Interesting Facts...

So, in the meantime of going on all these roadtrips, it really has been fun living here in another country. It's neat to see how things are different from back home. One thing is that people here are crazy over a few foods. One is beetroot (aka beets). They put these (nasty) things on all hamburgers and sandwiches, unless you are smart enough to ask for them not to be put on. But then sometimes if the sandwich is already made, they make you take them off yourself. Gross! Other things people are crazy about are sweet potatoes (mom, you are going to be in heaven), rocket (a type of green they put on all pizzas...it's pretty good), and vegemite, just to name a few. Vegemite is this real, real, real, real, real interesting (to say the least) spread that kids grow up on, and it is a staple here. It is a dark brown color and smells like bitter something or other. Girls from work keep telling me I need to at least try it, they say it is good on toasted bread with tons of butter on, then just a smidgen of vegemite. I have yet to try more than a miniscule amount, and I about gagged. People here also love their tea and tea breaks. At work, all breaks, whether a morning or afternoon break, or lunch, is called "tea". In fact, you get pushed in to taking your breaks at the designated times. Which is nice, because you know that every day you get an hour and a half between your 3 teas, of uninterrupted sit down and rest time. I can't say that for all places I have worked, like the hospital in San Antonio, where it could be 5 pm and I still haven't taken lunch. No bitterness to my Santa Rosa friends. In Australia, bell peppers are called capsicum, yellow squash is nowhere to be found, and milo is a local form of chocolate milk, which is not as sweet. Bananas must not be very local, as they cost anywhere from $6-$9/kilo, an equivalent of about $2-$3.50/pound. Candies are called "lollies" and popsicles are called "ice blocks". They have different versions of the same kinds of candies we have back home and one of our new found favorites (and Sarah's obsession) is Starburst babies, yes babies. These are gummies shaped as babies, and are quite delicious. Nurses in Australia don't wear scrubs like we wear back home. At our hospital, you can wear skirts, pants, shorts, koolats (back from the 80's) or capris along with the hospital issued button up tops. In fact, everyone who works for a hospital in all of Queensland Health wears the same uniform. They are a bit more dressy than wearing jammies (aka scrubs) to work, but kinda fun at the same time.

Malls here are ginormous, so Sarah and I tend to do our grocery shopping at these "one stop shops". It is nice to have a place where everything is right there, except for the fact that most stores close at 5 on most days...can't handle it! We usually end up having to push a shopping cart from one end of the mall to the other, and that is no easy task around here. All the wheels always seem to be stripped, so they don't always go in the direction you push them. I guess I took for granted normal shopping carts back home that go where you push them.