trinityvixen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
trinityvixen) wrote2003-07-27 04:44 pm
trinityvixen) wrote2003-07-27 04:44 pm
T-Minus give or take 18-24 hours...
Tomorrow classes start, and believe it or not, I couldn't be more thrilled by that. I've been going out every night here, just blitzing through my money, though today I managed to get a coat (two actually!), so it's sorta like I've been productive. Melbourne is a great place, it's really comfortable, not too, too expensive.
Things you might not know about Australia:
1) They drive on the left side of the road.
My German friend confirms this is bizarre habit of the English and Aussies only. Still, have to remember to look to my right to avoid being hit by cars when crossing the street. Is very frustrating for me as a New Yorker because you can't step off the curb--cars *will* hit you or at least narrowly miss; you can't always chance darting out without the cross walk signal either for the same reason--cars actually *speed up* when you do this, you can hear them gunning it.
2) The EXIT signs in buildings are green.
I noticed this, of course, because of The Matrix, but it's weird all the same, and it's a bit unnerving for some reason. If I crack and start believing The Matrix is real like that stupid kid who like killed his parents, someone just put me out of my insanity with a good wall-kick to the head. Erm...
3) Australian currency is all different colors and sizes. They also have no pennies.
Aussie money comes color-coded here, and one Aussie I talked to, a flat-mate of Lloyd's, asked me how the hell we figure out which money is which in the states because it's all the same color. The break down is as follows:
$100-green
$50-yellow
$20-red
$10-blue
$5-purple
Being as there are no pennies, all purchases include tax and any that might be off the 5, 10 cent system are rounded. The bitch of it is that they have no $1 or $2. So, imagine a world where it's adios George Washington, and hello Sakagewea (or however you spell it). You feel really poor till you realize the frickin' metric ton of change you have is actually worth something. It's worst with the $2 which is tiny, and the $0.50 piece which is huge; the most valuable coin you can never pull out of your wallet because the .50 one is blocking access.
4) Aussie Rules Football is the only sport in the country.
After last night, I get the impression that there really isn't any reason to watch anything else or play anything else. Well, I was talking to Footy players, so that makes sense. The rest of the country does actually care about rugby, as I understand it, but not the great state of Victoria. They're all about the Footy. Wearing a Footy scarf gets you a lot of attention; sometimes people yell at you to take it off, sometimes drunks catch you on your way back from the bathroom and go "Yeah, Hawks! We suck though!"
5) Tasmania and New Zealand take it up the ass when it comes to being the butt of every joke.
The Tassies (no, no Z's to be found in the country) and the Kiwis really get razzed a lot. Tasmania is sort of isolated, so it makes sense, and the Aussies see them as being somewhat aloof. The Kiwis get it for their accent, which I've not heard or had confirmed by Carrie; the Aussies I've talked with say Kiwis have one vowel, the U. Thus all vowels become U, "fish and chips" becomes "fush and chups." Carrie, your thoughts?
6) Australians drink a lot.
Good God, do they ever. And they're not at all abashed about it. They know the places with the Happy Hours, and all of them are willing to tell you where to go. Last night, Amy tried to drink under the table a Footy player. Oops. She got smashed, wobbled home, and the Footy player that she was trying to get a number from was more interested in me--I suspect it was the novelty of me being sober and her being, well, tanked. Got his number, gave him the cell, but managed to screw up the whole thing by refusing his company home after I walked Amy home by myself. That's okay, I wasn't really that interested. And a Footy player? Good Lord, I'd never leave the bars. Ever. I like being drunk like the next college student, but sheesh. You should see what those guys put back in an evening.
More to come when I think of some.
Things you might not know about Australia:
1) They drive on the left side of the road.
My German friend confirms this is bizarre habit of the English and Aussies only. Still, have to remember to look to my right to avoid being hit by cars when crossing the street. Is very frustrating for me as a New Yorker because you can't step off the curb--cars *will* hit you or at least narrowly miss; you can't always chance darting out without the cross walk signal either for the same reason--cars actually *speed up* when you do this, you can hear them gunning it.
2) The EXIT signs in buildings are green.
I noticed this, of course, because of The Matrix, but it's weird all the same, and it's a bit unnerving for some reason. If I crack and start believing The Matrix is real like that stupid kid who like killed his parents, someone just put me out of my insanity with a good wall-kick to the head. Erm...
3) Australian currency is all different colors and sizes. They also have no pennies.
Aussie money comes color-coded here, and one Aussie I talked to, a flat-mate of Lloyd's, asked me how the hell we figure out which money is which in the states because it's all the same color. The break down is as follows:
$100-green
$50-yellow
$20-red
$10-blue
$5-purple
Being as there are no pennies, all purchases include tax and any that might be off the 5, 10 cent system are rounded. The bitch of it is that they have no $1 or $2. So, imagine a world where it's adios George Washington, and hello Sakagewea (or however you spell it). You feel really poor till you realize the frickin' metric ton of change you have is actually worth something. It's worst with the $2 which is tiny, and the $0.50 piece which is huge; the most valuable coin you can never pull out of your wallet because the .50 one is blocking access.
4) Aussie Rules Football is the only sport in the country.
After last night, I get the impression that there really isn't any reason to watch anything else or play anything else. Well, I was talking to Footy players, so that makes sense. The rest of the country does actually care about rugby, as I understand it, but not the great state of Victoria. They're all about the Footy. Wearing a Footy scarf gets you a lot of attention; sometimes people yell at you to take it off, sometimes drunks catch you on your way back from the bathroom and go "Yeah, Hawks! We suck though!"
5) Tasmania and New Zealand take it up the ass when it comes to being the butt of every joke.
The Tassies (no, no Z's to be found in the country) and the Kiwis really get razzed a lot. Tasmania is sort of isolated, so it makes sense, and the Aussies see them as being somewhat aloof. The Kiwis get it for their accent, which I've not heard or had confirmed by Carrie; the Aussies I've talked with say Kiwis have one vowel, the U. Thus all vowels become U, "fish and chips" becomes "fush and chups." Carrie, your thoughts?
6) Australians drink a lot.
Good God, do they ever. And they're not at all abashed about it. They know the places with the Happy Hours, and all of them are willing to tell you where to go. Last night, Amy tried to drink under the table a Footy player. Oops. She got smashed, wobbled home, and the Footy player that she was trying to get a number from was more interested in me--I suspect it was the novelty of me being sober and her being, well, tanked. Got his number, gave him the cell, but managed to screw up the whole thing by refusing his company home after I walked Amy home by myself. That's okay, I wasn't really that interested. And a Footy player? Good Lord, I'd never leave the bars. Ever. I like being drunk like the next college student, but sheesh. You should see what those guys put back in an evening.
More to come when I think of some.
no subject
Stop calling it "Footy!"
Cripes.
Comparing notes...
2) Same here, again. Square, bright green with white letters.
3) Heh! There are $1 and $2 coins here, the physically largest coin is also the 50 cent, and there are no pennies. But our colors are a little different, at least as far as I've seen. Twenty dollar notes are green, and tens blue, and fives...I don't quite recall specifically, but I'm thinkinga kind of tan with red, or maybe light purple. I'll letcha know when I have one on me again--New Zealanders don't use cash much. EFTPOS is my god--it's an extremely efficient and popular debit system, which New Zealand piloted, and it hasn't spread worldwide yet. But damn, is it ever handy. Oh, right, and the notes are all differently sized as well, which is pretty common worldwide, I thought.
4) Rugby rocks New Zealand's socks.
5) Hehehehe, I've actually *heard* Kiwis *mock* Aussies' attempts to use their accents and mimicking the way the Aussies come out with "fush and chups." (Aussies take a lot of shit here, too, for sounding strange.) But I do attest that Kiwis use a whole series of amusing vowels rather than just a perpetual "u". For example, they pronounce "7" "seevin".
6) Kiwis drink like mad also. It's amazing what a large part of the culture it is, ne?
Re: Comparing notes...
Re: Comparing notes...
I don't have a phone yet or I would have called, suckhole! E-mail forthcoming.
no subject
G'day mate! Knock down a few Fosters for me okay?
ha ha!
no subject
Of course I didn't know most of this, but how could you have forgotten about Japan?
no subject
Sounds like you're having a good time thus far.
no subject