Aussie Life

I have tried and tried to put my finger on what makes Australia different from the USA, and I just haven't been able to do it. 

This is definitely part of it!

You wouldn't find this around Utah!

 The flora and fauna are certainly different too!

These birds strut around everywhere.  The park right next to our house has a pond (not the one in the picture below) and these birds love hanging around!

It isn't uncommon to see tropical birds hanging around.  I haven't seen a kookaburra yet, but I hear them on an almost daily basis.  They're really loud....sometimes they sound like monkeys!

I don't know if I'll ever be able to keep up on the Aussie Slang.  See if you can guess what these words mean in American English!

Esky

Torch

Zed

Icy Pole

Brekkie

Fairy Floss

Nappy

Bathers

Mozzies

Bogan

Bush

Chook

Kindie

Lollies

Maccas

Sunnies

These are just some I could think of off of the top of my head. Are you ready for the answers?

Esky- A cooler that you keep drinks in

Torch- Flashlight (I have caught myself naturally using toarch!)

Zed- This is what Aussies generally say for 'Z' instead of Zee

Icy Pole- Popcyle

Brekki- Breakfast

Fairy Floss- Cotton Candy (I confess, I love this one!)

Nappy- Diaper (I'll never get used to this...)

Bathers- Swimming Suit

Mozzies- Mosquitoes

Bogan- The equivalent of calling someone ghetto or trashy

Bush- Forest

Chook- Chicken

Kindie- Kindergarten

Lollies- Candy

Maccas- McDonalds (this isn't just street slang...they call themselves that in the commercials.)

Sunnies- Sunglasses

They shorten words all the time.  Like Ambo for Ambulance or AirCon for Air Conditioner.  

Weirdos.

Familiar Face, Familiar Place!

I took a walk with Owen (the kid I nanny, guess I didn't mention his name!) earlier this week.  While strolling along, I ran into a familiar face!

  The Perth LDS Temple is just right up the street! This is the first place in Australia that I have seen that looked like it would fit in at home :)

This was actually the first thing I saw.  I crossed the street and went around the right side of the church house, and turned left to take the pictures of the temple.  That tiny building in the back right of this picture is the Perth Mission Office.  The church house also holds the family history center, and the employment center. I strolled around the building for a little while, and spoke with some Elder's hanging outside the mission office.  There was an Elder from South Jordan named Elder Bangerter.  If that didn't give me a taste of Utah, I don't know what would...except Cafe Rio.

Work

 I spend my days hanging out with this little guy.  He has an older sister, but she is in daycare full-time, so I don't really watch her. He has turned out to be actually a pretty difficult child, despite how pleasant he comes across in this picture.

One thing I LOVE about my job, is the house.  I like houses here in general more than I like them at home.  They're all unique and charming. And check out this pool! Also, there is something great about hanging laundry on the line.  We have one of those spinning clothes lines in our backyard, but I have yet to fore-go the dryer for the line...I may have to change that soon.

 Who doesn't love this key?

 All of the main rooms have a ceiling as awesome as this, but they're all different!

The house is right across from an amazing park which we visit often.  We also take lots of walks since being in his pram (Aussie speak for stroller) is one of the only times he doesn't shriek like a banshee.

My work isn't far from home...maybe a 20-25 minute walk.  We got me a bike so I can ride it back and forth on the days that Matt is at work with the car.  Speaking of the car, I have actually driven a bit by myself, and I rarely get honked at anymore!

The Most Handsome Man Alive!!

I am so lucky to live with the most incredible guy in the whole of Australia, if not the world!  He is charming and sensitive.  He is always there at the door to greet me when I get home from work, like he couldn't wait one more second to see me.  He knows when I want company, and when I need my space.  He never hesitates to give me kisses whenever I want them. He never fails to bring a smile to my face, and I simply don't know what I would do without him. 

I don't know what I'd do without Floyd.

It Grows!

Welcome to our garden!! I am very lucky to have a man who likes to cook homemade meals.  This means we go through fresh herbs pretty regularly.  We decided to become industrious and plant an herb garden to save some money, and for the convenience.  We started with parsley, basil, thyme, and coriander (fact: coriander and cilantro are the same exact thing!!).  After those were doing well we added oregano, and some tomatoes. Now we have just gotten cocky, and added peppers, onions, chives, and some more tomato plants.  We weeded this whole plot, and we'll eventually transfer all of these into the soil. Off to the right in this picture we already have the onions, some tomatoes, and oregano in the ground. The soil here is basically just sand, so we figured we'd give them all a good start with the gardening soil. 

 

Our first tomato!! Wish him luck!