Our Big Announcement About Leaving Australia

Yep, this is the post where I actually admit that we are leaving Australia. And not later this year, or next month, or something logical and normal like that. We are flying out on March 20th, which is only five days away. Yes, we are insane! Actually, we've been working on this for about a month now, but all of the actual details are finally getting finalized.

Here is the deal. Zack's official start date back in the United States is June 3. We wanted to do some more traveling before heading back, so he is taking a leave of absence, and we are traveling for eight weeks. Where? Well, after much deliberation and reworking of itineraries several times, here is the final plan:

-Philippines: Boracay (beach time) and Donsol (swim with whale sharks)
-Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Hanoi (including Halong Bay)
-Laos: Luang Prabang
-Cambodia: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) and Phnom Penh
-Thailand: Bangkok
-India: Golden Triangle-Delhi/Agra/Jaipur
-Nepal: Kathmandu, trek the Himalayas (deciding between Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Circuit)
-India: Goa (beach time with my friend Ameeta)
-United States: Michigan (pick up our dog and Jeep and see my family), St. Louis (see Zack's family), San Francisco (move in)

Yes, we are moving to San Francisco, California! We love Colorado and plan on moving back there in a couple of years to settle long-term, but we're not ready to "settle" quite yet. Zack has always wanted to live in California, and I'm excited about living near my sister in Santa Cruz and exploring a new part of the country. We think it will be an easy transition to move there from Melbourne, and now seems like a good time to give it a try.

So that's our big announcement. I've been pretty bad about keeping up with the blog lately, as life has been crazy with organizing this move and huge trip, but I'll get in a few more entries before we go. I won't be blogging about our travels, mainly because I'm honestly kind of sick of keeping up with this blog and partly because it will be difficult and annoying to find internet access in most locations, but also because I really only started and maintained this blog as a record of our expat time in Australia for ourselves (I was just lucky enough to have readers!). So once we leave, keeping up with "Keys Down Under" won't make much sense. I will, however, take PLENTY of pictures, and those will be on my Shutterfly site when we return.

So, this isn't goodbye quite yet, but it's a warning of an almost-goodbye. Yikes-so much to do! Back to packing...

You Know You've Been In Australia For Awhile When...

Unlike many expats, I haven't been back to the United States at all during our stint abroad. Even Zack went back briefly last November for his brother's wedding. Some friends and my family have come out here to visit (my parents are even coming again!), and I use Skype a lot, so I feel pretty okay about not going back, except for missing my dog.

When you've lived in a place for nearly two years, you get pretty acclimated to its culture, character, routines, etc. In no particular order, here are the 25 ways you know you've been in Australia for awhile...

1. You don't even bat an eye when somebody says "ta" instead of "thank you."
2. You judge/critique every coffee (or in my case, chai latte) that you consume.
3. You actually ask people, "How you going?"
4. You get excited when a package of raspberries is "only" $5, because it's usually $9 or more (though you still remember they were $1 in Denver!).
5. Seeing a kangaroo is like seeing a deer was to you back in the US.
6. You spell favourite, colour, and behaviour like that.
7. You can't even pick out an American accent among Australians anymore.
8. You write today's date as 19/12/12 without even thinking about it.
9. American money (when you see it on movies) looks strange to you.
10. You can't remember the last time you left a tip.
11. You "go for" a footy team and own pieces of apparel to prove it.
12. Riding a tram is an everyday occurrence, and your Myki (transportation pass) is on you at all times.
13. You talk about the temperature in Celsius, and you get excited that it will be above 20 degrees the next day.
14. Your fridge is filled with produce from a local market.
15. You ask for purchases and weigh yourself in kilograms.
16. A normal weekend activity involves hanging out on a beach somewhere.
17. You measure distances in kilometers.
18. When you spell your husband's name aloud, you say, "Zed, A, C, K."
19. You compare all snorkeling you do against the Great Barrier Reef.
20. You drink wine from places you've actually been.
21. You know the current currency exchange rate between AUD and USD.
22. You have a jar of Vegemite and a package of Tim Tams in your cupboard.
23. You not only know what a vanilla slice is; you are always on the lookout for the best one.
24. Kylie Minogue, Julia Gillard, Ned Kelly, Phar Lap, Banjo Patterson, and Captain Cook are household names.
25. You start (only start!) associating palm trees and warm weather with Christmas.

I'd be interested to see if fellow expats have any to add, as I'm sure I'm forgetting some. How do you know you've been in Australia awhile?

Aubree's Observations About Australia Part V

Not much going on around here lately, so I thought I'd do one of these posts since they seem to be popular and it's been a few months since my last one. So without further ado, here are some differences I've noticed recently between America and Australia.

1. Reckless, speedy drivers are called "hoons." Police are always trying to crack down on "hooning."

2. When people ask where I am from, I answer "America" or "the States" or "the US." Nobody says the full "United States." In the US, saying you were "American" was sort of un-politically correct, because you were leaving out other North Americans (like Canadians) or you've got the whole Central and South America thing to consider. Not the case here. America=United States.

3. Australians shorten lots of words to end in the letter "o." Document=doco, reservation=reso, chocolate=choco, etc. And a chicken is a "chook." I don't know why.

4. Shootings are rare, because guns are just not that common here. If there is a shooting anywhere in the country, you'll hear about it on the news. For example, four motorcycle gang-related shootings in Sydney were all over the news here yesterday. This would be like living in Denver and hearing about some random shootings in Dallas.

5. Zack says that some men's restrooms have "troughs" instead of urinals. I obviously can't elaborate on this due to lack of experience, but you can use your imagination.

6. We haven't really seen any buffet restaurants. Those must only exist for us fat Americans!

7. Gas nozzles do not have the automatic lever that clicks off when your tank is full. Instead, you have to stand there and hold it the whole time. You also rarely find gas (petrol) stations with the option to pay with a card outside; you always have to go inside. Americans are so lazy (and lucky!).

8. The letter "h" is pronounced "haych" instead of "aych." This one bothers me. As does saying "zed" instead of "z."

9. The Prime Minister can change at almost any time. Julia Gillard became the first female Prime Minister when she contested Kevin Rudd's position a few years ago. A few months ago, he tried to take it back, but Gillard won. They are both part of the Labor Party, and the members of this majority party in Parliament basically get to decide who they want to be in charge. Rudd thought he'd have more members backing him.

10. The drinking age is 18. Maybe I'm oblivious, but you just don't seem to hear about many crazy teenage drunken parties or drunk driving accidents (called drink driving here). When the police set up a major breathalyzer checkpoint along a road, it is called a "booze bus." The legal limit for blood alcohol content is 0.05%, whereas I think it's usually 0.08% or 0.10% in most US states. No, I do not know any of this from personal experience!

11. When you ask Americans about a dream place they'd like to visit, you get all sorts of responses: Paris, Greece, Africa, China, Rome, etc. When you ask an Australian, at the top of nearly everyone's list is the United States. And if/when they go there, they usually list California, Las Vegas, and New York City as their top priorities.

12. Bali=Mexico for Australians. It's fairly cheap to get there and stay there, it's a little bit sketchy in some areas, and the beaches are nice. All the schoolies (spring breakers) go there on holiday (vacation).

13. Australia is not a religious country at all. Yes, there are churches, and some private schools are affiliated with various denominations, but on the whole, religion is not a part of the culture and society like it is in the US.

14. When you support a team, you say that you "go for" or "barrack for" them. You don't say that you "root" for them, because root has an entirely different meaning here! And you wouldn't say "Go Irish" here. Instead, it'd be "Go the Irish!"

15. A fanny pack is called a "bum bag." I guess "fanny" has a different meaning here too!

16. A popular tattoo that you see on lots of guys' upper backs is the Southern Cross constellation, which is found on the Australian flag. Some say that only bogans get this tattoo.

17. Australians view America as kind of a crazy place. For example, we get snippets of news stories from the States such as the invention of "dog TV." I guess these are television shows for dogs which include colors that dogs see best and no noises that will startle them? Anyway, the news reporters ended the story with saying that this takes place in "Where else? America." That kind of sums up how they view our country (perhaps with good reason!).

18. A lot of places have a $10 minimum in order to use a card to pay. It can be rather annoying if you're not carrying cash and you need something small.

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure it'll be another few months before I store up enough of these to do Part VI. Upcoming posts will probably be about Anzac Day, knitting, and being here for one year. Have a good weekend!

Aubree's Observations About Australia Part IV

Aubree (me) observing Australia!

Well, these are always popular posts, so I figured it was time for another round of observations about Australia. Several of these are seasonally or holiday-related. Enjoy!

1. The sun is stronger here. Though I'm not advocating this (I know it's bad), I rarely ever wear sunscreen. I've always been one of those people who maybe gets a slight burn at the start of summer and then just gets darker for the next few months. Not the case in Australia. I've gotten burns on top of tans (that's never happened to me!) on cloudy days. Craziness.

2. Serviette (try to pronounce that!) is the term for napkin here. A napkin is a feminine product. Go figure.

3. There are some Australian terms we definitely plan to use for the rest of our lives. Some of my personal favorites include "heaps" and "full on." For example, we saw heaps when we went to Wilson's Prom. The wildlife sightings were full on!

4. Holidays are much less of a big deal in Australia than they are in the United States. I knew this at Halloween, but I really realized it with the upcoming Christmas holiday. This makes me kind of sad, because I like to decorate and get in the spirit of things, but it's not really easy to do over here. I especially miss Christmas lights (called fairy lights over here-and they're not used much).

5. There are different types of desserts over here. Pavlovas are big, as are puddings and custards (especially at Christmastime). Also, it seems like fruit mince pies are Australia's equivalent for the Christmas fruitcake. Christmas cookies aren't really a thing at all.

6. Eggnog is not the same here. Zack "must" have eggnog at Christmastime, and I was happy to find some at the store. But it's kind of a watered down version, which is actually how I like it (not so thick). Zack's not happy. I might try making our own.

7. Nobody runs with their dogs here, at least that I've seen. Maybe it's a Colorado thing, but we always saw people exercising with their dogs (not just walking them) back in the US. When I run with the dogs I take care of here, I feel like I'm the only one in the whole country doing it.

8. The post office is not open on Saturdays. Regular stamps cost 60 cents. International ones cost $2.35-ack! This is why if I'm sending you a Christmas card, it's going to look like it came from Michigan. It was cheaper to send the whole box of them to my brother to have him send out using US stamps. And the St. Nick package my mom sent me over two weeks ago has STILL not arrived here-argh!

9. Summer is not really summer like I'm used to (where it was nice and hot for several days in a row), at least not in Melbourne. Yes, some days are gorgeous and sunny and warm, but the very next day it can be gray and miserable and rainy. And some Australians will claim that last summer was unique or this much rain is abnormal or other such nonsense. I've stopped believing it and have come to terms with the ever-changing weather over here.

10. Australia isn't as concerned about being politically correct, at least compared to the United States. I was surprised to see a nativity scene prominently displayed as part of Melbourne's downtown Christmas display. That would cause an uproar in the US; I remember a controversy in Denver where they wanted to change a downtown sign that said "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays."

11. The change in the price of bananas has been an interesting phenomenon to observe over the past few months. At one point, they were $13 a kilo, which is like paying over $3 for one little banana! It was because of a cyclone that hit part of Queensland and caused a shortage of the fruit. Now we're down to around $2-$3 a kilo. I can handle that!

12. There aren't really any advertisement billboards on the sides of the roads in Australia. There also aren't really rest stops or lots of fast food places to stop at while you're driving. Every now and then you'll get a McDonald's and maybe a KFC, but that's about it besides gas (sorry...petrol) stations. The only "billboards" are more like public service announcements about not falling asleep while driving, slowing down, not drinking while driving, and motorcyclist crashes. And those are some graphic signs!

13. The United States does not have reciprocity with the healthcare system in Australia, so we don't have access to Medicare, which is their free national health insurance for citizens. That means that we US expats have to take out private health insurance, which doesn't really cover much unless you pay a pretty high monthly premium. I think we'll be hoping to limit our visits to doctors while we're here!

14. It stays light outside until past 8:30pm nowadays, which is awesome. We even had Daylight Savings Time back in October, which I didn't know existed here. On the days when it actually is warm and summer-like, it's pretty nice to hang out outside until late at night. And it also means that even when Zack works late (which is always), he doesn't always come home in the dark!

15. Speaking of work, pretty much every expat we've met who has gotten transferred here for his/her job mentions the incredibly increased workload in Australia. We all thought that Australia would be more laid back and people here would work less. Definitely not the case. Zack has never worked so late so often (with some weekend work), and he's not the only one doing it. Pretty stressful.

16. You don't hear too many Christmas carols over here. In the US, you can easily get over-saturated with them playing at every store, on every radio station, etc., but here, I've barely heard any. I kind of miss me some good ol' "Frosty the Snowman" or "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

Well, that's all I can think of for this round of observations. Stay tuned for Part V in a few months when I've collected some more in my brain!

Yeah, I dunno. I felt like you needed some sort of picture here.
I think this is my attempt at a handstand on the beach. Don't judge me.

Hiking Near a Deadly Snake

On Sunday morning, we awoke with our sunburnt faces and shared our breakfast (of cookies) with some pretty birds. Then we packed up our camping gear and decided to head out for a hike.

The campground is next to Tidal River, which connects to Norman Beach. There was a huge flood at Wilson's Promontory in March of this year, so several trails and such are closed for repair. But we were able to hike to Norman's Point from the beach, and it was beautiful.

Here I am checking out the beautiful blue water of Norman Beach.

As we were heading down the trail, we ran into an Australian couple who warned us about a tiger snake they had seen along the path. Being an ignorant American, I asked if tiger snakes were dangerous. Um, yes. Apparently they are aggressive and their venom can kill you. Welcome to Australia!

When we found it along the trail a few minutes later, Zack quickly took a few pictures with my zoom lens while I tried not to freak out, and we ran past it quickly to continue our hike. Apparently this one was "only" a baby; I would not like to come in contact with its mother!

This is looking down from the end of the trail at Norman's Point. The churning water looked like shaving cream, and yes, some of the rocks are really that orange. I was surprised at how many islands there were out in the ocean and how mountainous (hilly) this region of the country was in general.







Wilson's Promontory is a beautiful area of Victoria. I definitely want to come back once more of the repairs are finished; it seems like there could be a lot to explore. We had a fabulous weekend with so many awesome Australian experiences: a kangaroo hopping across the road, sharing Shiraz around a "barbie," wombats walking through our campsite, boogie boarding on white sand beaches, and hiking near deadly snakes. It's weekends like this that make me realize and appreciate the adventures we're able to have in another country. Until next time...

Thanksgiving in Australia

Phone pic of yummy turkey.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging (posts about my family's trip) to bring you this Thanksgiving in Australia post. With the warmer weather, it definitely doesn't feel like November. Zack had to work all day, there was no Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or Detroit Lions football game to watch, and we didn't even get to take a nap after eating (we just went straight to bed). But we managed to celebrate the "holiday" anyway!

Phone pic of my plate.

Our friends Emily and Adam invited us over to their place for a feast. They had even ordered a turkey, and Emily's sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were in town. So my sister and I spent the day cooking up some pumpkin pies, green bean casserole, and pumpkin macaroni and cheese to contribute to the meal. Morgan, Zack, and I stuffed ourselves silly and had a great time hanging out with fellow Americans. We walked home, thankful for good food and friends and family.




Also, I finally created something based on an idea off of Pinterest. If you haven't been to Pinterest, I highly recommend checking it out. Beware; you can easily get addicted and "pin" things for hours. Anyway, I made these little turkey treats. You're supposed to use candy corns for the "feathers," but when you're in Australia, you improvise with what you can find in the candy aisle. I think they still look pretty cute. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My Australian version of a Pinterest idea.

Australia 101

It recently occurred to me that before moving here, I had vaguely heard of Sydney and Melbourne and maybe Perth, but had no clue about other Australian cities or where any of them were. So if I were still in the United States and reading this blog, I wouldn't have any picture in my mind about where things were, and that would bother me. So here you go; this is Australia 101. I probably should have done this about six months ago!

Australia is about the size of the United States and has six states: Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are the two territories. We live in the smallest state, Victoria, in the lower righthand corner of the map. Melbourne, Victoria's capital, is right on Port Phillip Bay, and Tasmania is an overnight or daylong boat ride away. We can actually see the boat from our windows here in St Kilda. We'll be going to Tassie for the Falls Festival (a music fest) over New Year's Eve, but we'll ride a plane to Hobart (it's cheaper than the boat).

Sydney is in New South Wales, and it's about an hour and a half long plane ride away from Melbourne. I've been there twice and will go again with my family, and Zack has gone several times for work. The capital of the country is Canberra (pronounced "Can-bruh"), but nobody really goes there because it's just government buildings (from what I hear).

When my family comes (in just over two weeks!), we'll fly up to Cairns (pronounced "Cans") and spend some time at the Great Barrier Reef. In preparation for this, Zack and I have rented Finding Nemo. My sister Morgan is staying an extra week, and we'll be going to Uluru to see Ayers Rock, which is in the Outback. I'll write more about that in November. The whole middle of the country is pretty much desert and uninhabitable. 

Other major cities in Australia are Brisbane (they've had some bad flooding in recent months), Adelaide (known for good wine), and Perth. We're actually doing a long weekend trip to Perth for Valentine's Day 2012, so you'll hear more about that later. As the weather gets warmer, we're hoping to do some camping around Victoria and get to know our new home even more. Now hopefully you feel like you know a little more about it too!

P.S. Over 10,000 hits on this blog in less than six months...we feel special! :) 

Gunnamatta tops beach danger list

So we decided to head to the other side of the bay area today towards Mornington peninsula with a few mates and ended up at Gunnamatta beach. The sun was shining, I was excited about surfing, and it was going to be a wonderful day. The beach looked beautiful and initially, the waves seemed smooth and controlled - perfect conditions.

Once I got in the water however, the clouds rolled in, the waves got bigger, and the sea looked angry. No matter, I got this. While I was surfing (attempting to) a nice bloke mentioned something to me about watching for the rip which was somewhere near me. I have no idea what that means but it is a cool conversation to be having on a surf board in Australia so I just try to swim into shore and all is well.

Fast forward to my next foray out for a surf. One minute I'm swimming out towards the good waves, the next minute I'm all alone and seem pretty far from shore. It's deep and this is shark territory. I start paddling hard to get back to the shore and after a few minutes I realize I'm actually further out to sea and this must be what a rip is. I panic, naturally, wave my arms, and in return, Aubree smiles and waves hello. She couldn't hear me screaming bloody murder for help because I was so far out. By now I'm well past the waves out to sea and losing it.That's probably the worst thing you could do. I also want to get rid of my board and try to swim to shore because it's slowing me down - that is the next worst thing you can do. I begin to think of sharks and the fact that I'm probably going to die. Keep in mind I'm way out to sea now, completely out of control, and there's no life guards or help in sight. Sharks can sense fear and panic from great distances and I was giving out a healthy dose of both.

Finally I look up and someone on the shore (can't make out who from this distance) is waving me to swim parallel to the shore. I think it's a lost cause and my arms are shot, but I take the advice. After what seems like the longest quarter mile of my life, I reach another surfer (salvation) and he points the best route into shore. I just have to make it through the enormous waves on my way back to the shore. The big wave crests behind me, lifts me up, and carries me forward. I hold on to my board for dear life and ride it in fast - it was actually pretty fun. I finally made it in to shore and enjoyed the rest of the day at the beach soaking up the rays.

Did a little research tonight - Gunnamatta has emerged as Victoria’s worst beach with record numbers of swimmers getting into trouble.It's full of treacherous rips and the power of the water is incredible. This is a very hazardous beach, with an average of 113 rescues per year.

So the moral of the story is that if you ever want to try your luck at dying, come to Gunnmatta and hopefully you'll live to tell the tale!

Note - we didn't have any pics of the beach so I googled and found these representative photos.