Thursday (Day 3), and the rest of the week.

Forgot to mention that the previous day we had left home at 5:30pm to go venturing into the city. Caught the bus and landed up near China Town… walked around and did the tourist thing and bought a ton of Aussie memorabilia... stickers, shirts, tracksuit top, keys rings, magnets… oh my. The hard part is we feel like tourists, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that this is now home. We are not tourists. We are immigrants in this country. The memorabilia  will not suddenly disappear.

The city centre is just so clean and inviting. Rebecca was captivated by the public water drinking fountains, it was quite a laugh, she got water all over her face and up her nose. We also had our first taste of Farmers Union iced coffee… I kept thinking that friends of mine, Tracey and Maxine, need to have some crates sent to them… it is so, so tasty!

We couldn’t get over the fact we were walking around the centre of a city at 6:30pm!! Realising we weren’t sure when the buses would stop running, we caught a bus back home. Buses we believe run all evening, but obviously just less frequently. Got home at 7:30pm… stayed up till late.

So Thursday, was the day to set up the house. With no car we must have looked hysterical. Two backpacks, one pull along shopping bag and off we go. Stock up on food and supplies, lamps and extension cords, laundry baskets, clothes airer and frying pans… and no room to spare. We were heavily laden and went up and down, up and down to the store and back home again… I have never done so much walking in my life… let’s hope it pays off and I can start losing some of that unwanted weight. Can you picture Bernard, Rebecca and I walking the streets with frying pans, clothes airer’s and laundry baskets… enough said…

Some things we have come across… that have either made us confused or amused. Or just plain odd.

1.       The tap water is just awful. We have noticed that a few people have a ‘pura tap’ installed in their homes, this purifies the water. We have bought boxed water (comes in a container similar to a box of wine), just to get us more used to the taste. We know, we need to get adjusted, but slowly slowly!!

2.       We have no burglar bars or security gates… just fly screens. And our front door has one silly lock.

3.       When you go to your local bank, you don’t stand in a long queue at enquiries, or at the teller. You simply use a touch screen computer in the front reception, it prints out a ticket and you are called when it is your turn. So simple and so quick. Maybe some banks are different, but we are with ANZ and it is so impressive. South African banks could take some good tips.

4.       I have searched, and there is no cream soda… nothing. I have bought Creaming soda, but it was red, and tasting nothing like sparletta sparberry or cream soda.

5.       Sweets are called lollies… not sweets.

6.       There aren’t that many smokers – or maybe we just don’t see many.

7.       When you are invited to tea, which is in fact supper… and when you are asked if you want tea after supper… well that is just normal tea.

8.       Pedestrians have it lucky here. The centre of the city is just amazing… completely pedestrian friendly!

9.       Some of the road signs here in Adelaide along the highway change when necessary, so if there is a traffic obstruction or something similar, the road signs change… and drivers, would you believe it, actually stick to the speed limit.

10.   There are tons of sidewalk café’s, people sitting out in the sunshine everywhere.

11.   The school kids uniforms’ and attire is very relaxed. Boys with longish hair, girls wearing their hair down, wearing make up, rings etc. This is public schooling I think.

12.   Australians seem like they are always on a mission in the city. They walk with the speed of lightning… and of course us dawdlers have learnt to say sorry a lot!

13.   You hardly see any police around, yet everything is in order. We have been playing spot the police car… since we arrived we have probably seen 4 police vehicles.

 

Friday we went into the city and activated our bank account. Also went looking around Rundle Mall. No words can describe this shopping area. For all you women out there, it is like shopping paradise.

Shops galore, eating places like you cannot believe… I am still in awe… we have been a few times now, and I still don’t think I can get used to it.

Saturday we decided after stocking up with more home goodies, that we would go looking for a TV (after all, we have to have a tv). A new friend of ours recommended ‘Good guys’… so off we went… its 5 km’s away from our flat. We caught the bus there. Only to arrive one minute after they had closed. So we managed to get a bus to take us to the stop we needed to get to for our route home. So we wait… and wait for our bus… Nothing… we phone the metro bus helpline… they inform us that the last bus on that route has already gone past… So we had to trek again, yip… 3.5km’s… after a long day of stocking up the house… we all had to walk. Rebecca was a little champion, she started getting somewhat moody so we stocked her up with chips and red juice, and she was A for away!

Sunday, we were taken sightseeing by some lovely expats, Manny and Lee. Manny picked us up and took us for an interesting and informative drive. Showed us some beautiful area’s. We had lunch with them at a lovely place in Stirling, and from there we went cherry picking. Ah, what a bunch of fun! Really and truly a great experience. Picking and eating straight off the trees, Rebecca was in her element. We had our first barbeque and Aussie beer that evening… exhausted but so content.

We slept well that evening… what a great start. The next week would be some work and a little play!

Till then, take care…