It’s the little daily things more than the big spectacles that make us aware that we’re in another land. Communication isn’t a problem in normal, extended conversation. If I don’t understand one little word or phrase, it doesn’t matter or I can figure it out from the context. It’s the brief encounters that stump me, though. I was buying some little thing at the grocery store yesterday and offered a $20 bill to pay. The clerk asked a question and I didn’t understand a word. I asked her to repeat it and thought I caught the word “five”. I decided she wanted to know if I had a smaller bill, and said no. That seemed to be the right answer, as she took the $20 and gave me my change. It was sad though, because I had decided I was going to try in that brief encounter to pass myself off as a native Australian. I figured I could just greet her with a passable “g’day” and then at the end say thanks with an Australian accent and she’d be none the wiser. The blank, dopey look in between probably gave me away, though. It was the second time this week I had that kind of communication problem in making a purchase at a store. In the other incident Roland was with me, and I wound up just looking back and forth between the clerk and Roland as he interpreted for me.
On the other hand, my all-time favorite soft drink now is a flavor called Lemon, Lime & Bitters, made by at least four different Queensland soft drink manufacturers, like we have competing brands of cola in the U.S. I love it.
And my wife and I just took a short walk in the park across the street. I took my camera along and got photos of a giant lizard (maybe two feet long) and several species of bird that are just normal neighborhood birds here but are awfully exotic to me. I missed shots of a couple of other species.
Karen and the kids are about ready to start job hunting, and I’ll be ready to start my job as Customer Service Manager for Trade Alliance on Monday.
3 comments:
what is the time differance there?
Love you!!
I can't wait to go there and see ya!!
Is kangaroo meat good to eat? Sounds like it would, secially with mint sauce!MP
This is in response to the most recent couple of comments on my blog.
The time difference between Brisbane and Dallas is 15 hours. Brisbane is 15 hours ahead.
Roland says he had a kangaroo steak once that was the best steak he's ever eaten. My sister Janet, however, once found kangaroo steak at a store in Dallas and we cooked and tasted it, and both thought it tasted like liver, so I take Roland's culinary advice with a grain of salt.
When comments are posted without putting your name at the end, I can't tell who's asking the question, so it's not always clear how to answer. So I've changed the blog so that you'll have to register to post a comment. That way I'll know who I'm talking to and how to answer their questions. I don't know what's involved in registering, though, so it may just eliminate comments, which I don't want to do. At any rate, if you just want to ask me a question rather than posting a public comment for all readers of the blog to see, just e-mailing me would probably be better, and most of you have my e-mail address.
Thanks,
Brad
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