How Much is That Puppy in the Photo?

Well, it really IS starting to feel like home, now that we've added a puppy to the household. Our cousin Liz decided on a semi-impulsive whim to buy a puppy chihuahua that she saw on Gumtree a week and a half ago. We all (Liz and I) decided to name the adorable pup Olivia Benson Hunter, hehe. Now, anyone who knows me very well knows I am unhealthily obsessed with the show Law and Order SVU and the name just seemed a natural fit with this wee, assertive dog. She's only about a foot long at this stage but is already fitting in great in her new home with the rest of us animals.

 

That's One PINT-SIZED Puppy

For our own personal reference we have complied a short list of uber Australian sayings that we have noticed in the past month. These are things that people say on a daily basis without thinking them confusing or inappropriate. Weird.

1. "That's heaps good" (heaps commonly used instead of really)

2. "Last night was crackin' " (used instead of awesome or great)

3.  "Truckies/Bikies/Footy/Chewie" (they pretty much make every word a diminutive)

4. "How ya goin' mate?" (as opposed to how is IT going)

5.  "He's a bogan" (meaning a white trash individual)

6. "She'll be right" (aka it's cool or it'll be fine)

7. "I reckon..."

8. "Bring us a beer" (though, they're only referring to themselves)

 

Our Day Job: "This is my pepperoni." -  "And this is my cheese!"

 

De-Bricking and Un-Gardening our Relatives' Abode

Al and I would also like to mention the assorted beers we have had whilst residing in Australia. It's been awhile since we have had so much time to explore the full array of local beers. We've become big fans of a couple.

Coopers - The pride of Adelaide. We've tried their Sparkling Ale, Pale Ale, Dark Lager and Green-Neck Lager. Our favourite!

Hahn Super Dry - Arguably the best low carb beer in Oz. Really dry, with fairly high alcohol content

Carlton Draught - The "Molson Canadian" of Australia. Average and affordable

James Boag's - We have tried the Euro-style lager and the Aussie-style draught from this Tasmanian brewery...the draught is a favourite of ours

VB - Victoria Bitter, the highest selling beer in Australia, is actually a malty lager rather than a bitter
Lord Nelson - One of Sydney's best brew pubs, we tried three of their brews...Three Sheets Pale Ale, Nelson's Blood Porter, and Quayle Summer Ale
Crown Lager - initially only available to dignitaries, this heavy and classic lager is a mainstay, and usually only available in the bottle

A Dingo (Almost) Ate My Baby...Sister

Now that we have settled into Adelaide, we are beginning to explore some areas around the cute little city centre. Our relatives here have been really generous with their cars and their time, taking us to local sites and attractions.

Only Known External Usages of the Dawkins Surname: Atheism, the NFL, and...Adelaide!? 

We have hit the beach several times, and are sure to be spending even more time there as it warms up. While white sand runs along the western edge of city, this 30km stretch is divided into little communities that are fun to visit. From Henley Beach in the north to Brighton in the south, there are many spots to drink, read, and soak-up this harmfully strong South Australian sun.  We have also wandered through Glenelg, which is the largest of these beach towns.

Our cousins took us to Hahndorf last week. Located in the Adelaide Hills, a half-hour outside of town, this quaint village was settled by Prussian Lutherans in the late 1830s who were lured by the warm weather and cheap land. At this time, Australia had not yet established large-scale agricultural developments, so the majority of settlers in and around Hahndorf were Prussian/German farmers. This nineteenth-century German heritage is evident to this day, with the city's fachwerk buildings still being used and German beer featured in most pubs and restaurants. We also learned about two new foods, which are popular up in Hahndorf: the kransky and the beesting cake (or bienenstich cake). We didn't spend a huge amount of time here...just long enough for a beer, a kransky, and a pleasant walk down the village's main (and only) commercial street.

The Rubbish Bin Says it All

Our aunt and uncle also took us to the Cleland Wildlife Park this week. Although we have been in Australia for over one month, we have not seen as many kangaroos, koalas, and kookaburras as we thought we would have seen by now. After we mentioned this, we were promptly taken up into the hills, to Cleland. Using open-air divisions instead of compartmentalized enclosures, Cleland allows visitors to interact with many of Australia's famous, furry, and feathered creatures. While Kate loved patting and talking to Stephen the Koala, I was enamored of the wallabies. I was expecting kangaroos and wallabies to be skittish and grumpy, but these particular marsupials were calm and extremely tame. As my aunt Cathy said, wallabies "filled the deer niche in Australia" and this observation really rang true. However, a deer from back home in BC would never let you hand-feed it and scratch its belly. We also saw wombats, bandicoots, Tasmanian Devils, and purebred dingoes. Oh, one more thing...emus suck.   

I Want a Pet Wallaby!

Stephen Wasn't As Smelly As We Thought He Would Be

"I Don't Want Your Food, and I Don't Need Your Food!"

In other news, we finally scored jobs! After applying for dozens of positions - ranging from Retirement Home Cleaner to Catholic School Librarian to Dog Washer - and feeling as if we had been blacklisted due to our Working Holiday Visas, we were both offered positions as Pizza Makers. This is no Pizza Hut position...we create personal-sized, pre-packaged pizzas for a company that is affiliated with South Australia's massive and ubiquitous baker, Vilis. While it is a tedious processing position (we create 700 pizzas per day!), it has its perks: shifts are 10am-2pm, we get discounted pizzas, the workplace is fairly close to home, we get to work together, and it pays $19 per hour. The owner was really nice regarding our Visas and said that he doesn't expect backpackers to hang around too long...he'll hire them as long as they work hard while they are in town. That's us!

A Pie Floater from Vilis Cafe...Yum?

Light's Vision - A City of Parks and Grids

Like Vancouver, Adelaide regularly makes The Economist's Top Ten Most Livable Cities. Much of Adelaide's success has to do with the city's layout, which was conceived by William Light. Light, a British Colonel and the first Surveyor-General of South Australia, designed this city himself. The design was unusual for its time, for it consisted of a compact city centre completely surrounded by parklands. He wanted to create a city that broke from European models of urban planning. In order to avoid the labyrinthine organisation of many medieval cities in Europe, and to avoid the creation of a cityscape dominated by brick and stone, he envisioned a low-lying, inviting, grid-based town dotted with local parks. The greenery and geography of the city were the first things to make a positive impression upon us as we arrived via the rolling Adelaide Hills during a startlingly orange sunset. This city does not possess the grandeur of Paris or the swank of Melbourne, but it is quaint and pretty.

Unlimited Oranges!

What is with my Shirt Here?

We have definitely experienced a change of pace since arriving to Adelaide. We have family here, and a place to stay, so it almost feels like a home away from home. We have our own bedrooms, we have our own bathroom, and we go over to our aunt and uncle's a few times every week for dinner. This convenient arrangement is comfortable, but our days feel torpid when compared to the backpacker lifestyle. This change is neither good nor bad, it's just different. The great thing about being here is that we get to stay with family members that we had only met a few times in our lives...when they made the long trip to Vancouver. Why did they move sooooo far away?

Windy Point Lookout

We have been busy adapting to South Australia: we have consumed several Farmers Union Iced Coffees, we shop at Foodland, we have learned all the rules to Aussie Football and are going to an SANFL this week, and we are now accustomed to hearing Rainbow Lorikeets in the morning instead of pigeons. Our cuz, Liz, has been really generous with her time as well, showing us some of the local attractions which include:

Botanical Gardens

Brighton Beach

The River Torrens

The plan was to work while we visited with relatives here in Australia, but the search isn't going too well. Employers really really dislike Working Holiday Visas because they know that employees with these visas won't be sticking around. If the dry spell continues, we may push everything back and aim to be home in November. Now...time to pound the pavement!