Never Far From PEI

While living in Ottawa I was never surprised when I met people from home or people from elsewhere in Canada who knew someone from PEI that I knew or at I at lease knew who they were. It happened a lot. I wouldn't have been totally surprised if it had happened in Sydney as it a big city and a popular tourist destination. I never expected it in Coffs Harbour but the other week I met an Aussie girl named Kate (a friend of Gavin's coworker) whose cousin was in my Grade 4 class and in one of my university classes. Small world.

Muttonbird Island

Muttonbird-Coffs
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault.

How have I been keeping busy since arriving in Coffs Harbour? Reading and cleaning are much of my time. The rest is spent going for walks. One great place I found to walk to is Muttonbird Island. It is a little island (attached by a causeway) a short walk from our house. The island is home to mutton birds who nest in the ground but there is a path across it for people to walk. It is a bit of a hike up but has lovely views. Apparently from May to October you can see humpback wales off of it.

One Stop Shop for a D.U.I.

Coffs-Gasandliquor
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault.

Since arriving in Australia I have noticed that drive-thru liquor stores are not uncommon. I was a bit surprised by this. However there is a place in Coffs Harbour that takes "convenience" one step further. It is a liquor store/gas station. Make no mistake, I do not mean a convenience store/gas station that happens to sell liquor. It is a liquor store that sells gas (or vise versa). Very interesting.

Champagne Birthday

When I was about 10 my friend Sarah had her champagne birthday, that is she turned 9 on the 9th of November (or 10 on the 1oth, I can't quite remember). Her mom bought us fake champagne to mark the event. I remember sitting at their kitchen table on Bolger drive drinking my fake champers thinking I'd have to wait until I was thirty to have mine. I couldn't even fathom being that old. It seemed like a million years away. Well...now it is ten days away. In ten days I leave my 20s behind. Yikes.

Oz Observations #2: How to talk like an Aussie

1. If a word ends with er (such as summer, surfer or beer) the er is changed to an ah sound (summah, surfah, or beah). Don't worry, the r sound isn't wasted. See observation 2.
2. If a word ends with an ah sound (such as vanilla, law or pasta) an r is added to the end of the word (vanillar, lawr, pastar).
3. Debut is pronounced dayboo. It kills me.