Monday, February 14, 2011

Left side of the road and rice krispies

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I’ve been in the city for about 4 days now (btw, I just realized this website is on American time, so just add a day whenever I reference days), and I’ve learned a few things about it, as well as about life in general, and about myself. (this will be in 2 parts, the 2nd part being more personal) So first, a few things about the city, and I guess Australia in general. Well, I’ve only got one thing about Australia in general, so I’ll say that one first. Oh, erase that, two things: Did you know that Australia is the continent closest to the whole in the ozone layer? Bet ya didn’t. I should probably find some sunscreen. The second is just a new slang word I learned: snag=sausage. So you can throw a snag on the barbie…which I will be having at the international student bbq on wed. Ok, so I’ve just decided this is going to be a non-numbered list, because when you write in stream of consciousness, things just come to mind. Even though Australians drive on the left side of the road, you are NOT allowed to make a left turn on red. I was riding in a car yesterday with an absolutely lovely couple (they’ll come up in more detail in the next post) and it was the one question I was dying to ask, so I did. (Personal growth points! I’m always shy about asking questions) It was actually quite funny because one of their sons lives in the US and when they came to visit him, they were freaking out because he turned right on a red light. Just a note, it doesn’t bother me that they drive on the left side of the road (not so sure how I’d fare with it), but 2 things I never thought of until yesterday. The more minor is just an observation: people tend to gravitate in walking on the same side of a path that they drive. Most people here walk to the left side of the path, while my gravitation toward the right can cause collision, so I just think about it now to avoid that. However the other thing is a bit more substantial. It’s one of those things that are common sense if you stop to think about it, but you wouldn’t stop to think about it unless you’re me about to get hit by a car. Since they drive on the other side of the road, I need to look in the opposite direction of what I’m used to. I almost stepped off the curb to meet an oncoming car yesterday, but by the grace of God I didn’t. But I digress (often), so we’ll go back to the few things about the city. The city of Adelaide was a planned city, so it’s very organized, and very hard to get lost in. I can attest to that because I have yet to get lost in the city, however anytime I try to get to the residential wing of the hospital from the main entrance, without fail I get lost and 1 of 2 things happens: I end up having to go outside to find my way, or someone notices me looking lost and they direct me. Anyhow, the city center is surrounded at each corner by a giant park and the main street (King William) goes down the center with streets branching off of it.

This is what I picture it in my head to look like mapically(not sure if you can see that). Of course there are more than 4 streets, however, I purposefully named them 1, 2, 3, and 4 because they are different depending on what side of King William you are on. The other interesting thing is that, unlike other major cities in Australia, Adelaide was not a city for Britain’s prisoners. It was actually planned to be a nice place to live, and from what I can see, it is. It’s also the most affordable city in Australia, which means that I unintentially picked an ideal place for me. They have this great deal at Subway, 7$ footlongs! (sarcasm noted) However compared to the rest of Australia, is it is more affordable from what I’ve been told. The city is very diverse and as a result it’s hard to tell who’s not an Australian, and I’m not really sure what would be considered Australian cuisine, with the exception of kangaroo meat, which I’ve yet to try! However, I did have the WORST chicken burrito of my life that I payed close to 10 bucks for. And I’m pretty sure the lady forgot the chicken. Bright side: the guacamole was good. Note: when in Australia, pizza’s fine, asian food’s fine, fast food is fine, just don’t get Mexican. Something I learned about America, we have a very pretty and colorful passport. “Leave it to the Yanks to be so flashy!” one woman jokingly said.

A few more things about Adelaide/Australia that I’ve found funny/interesting (I’ll be keeping a written log of these in the awesome scrapbook my friend mo gave me, but here are a few): The stores close extremely early! 9pm is the late night, and 7 pm are the extended summer hours. Target closes at 5 pm on most nights, and is strictly a clothing store from what I can tell. Burger King is called Hungry Jacks and they have the equivalent of the McFlurry called the Storm. (the reason I know it’s still Burger King is 3 fold: 1) they have the whopper, 2) the logo is the same, it just says hungry jack’s instead of bk, and 3) even here they had to steal something from mickey d’s…at home it’s the mcmuffin, here it’s the mcflurry, lol) I accidentally bought cranberry juice that was sweetened with splenda (that has nothing to do with Australia whatsoever, cause I’ve totally done that back home too, I just thought I’d mention that it’s just as gross here) The elevator in the residential wing looks like it’s as old as the ones in Lilly Hall, but somehow, it moves like it’s the elevator from Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. By the time I blink, I’m at the 10th floor. But finally, I had to save the best for last: Rice Krispies= Rice Bubbles!!! Snap, crackle and pop

Thanks for reading, hope you had a smile. May you have joy unconditionally J

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