Thoughts on Australia

But during all of this driving and flying…I had some thoughts in my head…

first of all, about Australia…

• In Australia, you say you’re going north for the winter…
• If you are born in November, you are born in the summer…
• Longest day in our hemisphere, is the shortest day in theirs…
• The months are opposite…I know, I said this already, but I can’t wrap my brain around it…July, July, August…WINTER…Hello weirdness!!!
• A “right turn” is the difficult turn like the “left turn” at home…
• I drove there…for a short period…I could barely back out of the drive way…the mirrors were just too odd!!!
• They really advocate breastfeeding…they have family rooms EVERYWHERE…and something fantastic that I would have loved…in the breastfeeding area, they have it gated off with toys, so you can peacefully feed your infant while your toddler plays without an available escape route.
• The malls and EVERYTHING closes at 5 pm…5 pm…what the heck?

and second, about my ability to repatriate myself in the western world…

• When I ordered food at McDonald’s…I sounded something like this:  I.would.like.2.yes.2.sausage.mc.muffins.and.2.extra.hashbrowns….and when they got it, they repeated it and were like, move out of the way lady…why are you talking to me like that?
• Is it OK to change my sons diaper on that park bench?  (it was)
• Is it OK to let my son pee in the bushes over there?  (other people were doing it, but I wouldn’t let mine…)
• WOW…you go to a grocery store and there are several choices of peanut butter…13 different kinds of apples…in a bin…and YOU get to choose the ones you want…not a pre-packaged bunch which may or may not have bruises
• Milk can be purchased for $3 for a gallon…(YAY!)
• You can buy ice cream sandwiches
• My son doesn’t know what a “Happy Meal” is (LOL!)
• There is bread…in a supermarket…and CHOICES!!!
• EVERYONE in the car must be in a some sort of seat belt…sort of forget about that one!!
• Restaurants have high chairs…you don’t need to hold two babies to go out to eat…a $9 bowl of pho…
• You can go thru drive-thrus…

…I’m ready to take on the USA!!!…car seats, seat belts, gallons of milk, choices at Costco, drive thrus, changing tables, expensive Vietnamese food and everything in between…