It's Not Winter

It Is Summer

A lot of things are different about Australia compared to the US. For example, they think everyone in the US is obsessed with the WWF...

www.wwf.org

   Unfortunately they do not mean this WWF, the World Wildlife Fund, which is what Google thought I meant. Thank you Google for thinking I care about the world, but not this time. I meant this WWF...

http://sportales.com/wrestling/where-are-they-now-remembering-the-wwf-wrestlers-from-the-80s/

Our Friday evening was spent finding ridiculous wrestling videos to show our roommates and trying to explain what the WWF is to our french roommate. If she didn't think Americans were crazy before, I'm pretty sure she does now.

  So, I am quickly learning that there are some things about my life now that I will just have to accept. The first being that people will make rash generalizations about who I am based on pop culture - who knew! (apparently from the 80's, is the WWF still around?) It also took me a little while to go to the correct side of the car as a passenger. The right side is for drivers now. Speaking of cars, this is what the standard truck (or Ute as they call it) looks like:

   I still giggle when I see them, but I'm sure this type of truck is useful here and functional for better gas mileage. If you're not all that interested in cars, and I try not to be, don't worry Australia has some amazing bike lanes.

http://www.cnngo.com/sydney/play/cyclists-revolution-bike-paths-cover-sydney-509438

http://www.sydneycyclist.com/photo/1321712:Photo:25659

  The bike lanes here are enormous. Cars still don't know what to do about a cyclist on the road, but the infrastructure sure helps.

   And then I see this sign and my brain feels like it needs the babel fish from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I think I might start carrying around my towel, just in case.


   Other things I have to get used to are the outlets, which have an on/off switch.

   I am still in shock about the price of clothing. I am not too keen on spending ~$400 on a pair of hiking boots. Also, I have noticed a lot of signs for arcades in downtown areas. At first I thought Australians must really like to play games, but an arcade is another word for strip mall. I did find my first outlet mall, Market City. There weren't too many shops and the clothing quality was not worth the prices.

    Then there is the food. We see advertisements for meat pies everywhere. John has had them before and so I gave it a try.

   I only had one meat pie, beef and cheese, and John's was beef curry, but let's just say I am not rushing back to have another.


   We are settling in though. Our room now has a few things of our own. We bought a wardrobe, because we do not have a closet. Apparently a lot of Australian homes do not come with built in closets of any sort. We also got a doona, formerly known as a duvet. When I first arrived, John and I zipped out sleeping bags together as a temporary comforter. Our new doona is a welcomed alternative and makes me feel more at home.

    Lastly, it is summer here. All of the blogs I read are talking about winter knitting, fall cooking, cyclocross races, sewing for cold weather, and preparing for Halloween (people don't seem to care about Halloween around here). I love winter, but I cannot fathom making a stew for dinner, or lusting over the newest patterns over at the Purl Bee. It is time to find some blogs that are experiencing the same weather as me. Recommendations are always appreciated.


Cheers,
Carrie