Should I stay or should I go?

Australians agree that traveling around Australia is more expensive than an all-inclusive holiday to Indonesia, Fiji or even New-Zealand. Having a week off on my hands and a thirst for new adventure, I still wanted to discover the Land of Down Under and ended up in Sydney for seven days of pure bliss.

According to the Lonely Planet, Sydney is the capital that all other cities love to hate; stunning surf, buttery beaches, glorious weather, world-class restaurants, glamorous people and outrageously fashionable bars... what's not the like?

Often wrongly thought of as the capital city of Australia (Canberra is), Sydney is famous all over the world. Though not my first choice as to where to spend my first week off from work, I ended up flying out there and checking out the usual sights.

The options were many and I considered them all - should I fly to Cairns (north-east of Oz where it's hot and sunny) for the week? Even with a place to stay for free, the plane ticket was an overpriced 800$ 4-hour flight. It went up to over a 1000$ a few days prior to departure.

How about checking that iconic Ayers Rock everyone is talking about? After all, the Australians share very similar issues to the Canadians when it comes to their aboriginal population. Moreover, Uluru is said to be simply breath-taking and a so-called sanctuary for anyone visiting the land of Oz. Once again, after looking at all the fees involved, spending a week there would turn out to be as expensive as flying to Cuba from Quebec, all expenses paid in a 4-start hotel.

Indeed, after doing some research myself, my co-worker Simon filled me in on the details.

Although flying to Alice Springs from Adelaide is an option, taking the Gange (train) is a much more breath-taking experience. Sitting on that train for about 13 hours costs 250$, while a sleeper is more than double. Once you are there, accommodation is no cheaper than 50$/night and tours to Uluru, the main purpose of the trip, are complete rip-offs, ranging from 100$ to over 300$/day. Do not think about hiring a car since you do not want to take the risk of getting lost or it breaking down in the outback. On top of that there's food and access fees (the Aborigenes own the land). Simon ended up spending over 800$ for this trip.

I must say here that I was quite last minute and my holidays being at the same time as school holidays, the prices were completely out of control.

So... what to do?

Luckily enough, I attended a wedding during which Margeaux's brother invited me to spend the week in Sydney. Surfing, beaches, food, sights, hiking and drug addicts... I only scratched the surface of this fascinating city.

More Aussie slang... Bob?

In Aussie slang, "Bob's your uncle" means "That's it."

Enough said ;)

Frenchie teaching at an Aussie Uni!

After three weeks of looking for a job, I finally found one - teaching ESL (English at a Second Language) at Flinder's University in Adelaide. More specifically, I work at the language center on campus. Seriously - a French Canadian teaching engineers, doctors, teachers, government officials, nurses, teenagers and the like in the Land Down Under? It's more than I could ever wish for.

Our students are from all over the world - Japan, Colombia, Korea, East Timor, China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Guatemala, Indonesia, and so on. While most of them are studying at the center to get the required English level to enter University (B.A., Master's or PHD), many are just traveling and have enrolled there to improve their English skills.

I must say, this is a great challenge and I am truly excited. I've also never taught Muslim students wearing the burqa. This calls for classroom diversity indeed, I can't wait for all the interesting debates in class!

Aussie slang - the lazy way

My real first exposure to Aussie slang was through the infamous movie Crocodile Dundee (if you haven't seen it yet, rent it tonight and laugh your arse off!)

I was puzzled. Seriously. From the G'day mate to Fair dinkum. What on earth was Paul Hogan talking about?

As soon as I got here, I struggled with a few words but soon figured out that Australians can't be f***** (CBF) saying entire words, so they shorten them and add the "ie" sound at the end. Therefore:

Breakfast is brekkie

Umbrella is brawlie

Chewing gum is a chewie

Chocolate is chookie

Biscuit is a bikkie

Television is a telly

A beer is a coldie

A coolbox is an esky

A hot water bottle is a hottie

Lipstick is lippy

A present (gift) is a prezzy

A lottery ticket is a scratchy

A track suit is trackies

Vegetables are veggies

A bricklayer is a brickie
An electrician is a sparkie

And the list goes on...!!

There even are postcards "translating" Aussie slang. My co-worker put the Sheila one on our wall just to make me laugh.

While Sheila and the Aussie gentleman are actual "bogans" ("chav" in England, "redneck" in America - the equivalent of "BS" in Québec), the expressions on both postcards are still quite common among Australians, especially younger generations.

Nuke it with plastic!

Personally I am terrified of plastic. Plastic bottles, for example, scare the hell out of me in terms of their long-term impact on the environment - think about the petrol spent for transportation, the factories making them, the empty bottles ending up in oceans (and eventually in the frightening "Pacific trash vortex" - Google it!)....

Moreover, a combination of plastic and extreme temperatures has been linked to potentially causing numerous cancers since acute heat/cold help release chemicals from the plastic (after all, it's made from petrol) - whether the plastic bottle is left in the car on a sunny day, forgotten in a freezer overnight, or boxes of them are stored in a delivery truck that will most likely spend days on the road.

A lot of people heat their lunch or even meals in the microwave ("nuke it!" as they say in Oz) in plastic containers - plastic which is usually of very cheap and poor quality. Whatsmore, research reveals that microwaves pose a very high health risk. Again, you should research it if you remain doubtful.

I personally try not to use the microwave (of course it's not always possible), preferring instead to reheat my food in the over or in a conventional pan. And that's when Aussies look at me with their eyes wide open - "but that consumes way more energy!" they say. "It's obvious you're not the one paying the electricity bill..."

As it turns out, it is very common here to nuke your food. But to ensure that it doesn't splatter, you must cover the container with cling wrap (a.k.a. Saran Wrap). People do this at home and at work. Why waste electricity boiling water to make steamed vegetables when you can nuke them in 2 minutes and save precious energy?

My answer is: health - the same reason that I despise using plastic kettles. Plastic isn't bad in itself, but research reveals that the use we make out of it greatly increases health risks.

To quote Dr. Edward Fujimoto "the combination fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies."

Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, without the dioxins.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, chemical components can indeed "migrate" from plastics into food at microwaving temperatures.

Plastic is made of various components including DEHA and PVC.

The State of California is currently considering a bill that would ban the use of PVC in consumer packaging due to the threats it poses to human and environmental health and its effect on the recycling stream.

More (interesting) details can be found on Wikipedia (from different sources) :

Plasticizers that must be added to make PVC flexible have been additives of particular concern.

Because soft PVC toys have been made for babies for years, there are concerns that these additives leach out of soft toys into the mouths of the children chewing on them. Phthalates mimic human hormones and also affect various life forms including fish and invertebrates adversely. Additionally, adult sex toys have been demonstrated to contain high concentrations of the additives.

Other vinyl products including car interiors, shower curtains, and flooring initially release chemical gases into the air. Some studies indicate that this outgassing of additives may contribute to health complications, and have resulted in a call for banning the use of DEHP on shower curtains, among other uses. The Japanese car companies Toyota, Nissan, and Honda have eliminated PVC in their car interiors starting in 2007.

Plastic is convenient and pretty much everywhere you look - thus I find it hard to avoid. But I like to choose other materials over it, such as metal bottles or eating out of a tuna can. However traces of plastic coating have been found even in metal containers. As we say in French, "on n'est pas sortis du bois...!!"

She's the boss!

What a tight election race, but Gilly is making history!

Julia Gillard was sworn in as Australia's first female prime minister, meaning that Labor is back to power. Former boxer Tony Abbott and his liberals have lost the race.

It is however a minority government, which means that Gillard will have to keep the independent MPs happy.

There is speculation that a minority government will not stand, and that there might be another election shortly. Let's hope not... Did you know that this election cost the country around 100 million dollars?

As for me, I enjoyed a very colorful election night!

Indeed, I met with South Australian Premier Mike Rann.

I also briefly chatted with Norwood Labor candidate Kate Ellis.

Let's not forget the Godfather of Adelaide politics, whose daughter is friends with Margeaux, Mr. Don Ferrell.

For some reason (Coopers?) I completely forget who is this man but apparently he is involved in politics too.

I have never met so many people with a Wikipedia entry in one night. More importantly, I have never drank so many free Coopers in one night... Tasty!

Australia gets a Hung Parliament

As the Australians were expecting the results of the the election, we were shocked to learn that Australia is getting a hung parliament... somehow Gilly and Tony are equally popular on Aussie land!

So let the horse-trading begin!

The labor party and the liberals now have to negotiate with the three sitting independents who have been re-elected - Tony Windsor, Bob Katter and Rob Oakeshott - as well as the Greens' Adam Bandt, who has won the seat of Melbourne.

A fourth independent, Andrew Wilkie, may come into the mix, as he is locked in a tight battle with Labor for the seat of Denison in Tasmania.

Julia Gillard remains the caretaker prime minister and her Government remains in the caretaker role it has played since the election was called.

This is the first hung Parliament at a Commonwealth level in Australia since 1940, and it could drag on for as long as needed.