So here is some information that may or may not be useless.

There is no such thing as instant breakfast here. (I know I have already said this.) They have these things called "Power Up" that come in juice boxes and I am assuming they are close to the same deal, except they come pre-mixed and at room temperature. I do not trust this. Speaking of mixing, they do not sell Crystal Light packets or Gatorade packets or any packets at all. I asked an Australian about the lack of these items and she was confused. So, in Australia you must buy all your beverages pre-made. “Pitchers” are obsolete as well.

There are sushi shops where you walk in and sushi is displayed behind the window. You point and choose what you would like. While this provides an opportunity to experience an array of choices, I do not trust this either.

They have these cookies called Tim Tams. They are better than any cookies you have had. Ever. (And I've had a lot of cookies.)

The girl I was speaking with at school today said "Far out!" and "Well, I'll reckon!" within about 30 seconds of each other and it took all of my insides to keep me from laughing. I have yet to hear anyone say "Crikey!" but when I do, I will laugh out loud.

A "pack" is like your "class," as in, at school. And as the stereotype has it, nobody says "friend," it is "mate." Always. 

When walking into a store, and as a casual conversation starter, someone will say "How are you going?" This has caused a few awkward moments for me. I actually looked up appropriate answers to this greeting and was happy to find out it is generally used with out the intention of a response. Perfect.

Almost always when you say “Thank you” the recipient responds with “Ohh, it’s alright!” Which I suppose is like “No problem”… but not.

In case of emergency, dial 000.

They have these iced coffees that come in cartons exactly like the ones we drank out of in elementary school. Everyone drinks them. So at any given moment, if you look around, you can probably see all sorts o f grown respectable beings drinking iced coffee from a carton, soggy mouth area and all. It provides quite a different visual than a Starbucks cup. Haaaa.

Today was an unusually good day. I went to the beach with Elja to try and embrace the 100 degree day. For obvious reasons, the beach was wonderful. The water is very clear and there was no point where I could not see my entire body under water.

Jethro also sent me flowers. Lilies. And they are pretty, pretty, pretty. I am now refered to as "the flower girl." haha.

& I got on a facebook to find a picture of Brit and Drea sitting on “the couch” holding a piece of paper saying “We miss you Mara!” (I don’t exactly get Top Chef over here and if Project Runway starts I am going to have to find a way to stream it. However, they do have Bertolli!!!  Perhaps that will be enough to embrace Wednesday nights until further notice? Haha.) Love you both.

& Amy, I will look into smuggling a Koala. If I get thrown in jail, will you push back your wedding to come bail me out? Okay. Thanks. (If I'm successful we can look into making it your flower girl! thumbs up!!)

I tried to be clever this evening and take on the metro system.  I researched to find the best bus,  wrote down the bus number  and the timetable for my approaching as well as returning trips,  made myself a map and even took a map with me, wrote down my walking  directions to the destination, and got to the stop 20 minutes early to reread  everything. But the bus never came? So, this was annoying. And of course the bus stop I was at was not very big so you had to actually hail the bus. I've never even hailed a taxi, let alone a bus. Anyway, I did not make it to my destination but perhaps I will ask the ladies at the front desk tomorrow for advice.