Tonight at dinner we got to talking about American/Australian language differences. For one, they pronounce the letter Z as "zed" instead of "zee." Which means that zebra is pronounced "zehbra." I thought this was hilarious. Other abnormalities of Australian English include a high frequency of unnecessary vowels inserted in words (behaviour, labour, colour), as well as 's' where there should clearly be a 'z' (organisation, realisation).
Further, their candy (lolly) selection is far inferior to the American arsenal of sweets. No Reese's. Tragic, really. Instead of gummy worms and gummy bears they have gummy rattlesnakes (vicious but acceptable) and, worst of all, gummy BABIES. Human babies. In gummy form. If you want to go really crazy you can get the kind with the liquidy stuff inside and have squirting babies for an afternoon snack. These people are freaks.
Meal times are some of my favorite parts of the week. Besides the obvious enjoyment I get from eating, it is nice to have guaranteed socializing opportunities. At WashU it is so easy to avoid everyone and eat alone at 3 pm or 9 pm or 2 pm (all times we do not eat here), but here, there is such a small window for eating that everyone is together. I kinda love it, kinda hate it. It definitely keeps me on a schedule and gets me out of my room on those days I just want to sleep all day.
Today in our marine science class the lecturer spent the entire class detailing the many ways we could die by Australian sea creatures. The abbreviated list includes cone snails, box jellyfish, blue ringed octopuses, stingrays, and sharks, all of which we'll be encountering on our trip to the Great Barrier Reef in a couple weeks. I'm generally okay with deadly animals, you know, NBD, but that octupus freaked me out because it blinds and paralyzes you while you are fully conscious. I live a dangerous life.
Two of our friends are traveling this weekend and the rest of us were jealous. Not to mention we have gotten rather lazy lately. My time in Australia is going so fast that it is stupid not to take advantage while I'm here. Hence our quick decision to go to Noosa this weekend. Noosa is a place on the Sunshine Coast (I know, sounds perfect already) and we're staying at a villa on the beach for two nights. Shoutout to Christine, who is on the Transportation Committee* and planned the whole thing in like an hour (and also scored a sweet discount on the villa). Looking forward to getting out of Brisbane for a couple days and doing something different.
*Committees are always necessary in any group of friends. I'm Morale Committee, FYI. Basically I just get excited about things and encourage to others to get excited, as well. It's crucial.
Do they have McDonalds there? If so, you should try it and see what the difference is. In my opinion, America definately uses more grease than other places, but I like it better with grease... go figure.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like this committee business.