Happy Thanksgiving??

Well it has definitely not felt like Thanksgiving over here but by golly it is!!! Obviously Australians don't celebrate Thanksgiving and we both had to work today, but we did get some celebrating in with our American friends over the weekend. A Bondi beach gathering....

Turkey, mashed potatoes, pecan pie-- all the good stuff. Plus some vodka in a bag??? 

(Lowpoint)

Our friend Hannes from Germany (who hopped on the thanksgiving bandwagon) 

We have another Thanksgiving partay this weekend on the Opera House lawn...so that should be fun! I thought I would get a little homesick this time of year, but I haven't. I think it's because it just feels so different here right now. No jackets, boots, thanksgiving decor etc. Not the November I would have at home. I do miss that, but I'm glad it feels different right now. 

In other news...a tiny Mini!

FaceTime with our Rudy!!

This creepy entrance to an amusement park down the street 

Good to know! 

John is at a work dinner so I'm home listening to Dave Barnes' Christmas album and drinking some vino. Happy Thanksgiving loved ones!!!

That Time Annie Drove....

Welp. For the weekend of our move, we had to rent a car. I went to pick it up while John was working and learned that because I was the only one there at the time, I was the only authorized driver. Nooooooooo(r)!!!!

As many of you know, I am an EXCELLENT driver........

This was by far the scariest thing I've done in a long time. I'm on the opposite side of the road...the steering wheel is on the right...the blinker/windshield is opposite...the rearview mirror is to my upper left...it's raining...I'm in a huge city and have no idea which direction is which. John had so much fun!!!!

I was super confident and real chill! 

This just confirmed that we do nottttt need to have a car here. Public transit sounds just fine to me. 

We've moved into our place!! Pizza and wine to celebrate 

We've eaten $1 hotdogs!

And made a friend from nashville! 

I visited Coogee!

And I'm a working woman! (Temping while I continue applying/interviewing) 

Australian Dining vs. American Dining

Conversation I overheard on the bus between a group of older ladies. 

"You know we just got back from our trip to NYC...it was great fun but can you believe you have to tip in the States? The richest country in the world and you have to give the waiters more money. And they are so annoying! Always checking on you--  do you need more ketchup, more to drink---we couldn't even enjoy our conversation!!"

Hilarious! Here in Australia, just like most of Europe, tipping is not common or expected because the waiters make a decent wage. Because of that, the service is not the best. There are very few restaurants that actually wait on you-- we have only been to 2 since we have been here. Most of the time you order at the bar or the checkout and they bring you your meal---even at nice restaurants.  When you are done, you flag someone down to ask for your bill. 

Funny to hear Australians' take on dining out in America!

Are you being a silly sausage??

We heard a mom say that to her little boy on the ferry. He was making faces at us and she goes, "are you being a silly sausage? A silly little sausage??"...guess it's like our "silly goose" term. 

Big news- we have signed a lease, people! And we move in on Saturday! A "cozy"(nice word for tiny) 1 bedroom in Kirribilli. Super excited to finally unpack everything and get settled. It's a really cute part of town-- like a little village. 

Plus, this is our front yard-

And this is the neighborhood pool- 

On a completely unrelated note...crime in Australia. My dad asked me the other day about the crime rate/violence here and I wasnt completely sure so I looked into it. I have felt 100% safe ever since arriving. Most of my days I explore the city alone and I've never once felt uneasy or scared. In 2010, there were 260 murders in Australia. That's 1.2 victims per 100,000 population. In comparison, the US had 16,259 murders in 2010. 5.3 deaths per 100,000 population. Australia's low number is due in part to a huge gun ban that happened after a massacre in 1996 when a guy shot and killed 35 people in Tasmania. It banned semi-automatic and automatic rifles and shotguns. It also put in place a mandatory buyback program for newly banned weapons. 

Interesting. Vedy vedy interesting. 

Nooo(r)

John and I have been crack.ing.up. over the Aus accent lately. For some reason, they add an "r" sound to words that.. don't need "r" sounds. For example:
no(r)
do(r)n't
so(r)
blow(r)
ho(r)pe
idea(r)
Australia(r)

I found these videos that show the Australian accent and some words they say differently .. see if you hear it. Pretty funny stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZtfX8ei4is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyQDXhJrgV4

Let's go to the mooooovies

It's rained the past two Sundays here so John and I decided to visit the "cinema." Last week we saw Captain Phillips (love me some tom hanks) and today we saw The Prisoners (yum jake gyllenhal). Going to the movies here is a little different than in the States--- first, it costs more moolah. Which is the case with pretty much everything here. $19 buckaroos for an adult matinee ticket. Ouch. The other difference is they give you assigned seating. Which is a pretty smart idea! So no one steal that from me- I'm gonna make a lot of money with that when I get back to the USA. 

Sea Life Aquarium

American Expat Happy Hour

Oh em gee! Last night we went to an American Expat Happy Hour hosted by a MeetUp group. It was so fun! We met at a bar in Darling Harbour and it was a little like speed dating. We all wore name tags and awkwardly exchanged "where are you froms". But then once everyone got a couple drinks in them it livened up! We met a super cute fun couple from Colorado. They are here on a working holiday visa for about a year. It was great mingling with other people in our same situation. I was all like "sooo do you want to be friends? Do you like me? What's your favorite color?" And then I was like "calm down annie don't come on too desperate" and then I was like "I AM DESPERATE LETS HANGOUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TOMORROW AND THE DAY AFTER THAT???"

But really...it was a super fun night. We reminisced about Chic-fi-la and Chipotle and shared stories about living abroad. We also met a girl from Texas who is living with a family here as an au pair. Which is cool. We all exchanged names and numbers and will hopefully be hanging out again soon! 

Beachin' it

Last week I decided to treat myself to a beach day while John was working. You know, for all the hard things I've been doing. Off to Manly I went...

Throw in a little mexi and this girl's day was made 

Speaking of food...THIS IS NOT BACON

That is ham. Or soggy squishy soft bacon. Not the kind that I like. So work on that, Australia. 

You tried to make up for it with this snazzy design in my coffee. 

Nice try. 

The Pajama Pant

The hottest fashion phase on this side of the world...pajama pants!!(?)

They are everywhere! 

Wear them with a fitted white top and some sandals...and boom. Not sure how I feel about them or if I could pull them off (might be one of those only-tall-skinny-models-can-wear-this trends)

John says it's only a matter of time before I cave in a get some...but hey! They sure do look comfy! And come Christmas time when it is a thousand degrees outside, I might be rockin them. 

MeetUp

So, John is my only friend in this country. And that is a-ok with me! But sometimes I feel a little crazy and a little lonely. John goes to work everyday and has work friends but I don't have that type of interaction- yet. I've read a lot of blogs about being an expat and expat life and they all say the same thing- you gotta put yourself out there! Friends aren't just going to fall out of the sky! And as much as I enjoy my alone time, a girls gotta get outta the house! 

So! I joined a website called MeetUp. The site promotes community and fun events around towns worldwide. There are tons of groups to join and pretty much a group for everyone. Once you join- it's free- you get notifications about things that group is doing. I joined the groups "American Expats in Sydney", "Sydney Bootcampers", "Young 20s and 30s in Sydney" and "Girls in Sydney"

Tonight, John and I went to our first meetup! It was a bootcamp/workout session in Hyde Park. There were about 40 people who showed up- Aussies, Americans, New Zealanders, Spainiards, Frenchies (what are they called??), you name it--  and it was led by a guy from the States who used to be a bootcamp instructor in NYC. It was a great workout and we met some nice new peeps!   It was also great to have a real life face to face conversation with someone other than my handsome hubs. 

We are going to a happy hour with the same group tomorrow. 

If you are in a new city or just looking for people who are interested in the same things you are, I highly recommend joining MeetUp. It's a good way to get to know your community and make some new frandz!

 

Action shot 

Ok taking pictures while running wasn't my best idea 

Sunrise

                                           

"Sunrise on 7" is the equivalent of The Today Show in Australia. I watch it every morning... you know I love a good news talk show! I think I'm slowly beginning to think the anchors are my friends (you know-- pretty normal...). I know them so well! I eat breakfast with them every morning! We are so connected!

Anyway, the anchors are really pretty funny-- very silly and witty. I miss Savannah and Matt (and Hoda & Kathie Lee), but these folks will definitely do! Here is a clip from the show where they read mean fan mail about themselves. Hi-larious!

Life as of late

Last Friday I took the ferry to meet John and some of his new co-workers for drinks. Not a bad commute!

We hit up the Hunter Valley Wine Fest in Mosman. 

Then we stumbled upon one of the scariest things I've ever experienced- The Sydney Zombie Parade. 

I can't handle that. 

November 5th was The Melbourne Cup---a big horse race similar to The Kentucky Derby. I went to a pub to experience the hustle and bustle of it all and it was quite entertaining. Lots of drinking and gambling! 

 

At home, we've been figuring out our appliances and watching lots of Breaking Bad. 

On another note...it's weird to me how little information people know about the States. I mean it makes sense because we are made to think that the world revolves around the USA. But I haven't met too many people here who have traveled overseas to the States or many who know/care about what happens there. 

Conversations have gone like this: 

Store clerk- "Where are you from?"

Me- "The States"

Store clerk- "Oh very nice. Where abouts in the States?"

Me- "tennessee"

Store clerk- (Pause) "oh. ok. And that's in the...mid part? Right?"

Me- "well not really- more like the southeast"

(Pause)

Store clerk- "is that like, the country?"

Me- "Well some of tennessee is in the country but I'm from Nashville so it's fairly metropolitan"

Store clerk- "Oh ok- I think I've heard of Nashville. I've been to New York. It was cold!"

I love the way people talk here. The accent of course but also the lingo. Here are some new words/terms I'm learning to use:

Lift = elevator 

Rocket= arugula 

Trolley= cart/grocery cart 

Chemist = pharmacy 

Partner = spouse 

Voucher = coupon 

Jetty= harbour/pier 

Sunnies= sunglasses 

Toilet= restroom 

AC/air conditioning= aircon

Cell phone= mobile (pronounced mobyle)

CV= résumé 

Schooner= small beer (15 oz) 

Heap= tons (there are heaps of restaurants in that area)