Vocabulary Lesson #1

Friends have commented that I've used some words unfamiliar to the average American. So it's happening already -- assimilation! As a twentysomething in London, I used to send my parents "vocabulary lists" to help them get a feel for the culture. It worked well then, so I will try it in Perth also. Here's my first installment.
Flat
Apartment. Our flat is on the seventh floor of a 16-story building, overlooking the Swan River.

Lift
Elevator. "Vince, please hold the lift for me while I lock the front door of the flat.”

Queue
A line formed by people waiting for something, like the bus or at the grocery checkout. “The queue to buy tickets to the George Michael concert was wrapped around the block.”

Macca’s
McDonalds. “A commercial on a local radio station blares, 'Get your refreshing frozen Coke only at Macca’s!'”

Postbox
Mailbox belonging to the Postal Service. “Ma’am, you can drop your holiday cards in the postbox just outside.”

Petrol, Petrol Station
Gas, Gas Station. "There is a BP Petrol Station at the end of our street. You don't have to pay first, just pump your petrol and pay when you've finished."

In case the numbers are too small to read, the current price for unleaded (not premium) is about $1.13 per litre, or approx. $5 per gallon.


Long Black, Flat White
Styles of coffee. Long Black is a small black coffee akin to espresso. Flat white is the same coffee with a bit of milk in it. “At the sidewalk café, he ordered a long black and a flat white to go with their breakfast.”

Zebra (Pronounced zehbruh) Crossing
A specialized crosswalk, defined by wide black and white stripes (think Beatles Abbey Road LP). Drivers MUST stop immediately for pedestrians in this kind of crosswalk. “There is a zebra crossing in front of the Atomic Café, our favorite place to relax.”

Australian Wave
The waving motion people make when swatting the flies who invariably accompany hot weather. “He did the Australian wave for what seemed the hundredth time, and regretted not applying bug repellent before going for his morning walk.”

Fremantle Doctor
The name for the cool breeze off the Indian Ocean which blows into Perth every afternoon from the direction of Fremantle, a coastal town to the west. “On particularly hot summer days, I eagerly anticipate the arrival of the Fremantle Doctor, which occurs about 3:00pm and refreshes me.”

Until next time,
Anita & Vince

Shopping - It's an Adventure!

At the Checkout

The scene: Time to go grocery shopping. I start by taking the lift from our 7th floor flat to the car park in the basement of our building. Enter the car on the right hand side, shift using my left hand, and engage the turn signal which is on the right side of the steering column. Exit the car park and drive in the left hand lane to the store and park in a narrow parking space in the lot. I could have parked on the street, but I haven't yet mastered parallel parking in reverse :-> I enter a popular market called Cole's, and proceed to the row of grocery carts. They are about 3/4 the size of US grocery carts, and locked together. I take out a $1 coin and insert it into the red slot at the front "child's seat" section of the cart and it separates from the others. I'll get the coin back when I return the cart.

I cruise the aisles, searching for foods that are familiar. Hmm... Uncle Toby's muesli bars, Tim Tam biscuits, king prawns, Sea Kist tuna steak, and... vegemite. It really does exist! It's a small brown jar filled with brown goo the consistency of syrup. Smells to high heaven. Keep going, past the Heinz beans and Gravox gravy mix and ... yes, it's Old El Paso! Crispy taco shells, taco sauce and flour tortillas. There's one brand of most items, but about 5 brands of yogurt and 100 kinds of feta cheese (I'm only slightly exaggerating). I select a quart of "Hi Lo" milk (lowfat), which is the largest size available, and go to the meat counter for some scotch fillet aka ribeye steak. It comes in pieces about the size of a fist and weigh - did I mention we're metric here? - about 150-200 grams each. On the way to the checkout stand I pass the drinks section and decide to buy a bottle of Diet Coke, but a 50cl bottle costs $2.50 Do I really want it? Yeah, throw caution to the wind.

There's a queue at the checkout, but soon it's my turn. There are food displays all around the checkout stand, but not a magazine, candy bar or gift card in sight. I load my fantastic fresh veggies onto the child-sized conveyor belt as the cashier rings up my purchases. "How yer goin'?" she asks with a smile. The total for 9 items is $87.66.  Trying not to choke, I fish through my wallet and retrieve a yellow ($50), red ($20), blue ($10) and purple ($5) note, plus a dime-sized, extra-thick gold coin ($2), a 12-sided silver coin (50 cents), a 10-cent coin and a smaller 5-cent coin. They don't use pennies here, they just round up or down and assume it will even out eventually.  "Did you bring a carrier bag with you?" Bring my own bag? Nope. "Would you like to pay 10 cents for a plastic bag?  I can't bring myself to pay for something that's always been free. I notice there are at least 4 different designs of "recycle" bags for sale for 99 cents each. Not bad, so I buy a cute red one, and notice that all profits from the sale of the bags go to local charities. My purchase will help someone else too.

So... friendly people, tasty but expensive food, really expensive imported stuff like Coke and anything that isn't straight from a Western Australian farm. Small quantities and little packages. Works great on the small stove tops, small ovens and even smaller storage containers. Almost everything is smaller here. With prices like these, we waste almost nothing. I thank the cashier, take my bag and return my cart to get the $1 coin back. I'm going to need it!

Getting Better

December 17th - later in the day

When filling up with gas, I found a Christmas CD set for sale in the convenience store. I played the carols while running errands, and the Christmas spirit is starting to take hold. We put up the fiber-optic tree which is actually quite pretty. I received a "snail mail" Christmas card from my Mom, which made us both feel cared for. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done and successfully made pot roast. Feeling so much better!

Homesick!

8 days until Christmas and it's 90 degrees outside. Haven't received a single Christmas card, no Christmas carols to speak of, and our little Christmas tree is still in the box. As my fellow expat and friend Lyn says,
a move like this involves a process - anticipation, excitement upon arrival, bewilderment, frustration, homesickness, and eventually adjustment and acceptance. She's right, and today's stage is homesickness. There was a short children's program at church last Sunday and both of us were imagining Owen in a similar role back home. A picnic was scheduled for the afternoon, but the weather was so hot (105+) that they moved it indoors because even the natives couldn't handle the scorching sun.

To alleviate some of the homesickness I tried to bake chocolate chip cookies. My cookie sheets are too large for the oven. The "chocolate bits" here are not the same as Nestle's tollhouse, and to top it off I burned the lot. Will I ever figure out what "forced air" means and when to use the top-and-bottom heat instead of just the top?

But it's still beautiful, and we attended a Christmas party last week and I got to meet the people Vince works with. We had a lovely time, and even got to dance a little. I know things will get better, but meanwhile will somebody please email or send me news from home?

Christmas in Perth

I'm still amazed at how different things can be here, though they appear the same. Christmas trees in store windows, carol singing, holiday parties... But while everyone is glad to have a reason to take time off and celebrate with family and friends, I have seen almost no references at all to the sacred origins of this holiday. Toto, we're not in the Bible belt any more! Interestingly, there are "heaps" of pictures of Santa in the snow and on a sleigh, even though it's upwards of 90 degrees these days. Aussies make turkey dinner for Christmas, but it is served cold, often with ham and various salads, and lots of beer. I'm told by several Australian ladies that they serve a big seafood dinner on Christmas eve, with Prawns (shrimp) cooked on the barbie. There are churches here, but not many people attend them, and the references to Christmas are of Santa, Reindeer and presents.

Advertising is low-key. No super sales or late store hours, relatively few commercials and hardly any Christmas music except for some humorous Australian carols. A candlelight Christmas concert is planned, but it is downtown and I don't know how popular it will be. Christmas here seems to be an opportunity for family to spend time together, and Boxing Day (December 26) is usually spent watching the Boxing Day Test Match or the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Most businesses will close for two weeks, from December 18th and returning on January 4th. It is considered unthinkable to work during this time, and many Aussies will go "on holiday" with their families. Popular destinations include any beach, Margaret River vineyards, Swan River Valley, northwest Australia (Broome and environs), and those who can afford the airfare will travel to Sydney or Melbourne. We hope to explore more of Western Australia during the break.

So... we've been slow to catch the Christmas spirit. I did bring some ornaments from home, and we purchased a 4-foot artificial tree which will probably go up this weekend. On Sunday our church is having a pre-Christmas picnic on the river bank. We have been instructed to wear hats and lots of sunscreen :) We miss you all and hope your Christmas preparations are progressing well. And in the spirit of silly Christmas Carols, here's one for your collection.

The Twelve Days of Australian Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
A kookaburra in a gum tree
On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Two cockatoos, and a kookaburra in a gum tree

Three parakeets.........
Four great galahs.......
Five opals black......
Six 'roos a-jumping........
Seven emus running.......
Eight koalas clinging.........
Nine wombats waddling........
Ten dingoes dashing.......
Eleven snakes a-sliding.......
Twelve goannas going.......

Worshipping the International Way

We have found a home church in Perth! It is in a part of Perth called Victoria Park, and attendance is about 60 people on Sunday mornings. It is called the Christian Reformed Church of Perth and is one of 5 of them here. Their doctrine lines up quite closely with ours, and the congregation is one of the friendliest I have ever come across. Yes, it sounds a lot like Spring Cypress Presyterian Church!

There are some interesting and fun differences. First, the majority of families are of Dutch descent, many of them first generation Australians. Second, many of the members are related to one another, either extended family or by marriage or both. The pastor, Rainier Noppers, jokes that the church directory comes in two volumes: A=Z with a second one just for V (van Der Noot, etc.). We have been made very welcome here. On our first Sunday, a husband and wife invited us to coffee at their home after the service. Last week, we had lunch at the home of our Pastor and his family. Which brings us to another interesting practice within this denomination. These 5 churches share their pastors by rotating them among each other. The "home pastor" of each church preaches one Sunday per month at a different church, and two Sundays per month at his home church, with one Sunday off per month. The idea behind this is to give the pastor more time to spend on pastoral care and less time preparing sermons (because he can give the same message twice - once at his church and once at any church he visits). A novel approach which has its merits. The congregation hears a variety of different messages and preaching styles, and people (we hope) come to church to hear the message, not just the speaker. Worship music? Each pastor brings his own music with him. Our pastor has musically talented teenage children, who play the piano and guitar during the service. There are several young families among the membership who enjoy the newer hymns, but the members who are a bit older have trouble keeping up with the tempo, resulting in praise songs sung at about 2/3 speed. The visiting pastor we heard recently brought pre-recorded instrumental versions of the hymns, which he controlled from the pulpit. Let's just say that we worship the Lord in song and voice, but in a less technologically advanced manner!

Many church members grew up in either Holland or South Africa and speak English as a second or third language. There are some Australian families who are members, and we are the only Americans worshiping at this church. I look forward to the day I can stop asking these lovely people to repeat things for me! Our accents may be different, but we share a love for God and his Word.

We are really enjoying this church, but we also miss our family at SCPC. We wish you all a most blessed Christmas and hope that some of you will email us photos of some from this year's holiday programs.

Lots of love and a blessed Christmas to all,
Anita & Vince

P.S. Today's temperature: 34 degrees (100F). How was the snow?