Full of Surprises!

Every instinct I have of traveling this far across the globe leaves me expecting people on camels, unrecognizable lettering on signs, crumbling buildings, and rattling buses. But Australia is not like that at all. It is clean, comfortable, functional, and familiar. What a pleasant surprise to find it here :)

-I am so happy each time I am realize that English is, indeed, the spoken and written language in Australia. I still feel like I'm in a foreign country and have sudden thoughts about how I'm going to get a from point A to point B, or ask a question, or make a purchase. And then I realize they speak English too! The trains are in English, the taxi drivers speak English, and the obliging little woman in the bakery serving breakfast pies speaks English.

-There are a lot of Asians in Australia, and hence, lots of Asian restaurants. I suppose this makes sense, seeing as the countries in Asia and Southeast Asia are the closest to Australia, but it's something I didn't expect to find.

-There are a plethora of free public bathrooms, and they are always clean, even cleaner than public restrooms in the States, and they are stocked with TP.

-Aussies love to play cricket. Playing on the beach, in parks, etc. I even saw a group of little leaguers playing. This was surprising to me, but I suppose it comes from the British influence.

-Additions to the animals I've encountered in OZ include blue bottle jelly fish (also known as "blueys"). Blueys are members on the man-of-war family of jelly fish, and I found one wrapped around my ankle at Coogee Beach (I didn't get stung though!). After taking a closer look I realized there were dead laying all over the beach sand. Many thanks to a local for pointing this out. I also saw a water dragon laying on the rocks while I was canyoning in the Blue Mountains. I was pretty!

-The golden wattle is Australia's national flower. This is the reason that Australia's colors during the Olympics are green and yellow rather than red, white and blue like their flag. Interesting! A golden wattle is a tiny little yellow flower bud that looks like a daisy. 

-I love meeting Aussies. Sure meeting other travelers in hostels is neat (many Europeans), but I enjoy meeting the local Australians the most. After abseiling down a 30 meter cliff in the Blue Mountains outside of Katoomba, I exclaimed to two local girls on the abseiling trip that I was jealous they were Australian. They quickly exclaimed, "We're jealous you're American!". The same sentiment applies, as many Aussies I've met dream of going to America and lament that US visas are the hardest to get and only last for a year. Wow I'm proud to be an American.

-I love how Aussies say the word "heaps" as a replacement for the words "a lot" and "loads". Examples include "You have heaps of energy!", "How much sunscreen did you put on? Oh, heaps!", and my personal favorite "Thanks heaps!"

-Aussies in general are very fit and outdoorsy. They enjoy the wilderness and have a kindred spirit. They also have a different gauge of athleticism. How can I describe this.... Let's see, the hike to Wentworth Falls was described as "a wee bit strenuous". Yeah I can't remember the last time trudging up 800 stairs at a 45 degree angle was considered a wee bit strenuous (for reference, the steepest railway in the world, also in Australia, is 52 degrees). Also looking back on my beginners abseiling course, there's no way any outdoor tour in the US would have its beginners abseil down the face of a 30 meter waterfall having learned how to abseil for the first time only three hours before. At King's Canyon in the Northern Territory, the hike up to the rim is called "Heart Attack Hill". I was legitimately worried- if Aussies think the hike will give you a heart attack, then it really means that you're going to go into cardiac arrest and drop dead halfway up the hill. Australia is an exhilarating place!