Things That Make Us Laugh

• Getting to watch the Global Edition of John Stewart's Daily Show.  It's uncensored and even funnier.

• Some brands here just don't seem like they'd go over so well at home...

For when you're at war with your hair?

• Sydney dogs dressed up in coats when it's 60 degrees Farenheit outside.

• Our very Australian tennis instructor, Adrian, told the kids he was going to Bali for his honeymoon.  Mia's response, "Where's Barley?" It helps to know the words before you need to translate them from the Aussie accent!   

• A recent blurb in the newspaper mentioned a new Mexican restaurant opening.  The lead-up discussed how Sydney is now a good place for Mexican (yet to find a North American who agrees!) but it used to go over poorly, "like chicken and pasta."  Huh?  Sounds OK to us...

• Chris was telling Sam how the rugby match would not be cancelled even though the field was in poor condition.  Sam thought that was OK because "It's good if it's muddy when they play rugby because then you can't see all the blood."  Nice.

• Funny brands



Chris can have a Cheeky Blonde every night

• Aussie words the kids have picked up and use frequently: (1) stuffed up = goofed up - Mia loves this one.  She didn't like her dinner the other night and asked if I'd stuffed it up.  (2) verse = play - Sam said he "couldn't wait to verse his friend's team in soccer."  

• Bus ad seen the other day

Things We Like:

• Avocados the neighbor next door gave us from his tree



Guacamole coming soon!



• Wine and food festival at our doorstep.  No worries about tasting too much when it's a minute walk home! 

• Dutch poffertjes - I learned to love these in the Netherlands in 1987.  I haven't seen them since but, happily, they have them here at markets and festivals.  They are basically just tiny, puffy pancakes with a variety of toppings.  Lemon juice, butter and powdered sugar is my fave; the kids go for chocolate and strawberries. 

• Checking out the post-race festivities at Bondi Beach after the City2Surf 14 K road race through Sydney.  Neither of us was orthopedically sound enough to run it, but fit enough to get some lunch at Accenture's tent!  It's the largest race in the world, with 85,000 runners.  Historically, it never rains on the City2Surf, but this year changed all that. 

• Cricket on the beach

• Mates at school

SOPAC...and AFL

     SOPAC is shorthand for the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center.  Mia had a swim meet there last weekend.  What a great venue!  If you've got to sit at a swim meet for 6 hours, this is the place to do it.  When the announcements started, Chris and I looked at each other in amazement.  We've never heard such a lovely sound system at a swim meet.  Usually it's too low and the acoustics are so poor that everything is completely garbled.  This was crystal clear!  Plenty of comfy seating (chairs with backs!), not steamy hot inside, working scoreboards and timing system, cafe and water park in the building - not much more to say.  We're spoiled now.  Mia might only be allowed to attend swim meets there in the future...or perhaps other recent Olympic venues (but, no, we're not going to Athens, London, or Beijing).

      We didn't have to spend the whole gorgeous weekend inside though.  "Winta" soccer season is nearly over now, but that just means a short break until "Summa" play starts.  We still can't get over the view from the field - straight across the harbor.

     AFL stands for Australian Football League which is what everyone calls Australian Rules Football.  Sam had his last week of Auskick this weeked which is the indoctrination of all young Victorian (the state where Melbourne is, not the era) boys into the "code".  In addition to Football (soccer), Australia has three major football "codes" which battle for surpremacy.  Rugby League is the main game in New South Wales (Sydney) and Queensland, while AFL is THE game in Victoria, and Rugby Union is a distant third to the dismay of the POMS (English people) and Kiwis.  So, they all battle to get the kids as young as possible and build their life long barrackers (that's the Aussie unique word for 'supporters' which came from army guys leaving the barracks in Melbourne to watch AFL many years ago).  While Sam has already started lobbying for Rugby next year, he had a good end to the AFL season which ended with him kicking the final goal before all the boys gathered together to sing the team song (yes, every AFL club has their own song...very English of them)!



This is what a typical 'Oval' looks like where cricket and AFL are played with the white
picket fence and the movable screens to give the cricket batters a white background



Kicking for goal which is worth six points



Sam going for a 'Mark' - i.e. catching a kick in the air