How Ya Goin'

G’Day Mate. This is the greeting that is most commonly used here in Australia. In fact, there are many different ways to say many different things here. I was so surprised by many of them that I think I will share a few of them with you.

1. Doona: blanket
2. Capiscum: bell pepper
3. Trolley: shopping cart
4. Pram: stroller
5. How you goin’: how are you doing?
6. Mate: friend
7. Chewy: gum
8. Ta: thanks
9. Tea: dinner/supper
10. Chemist: pharmacist
11. Maccas: McDonald's
12. Swimmers: Bathing Suit
13. Tomato Sauce: Ketchup

It took me a while to figure out what these words all meant and I am starting to use them in my everyday language. I often find myself converting back to the Canadian way of saying things and that only gets me weird looks and often I get made fun of. I even get made fun of when I don’t understand what the Aussies are trying to say…especially if it something that means the complete opposite or means something completely different than what I am thinking. Oh well…one day I’ll get it as I continue my quest to becoming an Aussie!

My New Home

Once I left Sydney on January 29th I took a very very short flight to Canberra. I befriended a nice pilot who sat next to me and tried to tell me that Canberra is the most exciting place....Unfortunately, I have already proven him wrong.

Fun Fact: Canberra is the capital of Australia, not Sydney!

Canberra is very similar to Ottawa in the sense that it is the city where all the political things happen. Both the old and the new parliament houses are here and so are all the embassies (which is guess is beneficial for me if something happens). The embassies and other important buildings are found around Lake Burley Griffin which is a large lake just outside the downtown core. If you want you can even take an exciting boat cruise around the lake. Its a pretty nice cruise, and you get to see all of the buildings and things that border the lake side.

One of the many embassies here in Canberra

 

 

 

Lake Burley Griffin

The new Parliament building here in Canberra is a really cool building. It has a grass roof for people to walk up and it is to signify that the people are above Parliament. Once you pass security to get inside you get to walk around the entire building and even stop by the gift shop where you can even buy soap....? At least it made the store smell good!

Sitting on the roof of Parliament House

Parliament House

With the exception of the mall downtown and all the excitement that happens here on campus, this is pretty much as exciting as it gets around here in Canberra. The good news is, is that it is central to many different parts to Australia. It is only about 2.5 hours away from Sydney if you drive, and it has an airport which can fly you all over Australia!

All in all, Canberra isn't the best place in Australia to be, but I have met so many amazing people and done so many things that I wouldn't normally do in Canada that it makes up for it all. Also, I feel that if I lived by the ocean all the time that the novelty would wear off...well, that's what I keep telling myself at least.

What's up from Australia?!

Hello All,

I am finally starting a blog to let everyone know how my life is going while I am studying here in Australia. Since I have been here for a month already, I have so many stories that I would like to share. However due to the fact that it would probably take me all night to write everything down, I am going to start off with the part of my trip before I got to Canberra and started school.

My trip to Sydney from Vancouver was very long. 2.5 hours to San Francisco and then 13 hours from there to Sydney, lets face it, it was a little more than I would've liked. The airplane smelled funny, I didn't have enough leg room, and it made for a really weird birthday, but remembering that I was going to be landing in Australia soon made the trip a little more worthwhile. As we started our descent into the Sydney Airport it finally hit me that Australia was going to be my home for the next 7 months and I couldn't have been more stoked!

Spending the first week of my trip in Sydney was the way to go. Being able to lay by the poolside of our hotel or walk across the street and be on Coogee Beach was the best experience. I was able to get over the jet lag while still being able to get tanned...who wouldn't love that?! The first night in Sydney, I celebrated my birthday with my mom and I rang in 22 with a slice of cake, a cosmopolitan and a walk on beach.

Three things you must do and see while you are in Sydney:
1) Go to Bondi and Coogee Beach (1.5 hour walk from one beach to the other...I highly recommend it. Bluest water and whitest sand I have ever seen.)

2) Go to the Toronga Zoo (You can either drive or take a ferry, but the ferry is way more fun. You can also get the chance to get close a Koala!)

 3) Take a trip to circular quay and walk around to the Opera House and take a look at the view toward the Harbour Bridge (you don't get to really appreciate it unless you visit it)

Those are my top things to do in Sydney. Although there are heaps more, these ones for me topped the charts.