Canadian Club... what?!
Arrived late Tuesday afternoon at our home-for-a-year, a large home with a fabulous porch off the back looking over a beautiful yard with more varieties of plants, shrubs, and trees than I’m used to seeing. We puttered around getting oriented and unpacked after two weeks living out of the suitcases. Even managed to get a couple loads of laundry hung on the line to dry. Our exchange partner’s parents were here to greet us and passed along a roaster chicken and a beautiful salad which is exactly what we needed.
The 6 hour drive inland was great; rolled through a few little towns each with their own large two story brick structure with a large wooden veranda and covered deck on the front. We’ve had visits from our partner’s folks, one of my colleagues, and the neighbour. Really feeling welcome and comfortable in our new space.
It’s also been fun to see what our exchange partners are up to back in the North American deep freeze with the snow and ice. All reports are that they are enjoying themselves and have even started on an outdoor skating rink! Great fun!
While the setting is new to us, there are times, like when we’re washing the dishes, or folding laundry, that it seems like life as usual, however, there are lots of little things that remind us we are somewhere else:
- left hand drive, though that is feeling more and more natural every day
- colour of the soil – bright rich red, rather like Prince Edward Island
- electric outlets – different plug, each with its’ own power switch
- light switches – up is off, down is on
- accents – though they too are less noticeable the longer we’re here
- Australian flags
- plants – everywhere you look, particularly in people’s yards, there are a tremendous variety of plants, some with enormous leaves, and a ton that are flowering though many have passed their prime. Spring will be gorgeous here!
- coffee – expensive and small. We’re here for new experiences and to immerse ourselves in Australian life, but we are both itching for an enormous cup of drip coffee!
- evaporative cooling systems – brilliant idea!
- bird calls – noisy cockatoos and the monkey-like chatter of the kookaburra are quite unique
- prices – gas is hovering around the $1.60/L mark and groceries are quite pricey; even wine is much more expensive than I expected though there are some bargains available.
- sizes – containers in the grocery store are quite small compared to what’s available in Canada, though we’re used to buying bulk at Costco so our perceptions may be a little skewed
- lamb – it’s everywhere, and it’s reasonably cheap… LOVE IT!
- kangaroos – more dead than alive at this point, the roads are littered with the poor things
Re: the coffee – we quickly started drinking tea with milk and sugar. A lot less jitters in the morning that way. We also bought a drip coffee machine but in the end, we stuck with tea most of the time. That habit has stayed with me for 2 yrs now.
Re: birds – we suddenly became aware of all kinds of birds. We soon bought a camera with a photo lens. The habit of spotting birds has also stayed with us.
Re: sizes – try shopping at Aldi. It’s a German chain. Prices are not too bad at all.
I’ve cut back a lot on coffee and sure notice the jitters when I do have a couple of cups. Quite happy with a cold glass of water! Aldi is a great suggestion, thanks. There certainly are some good deals there.