher and Kane's not, so that added tension floating around my sunburn doesn't really help. Secondly, I don't know how he doesn't scratch because my itching is something out of a horror movie: it stalks me, wakes me in the night, plagues my dreams and waking thoughts. It is all-consuming. Maybe it has something to do with me being a huge baby in general, but I have never itched so badly and it must be scratched.
Not to mention that I'm not really happy with the entire purpose of the itching. As I understand it, the itch of a sunburn is our body's way of encouraging us to get this dead layer of skin off our bodies. It is an instinctive stimulus and we respond in kind by aiding this molting process. Now, I understand this natural function of human evolution, however, I think it's out of date by a few thousand years. I am no longer a Neanderthal that needs a whole cause and effect situation to do what needs to be done with this sort of thing. It's not like having pain receptors or feeling hunger or something - things that actually let me know, or at least confirm, something previously unknown about my body. No self respecting, opposable thumbed human can avoid - neigh resist - peeling off skin that has formed a neat little "pull here" tab. And even if you could, or, god forbid, the skin was peeling somewhere unreachable (and I thought my burn was bad...), I'm pretty sure it will just come off in the shower or in your typical daily movin' and shakin'. So what's the big deal with itching; it's unnecessary and bothersome and I don't appreciate it. I am submitting this complaint to the god of human evolutionary changes, I think there's an office just downtown. I am also submitting to have people stop having bad eye sight - there's no point anymore, we have glasses, contact lenses, and Lasik; you're not weeding anyone out anymore.
So, I've scratched and scratched and I'm still itchy but now with irritated skin. I've tried not scratching, hoping the itch would take the "I'm not home right now, so go away" hint, but it just persists like the most hard core, knowing-you're-hovering-behind-the-peephole Jehovah's Witness ever to approach your front porch. The only upside is the rare but coveted occasion when the skin does actually decide it's time to depart from the body and Kane and I can compete to see who can get the most gigantic single piece of peeled skin from their torso. Now that's some good old fashioned fourth grade fun. I think I'm in the lead for largest chunk of skin, but he's certainly winning for most overall skin lost. His sunburn damage traversed significantly more body area than mine did, but mine was highly concentrated in an awful spot: the "seam" of skin connecting boob to stomach - very harsh. It may be part of the reason that my skin seems to be suffering more (I'm on round two of peeling); that area is not only really sensitive and (obviously) never sees the sun, but it's also being constantly irritated with each slight bob of my chest. Good times.
Basically, next time we go outside for a prolonged period of time and/or with less-than decent amounts of clothing on (why can't we all just go to the beach in t-shirts and shorts anyway?), we're sunscreening up our entire bodies directly after showering. Why try to anticipate every little crevice that the sun will make it into - we clearly need to cover any and all crevice-like areas of our respective (but not necessarily respectable) bodies. Sun, you are not an enemy, but you are a dangerous friend and we can no longer permit you to just hang around without us preparing properly to see you, similar to being around, say, a rattlesnake or Fran Drescher. We're watching you...(scum).
For the past few days we have found that the pain has mostly subsided and that we are peeling. We used an inordinate amount of aloe lotion on these burns, but alas, a couple layers of skin are so irreparably unhappy with us that they are leaving despite our efforts to make amends. I don't really blame them, but I'm still sad to see them go. Not because of the ridiculously uneven tan that I'm giving up, but rather because it's just really annoying.
I remember peeling being fun when I was a kid, and a small amount of that joy did manage to make it through to this episode of skin loss. However, I had forgotten about the initial and continuing symptom that plagues a peeling sunburn: itching. No, the title of this post was not some artistic metaphor for our need to really get out and explore the land or something; we're not that cool so you should just stop hoping that we are. Itching, you think, isn't really that bad - either scratch or don't and then it goes away. Firstly, I'm a scratcher and Kane's not, so that added tension floating around my sunburn doesn't really help. Secondly, I don't know how he doesn't scratch because my itching is something out of a horror movie: it stalks me, wakes me in the night, plagues my dreams and waking thoughts. It is all-consuming. Maybe it has something to do with me being a huge baby in general, but I have never itched so badly and it must be scratched.
Not to mention that I'm not really happy with the entire purpose of the itching. As I understand it, the itch of a sunburn is our body's way of encouraging us to get this dead layer of skin off our bodies. It is an instinctive stimulus and we respond in kind by aiding this molting process. Now, I understand this natural function of human evolution, however, I think it's out of date by a few thousand years. I am no longer a Neanderthal that needs a whole cause and effect situation to do what needs to be done with this sort of thing. It's not like having pain receptors or feeling hunger or something - things that actually let me know, or at least confirm, something previously unknown about my body. No self respecting, opposable thumbed human can avoid - neigh resist - peeling off skin that has formed a neat little "pull here" tab. And even if you could, or, god forbid, the skin was peeling somewhere unreachable (and I thought my burn was bad...), I'm pretty sure it will just come off in the shower or in your typical daily movin' and shakin'. So what's the big deal with itching; it's unnecessary and bothersome and I don't appreciate it. I am submitting this complaint to the god of human evolutionary changes, I think there's an office just downtown. I am also submitting to have people stop having bad eye sight - there's no point anymore, we have glasses, contact lenses, and Lasik; you're not weeding anyone out anymore.
So, I've scratched and scratched and I'm still itchy but now with irritated skin. I've tried not scratching, hoping the itch would take the "I'm not home right now, so go away" hint, but it just persists like the most hard core, knowing-you're-hovering-behind-the-peephole Jehovah's Witness ever to approach your front porch. The only upside is the rare but coveted occasion when the skin does actually decide it's time to depart from the body and Kane and I can compete to see who can get the most gigantic single piece of peeled skin from their torso. Now that's some good old fashioned fourth grade fun. I think I'm in the lead for largest chunk of skin, but he's certainly winning for most overall skin lost. His sunburn damage traversed significantly more body area than mine did, but mine was highly concentrated in an awful spot: the "seam" of skin connecting boob to stomach - very harsh. It may be part of the reason that my skin seems to be suffering more (I'm on round two of peeling); that area is not only really sensitive and (obviously) never sees the sun, but it's also being constantly irritated with each slight bob of my chest. Good times.
Basically, next time we go outside for a prolonged period of time and/or with less-than decent amounts of clothing on (why can't we all just go to the beach in t-shirts and shorts anyway?), we're sunscreening up our entire bodies directly after showering. Why try to anticipate every little crevice that the sun will make it into - we clearly need to cover any and all crevice-like areas of our respective (but not necessarily respectable) bodies. Sun, you are not an enemy, but you are a dangerous friend and we can no longer permit you to just hang around without us preparing properly to see you, similar to being around, say, a rattlesnake or Fran Drescher. We're watching you...(scum).
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
So You Think You Know Aussies?
Coming Feb '08: You've seen Australians on TV; You've heard a few Aussie accents at random local establishments over the years; You loved Olivia Newton John in Grease...So, You think you know Aussies??
For those of you who think you know some stuff about Australia and its quirky culture, or would like to know some, here's some trivia for you. Since I can't put the answers upside down on the bottom of the box, I'll just put them right side up...at the bottom of this entry. So take your best guess at what these crazy Aussies are all about, and remember: this is only the stuff that we've noticed so far...
Level 1: Gimme Questions (or stuff I habitually mention in my blog)
1. Which side of the road to the drive on in Australia?
2. What do they call the area of town we call "downtown"?
3. In what time increment do they advertise rent (ex: our apartment costs $ per ___?)
4. What is the standard percent used for tipping at service establishments (restaurants)?
5. What worldwide yearly tennis competition was held in Melbourne last month?
6. What are these words slang for: brekky, uni, avo, telly?
7. What do these words translate to in American English: car park, footpath, singlet, chips?
Level 2: A Bit More Difficult
1. Do Aussies actually say g'day mate?
2. What sports are Aussie 'equivalents' of baseball and football?
3. What denominations does their money come in?
4. What is lemonade?
5. What is the emergency number (911 equivalent)?
6. What are these words slang for: mozzies, rego, piss?
Level 3: Good Luck Figuring This Out
1. What is a gaol?
2. What is dim sim?
3. How is the word "quay" pronounced?
4. What quantity of liquid is a pot of beer?
5. What is virtually the only brand of toothpaste available?
6. What do these words translate to in American English: capsicum, milk bar, bogan, nappies?
Think these over carefully...cue Jeopardy song...doo dee doo doo, doo dee doo...
Answers
Level 1:
1. Left
2. The CBD
3. Weekly
4. 0% - it's standard not to tip (awesome)
5. Australian Open
6. Breakfast, university (which means college), avocado, television
7. Parking lot, sidewalk, tank top, French fries
Level 2:
1. They definitely say g'day and mate, but I haven't often heard them together
2. Cricket and Australian Rules Football, known as "footy" (or, you could argue, rugby)
3. Bills: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5; Coins: $2, $1, $.50, $.20, $.10, $.05 and NO PENNIES!
4. Lemonade is lemon/lime soda (like Sprite or 7up) - this one really pissed me off at first
5. 000
6. Mosquitoes, registration, alcohol (or just beer)
Level 3:
1. A gaol is a jail; it's just some old British way of spelling it. Pronounce the g as a j and it actually does work. Damn Brits.
2. Dim Sim is an Aussie version of a Chinese inspired dumpling dish. See wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sim. I ate one not knowing that it was pork; they're pretty good, though I thought it tasted more seafood-ish. I guess it's just all mushed up hot dog style - probably horrible for you. And, of course, they shorten the name to "dimmy" in good Aussie form.
3. Quay is pronounced "key". Having a hard time with this one
4. A pot of beer is 10 ounces and appears to replace a pint in popularity
5. Colgate, wtf?
6. Bell pepper, quickie mart/convenience store, white trash/hick, diapers
So, that's Round One of "So You Think You Know Aussies"! Enjoy your consolation prizes and we look forward to seeing you again next round. Thank you for playing, and now a word from our sponsors.
For those of you who think you know some stuff about Australia and its quirky culture, or would like to know some, here's some trivia for you. Since I can't put the answers upside down on the bottom of the box, I'll just put them right side up...at the bottom of this entry. So take your best guess at what these crazy Aussies are all about, and remember: this is only the stuff that we've noticed so far...
Level 1: Gimme Questions (or stuff I habitually mention in my blog)
1. Which side of the road to the drive on in Australia?
2. What do they call the area of town we call "downtown"?
3. In what time increment do they advertise rent (ex: our apartment costs $ per ___?)
4. What is the standard percent used for tipping at service establishments (restaurants)?
5. What worldwide yearly tennis competition was held in Melbourne last month?
6. What are these words slang for: brekky, uni, avo, telly?
7. What do these words translate to in American English: car park, footpath, singlet, chips?
Level 2: A Bit More Difficult
1. Do Aussies actually say g'day mate?
2. What sports are Aussie 'equivalents' of baseball and football?
3. What denominations does their money come in?
4. What is lemonade?
5. What is the emergency number (911 equivalent)?
6. What are these words slang for: mozzies, rego, piss?
Level 3: Good Luck Figuring This Out
1. What is a gaol?
2. What is dim sim?
3. How is the word "quay" pronounced?
4. What quantity of liquid is a pot of beer?
5. What is virtually the only brand of toothpaste available?
6. What do these words translate to in American English: capsicum, milk bar, bogan, nappies?
Think these over carefully...cue Jeopardy song...doo dee doo doo, doo dee doo...
Answers
Level 1:
1. Left
2. The CBD
3. Weekly
4. 0% - it's standard not to tip (awesome)
5. Australian Open
6. Breakfast, university (which means college), avocado, television
7. Parking lot, sidewalk, tank top, French fries
Level 2:
1. They definitely say g'day and mate, but I haven't often heard them together
2. Cricket and Australian Rules Football, known as "footy" (or, you could argue, rugby)
3. Bills: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5; Coins: $2, $1, $.50, $.20, $.10, $.05 and NO PENNIES!
4. Lemonade is lemon/lime soda (like Sprite or 7up) - this one really pissed me off at first
5. 000
6. Mosquitoes, registration, alcohol (or just beer)
Level 3:
1. A gaol is a jail; it's just some old British way of spelling it. Pronounce the g as a j and it actually does work. Damn Brits.
2. Dim Sim is an Aussie version of a Chinese inspired dumpling dish. See wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sim. I ate one not knowing that it was pork; they're pretty good, though I thought it tasted more seafood-ish. I guess it's just all mushed up hot dog style - probably horrible for you. And, of course, they shorten the name to "dimmy" in good Aussie form.
3. Quay is pronounced "key". Having a hard time with this one
4. A pot of beer is 10 ounces and appears to replace a pint in popularity
5. Colgate, wtf?
6. Bell pepper, quickie mart/convenience store, white trash/hick, diapers
So, that's Round One of "So You Think You Know Aussies"! Enjoy your consolation prizes and we look forward to seeing you again next round. Thank you for playing, and now a word from our sponsors.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Here Comes the Sun
Yesterday we had our first opportunity to explore outside of Melbourne proper a bit. One of the nice couples we met at the meetup.com event invited us to the beach in Williamstown, about a 15 minute drive south-west of the city. It was beautiful - nice small beach, warm day, gorgeous green/blue water. I wasn't sure exactly what we'd do on the beach, but our friends wanted to mostly layout, which was nice and relaxing. We did not, however, apply appropriate sunscreen. I had sunscreened up before we left, but I did so in preparation for standing sun exposure (i.e. face, shoulders, chest, feet) rather than laying down sun exposure (full body). Once we realized we were going to be laying in the sun, we added sunscreen, but not nearly enough. The day was nice: sunshine, good conversation, nice temperature water, a nice lunch at a restaurant on the beach.
Once we returned, our lack of sun preparation was evident. Kane was pretty burned at first, his whole front and splotchy in the back. My stomach was burned. We showered and I napped a bit and another couple wanted to go out to dinner. So, we gathered the beach couple again and went to meet the other couple for a night out. There is filming going on downtown - it appeared to be a 1940s type movie; we saw the extras in costume and they had blocked off the street. It was pretty cool, couldn't see much though. Anyway, we decided to go to a part of town Kane and I hadn't been before which was really nice.
This area of town reminded me of a quainter version of San Francisco's North Beach area - lots of Italian restaurants intermixed with boutiques and shops (minus the nudie bars though). It was very nice. Kane started to feel nauseous so we actually had to leave before even ordering dinner, but we will surely return. We're pretty sure it was his sunburn accosting his body that made him feel ill, and realized it probably would have been better just to rest that night. We came home and he went to bed lathered in aloe.
By then, his sunburn had progressed to cover his entire front and back, parts of his legs and face. I hate to see him hurting!! As of this morning, his back and legs seem to be a lot better, it's just his front and parts of his face that got it pretty bad and will give him trouble for a few days. My stomach got it pretty good and other splotchy parts (good splotchy Doctor splotchy) such as right armpit and right hip. Good times. We heart aloe vera.
Well, lesson is live and learn. I figure if you're learning a lot you are either: in school, living a lot, or not too bright. I like to think we're living a lot, though you can draw your own conclusions.
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