Oops...

So...it's been way too long since my last post. Earlier this week I got messages from two different people asking "Is everything OK? You haven't blogged in a while." It's been getting harder to talk to people at home, now that the time difference is only 17 hours instead of 19 hours. Basically I am now one day minus 7 hours ahead, instead of one day minus 5 hours ahead which means that now its midnight at home in California when it's 5 in the evening here.

Life is really starting to pick up and get going. We've just gotten university ethics approval for one of our dog training projects, so I've been really involved in getting that up and running. I'm also grading student assignments for the course I'm tutoring, so that's been a big part of my life the past couple of weeks as well. In Australia, they call it marking - and I was really confused at first, but I think I've figured it out.

Speaking of figuring things out, I have a couple more interesting observations on Australia:

Courtesy of: abramowitzesdownunder.blogspot.com

• There aren't mail trucks. The postman rides around on a motorcycle with neon yellow sacks of mail (see picture).
• "H" is pronounced "hay-ch". Well enunciated. I probably wouldn't even have noticed if it hadn't been that every time I say I'm doing my PhD (pronounced pee-aich-dee), people do a double-take and then go "oh your P-HAYch-D".
• Ketchup is actually tomato paste - and tomato is pronounced to-MAH-to. Like when you say "to-MAY-to, to-MAH-to" but wonder who ever says to-MAH-to? British people, and therefore Australians.

I've also finally made it to the Asian grocery store in Bendigo. I was so happy to find Aloe juice and 沙茶酱 (Chinese satay sauce). I made Ma Po Tofu that evening and it actually turned out surprisingly tasty!

Yummy!