Elsja Down Under

A Few of My Favorite Things December 20, 2009

My best friends and I have a series of emails that we like to send around from time to time called “Things I Can’t Live Without.” When one of us finds something really awesome, we send around emails detailing our fabulous finds. Sometimes they include make-up products, sometimes we send our favorite food items, etc. In the spirit of Christmas, I figured I could share a few of my latest favorite things with the whole world.

1. Benefit Pocket Pal – Awhile back I was looking for a reddish lipstick that would just sort of tint my lips red without looking like a $2 hooker. I really struggled to find exactly what I was looking for. I knew I basically just wanted a rosy, natural tint. I even mentioned to the girl that I could use something like Benetint but I didn’t want to carry around that little jar in my purse all the time. So I was super stoked to discover this awesome tint/gloss combo the last time I was in the US. I also just found that there is a Benetint mini as well! Who knew? I think I’ll buy the mini next time because the I don’t really use the gloss part of the pocket pal.

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2. Swiffer Dusters – If you read this blog you will have caught a little glimpse of my hatred for dust. I hate that I have to dust every few days to keep the house looking clean. I hate the fact that when I dust with washcloths, I can actually see little fibers flying around in the air and then settling back onto the surface I just wiped down. When I was in California, my mom gave me one of these little wonders to bring back with me. I love them! They do a really good job of picking up the dust and lint and I love that I can just run around and do a quick touch up job in between my full dusting jobs. I’ve now added a new item to my “stock up while in California” list… Swiffer duster refills. Good thing they can squish easily into my bag.

3. Ferrero Raffaello – I think these are known as Ferrero Garden in the US. These things are seriously little bites of heaven. I could easily become super tubbo if too many of these things are sitting around the house. I’m not one of those girls that likes to receive chocolates as valentines or anniversary gifts, but I don’t think I’d mind getting a few of these delightful morsels from time to time.

Ok so it’s just a few things… but they are all great and worth sharing with the world. If you have any items you can’t live without, please share! I’m still looking for Christmas tradition ideas from my last post as well!

Tips for American Visitors April 19, 2009

I’m writing this post mainly for my friend Amanda who will be visiting in a few weeks (yay) but I figured some others might get some benefit from it as well. I’ve compiled a list of tips and helpful things to know for your first visit to Australia.

1. “Hotels” are not usually real hotels. They are bars or pubs. So when you see “Mosman Hotel, The Clock Hotel, Cremorne hotel”, etc… they aren’t places to sleep, they are places to drink.

2. Lemonade is not lemonade. Lemonade here is Sprite or 7 Up. You can’t really find what we think of as lemonade in many places , but if you do ever find it- it will be called “traditional or real lemonade.”

3. When you order a drink at a bar, it comes with one shot. NEVER any more than exactly one shot of alcohol. If you want more, you order a double- and pay double!

4. Entrees ARE actually Entrees. And by this I mean they come before your main course, as they should. Entrees in the US ARE the main course, but in the rest of the world, entree means appetizer or starter. So don’t order an entree and expect it to be big enough to fill you up!

5. Don’t tip. It is not the common practice here and many people actually get mad if you tip because they don’t want tipping to become the norm. If enough people start tipping, it WILL become the norm and then it will be expected. For now, you only tip if you really want to because of great service (which as my last post noted, is rare).

6. “Ta” means thank you. Because yes, some people are so lazy that even saying “thanks” uses too much energy

7. A “dunny” is a toilet. And on that note, when you need to find a bathroom, ask for the toilet, not the bathroom. It sounds tacky, but that’s just what people say here.

8. “Pash” means make-out. While this doesn’t seem like a helpful hint for visitors, it has been something that I’ve needed to explain to the last few Americans who visited.

9. If you’re by yourself, get into the front seat of the cab. I still don’t do this- but Andrew said it seems kind of rude to get in the back if you are all alone.

10. Ask for your bill at the end of the meal, otherwise you may never get it!

11. “Light beer” is not light on calories, it’s light on alcohol. If you order light beer to watch your figure, it won’t help. You’ll just be heavier and less boozy.

12. TONS of restaurants are B.Y.O. so you can bring your own bottles of wine… which is a HUGE reason that we end up drinking so much.

13. Nobody says “McDonalds.” It’s Maccas.

14. Chicken Salad sandwiches are not the typical chicken salad you would get in the US (with mayo and celery and stuff). When you order a chicken salad sandwich or turkey salad sandwich it means chicken WITH salad. And by “salad” I mean lettuce, tomato and other typical fixings that come on a burger/sandwich.

15. People will say “How you going?” and you will be totally confused. Your mind will try to comprehend if they are saying “how are you DOING?” or “Where are you GOING?” So… just say “good.”

16. Don’t try to say “G’day.” Americans always sound ridiculous when they attempt to say it.

17. Coffee is different, but I don’t drink it, so I can’t really give tips here. Maybe someone else can chime in on this one.

Anyone else have any handy tips or hints they’d like to share??

Love / Don’t Love – Down Under April 14, 2009

I actually got my first ever (and possibly only) blog request! I’ve been asked to post about the top 10 things I love and don’t love about Australia, so… here it goes. I don’t know if I can come up with 10 each at the moment- so I’m just going to post about as much that comes to mind as possible. I know I’ve posted some of this at other times, but think of it as a re-cap! Everyone loves a good re-cap!

Things I don’t love so much (in no particular order):

Shopping carts/trolleys. They have a mind of their own. They are impossible to steer. While I’m on the topic of shopping trolleys, I also find that the aisles in grocery stores seem to be a lot smaller here. I find myself in grocery traffic jams WAY more frequently and people just don’t seem to have the courtesy to move out of the way. They park their cart right next to another cart without considering the fact that people can’t squeeze through them. Let me tell you, my road rage is just as prevalant in the shops as it is on the streets!

Customer service. It blows! Servers in restaurants don’t work for tips, so they really don’t make any effort to keep the customer happy.

The cost of everything. From Coke to ketchup to clothes to alcohol- everything costs more! Well, ketchup doesn’t ALWAYS cost more, but seriously- some restaurants make you pay 30-50 cents for a little container of the stuff! At home I could get half a bag of ketchup at In & Out for free! There are NO free refills and you could pay up to 4 bucks for a TINY bottle of Coke, I’m not even talking about the big ones. Cans can sometimes cost 3 bucks. Such a freaking joke! And then there is the cost of drinks in bars… 9 bucks for a drink with one lousy shot of alcohol? You end up spending $50 bucks to achieve the same level of booziness that $25 would get you in the states. Did I mention the cost of the tolls on the roads here? Ugh don’t get me started on that. P.S. can you believe that “booziness” didn’t get flagged in spellcheck. Is that really a word??

Weather. Ok in all fairness, it HAS gotten better this year. The first year I was here the summer was CRAP! And coming from California, I’ve been a bit spoiled in the weather department, so I have really high standards. I wasn’t too disappointed this year so hopefully this won’t stay on my “don’t love” list for much longer!

Holidays. People don’t get nearly as into the holidays here that they do at home (maybe with the exception of Easter). Christmas is less festive, hardly anybody puts up lights in my area. Halloween isn’t big at all, and if you try to celebrate, you risk being yelled at by some Aussies because it’s a stupid American holiday. I happen to know a few Aussies who would LOVE to adopt Halloween into the Aussie culture… it’s FUN! And then there’s the simple fact that Thanksgiving just doesn’t exist here… oh how I miss Thanksgiving. 

Building quality. It seems as if most apartments here don’t come with screens. So, if you open your windows, you allow bugs (and lizards in my case) to enter your apartment at their leisure. Many have thin cheap windows that allow EVERY tiny noise to flow through. Annoying. Walls are brick or cement and it makes nailing anything into them nearly impossible. Annoying. Shower doors don’t go all the way across so water leaks out all over the floor… you get my drift. Ok- maybe this is just MY apartment, but I’ve heard the same from many other Americans who live here as well, so I think it’s a common feeling we all have.

Parking. This country doesn’t believe in parking lots. I really don’t like having to park down giant hills to get to where I need to go. And I REALLY don’t like having to pay $5 per hour to park at the bottom of a giant hill to get to where I need to go. I miss my big, easy parking lots.

The Internet and Cell phone plans. Both suck. Both are expensive. The internet is slow, has download caps and drops out all the time. Cell phone plans still pay by the minute! Both of these things are so behind the times!! Time for a technology update!!

The postal service. While I must say- my letters DO arrive VERY quickly, I really really don’t like that my packages are NEVER delivered. Evidently the couriers are too lazy to walk up the stairs in my building to deliver anything that doesn’t fit in the box. So instead, they leave little cards saying we weren’t home when they tried to deliver. Clearly these are bullshit since I am ALWAYS home since I work from home. This was especially annoying when I had a broken foot and was DEFINITELY always home. And this isn’t just a problem for us, we hear it’s VERY common here. Also… I don’t like that mail doesn’t come on Saturdays and I can’t mail a letter by putting it in my mailbox, I actually have to find a big red postal box to drop it into.

So now for the good stuff…things I DO love:

The location. I love that I have the beach and city both so close by! I can walk to the beach in 15 minutes (drive in about 3) and lay out or rent a kayak or have a picnic. I can get to the city in about 20 minutes by bus (less time if we’re driving). It’s the best of both worlds. The harbour is beautiful, the Hunter Valley only a few hours away and a 10-20 minute drive takes us to so many awesome bars and restaurants with great views and atmosphere. Plus my apartment has a few little shops right across the street- a grocer, fruit and veg shop, tailor, dry cleaner, chemist, deli and pizza shop! While they all seem a bit overpriced, it makes it very convenient when I forget an important item for dinner.

Public transport. I love that I can just hop on a bus and get where I need to go. The city is super accessible from busses near my house. I don’t use trains all that much, but when I do- those are just as convenient.

The scenery. There are SO many beautiful beaches and walks and picturesque areas around Sydney. Of course there are beautiful areas in California too, but usually they involved a long drive to get to them. Here we can drive or take a ferry to places 30 minutes away and you feel like you’ve been whisked away to a tropical island or some rainforest or something. It’s just beautiful. I REALLY need to get out and explore more!!! I definitely haven’t taken advantage of all that Sydney has to offer.

Thai food. Thai food has quickly become my favorite cuisine ever since moving to Australia. I never even knew I liked it until I came here and now there is SO much Thai all around and it makes me very happy.

Air quality. I really can’t prove this one, but I can say that my allergies and headaches have subsided a lot since I moved here. The lower amounts of headaches could just be because I’m happier… who knows? I do know that while I still do have issues from time to time, my allergies don’t bother me nearly as much as they did back home.

Wine. Ok, I loved wine back in CA, but I love it so much more here. Part of that is because I really enjoy having dinner with Andrew and sipping a glass or two on our balcony. Part of it is because I LOVE that it is SUPER cheap to order cases of wine online (one of the only things here that possibly IS cheaper than the states).

Internet banking. Seriously, the banking world here is miles ahead of internet banking in the states. It is SO easy to transfer ANYONE money regardless of their bank.

Sales tax (GST). Ok, I don’t like the tax itself, but I do like how it works. It’s just built right into the price so if something says $10.00, that’s what you will pay. There’s no guesswork involved when adding up bills at restaurants! So much easier!

Birds. I love the birds that come and visit me every day. It’s like having a nearly free pet without the commitment. If we want to leave for 3 weeks, we can and since the birds are wild, they can find food in other places… or at least on our neighbors’ balconies. They are so beautiful and entertaining to watch and feed. I also love the kookaburras. I used to hate them because they woke me up at 5am every day, but now they don’t. Now they just always provide me with a little chuckle every time they start “laughing” like monkeys. The cockatoos are beautiful as well, and so tame! Although I could do without listening to their loud screeching! 

Ooook… I’m sure I could keep going and going forever if I let myself, but this blog has to end at some point. Hopefully this has been of some interest to a few of you and possibly a way to cure boredom for a few others!

Week in Revew March 9, 2009

We’ve had a great first week with my parents! We’ve managed to stay pretty busy with just a few days of relaxation here and there which is always good.

After a day at Darling Harbour and Wildlife World we relaxed a bit and then got geared up for the Bridge Climb. This was a surprise for my dad and it turned out to be a good one since one of the first things he noticed as he drove in were the people climbing the bridge. He had no idea you could do that- but of course he quickly became interested. I knew my mom would want nothing to do with climbing the bridge- she’s afraid of heights. While they market the climb as good for overcoming your fears- I just don’t think my mom really has any desire to overcome her fears on this particular vacation. The climb was a lot easier than I expected. The incline is so slight that it wasn’t tough at all. I have no fear of heights so the “looking 400 feet down” didn’t bother me. I used to have a fear of bridges though… clearly that is no longer a problem. It was a great experience… and it means I get to cross off  number 37 from my 101 list (again). I’ve already crossed it off because it states “Do the Harbour Bridge climb or at least walk across it”- well, now I’ve done both!

On Friday my parents had breakfast at Pancakes on the Rocks and enjoyed a day riding around on one of those big red busses that takes people all around the city. They could hop on and off whenever they wanted so they were able to see the Opera House, the Botanical Gardens and a few other touristy places. 

Saturday mom, dad and I ventured out to Paddy’s markets near Chinatown. I had never been there so it was a first for me as well. After about 5 minutes I could tell my dad was miserable. I guess the whole “shopping for souvenirs” gene is just missing from all males. We stayed for about an hour and then found somewhere to eat lunch which was not easy. Food courts in Chinatown mainly consist of some bad Chinese food and gross looking ocean variety fast-food…I think I’ll pass on the Salmonella today thanks! So to avoid more shopping misery, my dad took off to go jump on that red bus again and my mom and I continued at Paddy’s. I must say- if you want cheap souvenirs- that is definitely the place to go!! Evidently, it’s also the place to go if you want wigs, trashy underwear and slutty costumes *making mental note*.

Saturday night we all met Andrew’s dad in the city and had a great dinner at Wagamama and then grabbed a coffee at a place in King Street Wharf!

Sunday we drove to Andrew’s dad’s for tea and scones…yum…and my parents got to meet the rest of Andrew’s family. We then headed over to his Mum’s to enjoy a wonderful BBQ lunch/dinner with the family.

Monday we cleaned. I’m sure that was the highlight of the whole trip so far!

Or maybe the highlight has been feeding the birdies every day and then watching them go make out. Yes, you read that right! Birdies go into the tree to make out sometimes and my dad nicely pointed this out to me (thanks). I actually find it more comforting to imagine that one just might be regurgitating food into the other’s mouth. That would be more pleasant to me than to imagine these birds getting it on in plain sight. I guess it does confirm my theory that these two are in love. Oh and boy birdy is much nicer to girl birdy these days- he doesn’t get all pissed when she tries to steal his grapes. Maybe they went to birdy counseling. 

I think we’ve had a good first week

Before I go… I’d like to wish a very HAPPY 81st Birthday to my grandma Bonnie! love you!

Parents Down Under March 4, 2009

So they made it They did miss their connecting flight to Sydney since their flight into Brisbane was late- but luckily it only put them back an hour. The first day they got here we just all settled in and talked and I took my mom to the grocery store so she could experience the miserable shopping trolleys for herself. She didn’t seem to mind them- I’m not sure why she found them tolerable because every other American (and many Australians) in this country HATE those damn carts!

Yesterday we spent the day at Darling Harbour. Andrew’s mom/mum and brother Paul came along too. We walked around the Harbour (it was a beautiful day), had lunch and then headed to Wildlife World. Even though you can’t hold a cute, cuddly koala in NSW, my mom was pretty stoked that she got to pet one. I really think they are the cutest animals ever. We also saw many animals in the not-so-cute spectrum. Lizards, snakes and the deadliest spider in the world… yeah not so cute. Fun fact: did everyone know that the deadliest spider in the world is only found right here in Sydney? It is actually called the “Sydney Funnel Web.” So yes, not only do we have the deadliest spider in the world living in this country, it literally could be right in our back yard…if we had a back yard. And they are aggressive so they chase you! Nice right?

I was really sad that my favorite of all the animals at WW wasn’t there anymore!! Where did mr. thorny devil go? So SAD

Last night we headed to dinner at the Mosman Hotel and my dad was pretty impressed with the $7.50 steak! Too bad he didn’t order one- so we’ll probably be going back eventually for another.

Today has been a very lazy day… well, lazy for my parents- I just worked all day and so did Andrew. It was really cloudy and nasty out so I think they were happy to just have a day to relax after our long day of walking yesterday. Tomorrow will be more eventful

Here are a just a couple of pictures from our day out yesterday. I’ll post more pictures once I get a good amount going.

Oh and the birdies were back today. They hadn’t been back in 4 days and they finally showed their faces for about 5 minutes. Only enough time to have a few nibbles. At least mom and dad got a quick peek and said hello

Lastly, I would like to point out to my dear friend Amanda that no, this is not Andrew’s first time meeting my parents. I actually hope you were joking in that comment because Andrew has been to California at least 4 times and stayed in my parents’ house each of those times

A Few More Hours February 28, 2009

Until my parents get here!! They arrive tomorrow morning around 11:45am (that’s 4:45pm for you in California). Captain Hancock… hehe… is picking them up from the airport since he’ll be there already finishing work. Convenient, right? Since they connect in Brisbaine, they will have already gone through customs and all that cruddy stuff, AND since you can still go to the gates without a boarding pass in this country Andrew will get to meet them right when they get off the plane. Woohoo. I’m looking forward to showing them around Sydney and getting to spend some time with them here on our turf.

I really hope the birdies come visit while they are here. Birdies haven’t been back in a couple of days. Maybe they found better food somewhere else. Who knows? I still never named them. I decided to just call them boy birdy and girl birdy (or just “birdies”) for short. I can hear them out there in the trees… or maybe it is their friends- but I wish they would come back. Even though they have pretty much ruined our table by peeing their birdy pee onto it.

So what all will we be doing while mom and dad are here? I’ll start a list… anyone else have any suggestions?

• Visit the Rocks
• Tour of the Opera House
• Walk around Darling Harbour
• Go to Wildlife world
• BBQ @ Andrew’s mum’s house
• Dinner with Andrew’s dad in the city
• Go to Manly
• Centrepoint tower
• Maybe Taronga Zoo??
• Breakfast at Balmoral Beach

Goon of Fortune July 15, 2008

How to play Goon of Fortune

1. Hang “goon” (a.k.a. cask bag of wine taken out of the box) with pegs (a.k.a. clothespins) from a Hills Hoist (a.k.a. washing line)

2. Spin the Hills Hoist

3. If it lands on you… you drink

Simple.

What?? Isn’t that how everyone spends their Monday mornings at 1:30am??

More Weddings March 9, 2008

  Will the weddings ever end? We’ve been to 3 in the last 3 months, not to mention one we had to miss, plus Jen and James’ coming up later this month!! We had a really fun time at Rob and Monica’s wedding on Friday night! Good fun, good food, good dancing! Annnnd… I caught the bouquet! First time I’ve caught one since I was about 11. Obviously it didn’t do much for me back then (that’s a good thing), so I don’t really have any hopes this time… but it was a great way to get all of Andrew’s friends to give him a hard time for 2 minutes. Fun Fun! And the champagne and guava was flowing… Not sure what’s up in this country but the C&G is the wedding drink of choice and DEFINITELY my drink of choice. It is way too easy to drink and just looks so pretty. I love champagne and I love it even more with guava juice. Weddings are pretty different in Australia than in the US. Here are a few differences: 1. They sign the wedding license as part of the ceremony, in the US this is typically done separately. 2. The whole part before dancing starts is WAY longer. Appetizers/Entrees are served first, then mains, then speeches, then about 3 hours into the night the dancing finally starts. 3. I haven’t seen one father/daughter dance at any wedding here. Guess that’s just popular in the US. 4. Every wedding so far has only had 2 bridesmaids/groomsmen (as opposed to the 4-7 I see at most US weddings). 5. When they cut the cake, they don’t actually feed each other the pieces. They literally just cut it and that’s it. Hmmm… there are many others that I’ve noticed but those are the main ones in my brain at the moment. It’s going to be interesting to go back to a US wedding after seeing 3 in Australia recently.

Vehicles, Vocab & Vermin March 2, 2008

Driving:  Guess what I did yesterday? I drove for more than 5 minutes, on a freeway even! I drove out to Andrew’s dad’s house and I didn’t even crash or end up on the wrong side of the road. I don’t know what is hardest…

 

• Driving on the left side?  – Nah…I think I’m getting used to thatÂ

• Remembering that the blinker is on the right so that I don’t actually turn the windshield wipers on every time I turn… Yep I think I’ve got that one down! Didn’t screw up once yesterday!Â

• Looking at the speedometer to find I’m going 100??? Oh wait… that’s KPH… still feels fast though!Â

• Checking the speed every 10 seconds to make sure I’m not going over the speed limit?? Ummm… I do think this might take the cake. Usually I don’t worry too much about speeding a little, but here in Australia there are speed cameras EVERYWHERE and you really CAN’T speed or else you WILL get a ticket. Yup, this was the toughest for me on this long drive!Â

I did notice about 20-25 minutes into the drive that I hadn’t looked in my rearview mirror ONCE!! I only noticed when I FINALLY looked and realized I hadn’t adjusted it to where I could actually see. And I wondered why I couldn’t figure out if there were cars behind me. It’s just not natural yet to look up and left when I want to see the rear. 

 

Pronunciations:  I’m adding a new feature to my blog… Aussie pronunciation of the week (or day or whenever I see fit). I’ll start this week off with a few examples.

 

• Hyundai… here it is pronounced Heeunday
• Nissan… here it’s Nissin (like listen)

• Tortilla… tor till uh. I guess the Aussies just pronounce it how it is spelled, but it’s just SO funny to hear! (there’s really NO Mexican/Spanish influence in this country).