Random Down Under

• Driving on the left side of the road isn't as scary as I thought it would be.
• But passing on the right side on a two lane highway is terrifying.
• Kangaroos have very long eye lashes.
  
• I saw a platypus in the wild. They are tinier than you would expect.
• Spotted on the beach: evidence men get cellulite.
• In the US and Canada I was often confused by the menu at cafes. Traveling in Australia has complicated things further because they don't use the same names for drinks. Australians drink stuff like "flat white". I have no idea what these new names mean and as a result I stammer and hold up the line while I try to figure out how to order a cup of coffee.
  
• Everything here is inside out and upside down. Christmas is during the summer. The cars drive on the left. The constellations are upside down. The Pacific Ocean is on the East coast. Weather moves from West to East.
  
• I saw a turtle while snorkeling this morning.
• Favorite idiom so far "Bob's your uncle" (everything is ok)
• Camembert cheese from Tasmania is tasty

More to come the next time I have internet access.

Upside Down

I am in the land down under!
I am still jet lagged and dizzy, but loving life in Australia. I am at a mall internet kiosk waiting for my husband to finish up business with the travel agent. Here are some random musings:

• Everything is backward here
• The driving on the left side of the street is difficult to get used to. I almost stepped off the curb into oncoming traffic
• The $2 coin is smaller than the $1 coin
• The toilet flush spins in the wrong direction
• Even the stars in the sky are different
• I am glad to be away from US election coverage but I feel left out from a historic moment
• I felt weepy when I heard that Obama's grandmother passed away. I hope she voted absentee so that she had an opportunity to vote for him.
• Kangaroo meat is sold at the supermarket
• The women here are very thin
• I didn't think I would be afraid of the bats, but when you are walking at night and have to pass under a squaking tree that is shaking from night-time bat traffic you can't help but feel terrified.
• The fruits and veggies taste the same as they did in Canada.I am a bit underwhelmed because I was hoping Australian produce would be better than crappy Canadian produce which is imported from all over the world because of the climate.

Today I am off to the zoo to cuddle koala bears and feed kangaroos. That's it for now. More to come later.......