The most common question that I am asked by people both here
and back home is, “What’s it like/ do you like living in Australia?” Because there is not a simple answer to their
question I usually reply, “Oh, it’s really neat or It’s not that different or
Sometimes it’s a little weird but it is really similar.” The reality is that living in Australia is
one of the coolest experiences of my life.
It is also one of the most difficult things I have ever undertaken.
The term “alien familiarity” may appear to be an oxymoron
however it is the best term that I can use to describe my time in this
beautiful country. There are so many
wonderful things that are unique to Oz.
Certainly the wildlife comes to mind but the fauna are just a part of
the habitat in which they dwell. Western
Australia, especially the Avon Valley, is a rolling landscape filled with tall
grass prairies and granite outcroppings.
The fields of green are broken up intermittently by glorious bursts of
the yellow flowers of canola fields. I am told that as winter and spring begin to
fade that all of this incredible color will be replaced by the drab colors of
dormant foliage as the harshness of summer sets in earnest.
Have you ever been in a public place when you heard a
strange accent and were unable to resist the urge to turn and peek at the origin
of the strange sounds? In Australia, my
family and I are the strangers that speak with funny accents. While this land is full of immigrants, many
of whom still have heavy accents, it seems that at times that no one from the
US has every visited the quaint town of Northam. (I know this to be untrue
because James and Holly live here!) So
while everyone around us speaks English (or at least a variation of it) we
sometimes find ourselves confused or the subjects of quizzical amusement. Here is a sampling of the words that we’ve
found confusing and/or entertaining.
Biscuits- a cookie, scones – a biscuit, bickies(?)- cookies, stiff
bickies – tough cookie (colloquialism), bikie – biker, firie – fire fighter,
call – to visit someone in person, ring – to call someone on the phone, tea – a
meal (anytime of the day), cuppa – as in cup of coffee (can be an invitation to
join someone for a cup of coffee or tea), rockmelon – cantaloupe, mocka –
mocha, chemist – pharmacy. There are
many more that currently escape me however you get the picture.
By the way, it is football season in Australia. The passion for the AFL rivals that of the NFL. Here you can catch a “match” on Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday. The ball is a
similar shape to the football I grew up with and they use their hands and feet,
they tackle, there are 22 players on the field, and you can score six points in
an attempt, however that is where the similarities cease. I cannot explain “footy” with any sort of clarity
except to say that it is highly entertaining to watch! I encourage you to search Australian Rules
football on YouTube see for yourself this confusing but exciting
phenomenon. Cricket is also on the “telie”
but I have yet to comprehend it.
Finally, let me say that I wish I had paid more attention to
the metric system. In Australia they
have embraced the metric system. (mostly)
They measure everything here in meters, Celsius, grams, etc. (Expect for cooking where you will find that
they still use cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons and carpentry where inches, feet,
and yards still apply) I have adapted to Metric for the most part but I still
have trouble telling the barber how many millimeters long to leave my hair.
Lynn Raburn warned Amanda and I, "The hardest part for you will be that everything feels so different yet looks so similar." Bro Raburn you were correct sir. It is the greatest blessing and the biggest obstacle.
