Aussie Lingo Matching

I figured I should do one last post before I leave Oz. So I'm going to share with you some of the words I've had to try and incorporate into my language in order to be understood in this crazy country. Your job is to match the words on the left (Aus) with the words on the right (Can).
*Note: some Australian words may have more than one meaning in Canada.

a. petrol	1. pop
b. post	2. bathing suit
c. g’day mate	3. French fries
d. boot	4. shades
e. give way	5. soother
f. overtake	6. bacon
g. bay	7. speedos
h. barbie	8. town
i. swimmers	9. gas
j. uni	10. diapers
k. ute	11. mail
l. pram	12. yield
m. sunnies	13. hello
n. budgie smugglers	14. pass
o. rubbish bin	15. trunk
p. dummy	16. barbecue
q. toilet	17. pullout
r. shire	18. sunglasses
s. fizzy drink t. carpark	19. stroller 20. university
u. boardies	21. half-car half-truck utility vehicle
v. rashers	22. parkade
w. chips	23. bathing suit
x. nappies	24. garbage can
	25. pacifier
	26. bathroom
	27. parking lot

Profound Statement of the day (PS): Chocolate melts in hot weather, even when stored inside.

Pictures from Australia

Flying over Australia

Flying over Australia

Virgin Blue 737 Arriving in Perth

The house I'm staying in.

Me and Kira, my niece.

Jance, Terry, and Kira at the beach.

Tropical flower

Cactus flower

Word Sort

Ok, here's the deal. Instead of me telling you what I like and don't like about being in Australia, you get to figure it out for yourselves. I'll give you all a list of words or phrases and you have to sort them into categories. My categories are "Things I like about being in Australia" and "Things I don't like about being in Australia". I won't give you the answers unless you really want them. You could also sort them into whatever categories and however many categories you want. Then you can post your categories. Please email me if the comment function isn't working. Thanks).

Warm weather, cool showers, not always air conditioning, white sand beaches, sand in my bathing suit, mosquitoes, holding my niece, a crying baby, a happy baby, Christmas shopping, snowflake decorations, Christmas music, nanaimo bars, Christmas baking, having roommates, having the house to myself after 8am, sleeping baby, baby spit up, jetlag, 16 hour time difference, swimming in the ocean, jellyfish stings, salt water up my nose, cafeteria food, jigsaw puzzles, sleeping in, living from my suitcase, cockroaches, sunny weather, sunburn, heat rash, Aussie accent, Aussie lingo, being self-conscious of my accent, exotic birds, tropical flowers, gingerbread houses, vacation.

I'm in Perth

I made it! Yay! I had no trouble with any of my flights or with customs or anything, besides the matter of not really sleeping. After meeting my niece, having a shower, and having an excellent dinner for Commissioning Night at YWAM, I soon get to go to sleep. Thank you for your prayers for safe travels. Enjoy the wintery weather for me and I'll enjoy the summery weather for you. 

Travel Tidbits from LA

I made it to LA. Even with a 45 min delay from Kamloops I managed to make my connection in Van, though I was sweating by the time I made it to the gate! I met Stephen Bowdler at the LAX airport to give him one of my suitcases. Thanks Stephen! And Happy Birthday! I'll be back at New Years to pick it up. So... I thought I'd let you all know I made it safe this far and I wanted to give you a few tidbits from my travels so far.

3 Random facts about luggage carts:
1) They are way too expensive
2) Luggage doesn't fit on them properly...ever
3) There's a 95% chance that at least 1 out of 4 wheels either wobbles or squeaks

The Entertainment in Vancouver Airport for Dec. 13 was this:
- 2 kids tossing what looked like a toiletry bag at a light to try and get a red toque down
- I don't know how the toque got up there
- I do know the Dad was somewhat embarrassed and tried to get them to stop but had no better solution to the problem
- random passersby tried their luck at the bag toss, without success
- others would look at the kids, look up at the toque, smile, laugh, and comment to their travel partner
- eventually the boy got it down
- both kids plus Dad were happy
- onlookers almost felt the urge to cheer

Maybe someone can explain to me how, on a plane with 12 rows of seats, I have seat number 13C. Logically, I walk to the back of the plane. The guy in row 12 asks if I'm looking for row 13, I say yes and he sends me back up to the front. cuz that's easy, walking from the very back to the very front while people are boarding. No, it wasn't first class, it was like row 0, facing row 1. Awkward!

If you can't figure that one out, maybe you could help me understand how both my tickets said I had an aisle seat, and both times I ended up next to the window.

3 Random facts about LAX airport:
1) It is like a merry-go-round. You could drive in circles for hours trying to find your arrival or departure terminal.
2) There are more cars than there are people or planes
3) Everything is expensive to the enth degree (though they haven't started charging people to take the elevator yet)

And for those of you still reading, I have a profound statement of the day:
Goodbyes are sad and tears are wet.

I'm off!

Duh duh duh (dramatic music)...the time has come! I'm packed (finally) and ready to leave (not emotionally). I fly out at noon tomorrow and 31.5 hours later I'll arrive in Perth. Well, that's the plan anyway. Your prayers would be appreciated as I make the mad dash to make connections between flights, fly through wintery skies, and collect and check in my luggage multiple times. And of course deal with jetlag, a 14 hour time difference, and complete temperature shift. I'm sure as I finally sit on the plane, relax, and have time to think, I'll be thinking of all of you and how supportive you've been to me on this venture. Thank you all  and the next time you'll hear from me I'll be enjoying summer on the other side of the world! 

Goodbye Surprise

My wonderful friends put on a surprise goodbye party for me yesterday. I love surprises like that! I do not like saying goodbye though. So I wrote a cinquain poem to express how I'm feeling.

Trip

Leaving Goodbye

Remember Cry Hug

Sad Longing Hopeful Excited

¡Adiós!

1 Week Left!

One week left! Wow! How time has flown.
So, I have 3 goals for this week:
1) Get ready (I have so much left to do I don't know what to start with)
2) Not to stress (You would too if you were in my shoes looking at the to-do list I have)
3) Savour everything (There is so much that I won't get to enjoy for so long)
For example: winter, no rain, speaking and listening to English, spending quality time with family and friends,  driving my car, fitting into the crowd, eating Mom's yummy food, long hot showers with water pressure, and of course being able to flush toilet paper.
I hope you all are able to enjoy this week as much as I will.

Fundraiser

On Saturday, Nov. 27 I held a fundraiser Night of Storytelling and Fine Arts. The purpose was to raise money to buy books for a library in Tactic, Guatemala. Impact Ministries currently has 5 elementary schools, 1 high school, and about 100 books in their "library", half of which are for kids and half for adults. Most of us have at least that many in our own homes! In my opinion, that is not a good enough library. So I wanted to get one really started. I plan on collaborating with the teachers in Guatemala to choose books that will be best for their schools.

I want to thank everyone who has given money for this cause. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of those who attended the fundraiser and also those who were unable to attend. Here are the numbers I have so far.
At the fundraiser I collected $1230 (as of Nov. 27)
From those who were unable to attend I have collected $775 (as of Nov. 30)
There have also been donations directly to Impact Ministries. I do not know the exact amount.
So the amount I am aware of so far is $2005.
I will keep you posted as this amount grows.
 My goal was to raise at least $2000 for the library, and we have done that! Thank you everyone!

This obviously will not be enough to buy a complete library. It is my hope that this becomes an on-going project that people can donate to for years to come. I hope other groups come on-board with this. Together we can increase literacy in Guatemala and give these children a brighter future.

If you would like to make a contribution, please see the Impact Ministries website http://www.impactministries.ca/. All donations will receive a Canadian Tax Receipt.

Flights are booked!

My flights are now booked from Kamloops to Guatemala! There's no turning back now. I will be leaving Kamloops Dec. 13, 2010 with a slight detour to Australia. I get to spend Christmas with my sister, brother-in-law, and new niece in Perth, Australia for 2 weeks. After an extra day in LA with extended family, I will arrive in Guatemala on Jan. 2, 2011, and start work on Jan. 4.
I leave in less than 5 weeks! So much to do and so little time.

 

I'm going to Guatemala!

Hi everyone.

I wanted to share with all of you my exciting plans for this coming year. I have been accepted to teach English in Guatemala for the 2011 school year! I will be working with Impact Ministries in Tactic, a town in the province of Alta Verapaz, about half an hour out of Cobán, which is in the mountains. I will be teaching from January 3, 2011 to October 24, 2011. If you would like more information on where I am and what I'm doing, check out http://www.impactministries.ca/ and keep following my blog.

Keep in touch,
Karey