Monday, February 19, 2018

Day 28 ~ Divided by a Common Language


We’re cruising through the Great Australian Bight today and tomorrow on our way from Adelaide to Esperance, our fourth port of call in this lovely land. The sea has settled down quite a bit, the sun is shining and the temp is a comfortable 72.
I figured you may be getting weary of hearing about trivia (we were 2nd again today) and Harmony Choir (I was able to sing a little, but the cold is not completely gone) so I thought I’d share some of my favorite Australian signs and unique usage of our common language:  

Wrong Way. Go Back.—This one is so delightfully direct. You messed up, mate. Here’s how to fix it.

Keep Left unless Overtaking.—The Aussies drive on the left like the Brits, so if there are multiple lanes, the left one is the slow lane not the right. Overtaking means you’re passing another vehicle.

Florist Ahead.—Isn’t it nice to be forewarned of what’s ahead? However, I’m not sure why I need to know there’s a bouquet with my name on it just up the road. I didn’t see signs letting me know I was approaching someplace where I could buy gas or food or anything else. Just flowers.

Give Way.—The Aussie version of “Yield.”

Coach Parking—Here’s where you’ll find your tour bus.

Beef Mince—Ground beef. Hamburger. Meat is sold by the kilogram.  At present, the exchange rate is $0.78 US for $1.00 AUS.

Caravanning—It’s the very popular pastime we call camping! We’ve seen several RV parks in Australia and New Zealand. Our table mates Vaughan and Cathy from Melbourne told us about a 12000 kilometer trip they recently took up through the barren center of the country to visit Ularoo (probably misspelled. It’s a big rock formation in the middle of nowhere that is special to Aboriginals and seems to change color spectacularly depending on the time of day). Then our new friends went on to Darwin on the north shore and back. Like camping in the US, it’s best to make reservations ahead of time because campsites fill up quickly.

Trap—Slang for police. This may not be in common use today. The Australian Empire Band used it last night and most of their songs were from the 1800s and earlier.

And now for those of you who wondered what on earth that stuff was on my hamburger yesterday…it was (drum roll, please!) onion jam! And it was delicious. I never would have thought of making jam out of onions but I suppose the process is similar to any berry type jam.

Try something new today. That’s my goal. Let me know how it goes with you.

6 comments:

  1. Glad you are feeling better. Bring back some of that Onion Jam!

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  2. They didn't sell it separately, more's the pity!

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  3. I noticed the picture of the bus with the Cheap as Chips...and just to let you know, that's generally a Kiwi phrase. They say "sweet as..." "cheap as" "good as" and usually there's a picture to tell you what they're comparing to. Just thought you'd like to know.

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    1. Thanks for sharing, Susan. I mostly posted the pic for the Give Way sign. :-)

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  4. I am happy your cold is better. I changed my mind I would eat that onion jam.So many people at church are following where you are & others are saying where are they at now? We are enjoying reading about all of your adventures. Rachael & the dogs are all doing fine & eating well. love you

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    1. Love you too, Mom. Thanks for the update! I think of you all every day and miss you so, but we are having the most excellent adventures!

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