Our first entry, about 3 months later than we aspired, but we're sure this isn't the first blog to start this way!
Melbourne’s population increased by 2 on June 11, 2010, with the arrival of 1 Texan and 1 Californian (the “Duo Down Under”). We arrived after over 20 hours of travel,the last 14 of which were spent on a wonderful Qantas airplane (the 380 Airbus for you frequent flyers). A few of our first impressions of the city:
1. As Debbie put it after 1 days exploration, “It’s like a small, clean European city.” That it is with many people traveling on foot/tram, a great café culture (still learning the coffee lingo!), hidden alleyways filled with little shops and other good finds, and diversity. Melbourne feels like United Nations on an island, with everyone, no matter what ethnicity they may appear to be, greet you with an Aussie accent. Speaking of accents, that leads us to our second thought of the city . . .
2. “American accent” We have been asked (and told) many times already, “Ah, is that an American accent I hear? It’s quite heavy, eh?” Let’s get one thing straight here- we are not the ones with an accent. What we have can better be described as a lack of an accent. After all, going by the rules of phonics, why wouldn’t you pronounce all the sounds in “Melbourne?” Since when is there a silent “o” and “r” rule?
3. Still on the subject of languages, we’ve actually grown quite fond of the delightful expressions used here. Here are a few of our favorite selection from Aussie-speak -“jumper” = sweater, “sweater” = sweatshirt, “G’day love” = hi honey, “no worries” / “no drama” = no problem, “flick it over” = I’ll email it to you, “mate” = buddy, “you reck’n?” = you think?, “nappies” = baby diapers
4. It is frequently said that Aussies love their sport (yes, “sport”, not sports). The king of all sport is the Australian Football League (AFL). For those that aren’t familiar with AFL (aka "Footy"), Debbie summarizes it well – “It’s American football meets soccer meets basketball meets volleyball with intermittent wrestling.” The game is played with an American style football but teams are constantly punting the ball, not just through goals to score points but also as a way to pass the ball. You can also pass with your hands but you have to bump it like in volleyball. Oh, and no protective gear is worn just to keep it interesting, and the field is the same shape as the ball. We’ve got a few months to figure this sport out and wear our team colors proudly on game days!
Melbourne’s population increased by 2 on June 11, 2010, with the arrival of 1 Texan and 1 Californian (the “Duo Down Under”). We arrived after over 20 hours of travel,the last 14 of which were spent on a wonderful Qantas airplane (the 380 Airbus for you frequent flyers). A few of our first impressions of the city:
1. As Debbie put it after 1 days exploration, “It’s like a small, clean European city.” That it is with many people traveling on foot/tram, a great café culture (still learning the coffee lingo!), hidden alleyways filled with little shops and other good finds, and diversity. Melbourne feels like United Nations on an island, with everyone, no matter what ethnicity they may appear to be, greet you with an Aussie accent. Speaking of accents, that leads us to our second thought of the city . . .
2. “American accent” We have been asked (and told) many times already, “Ah, is that an American accent I hear? It’s quite heavy, eh?” Let’s get one thing straight here- we are not the ones with an accent. What we have can better be described as a lack of an accent. After all, going by the rules of phonics, why wouldn’t you pronounce all the sounds in “Melbourne?” Since when is there a silent “o” and “r” rule?
3. Still on the subject of languages, we’ve actually grown quite fond of the delightful expressions used here. Here are a few of our favorite selection from Aussie-speak -“jumper” = sweater, “sweater” = sweatshirt, “G’day love” = hi honey, “no worries” / “no drama” = no problem, “flick it over” = I’ll email it to you, “mate” = buddy, “you reck’n?” = you think?, “nappies” = baby diapers
4. It is frequently said that Aussies love their sport (yes, “sport”, not sports). The king of all sport is the Australian Football League (AFL). For those that aren’t familiar with AFL (aka "Footy"), Debbie summarizes it well – “It’s American football meets soccer meets basketball meets volleyball with intermittent wrestling.” The game is played with an American style football but teams are constantly punting the ball, not just through goals to score points but also as a way to pass the ball. You can also pass with your hands but you have to bump it like in volleyball. Oh, and no protective gear is worn just to keep it interesting, and the field is the same shape as the ball. We’ve got a few months to figure this sport out and wear our team colors proudly on game days!
and my high school nightmare ...."rubber" = erasers!!!!! how is a kiwi girl to know in american high school they do not use words the same way?!
ReplyDeleteand tramping = hiking :P my american high school teacher had to ask me when referring to my "CV" for my college letter of rec. those are the days that i wished i was moving back to NZ...:)
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