I confess that a wintery July is still something weird to me; I've been in Australia for 7 1/2 years, but opposite seasons are still odd.
I confess that I still don't accurately know how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. That's what a smartphone is for. I told my husband about this post, he tried to explain it to me, and this was my face:
Same goes for anything to do with the metric system.
I confess that I now call that space where I urinate or defecate the "toilet" (instead of the "restroom" or "bathroom").
Same goes for "rubbish" (instead of the American alternative as "trash").
I confess that I still don't understand Australian politics...something else the husband tries to educate me on...again, Brit Brit helps me out by showing my face when he tries to explain:
I confess that I still don't like to be called a "Yank". This term does not accurately refer to all Americans.
I confess that I still think it's funny when people ask if I'm Canadian. (I promise, I do not sound like I'm from anywhere close to Canada.)
In all fairness...I confess that before I moved here, I couldn't tell much of a difference between Australian, British, and Kiwi accents. (There's a big difference.)
I confess that I enjoy Australians' use of curse words...like, they aren't offended by curse words...and they don't think someone is "unladylike" because she curses. Fuck yeah.
I confess that the bureaucracy of immigration stresses me out to no end.
I confess that I will pay $3 for a can of Dr Pepper because sometimes I really, really want a Dr Pepper.
I confess that I still get "sticker shock" over the cost of some things...like, $18 for a margarita.
I confess that I still love playing tourist and tour guide in this city (and should do it more often.)
I confess that I still believe Sydney, Australia is one of the most amazing cities in the world, I am blessed to call it my second home, and if you ever get an opportunity to visit, you should do it!
(Oh, hey, Chris Hemsworth, he's an Aussie, it's like this widget was made for this post!)
I just double the temp in Celsius and add 30 then take a couple away. I'm sure that not that accurate. I just know that if its 30 I will be sweating and go from there! I still get annoyed that my weather channel won't show me the temp in f anymore. I also say toilet and because of teaching I catch myself saying mum, h (not sure how to spell the way they say it, and the bin. I don't think you need understand politics because it doesn't seem like most Australians know what's going on either.
ReplyDeleteOur politics is screwed up --- for your own sanity, you're better off not understanding it.
ReplyDeleteBefore I came here, I couldn't tell the difference between the Aussie and Kiwi accents. Of course, now I can. I still can't tell the difference between American and Canadian accents unless they say a few words like 'out' or 'about' :P
Immigration must be worse now...when I got my residency, it was bad but not as bad as it got later.
Expat living is interesting...something I've been thinking about recently. It can get a bit alone in Sydney. In spite of all the people...
What a cool post! I love hearing your observations about Australia. Also, I think there's something ingrained in us Southerners to despise being referred to as a "yank". :)
ReplyDeleteI wanna visit Australia!!! I still confuse Australian and British accents sometimes, but if the person speaks long enough I can usually figure it out. And I do not understand the Celsius Fahrenheit conversion either. Celsius just seams to be always cold to me haha.
ReplyDeletesydney is on my list for sure. yeah it's weird that they call everyone yanks. it would bug me too. and rubbish is way more fun than trash. i'd pick that up too ha. and no one knows how to convert fahrenheit to celsius. haha.
ReplyDeletexoxo cheshire kat
I do what Courtney (above) said with the C to F conversion when traveling. A friend of mine in the UK taught me that little trick years ago. It's not exact, but it gets you in the ballpark of closeness. :) I am with you. I was getting a tad burned out with the weekly confessional thing, too, and was glad to see it become a monthly thing. But, guess who forgot that today was the first Wednesday of month? This gal, here. LOL! Oh, well... I really don't have much to confess right now anyway so it's probably for the best. Have a good one!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'd love to visit Australia one day! So exciting you get to live there although I'm sure you miss being home too. Yank - as a girl from the south . . . ahhh, no. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI was watching UK Big Brother & was shocked what they showed on TV & their language used. ON TV> I guess the use of foul language around the world is so different. Like in India, can't you get arrested for cursing? So funny how that works.
ReplyDeleteoh i am with you on Celsius to Fahrenheit! i know Fahrenheit kind of, but i couldn't convert it to save my life, if that makes sense. i apologise on behalf of all aussies, i don't know where we got the yank thing from, but it's real.... i guess the same place you all got shrimp on the barbie haha. tourism commercials? obviously the sticker shock isn't as bad here, but i am with you on spending way too much on something from home. i wish i could bring you some dr pepper!
ReplyDeleteI confess that the flip-flop of seasons in the southern hemisphere still blows my mind and I would not be able to handle it. Kristen at SYIAP and I had a very long email conversation about it once lol.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have to teach C to F/F to C temp conversions and it's hard. The two times we drove all the way through Canada, it took all my brain power to convert miles to km and back again. I wouldn't survive in Australia.
I think I'd have trouble adjusting to the backward seasons vs. months! I could definitely adjust to the common use of curse words, though! Haha!! I serious love that picture of you and the little wallaby!
ReplyDeleteAn $18 marg better be freakin' amazing.... :) Haha!
An $18 margarita?! Sounds like Vegas! ;) I can't even imagine how stressful the process of immigration is!! I've moved provinces within Canada, and even that's annoying, but nothing like immigration. Yikes. I hate paperwork. Do you have snapchat? I rely on that app to figure out C to F...not that I need to know F very often, but sometimes I'm curious :)
ReplyDeleteIt was so hard to get used to how expensive everything is over there! But I have to agree, it is one of the greatest cities! Oh, and I am all about cussing, so I'm definitely on board with that. Ha!
ReplyDeleteNope, Yank definitely does not refer to all Americans! That's too funny that they think that you're Canadian too because there's definitely a difference in the accents, although like you said it's probably because we lived so close to that country that we can tell a difference. And sometimes you just need an $18 margarita!
ReplyDeleteThe $18 margarita made my eyes get so wide. WOW.
ReplyDeleteI love this post & I thought for sure that you were going with a Britney theme for your GIF's & then Dolly came in. Ha!
ReplyDeleteSo, $18 for a margarita, really?! That's insane! Eeek!
The swearing thing had me thinking I could totally live in Aus, but then we got to the $18 margarita and I had to throw the brakes on that idea haha!
ReplyDeleteI like this no offense by cursing thing!!
ReplyDeleteI seriously love cursewords in other languages on the fact that most other countries do not mind swearing. I will never understand Celsius versus Fahrenheit so I just measured as it's hot or it's not hot. I would not take being called a yank very well at all. I am not a yank that sounds dirty and weird.
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