How you know you are Australian: Instead of "Thank you" you say "Ta" and instead of "You're welcome" you say "No worries". You call everybody "mate", no matter what age or gender. You don't think "Bananas in Pyjamas" sounds funny at all. If someone takes 'the Mickey' out of you, you have a good laugh, but if someone calls you an 'expert', you think you're being insulted; you think swearing is a sign of lacking pride but burping and farting is alright as long as you apologize for it. You don't order a coffee, you order a "half strength soy hazelnut Latte" or a "double shot skinny Muggachino" (CUPuchino - MUGachino, cute, isn't it?). Instead of a bicycle you ride a pushbike, but actually you don't, because only very sport fanatic people would ride a pushbike to work. And some strange Germans maybe.
We have been in Australia for almost 10 and a half month now and are loving it. We have started in Queensland, travelling along the coast, seen the wonderful Fraser Island and the spectacular Whitsunday Islands, have dived the Great Barrier Reef, have hang out in Byron Bay and Sydney, have had a great time with Julia and Matze around Christmas and New Year's Eve in Melbourne and around Victoria, have looked for gold in Walhalla, have travelled the Great Ocean Road and hiked the most beautiful Nationalparks, have gone up the Outback to Uluru and Kata Tjuta, have been noodling for opals in Coober Pedy and have now lived in Mt Barker near Adelaide for 6 month and have worked here in a bakery and a grapevine nursery. Mt Barker might not be the most exciting of all places but look at it that way: it's 40 minutes drive to the most beautiful beaches, 30 minutes drive to Adelaide with nice cultural events and the stunning Central Market, where you can buy any delicious culinary thing you could possibly desire (including tasty French cheese, gorgeous Italian pancetta or delightful German white sausages for example) and 20 minutes drive to lovely surrounding vineyards with cellar doors where you can taste wine for free or sometimes have beautiful concerts or events, all of that located in the pretty Adelaide Hills, with kangaroos, koalas, possums and all of the cheeky cockatoos and colourful parrots that make me smile every single day.
We will come back.
But first - we are going travelling again!
I am currently working my last week at Millie's and then we want to take our Dan for a ride again. Where to - we don't know yet.
But we have just booked - a flight to CAMBODIA. On the 30th of October we are flying to Kuala Lumpur for one night and further on to Phnom Penh the next morning.
Angkor Wat, we are coming!!
Until Holger gets his next visa granted (I have all the stuff to extend mine), we will be travelling Cambodia and Thailand, also visiting Nim's familiy in Northern Thailand.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! :-)
Goodbye from Millie's!
Last day at the nursery!
Yummy oysters at the Oyster Bar in Glenelg at Nim's birthday
Nim's birthday party at home (left cake from Millie's) - now we've lived here for SEVEN month..... incredible.
Murray River
Debbie...... :-) Ooooh, we will miss our Debbie Doggie baaaaadly.....
