Aubree's Observations about Australia

Here are some random things I've noticed/thought were interesting about Australia so far:

-You read books about Aussie sayings, but you don't really believe people say them.  They do.  Seriously.  Sometimes it seems like another language.  Zack has even already been called a "wanker" by a psycho bicyclist.
-The price you see on things is really the price.  There are no extra taxes, you don't really have to tip, etc.
-It's expensive.  It doesn't seem uncommon to pay near $20 for one meal at a normal restaurant (one that would cost $10 back home).  A six pack of Budweiser is $18.  Wine is the only thing that seems cheap-Yellow Tail is $10 a bottle.
-The water really does go the other way down the drain.
-The Aussies have their own version of the Academy Awards-it's actually on tonight.  It's called the Logie Awards.  Red carpet, fancy outfits, the whole works.
-Produce is different.  Avocados ($3 each) and raspberries ($8 a box) are huge in size.  Bananas and apples are small.  I'm not sure why.  Also, cheddar cheese is white here-not orange.
-There definitely aren't as many choices at the grocery store.  Cereal takes up about 1/3 of one aisle.  
-Burger King is called Hungry Jack's.  I've seen a McDonald's, a Target, and a Starbucks.  Apparently Starbucks hasn't really taken off here because Australians don't like bitter American coffee.  There are a lot of other little coffee shops.

-Australian people are super nice.  Zack's already talked about some of the help we've received, but just today as I was walking home from the grocery store with several bags, an Aussie walking by on the sidewalk noticed me struggling and helped me carry some bags several blocks back to our apartment!

-Public restrooms and trash cans are not nearly as readily available as they are in the States.

-Road biking is huge, especially in St. Kilda.  

-They have similar TV shows.  In the morning they have The Today Show.  But the people on their The Biggest Loser don't seem nearly as fat as ours.

-We're still trying to figure out if you are supposed to walk on the left side of the sidewalk since that's how you drive.  

-I've only seen the sunset on one night so far, but the sun looked really huge and orange.

That's all I can think of right now...time for bed!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

We made it! Morgan and her friend dropped us off at the Denver airport and we got our fourteen boxes checked without incurring any extra fees other than the expected $200 per box, and we had five hours to spare. Then two days later, on 4/29, we landed in Melbourne at 9:30am. The flights were surprisingly easier than expected. Air New Zealand had delicious food, free drinks, and a hilarious safety video starring Richard Simmons and his spandex posse (www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iaTEgoezNQ). We had over 150 movies and TV shows to choose from during the flight. It felt more like a cruise ship than an airplane.

Once we landed, the fun began. We had fourteen boxes/checked bags plus carry-ons to pick up from baggage claim and navigate through customs. It required six trolleys. The customs official said we set the record for most bags he's seen. At least Aubree now has all seventy pairs of shoes to choose from! We wheeled the trolleys up to the customs checkpoint, and the customs officials took pity on us and helped us push the trolleys up to the security scanner machines.

We presented the customs officials with our detailed inventory of the box contents, and they decided they'd trust us and didn't open any boxes. Potential crisis averted. I almost wish they would have opened my bike box to remark at how clean it was, since I spent so much effort getting it spotless!

The customs official, Stephen, ended up helping us push the carts out of customs and all over the airport, even tracking me down at the Budget rental store to let me know the best place to park. We offered him $10 AUS, but he refused. This is in stark contrast to the Denver airport baggage worker, Huang, who we paid a tip of $20 for moving our boxes on two trolleys from the curb to the check in counters, and he acted like it wasn't enough.

The Australians have not ceased to amaze us. We got lost between the airport and our new house (at least we survived driving on the left side of the road) and pulled off the highway to find some poor unfortunate soul to help us find our way. We ran into this nice construction worker on a side road who brought out a map book of Melbourne and walked though the directions; then he gave us the whole book to keep! The weather was 70 degrees, the sun was shining, we found our apartment in St. Kilda, and we got settled in.