Ooh! I need that!

Jaime and I happened upon Watefront City last weekend after we met some friends for brunch (same friends from the rugby game...still working on charming complete strangers into friends). Waterfront City is a giant outdoor mall of mostly outlet or discount stores and SALES SALES SALES everywhere! One of the billion shoe stores we passed I saw a big boot sale in the window and paused to look. Jaime asked me if I needed boots...Well of course I need (more) boots! :) Silly question.

So, I didn't get any boots since we just did our budget, and as acting-adults, we are trying to stick to it. (Awhile back when talking to my parents,  I responsed to a question regarding how my money was holding up...with "eh, measly." They got a big kick out of that...I often hear jokingly, "How are the measly funds doing Ash?") Parents. :) I think its their duty to let us make our own path, but I think they are secretly amused all the while. Well anyway...I can still look and that is half the fun of shopping!

The thing about Melbourne is that they would never say that they have the best food or the best shopping or the Best anything...but they sure do love what they do have. No one would ever drive a long distance to come shop in Melbourne, but Melbournians  LOVE to shop and they are extremely proud of the many stores the city has to offer. We came at the most perfect time for shopping...end of Winter sales! The clothes here are expensive, even the basic stores are expensive compared to the US, but they don't mess around with the sales. They mark down up to 80%-90%. Most stores want to clear, I asked one clerk when the sale was going to end and she said when everything is gone. Serious business. The sales are all over town but I am learning that the shopping areas are specific. Bridge St. is considered "outlet stores"(although you would never know that unless someone told you they look like regular stores), Chapel St. is high end, and Brunswick is vintagey and retro. Most stores are new to us, we have seen only a few chains (Target, Costco, Gap). Some stores are Aussie chains, but a good majority of stores are Aussie designer specific.  Whether they have a little upscale or vintage-y store or they rent out a little cubby in a store to display their stuff, you can be sure to find unique and Australian-made clothes most places. My only purchase so far was when we first arrived and I bought a really cool dress for my birthday present from this little Australian designer store that was having a gigantic sale. Then the saleslady made me buy a wool coat too. (She was good!). Anyway, I love them because they were a super great deal, unique, locally designed/made and now I am warm like a sheep! (And by now the sheep is probably warm again too).

Upon arrival here, I was directed to Woolworths for grocery shopping, but I walked right by it because Woolworths is a department store. Usually. But here it is a nice little grocery store. The drug stores are called Chemists and are small, jam-packed with products, and on every corner. Everyone is always very eager to help you find something and I usually go through 3 store attendants asking if I need help because they don't understand why I am just browsing. But there is so much stuff to look at. I compare familiar products with home and I like to explore new products that they use here. And again...it is expensive! The best thing...for every type of store here there is a discount store! So you can always find a deal. Discount chemists, discount vitamin store, discount grocery store, discount bottle shop, discount make-up...discount everything!  Good for the measly funds! The other day, I had to buy a computer charger, so I went to the discount computer accessory store (convenient). The guy didn't desensitize the sensor and so I set the alarm off when I walked out, but he just said it was ok and waved me on from afar. Well, that was first thing in the am...I then proceeded to set off every store alarm that I entered and exited. After awhile I would tell people...I am going to set off your alarm...and they would just look at me awkwardly. I even caught a few jokes..."Well you don't usually buzz when you walk IN the store." I finally gave up setting off alarms for the day and went home.

I also discovered Scoopon, Jump on it, Ouffer, and What's on, which are all Oz's version of America's online coupon sites (i.e. Groupon and Buywithme.com), which is awesome and a great way to discover and do things we wouldn't know about at a discount!

Whether you are just window shopping or out to buy, being in a new city, especially a new country as funky as Australia makes exploring fun and when you score a great deal or find a cute little hidden store you have to write it down or you will never find it again! Jaime might make a request or we run out of something we brought from home (i.e. Advil, virtually nonexistant) and I go out on a mission...it might take me a few days, but I will find it. And you can bet it will be discounted!

Now, when do I get to learn how to shave a sheep.

Food for...my dad

Ever since our first day in Australia when I told my dad he would have loved the Almond-coconut-ginger 'porridge' he asks me all about the food he will get to eat when he comes to visit. So today is my food blog! Yum! A topic we all know and love. And yes, they call it porridge on the menu. I had a friend in college use the word porridge once, and she was totally serious. :) 

So the food here is very interesting it is a big mix of culture with ethnic food from all over; Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Thai, Indian, Greek, heavy Middle Eastern influence, a touch of Spanish and Mexican, German schnitzel, doughnuts, and DELICIOUS coffee! Then you have your "Australian" fare which usually consists of lamb (in all sorts of ways such as "lamb parcels"), some kind of meat hot pot or shepherds pie, or a dish made up of a dramatic and random mixture of ingredients (i.e. rosemary flavored risotto with pumpkin, spinach, beetroot, prawns, and a dash of coriander). You get the idea. Let's just say that Jaime eats a lot of pizza! We did have a delicious lentil soup the other day with a thick slice of homemade bread. Perfect winter lunch. 

It is difficult to tell what Australians typically eat because the dishes are so random, I guess they just like a blend of tastes. I am all for it...I love tasting everything but sometimes you've gotta wonder, "Are they sure those go together?" Overall though, the food has been very good and I love the selections. They are really big on cafes here so usually during the day everyone is drinking coffee (coffee is ordered with names such as "short flat white" meaning small with milk) and eating randomly mixed paninis and sandwiches, quiche, meat pies and sausage rolls, or any kind of "baked good" (that may or may not include meat or hot veggies in the middle of it), and includes the largest and most amazing amounts of pastry and dessert displays everywhere! Every other store is an open display of sweets and it is often hard to resist! They have every dessert or pastry you can think of plus Mars Bar and TimTam cakes. We live in the Italian section of town and the dessert displays here are to die for! Then they have chocolatiers and the best gelato and NZ ice cream I have ever had. Mounds and mounds of it! Tonight, I am sipping on Belgian Chocolate Roobois tea with a tsp of Manuka Honey. YUM! Delicious and good-for-me. 

Brunch is usually typical-brekkie-like but with an edge. They love crepes, waffles, and pancakes with fruit and cream. Egg dishes are usually mixed with meat and beans and all sorts of kickin spices and they always have yogurt, granola, and of course porridge, with just about any add-in you can fit in the bowl.  Not very big on veggies here...so I make salad for every meal we eat at home...so weird to crave salad!?

My favorite part of all of this food business is the Victoria Market. A magical mostly open-air market open 6 days a week with unnecessary amounts of EVERYthing edible and non-edible. I can buy all sorts of local fresh produce, meat, fish, bread, cheese, olive oil, sauces, and dessert to make dinner each night for less than $10! Except the other day when I bought snapper...whoops! The fish here is super expensive. Most of it comes from Tasmania or further north and so is not cheap. But everything else is and I can literally spend all day browsing the market! They also have a whole section of non-edible goods, things you don't usually need, but are fun to look at or to buy for souveniers. 

The drinks are just as fun as the food, if not more :). Each beer we try is better than the last and Carlton Draught is Jaime's new go-to beer. (Move over Coors Light!) Each state has its own brewery and they are always trying to "out-brew" each other so taste is huge. And the wine is delicious and you can taste it just about anywhere you go...at the market, bottle shops, and at the bar or restaurant! Jaime and I found our most favorite pizza place (best pizza he has ever had) right by our house and our new favorite family-run Italian restaurant, where the food was delicious (my brother always judges by the red sauce) and the wine was the cheapest ever but I LOVED it. The waiter thought I was crazy, I told him it was ok though because I've been to Napa :). This waiter just happened to be a huge 49ers fan so he enjoyed that we were American football fans and we will likely frequent this little gem. 

Even with all this food around...portions are still small or actually average, usually you are given just the amount you need to feel satisfied, even with desserts. It just depends on how many you buy! In keeping with the smaller portions, we are forever thirsty as the water glasses used in restaurants and even in our apartment are so tiny! 

Now....who is coming to visit!? I know my dad is (he loves porridge!).

 

Driving on the right...

Crickey! (i.e. oh gosh!) Jaime's attending has very kindly offered to let us borrow a car that no one uses anymore at his house, just until we can get one of our own. So we took the tram out to his house yesterday to pick it up and be a little daring! Everyone said that Melbourne had the best public transportation and they are right. The tram, which is all above ground, is really convenient and stretches out pretty far into the surrounding towns/burrows. The city reminds me alot of Boston mixed with NYC. You can take the tram well out of the 'city centre' and be in an area that seems neighborhood-like but yet with plenty of transportation and strips of city-life that you can walk and find everything you need. We trollied into Camberwell, which was probably a 20-30 minute ride, as it runs with traffic. It was a cute little area and this Saturday happened to be election day for a new prime minister! So the polls were bustling and signs were everywhere. We arrived at the house and were given the keys to this little, not even sure what kind, 80s looking car. It is tiny! And it is manual. And you have to drive on the right and on the other side of the road. We turned on our little Street King (Australian GPS) and headed out. Jaime did a really great job driving manually with his left hand! So weird! And did a great job driving overall...it is so weird to be sitting as a passenger on the left side. We stopped by our friend's house to pick up the last of our boxes of clothes that was shipped and then made our way home. He works for pepsico and so sent us home with a goody bag of samples of chips and fruit snacks. :)   Driving here is absolutely crazy but Jaime caught on quick and practice makes perfect. 
On my own though, I will be sticking to the trams. :) 

Don't feed the crocodiles...

The big story on the news tonight was a shark attack in Gracetown, Western Australia (WA) just some km South of Perth. A 31 y/o man was bitten by a great white while sitting on his surf board only a 100 meters offshore. He made it to the hospital but the bite in the leg sadly ended up being fatal. This is the second shark attack in Gracetown in 6 years. It is comforting and also very strange that in a place so full of predators, people are shocked and rattled each time they hear of an attack. The thing about the Aussies though is that they are so laid-back that discussions about the abundance of dangerous animals that can kill you in 5 minutes or less are always very light and most people you speak with ease your worries by reporting that they have never had a run-in with any of the scary toxic things.  But, despite their lackadaisical attitude, they pay strict attention to signs and warnings that tell you where and where not to swim and most people know exactly what time of year (down to the month) and what areas are high in jellyfish, crocodiles, sharks, etc. They are pretty good about knowing where most predators can be found (If in doubt, guess Queensland or the Outback). As I hear and read more and more about the most toxic animals you could possibly imagine, I decided to do my own research so that I too know where the jellyfish live and the funnel-web spider, and the difference between the desert adder snake and the monstrous taipan.

So, my online research was helpful in that now I know what each snake, spider, fish, jellyfish, etc...look like and which ones I need to be concerned about (all of them depending on where you are). It is always a little relief when you read that the most venomous snake is only found in the driest part of the outback, so we will likely not meet.  But just about every scary animal somehow makes it way to Queensland (but so many people live there, and are still living, so it must not be too much of a problem).

My favorite part of my online education was the continued nonchalant description of what to do if you happen to come face to face or are victim of a surprised attack by one of these animals. The usual advice was: "Steer Clear!" If you see the western brown snake, it is the most venomous snake in the world so "Stay away!".  If you see a taipan, which apparently you can't miss because it is 6 feet long and the size of a man's wrist, "Steer Clear, You do not want to be bitten by this snake!" Sometimes the steer clear or stay away defense tactic was accompanied by "Run!" This may be the case if you are actually face to face or within the exaggerated 6 foot striking distance of the most toxic predators on the earth. While the initial warnings of stay away were just if you happen to see a snake minding its own business while slithering along the path, which apparently never happens. This warning I realized was for the silly people (not professional snake charmers) who would approach and "bother" or "provoke" the deadliest animal on the planet. Who would do that! And I wish the informational guide would give me something I can work with here like "Walk softly and carry a big stick" then "If the snake strikes, quickly duck left and grab it by the neck then knock it out with the big stick." It doesn't say that.
Basically the only defense is to stay away, but that's only if you see it coming.

The saltwater crocodile excerpt was my favorite. "If you are on land, Run! If you are in the water, Swim as fast as you can (even though a croc could outswim you if on the prowl). If you are bitten and the croc begins the death roll, then you are in trouble and that will be the end." It really said that.
Not very satisfied with these tactics, I researched more on the saltwater crocodile, and attacks are not common but not completely infrequent, and so there are alot of warnings about where not to swim and how to avoid high crocodile areas.  If you are bitten you are to repeatedly beat the crocodile in the nose, poke its eyes, and scream, as just like alligators they do not like resistance or commotion. Finally! some sort of defense. I am good at commotion and actually screaming too (thanks to childhood beatings from my brothers).
I don't plan on having to use any of this knowledge as I am terrified or running into any of the animals on the most deadly list. And so with my new knowledge, I can be as casual as the Aussies and say..."Oh, the really scary kill you in 5 minutes funnel-web spider, oh don't worry about that...they only live in Sydney."

Settling in...

I know that in being on a different continent there are so many things to appreciate that are new and different, but today, I am very appreciative to have a washer and dryer right here in my little 'flat'. It is SO nice to be able to do my laundry at my leisure without quarters and without getting a workout from going up and down the stairs. I even left some whites in the dryer after they were done because I was in no hurry to take them out. :) Seems that most every flat here has a washer and dryer usually supplied but sometimes you must purchase your own. So, even if you have a washer and dryer in any unfurnished flat you will not have a refrigerator. And so we join the ranks of movers buying and selling refrigerators and other large appliances all over the internet. Some ads even said..."Free Fridge...If you can lift it into your car you can have it." Currently we have a fridge, which is good, since we are in a temporary serviced hotel apartment. All utilities and even daily housekeeping included and very common around here as temporary business relocations are frequent. It is a little crazy but very nice to come home to a clean place and made bed! I will miss it, but looking forward to getting settled in our new apartment come the 4th of September. My fridge shopping begins!

Apartment hunting was nuts here as we quickly learned. There are now more people here than apartments and so it gets pretty competitive. You cannot make an appointment with a realtor, rather you research pages and pages of listings and attend an inspection at the designated time of the apartment you are interested in. The most people at an inspection we attended was probably over 30! You can only apply for an apt if you attended the inspection and then you must be quick to get your application in and approved! We saw a few good places and alot of rough ones and I even went to an agency to try to figure out how to get an advantage. Jaime really liked the area we are in now and casually mentioned that he would like to live in the apartment building across the way. We waited for inspection and got our application in that night. So after a week and a half of inspections we got our place!

Australians are generally extremely nice and so incredibly helpful! This has made the transition so much easier. The thing is, in this english speaking place, often I have no idea what people are saying! There are so many times I ask Jaime "What did he say?" and sometimes Jaime doesn't even know but he sure does a good job pretending! As I talk to people and ask questions that clearly show I have no idea what I am doing they ask me where I am from and on more than one occasion, Jaime and I both have been told "Oh yes, America, I could tell by the accent."???

I wonder what Aussies sound like when they try to imitate an American accent, they must just put the emphasis on every form of "r" like "yeaRRRR" instead of "yeah"(r omitted).  They say things like 'alroyght' (alright), 'nah-o' or 'naho-r' (no), and 'yaw-grat' (which is actually yogurt and not some really cool dessert I didn't know about). But Jaime said that the accuracy of my interpretation is in question because I learned these words from a 7 year old.

In any case the accent often sounds nice and the lingo is actually a whole language in itself...once I get the hang of it...
"I reckon I'll be gold, Mate."

Shepherd's pie for dinner tonight...yum!

So, this is Oz!

Yesterday I happily turned 30.  All of my 29 birthdays leading up to this one were celebrated, I'm pretty sure, scattered throughout the USA. When you have a summer birthday, you never know where you are going to be celebrating. This year, I "caught the thirty" (thank you Mario) with a boisterous group of new friends at my very first Melbourne Storm Rugby game. Actually my first Rugby game in general. I was surrounded by much merriment provided by several Australians, a kiwi, a few Brits, a Dutch woman who has lived all over the world and my wonderful new husband. There was food, open bar, high-fives, laughing, and the most exciting discovery for my husband and I...halftime Party Pies! A party pie, which I couldn't quite understand the name at first due to the Australian accent omiting the "ar" sound, patty pie?, is a delicious mixture of warm meat and gravy surrounded by pastry dough. And this, was dessert. Add a dollop of tangy ketchup and all of a sudden you have eaten enough party pies to equal the calories of a small cake. But they were delicious!

So, when my mom found out that my husband and I were moving to Australia she listened to a book on tape called "In A Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson. Bill Bryson is a witty and entertaining travel writer, who loves Australia and gives a most awesome account of his time there which includes updating us on history, politics, culture, general fun, and every living predator that can kill you in 5 minutes that all happen to live down under. My mom was thoroughly entertained and passed the book on to my husband and I as preparation for our new adventure. Bill Bryson explains that he understands the title of his book should be in a 'Sunburnt' country, but it isn't. And so the misspelled name of my blog was inspired by Bill Bryson, and the fact that I was told numerous times to wear the highest SPF I can get my hands on.  My online journal about our year in Melbourne and our quest for sunny beaches, kangaroos, and the Aussie way of life.