Language

We have noticed some funny things that people say:

When you go someplace, you "rock up" there. For example, Kristen and Dylan rocked up to the restraunt.

Instead of saying do or doing, Australians say go or going. So, how are you doing? is how you going? and How did you do? is How'dya go?

Cars that are not fuel efficient are called "thirsty."

Snake

Right before we began teaching tennis in Kiewa, we spotted a black and red snake near the entrance to the courts (see picture, the snake is near the park bench). Dylan warned the parents, but they said that is not the kind of snake to worry about. Dylan said, "oh, so those snakes must not be poisonous?" The parents replied, "of course it's poisonous, all of our snakes are poisonous, it's just not the type of snake that chases after you."

Evidently, the Tiger snake and the Brown snake will chase after humans that threaten them. The parents said that if we had seen a Tiger or Brown, we would have had to hop up on the picnic tables. Crazy!

Tree

When we drive to Kiewa, the country town near Albury, the trees are amazing. They look big, old, and different than the trees we are used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest.

New Car, New House

We finally bought a used car. It is a Mitsubishi Magna. It doesn't get as good gas milage as our Hondas at home, but it is in good condition and we are told that it will be a safe car to take on our excursions to remote parts of Australia.

We were having trouble finding an affordable apartment to rent, but we found excellent accomodations in the meantime. Kate has a friend named Paul, a single guy with a four bedroom house on a golf course (#9 Golf View Drive). The house has a fantastic view from the front and out the back (see picture). Paul gave us a bedroom in his fancy home and told us that we can stay for free until we can find an apartment.

Weather

Boy has the weather been weird. Yesterday we had to cancel all of the tennis classes due to heat, because it was over 40 degrees celcius (over 100). Today, we had to cancel tennis classes because we got rained out. As you can imagine, it's pretty stinkin humid!

We have been trying to find ways to stay cool. Kate has some good friends (Sas and Mic) who have a pool. In between our morning and afternoon teaching sessions we are allowed to hang out at Sas and Mic's house and swim in their pool whenever we want. This is a great way to beat the heat.

Out of Town

This is what the outskirts of Albury look like...a beautiful sea of purple.

Driving

We have been getting used to driving on the left side of the road with the driver on the right side of the car. We both tend to put the passenger into the shoulder, and turn the windshield wipers on instead of the blinkers. We just found a great deal on a used car (we will post the picture soon). The car is apparently in good condition and will be reliable for long car trips around AUS.

One interesting thing that we have found is that most people in Albury either know us or have heard about us as the "new American tennis coaches." It is kind of fun for us to walk around town and have people ask us if we are the new coaches. People seem to remember us as the young couple who wear tennis clothes and talk funny.

Getting Adjusted

Sorry, we have not been updating our blog regularly because we do not have Internet yet. Right now we are using Kate's Internet. We are living in a rental house while we are looking for an apartment that is a bit more affordable. Once we get into an apartment we are going to get Internet. Also, we have a few people who are actively trying to find us a car to buy. It will be much nicer once we are more set up here.

Since we arrived we have been working long days. We are working so much that it is tricky to find the time to complete the items on our to do list. The weather has been very nice. The sun is very strong, so sunscreen is always a must. It rained last weekend, which everyone was very excited about since Australia has been in a 2 year drought. The flies here are unbelievable. They constantly buzz our faces/ears. When we stand still for more than 5 seconds about 10 flies land on each of us. It is pretty disgusting. The people here say that the flies are particularly bad right now, but you never get used to the fly problem.

We have a pet rooster. He wakes us up at 5:00am on the nose. We think he deserves a name, but we haven't come up with one yet. Any suggetions?