Interac / Eftpos

When I do any shopping here in the land of OZ I usually use my bank card to pay. Here that service is called Eftpos. The system works exactly the same as in Canada. The procedure is a whole other kettle of fish. Here is what happens when I show a cashier that I am paying with a bank card:

1. The cashier takes the card from me.
2. They swipe the card for me.
3. They ask me if it will be on Savings.
4. I say no, it is cheque (not called chequing here).
5. They push the account button for me.
6. They then allow me to put in my own PIN number.
7. They give me my card back.

The first two steps make sense. I am sure it is painful for cashiers to watch shoppers continually swipe the wrong way. It is the following steps that boggle me. Isn't the whole idea of mounting the device on the counter facing the customer to allow the customer to enter their own information? Sometimes they don't even ask me what account I want they just enter Savings. It is one of those everyday things that always reminds me I am living in a foreign land.

I Knew I was Adapting to Life in Australia When...

...I smelled ripe mango at the grocery store and my first thought was Christmas.

CBC Bar?

CIMG5446
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

On a recent walk in my neighbourhood, just past the House of Fetish, I noticed a bar with a logo suspiciously like the CBC logo. Interesting.

I Won! I Won! I Won...Third.

My horse, Mourilyan, came third. A bit of a surprise. I think I win $6...and third place gloating rights. Not too shabby.

$2 on Mourilyan

Today is Melbourne Cup day. The Melbourne Cup is Australia's big horse race. Everyone watches it. Workplaces have sweeps. My horse is Mourilyan. He isn't the favourite but I have a good feeling about him. I drew his name out of a hat so I have to make the best of it. Goooooo Mourilyan.

Red Dawn

Red Dawn
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

I woke up bright and early Tuesday morning. When I peered out the window I wondered if I had been transplanted to Mars. The air was orange. Gavin assured me I was not on another planet, it was was just a dust storm (just a dust storm?).

I went out and took a few pictures. I wasn't out early enough to get the really orange-red sky. I was early enough for there to be very few people noises. It was an eerie feeling being out in the quiet orangeness of the morning. There was an airless quality to the atmosphere. It felt a bit like I might be in a sci-fi movie...one where I might have to defend our house from zombies or a crazy virus.

When the air cleared (without any zombie attacks) there was a fine red dust on everything. Reminded me of home.

Oz Observation #5 - The Restaurant Bathroom

I know I mentioned this in a previous post but thought it deserved a post of its own. So here we go:

1. In many restaurants in Australia you have to go through the kitchen to get to the bathroom.
2. Sometimes that bathroom is indoors - just on the other side of the kitchen. Sometimes it is outdoors -through the kitchen, down the steps, around the corner, past the dumpster, to the left along the short alley (or something like that).
3. When I say you have to go through the kitchen, I mean you have to go through the kitchen. You could actually have a stickybeak in a few of the pots on the stove, perhaps steal a spring roll or chat with the cook about how he gets the sauce just right.
4. Of course I would never do any of the things in point #3 because even though this is the way things are done it still feels wrong. I always ask a waitress permission to go to the toilet (even though no one else seems to and it makes me feel like I am in grade 4 again) and I feel really guilty walking through the kitchen (head down, try not to me seen).
   

Oz Vocabu-slang #2

Stickybeak

1. (noun) a busy body.
2. (verb) to pry or to snoop.

This is one of my favourite pieces of Aussie slang. I don't know why. Perhaps it is the funny image of a person with a long beak that pops into my head when I hear it. Maybe it is the way it pops off the tongue (Say it, you'll see).

Canada Day Down Under

Canadian Club Party
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

Canada Day was well celebrated in Sydney. Two pubs had parties that offered caesars, Moosehead beer, and poutine. The odd thing they also advertised was pancakes. I have never thought of pancakes as particularly Canadian. After a little thought I made the maple syrup connection.

Due to other commitments we weren't able to make it to either of the pub parties. We did however make it to the Canadian Club luncheon where about 70 odd people celebrated Canada's birthday. Gavin and I also had a party at our house complete with Nanaimo bars, caesars, and a few other snacks ordered from OCanada.com.au.

I don't think I ever did so much to celebrate Canada Day while living in Canada.

My Very Own Curling Rink

Wee Curling Rink
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

I bought a curling rink for only $5 last week. Admittedly it will fit on top of the kitchen table with room to spare for chips and a drink. It even came with rocks and wee little brooms. There will be curling at our house for Canada Day. Let's hope I am better at this than I was at the real thing.

Canadian Club on the Rocks

No this isn't my new favouite drink. The Canadian Club is a group Gavin and I have joined that, funnily enough, meets in an area of Sydney called 'the Rocks'. They meet once a month for drinks. Some months there are other events such as bush walks, wine nights, and picnics. The group seems to be mostly made up of Canadians and their Aussie partners though there are also a few Canadians over here for work and even a few Aussies who just love Canada. We've been along to a couple of meetings, met some nice people, and, gosh darnit, I just love hearing a familiar accent.

A Very Thin Visitor

Flat Stanley and Gavin
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

We had a very special visitor at our new house in Sydney a few weeks ago. His name was Flat Stanley. He was sent to us by my cousin Harrison. Gavin and I had a great time showing our guest around, taking some pictures, and keeping a journal. Some of the things we did were:

• Walk across the Harbour Bridge.
• Explore the Royal Botanic Gardens.
• Eat crocodile pizza.
• Watch a rugby game.
• Visit the Opera House. We ran into another Flat Stanley on the steps.
• Visit Luna Park.
  

At the end of two weeks we packed him and the journal up and sent him back to Harrison and his class at Southern Kings Consolidated on PEI. Check out some of the pictures from his visit.

Double Denim

Gavin Turns 30
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

Gavin entered his 30s on the 30th of April. How did we celebrate this momentous occasion? With a double denim party. Before coming to Australia I was unfamiliar with the term double denim. Double denim is when a person wears both jeans and a jean jacket (apparently it also call it the Canadian tuxedo). We had lots of denim jackets and jeans at the party. We also had denim hats, shorts, dresses, overalls, slippers and headbands. Good times. Check out the pictures.

I Smell a Rat

I'm considering changing the name of this blog to Dancing with Pests and Vermin. First we had cockroaches, ants and slugs. Then then there was a million little spiders. Now we have a rat living with us. Not a little mouse but a big brown rat. He has just moved in. We chased him out the back door on Sunday but I think he is back. Hopefully he will like the little treats I have left for him.

Slug Shot

Papa Slug
Originally uploaded by ami_arsenault

We have moved. Gavin and I are renting a little house in the city. It is old and full of "character"...and pests. We had the usual cockroaches, ants and spiders. We have gotten them down to a manageable numbers. However we have one unexpected pest...slugs...in the bathroom. As you can see they grow 'em big here.

A Shocking Discovery

Yesterday I headed to the grocery store to get Graham Cracker crumbs to make a pie crust. I went down the baking aisle. They were nowhere to be found. I thought to myself, perhaps they don't sell the ready made crumbs in Australia. I went to the cookie/cracker aisle. I walked up and down several times checking every package. There was nothing that even looked like a Graham Cracker disguised with a weird Aussie name. I ended up leaving with something I thought were going to be like Teddy Grahams but were not.

When I got home I did a Google search and made a shocking discovery...Graham Crackers do not exist in Australia. Now I wonder, what do they make cheesecake crusts out of?

Oz Vocabu-slang #1

ice block (noun):

1. Flavoured ice on a small wooden stick; in Canada is called a popsicle.
2. Flavoured ice in a long, narrow, clear, plastic bag; in Canada is called a freezie.

In these hot summer months this word has come to frustrate me. There doesn't seem to be separate terms for these two items. If we have both of these things in the freezer and Gavin asks if I would like an ice block there always has to be a clarification of what I actually want. This clarification is always followed by a tirade (by me) about the need for two different terms for these fairly different things. Now we just keep one or the other item in the freezer.

7 Things

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from my brother Dennis informing me that I have been tagged! There was a link to his blog. After reading the rules I wasn't going to participate as I have no friends with blogs to link to. Dennis has told me to do it any way. So I am.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the original tagger and list these rules in your post.

2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.

3. Tags seven people at the end of the post by leaving their names and links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they have been tagged.

7 Things:

1. During my elementary school and junior high years I had a lot of pen pals. I loved getting letters. I had pen pals from Illinois, New Hampshire, India, and Australia. I wrote to my Australian pen pal for several years. She loved Bon Jovi and Anne of Green Gables. I don't know where any of them are now.
2. I love Alanis Morisette. When she puts out a new CD I usually rush out and get it the day it is released.
3. I once had a roomate named Garfield. Shaun and Bryan, my other roomates, and I hoped he would be like the cat. Instead he worked at a strip club (after dropping out of his truck driving course), was a drug addict, "dated" a girl named Candy, and left with the DVD player and without paying his rent. We took our anger out on the dresser he left behind. We also had the locks changed.
4. I studied classical Greek for five semesters at university. At the time it seemed like a good idea. Sadly, I have now forgotten a lot of what I learned.
5. I think mangoes are better than candy...chocolate included.
6. Every year I try to read 52 books (one for each week of the year). I have never been able to do it. Some weeks I am able to read 3 books others weeks I don't get through any. I keep track of them in a little book. I always put a rush on at the end of the year but I never make it. Last year I managed 40 books. My highest was 43 in 2005.
7. The one country I would really like to visit is Russia. My husband is not so keen.

The tag ends with me as I have no blogging friends to link to.

Picture Perfect

Thanks to my brother, Dennis, I have a new photo gallery. It is located at www.dancingwithkangaroos.com . From now on I will be posting photos here instead of on Flickr.