tsunami...what tsunami?

So when I woke up this morning, I checked my email as I always do and saw a message from my mom asking if we were OK because a tsunami is headed our way. I honestly thought this was a typical "Mom overreaction" type thing, until I logged onto Facebook. I saw a panicky message from our niece in New Zealand pleading her friends in Chile to "POR FAVOR, dime que todos estan bien!" and such. I thought, that's strange... I know she recently returned from her foreign exchange stint in Chile, but that was a little frantic for mere "home away from home sickness." I kept looking at the status updates from the night before. Then I finally saw the article from NPR about the earthquake in Chile and the looming threat of a tsunami across the Pacific. And it all came together.

But by this time, Theo had already taken off for a swim at the beach - I didn't go with him because it was too chilly for me. He returns shortly and informs me that the beach is closed... I said, "Oh really? (in my sarcastic tone, of course) Because of the tsunami?" And he shrugs and says, "I don't know. The lifeguards were pulling people out of the water, but I snuck around where they weren't looking and took a swim anyway." That's my hubby... I would expect no less.

Apparently people were lined up at the Kirra Surf Lifesaving Club with binoculars, trying to spy the tsunami. But it never came. That's good, I guess.

Mid morning, the beach was populated like a typical Saturday (except for the "beach closed" sign, of course):



So we carried on with our day. The second most exciting news of the day happened at the grocery store. The long and arduous search for corn tortillas is officially over!!! It just took some time.

I really think I could live here now.

ha!

Iced Mocha

This morning, we biked to Currumbin to meet a friend of Theo's for coffee. At 9:30am it was already scorching hot, so by the time I defeated the big hill (big for unfit me, anyway) on the way, I refused to drink another hot coffee in the hotter sun (like everyone normally does). I chose an iced coffee to cool off this time, even though they cost almost double the hot coffees. I've always wondered the reason for this price difference, but today I didn't care. I ordered an iced mocha and let me tell you it was well worth the extra dough. I didn't love it just because the cafe is named Elephant Rock Cafe, with my favorite animal in the title... it was pretty awesome in its own right.

When it came to the table, it looked like a normal iced mocha, with whipped cream on top and cocoa sprinkled on top of that. So I took the spoon out and ate the cream. As I was about to move on to the liquidy portion, I noticed a bobbing blob. With my spoon, I discovered a good-sized ball of ice cream, which appeared to be covered in a delicate hard coating of maybe caramel? Whatever it was, it was delectable and totally hit the spot. When I finished that course, I moved on the third course, scraping chocolate syrup from the bottom and sides of the glass to create just the right proportion of chocolate and coffee.

Australian cafes have officially redeemed themselves in my book. I loved it so much, I didn't even share with my husband. Maybe next time, Theo...

The Swirl Down Unda'

My most common request before moving to Oz was to find out whether the toilet swirls in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere. So check out this video of my toilet: (never thought I would be saying THAT!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3SJk2mYnuI

If you've watched the video, you can continue reading. I don't want to burst your toilet bubble, but I've watch a few others' video and have come to the conclusion that the answer is indeterminable at this point. It really just depends on which way the water sprays in the bowl. I'm sure that John, my physics mastermind friend, could better explain why the Coriolis Effect does not affect tiny toilets the same way it does weather and oceans.. unfortunately. Would be cool if it did, I guess.

Anti-climactic at best.

The Biggest Difference...so far

When I meet someone new here, I inevitably encounter some variation of one of the two following icebreakers:

a. How do you like Australia?
b. What’s the biggest difference between America and Australia?


The first is easy to answer – “It’s great!” I always say. And I mostly mean it. I mean to say, I feel that I can’t fully answer the question with all honesty since I’ve only been here 2 months or so and haven’t seen much more than the Gold Coast, or rather Kirra, Coolangatta, and Tweed Heads, the suburbs I frequent by bike. I do love the beaches and the water is beautiful here. I’m bursting at the seams to see more, but without a job, and therefore, a car, there’s not much I can do. So for now, I’m limited to my tiny corner of Australia, which I really do think is great…

The second answer has evolved over time. At first, I would say - “It’s more laid back.” When we arrived the holiday season was just arriving as well, which did emphasize this difference even more, I have to admit. But it was a great way to highlight the difference. I was submitting resumes and contacting recruiters straight off the boat, despite the festive season. At one point, the progress was completely stifled. I received an “out of office” email message stating that the person’s office would be closed until January 2nd. I was pretty shocked. I had been warned that things “shut down” around the holidays, but I figured it would be individuals on holiday, not entire offices! Not only are Aussies’ speech and attire more laid back (no shirt, no shoes, no worries, Mate!), but their work lives apparently are, too. I don’t meet many people here who have to work two or three jobs in order to support their families, as is the case a lot in the US. Talking to a friend about my job prospects, I was asked, “Do you plan to work full time or casual?” I didn’t even know I had a choice! But that’s how people think here. It’s not a given that someone will or need to work full time. The minimum wage is around twice as much as in most States. Why should you work full time when you can live on a part-time salary? Some will simply ask, “Are you working right now?” To me, this is taking life seriously. This may not be indicative of all Australia, but it seems to me that many in the Gold Coast really know how to achieve good work/life balance.

That was my first impression. The longer I’m here, the more I learn about the differences in Australia’s social welfare system. I already knew they had a pretty good public health care system. As a New Zealand citizen, Theo is entitled to this benefit, and if I were a permanent resident I would be too. But to my amazement, it’s even better than just that. New mothers receive a payment of $5,000 from the government upon delivery of each child. Then there’s also a fortnightly payment to the family. And another when the child enters school. Recently another was given as a stimulus effort - a payment for each child at Christmas. Maternity Leave benefits are rather progressive, with paid leave soon to be extended to 18 weeks. Women may also opt to take 52 weeks off work unpaid, with a guarantee of her job back when she returns. These are examples of true dedication to “family values,” so I feel like spewing every time I hear a conservative politician in the US use it for their platform. I already knew how much our health care system sucks in the US, but this is just twisting the knife.

Of course these are just my initial gut reactions to general questions; there are many other differences I could point out, such as shopping, food, language, etc., and I will surely write about them in future blog posts. As I learn more and see more, I’m sure my impressions will evolve and change, but then again maybe not much.

Coffee

I would never profess to be a connoisseur of coffee. I was admittedly a latecomer to the brown stuff growing up in the US. I think most people learn to drink it as a kid or, at the latest, in college where they use it as an aid for all-nighter cram sessions.

I do have fond coffee-related memories from childhood, though. I remember waking up on Saturday mornings on the frequent weekends at the Grandparents house. The first thing I would smell was the scent of coffee wafting from the kitchen…and then I would hear the lovely sound of the coffee maker percolating, especially at the very end. To this day it’s still one of my favorite sounds ever.

But the adults around me always drank coffee black, and I couldn’t stand the actual taste. It wasn’t until I got my first real job after college that I gave in. I was desperately trying to adjust to the new schedule of being up early every morning. Even though I was getting enough sleep, my body clock was resisting the change. Everyone in my small office drank coffee every morning, cup after cup. I was desperate to stay awake, so I discovered that if I drowned out the taste with sugar and creamer, it was suddenly drinkable.

Just a couple of years later, I starting bringing my own coffee mug to work. And it wasn’t long before I insisted on having my own liquid creamer there, too. I was hooked.

When we moved to Australia, I realized that I took American coffee for granted. As we were purchasing items for the new apartment, as you do whenever furnishing a new place, I planned to buy a coffee pot. I thought I would buy a cheap Mr. Coffee – type pot for $10, maybe $15. I was shocked to see there are no cheap coffee pots here. Why? Because most buy instant coffee for the home. Instant coffee? Who drinks instant coffee?? I don’t. Never have.

Being a commonwealth of England, tea is the caffeinated beverage of choice in Australia, of course. I suppose if it weren’t for the Boston Tea Party, it would be ours, too. Since everyone here has an electric tea kettle for making tea, I guess it makes sense to use the same pot for the occasional coffee drinker, using instant.

The cafe scene is another story. I still get caught off guard when ordering coffee here.

"What would you like to drink?"... "Coffee, please.".... "What kind?"... in my brain: "What do they mean, what kind?" Panicky feeling ensues....

The reason? Because they don't serve "regular coffee" at cafes and restaurants here. It's all espresso drinks, which I don't normally consider "coffee," in the American sense. Like I said, I am no coffee expert. I know that in most other countries, espresso is the norm and I have thoroughly enjoyed drinking it while visiting Italy and France. I've also been admittedly a Starbucks regular the past few years, with my addiction of choice being Mochas. So my cafe experience in Australia usually ends with me defaulting to my fallback choice of, "Mocha, please." It wouldn't be so difficult if I had actually understood this before confronted with the dizzying, foreign coffee names in Aussie cafes, like Flat White, Short Black...and on and on.

I thought... "One of these HAS to be regular coffee..." Was I ever wrong. I finally found a cafe menu at Zarraffa's (Australia's Starbucks) that listed the drink ingredients. There are at least a couple dozen drinks in the list. I read through them. Amazingly, not even the "Americano" is regular coffee.. they are ALL espresso drinks.

So I've just given in. Theo and I were at the grocery store one day, dizzied by the different choices of instant coffee. A store employee followed by an older couple walked up next to us. The couple was getting impatient trying to find regular coffee. So I listened in on the conversation to see if we get some help as well. The couple had a french press and just wanted some basic ground coffee. The employee had no idea what they were looking for and pointed at us and said, "Maybe they can help you," which was hilarious since we had no idea either. We found out that the couple was visiting from Canada. We exchanged our feelings of frustration and wished each other luck. I feel your pain, Canadians.

We finally decided on Nescafe "short black," which is an instant espresso. We made a good decision, because it actually tastes awesome. So all is well that ends well, I guess. I now have a new addiction.

Swimming with the Sharks

We went swimming this morning at "our beach" as we do regularly. It was sunny and the water was beautiful. It's a wonderful shade of sea green and so clear that you can see which waves have fish in them.

It's been raining a lot lately for short bursts at a time, which is perfect. It cools the air but doesn't ruin your day. The surf was good, so the surfers were out, which is actually kind of strange for Kirra. The government has been adding sand to the beaches here to protect against hurricanes, which ruins the "points" and results in smaller waves. So we hardly ever see surfers here, but this morning was good for them.

We were practically alone; just us, a few other swimmers down the beach, the surfers and the fish. The biggest difference today was that there was no lifeguard. Since we've been here, it's been the holiday season, so the city has extra lifeguards at various locations down the beach. Kirra is so small that we apparently don't get one all year long. So it makes me a little nervous. If we get stung by a jellyfish, we're on our own. And when I see fish, I always think of sharks.

Theo was telling me the other day about the "shark nets" intermittently placed along the Gold Coast beaches. There are also "drumlines," which are flotation devices with baited hooks on them. So I'm NOT the bait? Awesome.

I tried to get a photo of them...

The shark nets are only 5 meters deep, and intermittent, like I said. So sharks can still actually go around them and under them. But I guess the drumlines help a lot, too. I read a recent news article that said the Gold Coast hasn't had a fatal shark attack on the Gold Coast since 1962. Notice the word "fatal." So it still freaks me out.

Hopefully soon I can relax and just enjoy swimming with the sharks.

Bacon

I can't count how many times my husband has complained about the bacon in the States. It seemed like his disappointment would somehow disappear each time he ordered bacon at a restaurant. The bacon would inevitably appear in front of him and his disgust would magically reappear. "What is this?"... "This isn't REAL bacon!" And all other of his ex-pat friends wholeheartedly agreed.

He's been soooo excited to be back in the hemisphere where people eat "real bacon." So excited that we've eaten more bacon in 2 months than we ever have. I'm exaggerating there. But we do eat it a few times a week, for sure.

I don't share in this excitement. I really want to understand his glee, but I'm just not seeing the glory of the bacon here. It's much larger, no doubt. And thicker. But you see, here's the problem...for me, anyway. The excitement of American bacon lies in the fat. I know, fat is gross, and on 99% of occasions, I would agree. But that is the whole point of bacon. It's meant to be consumed as a whole.

For me, it has to be crispy or I can't eat it. Fat is, indeed, gross. So the problem with the large, thick bacon here is that when you try to cook it crispy, it just doesn't work. It's not designed to be crispy. It turns out tough and hard to eat. It's more like a piece of thin sliced ham, with fat on it. So you (or maybe it's just me) end up just eating the meat and leaving the fat for the trash can.

So if this is how it's going to be, you might as well just buy thin sliced ham and fry it up. Then you don't even have to deal with fat.

Just a thought...

Dog Food

Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do. After grocery shopping comes cooking, then after cooking comes eating. And I do love eating.

Shopping for groceries in Oz takes me a little more time than usual, not only because I'm trying to get used to the different brand names, but also because weights are metric, so I'm constantly converting from kg to pounds so I can figure out how much things really cost.

While shopping the other day, I stumbled across a separate section in the refrigerated meat section just for dog food. I've never seen this in the grocery stores in the US, maybe this exists on the Coasts? The dogs here are very lucky to have fresh, minimally processed meat to eat. So why do we in the US feed our pets the drab dry dog food? I've never really thought about it before. Maybe we're just so used to eating processed foods ourselves, so we don't think twice about feeding our dogs the same way?

I know this doesn't apply to all US pet owners, especially those who are "old school" or live in the country or on a farm. And then there's the canned food, but I wouldn't exactly call that "fresh." But I would venture to guess that most Americans mainly feed their pets the dry stuff.

My hope is that with the fresh food revolution happening in the States, it will also spread to fresh foods for our pets...