Some random things I’ve noticed about Australia
Hi everyone,
Sorry for the long time it’s been since my last post. I’ve been meaning to write this one for a while; I’m just now doing it. First off, I want to let you know that a few days ago, after the trip to the Blue Mountains (which was very fun), I completely revamped and updated my photos page. Check it out: http://web.mac.com/sstigler1985.
Second, and this is what the title of this post is talking about, there are some things I’ve noticed about Australia since I’ve been here that I figure I should write down. Here they are:
Based on the (albeit limited) evidence I’ve seen so far, I have come to the conclusion that Australians have absolutely no idea how to make American-style tacos, other than that you put some stuff on a tortilla and somehow wrap it up to eat. I really don’t want to sound xenophobic by saying this, because I’m not — not by a long shot. I just really, really miss California-style tacos/burritos/fajitas whatever you want to call them. I’ve been to two Mexican places so far in Australia, neither of them of staffed by Mexicans: The first was a new shop that opened in the SAM building on campus at Macquarie Uni, and I had high hopes for it — after all, Macquarie is a very international university. My high hopes were dashed when not only did they not have refried beans (I think they had kidney beans?), or really the right kind of beef, but they also got very confused and flustered by what I was saying when I was ordering, and then to top it all off, first folded in a square as if it were a sandwich instead of a taco, and then proceed to sprinkle a hefty amount of cheese on top of it and toast it. A) Their method of folding the tortilla meant that less than a minute after I picked it up to eat, most of the filling had fallen out; and (B), the fact that there was melted cheese on top of it made it nearly impossible to hold without getting the cheese all over my hands. It took me about a week to get over that bad experience, and when I finally was prepared to try it again, my experience was nearly as disappointing, with the only exception being that the employees seemed to better know what they were doing. My other visit to a Mexican place was to the “Exquisito,” I think it’s called, in Macquarie Centre, and their taco-making methodology was nearly identical to the place in the SAM building. For now, I am resigned to making them in my apartment.
Australians drive on the other side of the road. That is, they drive on the left side of the road, and the right side of the car (the steering wheel is on the right side of the car). Having said that, now that I’ve been around Australian traffic for almost two months, I think I could probably get the hang of driving here.
I have some trouble distinguishing Australian accents from British accents. Australians, on the other hand, have no trouble at all. On the contrary, they can even recognize accents from different regions of Australia. (For example, whether or not someone is from the bush.) They also say I have an accent — some even say it’s a thick one — a thick American accent. I tell them in return that I’m not the one with an accent; they are. Speaking of accents, many times I have to ask someone to repeat something at least once again because I can’t understand his or her accent. (I don’t say that that’s why, though.)
The Australian winter (at least in Sydney) is starting to remind me more and more of Portland. Especially on Sunday afternoon/evening, when I was in downtown Sydney (the CBD) on a dark day with occasional rain showers.
That’s all for now. I’ll post more as it comes to mind.
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