Language Barriers

Ok -- so you can enjoy in my confusion... here is another interesting thing I experienced just today.

"Arvo"

I saw a note that said " Will return this arvo..." and I thought I was misreading the note, or possibly the letters I was seeing weren't real. This moment of confusion and wonderment actually made me ask my in-laws what in the heck was an "Arvo".

So here I stealed myself to ask, got up the gumption to say something to Jill and very innocently said "Um, this may sound stupid, but what is an arvo?" To which she giggled quietly and said, "arvo is a very Australian word... it means afternoon." Then she turns to Alan (who as of yet hadn't heard my question) and said, "Alan, Gen want's to know what an arvo is." And of course he also chuckled and said, "afternoon of course".

Here I am learning a whole new language, and I thought we all spoke English, silly me.

FYI - with a quick search online you can find the history and definition of "arvo".
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ar⋅vo /ˈɑrvoʊ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ahr-voh]

–noun Australian Slang.

afternoon.

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Origin:
1930–35; af(ternoon) + -o, with voicing of -f-; ar is r-less speaker's representation of low back vowel

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

The Beach(es)

Yesterday we walked on the beach, white sand running through my toes was the most relaxing feeling I think I have ever truly experienced (aside from a really good massage which put me to sleep in the first 10 minutes of the hour session I had purchased).

I said relaxing, yes... but have you ever really walked in sand? I mean really walked in sand, the kind of sand that you sink into because if you are like me, pregnant, heavy, and have tiny feet, your feet disappear into the sand as if you only have legs from the ankles up.

So here I am, enjoying the feel of the sand all over my bare feet, and it takes me three times as long to walk 5 feet in the sand as it would any other person. Sure I guess if I wasn't pregnant and off balance already or if I had bigger feet to spread out the surface area of my weight or perhaps if I was the correct weight for my size none of this would have even been an idea in my head.

But despite all the fuss I just made, I still made Daniel promise to take me to the beach more often... if nothing else but so I can enjoy the feel of the warm sand between my toes. ;-)

Do you know this business?

I am sure this sign looks familiar... I did a double take when I saw it.

I bet if you think about it you will know who it is too. Oddly they even have a nearly identical menu to their US identity, and the foods I have tried taste the same in the US as they do here in Australia. And that's saying a lot.

Some other places I have eaten in Australia that are also in the states are McDonalds and KFC. And although I haven't eaten there yet, Subway has a big footprint here too (nearly every other block).

Heading to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

On March 30, 2009, I left my home in small town, Ohio, USA to take on a whirlwind adventure in a new place. The trip via plane(s), was very comfortable for economy class. I hopped from Akron, Ohio to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, California. There I changed airlines and hopped from Los Angeles, California to Auckland, New Zealand to Melborne, Australia and finally arrived in Perth, Australia. Arriving in Perth my husband, Daniel (who had been here for 6 weeks already), and his parents were waiting for me to debark the last plane and meet them just before the baggage claim. Alan (my father-in-law) was videoing the entire event as I took the escalator down to give Daniel a huge hug and a kiss before I turned to greet him and Jill.

Exhausted as I was when I arrived... I hoped that the 2 day trip across the ocean would help me adjust easier to the 12 hour time difference between Ohio and Australia.