Carpe Via

Here a just a few observations and facts that I’ve picked up in this first month…

* People here are very nice. Not fake or guarded but genuinely nice.

* Vegemite is made by Kraft.

* Australians love Australia and other Australians.

* The magazines highlight Russel Crow, Nicole Kidman (Our Nic) and Kylie Minogue.

* Former famous Australians include the Bee Gees, INXS and Olivia Newton John.

* Bands and performers are reviewed based on how often they tour Australia.

* McDonald’s is called “maccas.” The first franchise in Australia was the only one to ever go out of business. They advertised “a taste of America.” They have since opened others successfully.

* The seagulls here are as big as pigeons.

* The bats are as big as eagles.

* I can’t find Ranch dressing, refried beans, rootbeer, or my favourite Auzzie brand conditioner.

* Drinking is not such a sensitive issue–their former Prime Minister went on television “pissed as a newt” (drunk as a skunk) on the morning after Australia II won the America’s cup and said “anyone that fires someone for missing work today is a complete bastard.”

* Swearing isn’t as big of a deal either.

* Many businesses and shops are closed from December 24th thru January 15th for Christmas and summer holidays.

* They eat kangaroo.

* Non-blockbuster movies arrive months after they appear in the US (too expensive to make copies).

* Prostitution is generally legal here – and is, conceivably, a tax write off

* There are huge “Smoking Kills” signs where ever cigarettes are sold.

* People speak quieter here.

* Collect calls are called Reverse calls.

* Bell peppers are called capsicums.

* Toilet paper is called a dunny roll.

* The average Australian is better looking than average.

I can’t believe it’s been over a month. In many ways it still feels like we’re on vacation. Maybe that’s because the weather is so hot or because our furniture hasn’t arrived yet, or maybe, perhaps, because we still don’t have jobs.

That said, I am actually beginning to settle in. I found a studio where I go to write, signed up for classes and I’m starting to have more energy to get things done. It’s funny how moving takes it out of you. One of my friends wrote in an email that she barely left the house her first week of a big move. There’s just something about it. Things just take longer. On my first day of classes, it took me over an hour and a half to navigate the busses. Now it takes me just 20 minutes to get to the same place.

Not that settling into Sydney is hard. It’s the most comfortable city I’ve lived in. Lots of trees, clean streets and the people are very friendly and open. It seems very safe to walk around at night –I haven’t found any ghettos or ‘bad’ areas– and very easy to get around the various neighborhoods, although the buses and trains are a bit expensive ($2 one way). In many ways I feel as if I’m just in another city in the states, instead of 13,000 miles away on a different continent.

Got a bit homesick at first but it was for no place in particular, more of a feeling of home. To be with family and friends, to be settled a bit. So in the first couple of weeks I discovered a great substitute–an Australian TV series calles ‘The Secret Lives of Us.’ It’s like a racier, more realistic Friends. Jen, you would love it.

Anyway, enough about adjusting. Needless to say, when my real-life friend Jasmin arrived from San Francisco, I was delighted. We did lots of tourist things and saw a good bit of the city. Her husband Joe arrived a couple of days later and we rented a Moke for a drive up the Northern Beaches.

Sadly, it rained most of their visit. But they soon grew to love to our coffee shops and highly productive schedule of reading, eating muesli, and watching the cricket.