the best (and the rest)

well, we're not travelling anymore. and in fact, as life has thrown a bit of a curveball to us, i'm actually sitting at my parents place, waiting to start the next chapter of my life. i'm looking out the window at mountains of snow, having been welcomed with a classic winter storm only a few days ago. so, i thought i'd sum up the best (and the rest) from our 4 years in oz. i won't include the obvious "beaches, weather" because, well that's just obvious. of course i loved the beaches and the weather! but there were other things we loved (and hated) too.

things we loved:

triple j- by far the best radio station ever. it's non-commercial and plays great music all the time. it's got a news program aimed at gen Y, and different music shows to appeal to all musical genres. i will definitely be listening to this online...

as a sub category to that, i will also say australian music. we've discovered many a great act by listening to triple j (and being around aussies). they have some amazing artists that we will seek out if/when they come on tour. it might be worth holding on to our itunes australia account.

plastic money- it sounds weird, but it's not. australian money is plasticized, meaning it can get thoroughly wet and be no worse for it. not truly appreciated until you take pants out of the washing machine and find a 50 in the pocket.

mobile phone plans- aussies leave us in their dust when it comes to mobile/cell phones. with all mobiles having the same number (04...) it makes for easy nation-wide communication. they also don't charge you to receive calls or texts, and have much better deals then we ever had in canada.

the coastline- i said i wouldn't mention beaches, so i'm not. but this doesn't just mean beaches. the coastline in australia is simply amazing. from crashing waves and sheer cliffs, to lapping waves on white sandy beaches and everything in between. you'd be hard pressed to find another country with such a diversely beautiful coast.

maruspials- i can`t explain what it is about marsupials, but who doesn`t love them? kangaroos never stop being funny and koalas are cute and terrifying at the same time (hello, ewoks!). emus, echidnas, platypus. i mean, do i even need to explain?


things we didn't love:

internet- they may have us beat with phone plans, but they sure as hell lag behind on the the internet. aside from being incredibly expensive, it's also painfully slow. all the time. when i first arrived and was trying to set up a plan, the guy on the phone said to me "oh, you're from canada? well, you're going to be disappointed with our internet". 'nuff said.

customer service (lack thereof)- i find it absolutely amazing, but customer service in australia is appalling. from the barrista to the bar tender to the chick in the dress shop. always making me feel guilty for asking for their help or making me feel like i'm interrupting them. at work. you don't fully appreciate canadian customer service until you don't have it anymore.

cost of living- i know, i know, there are many places in the world where the cost of living is high. but more then just the cost of housing, EVERYTHING is more expensive in australia.it`s a bit of a media friendly issue right now. it made sense that things were more expensive when the aussie dollar was only worth half of an american dollar, but now that aussie dollars are worth more, it`s just nuts. besides, isn`t it all coming from china anyhow? surely it should be cheaper to ship things to australia then the usa...

distance- this is more associated to living in perth, but man! is it far. not just other cities in the country (or out of the country for that matter) but anything. the closest place that people holiday from perth is 3 hours south. and it`s nice, but there is a mass exodus of perthites during any holiday time, so it`s really not worth heading down. the rest of the country is just so freakin`big. and unlike canada, where we keep our open space to the north (for the most part), the large part of unliveable territory in australia is smack in the middle. incovenient at best. and don`t get me started on the cost of domestic travel...


things we`re ambigous about: some things are neither good nor bad, or both loved and hated

australian tv- aussies have a surprisingly large quantity of tv shows. game shows, reality shows, faux game shows with the same people on it every week (usually a b-list celeb), drama, comedy, etc. etc. you think of it, they have it. some of these shows we loved (good news week, for example) and many we hated (7pm project and most reality shows). most of the shows were of candian-cbc quality. most of my aussie friends love aussie tv. it just doesn`t fully cut it for me.

as a side note, aussies clearly also have a different type of humour or appreciation for tv then we do. case in point- i think they are singlehandedly keeping 2 and a half men on the air.*gag*

nationalism- while i do love that aussies take pride in "buying australian", having their own magazines, celebrities, movies, etc and are more culturally independant then canada, it comes at a higher price. nationalism takes an unforunate turn on many occasions, and borders heavily, and uncomfortably, on racism.

festivals- i think aussies have the most music festivals per capita. clearly, the year-round awesome weather sure makes it easy to enjoy! they come in all shapes and sizes, all genres of music. but festivals come at a price. literally. and they`ve all merged into one. whereas in the past they were genre-specific, it`s now just a matter of "how many different bands can we get" and "how much more can we charge people for it?". plus, for the most part, you are surrounded by drunken iditos (no, not unsual at festivals, i know) who are sweating all over you (also not unusual) and jumping around to a beat no one else can hear (clearly not unusual, but my least favourite part of festivals!)

slang- aussies love to abbreviate. all the time. anything they can. which is kind of fun, but mostly just annoying after a while. sure, i`ve picked up some things from them (jumper, arvo), but many things i just can`t bring myself to say (chook, carn). it took me months (years even!) to figure it all out. mostly, if in doubt, you just cut a word in half and add an "o".


right. well. that`s it really. i started writing this post just after i arrived back in canada.  i`ve been home for a month now, and i can truly say that i both miss australia and am happy to be home. it`s funny how 2 different places can make you feel totally whole - canada and australia have so many similarities and yet so many differences. each of them being unique. and each of them making me happy. am i glad to be home? absolutely. do i feel like i`m done with australia? hell no. and when i head back, i`ll be sure to keep you updated.

but for now, this is it. my last blog. because, as it stands, michelle and john are no longer in oz.
xo