Hello world.  Guess this is my first post!  Thanks to our pal Sam at The Now Now, I have my first improv gig in Sydney this Monday (which also happens to be Halloween).  Check the flyer »

The Now Now is a Sydney based organization with a similar ethos to that of the beloved High Zero Foundation, the B’more collective that I was part of for many years.

For all of you who tried to convince me that I was moving to an English speaking country, you forgot to mention that there are multiple variants of English!  Here are a few new terms for a rainy day.  Some of these may actually be heard coming out of my mouth… if you catch me in the right mood.

“How you going?”: equivalent to “How’s it going?” or “How are you doing?”

Having a yarn: chatting/having a talk

Peas and Mash: peas and mashed potatoes

Pub: bar

Grog: beer

Pig’s ear: beer (it’s a rhyming thing), as in “Going down to the pub to have a pig’s ear.”

Mince: Ground food… meat, fruit, veg.  For example: “Beef mince”

Brekky: breakfast

Bikkie: biscuit/cookie

Chokkie bikkie: chocolate biscuit (complements of Erica)

EFTPOS: Electronic Funds Transfer Point Of Sale.  Used in most stores. Pronounced “eft-pos”

Health Fund: your health care company/plan

Cheque: Your savings account.

Savings: Your checking account.

Queue: standing in line

Quay: place where the ferries board.  Pronounced “key”

Way Out: exit

Air Con: air conditioner

Cot: baby’s crib

Pram: baby stroller

Trolley: grocery cart

Arvo: afternoon

The bush: the countryside/outback/natural area

Bushwalk: a hike

Fly screen: window screens, which are sorely lacking in this country

Mozzies: mosquitos

Removalists: dudes who move stuff, aka, a moving company

Cablists: dudes who do phones and electric and make a killing because the internet company isn’t actually allowed to connect to the wires for your flat.. (someone’s genius idea for sure)

Rubbish: trash

Rubbish bin: trash can

Mate: a friend

G’day mate!: obvious…

Ambo: Ambulance

Tram: same as the Light Rail in B’more

Darlo: Darlinghurst, a Sydney suburb

Paddo: Paddington, a Sydney suburb

Bris: Brisbane

Barbie: again, obvious…

CBD: the Central Business District, Sydney City

QVB: Queen Victoria Building near Town Hall in the CBD

Sydneysider: what you are if you live in Sydney

Melbin: how Melbourne is really pronounced

Woolies: Woolworths, a grocery store

Cozzy: a swimming costume, aka bathing suit, male or female

Sunnies: sunglasses

Thongs: flip-flops, not the underwear

Chook: a chicken

Rent-A-Chook: who wants to rent a chicken??

Budgie: a small bird

Budgie smuggler: a man’s swimming costume, aka-a speedo

Cheers!: great, good, thanks, see you later, etc

No worries: same as “no problem” or “s’all good” or “don’t worry about it”

Take the piss outta you: cut you down to size so you don’t take yourself too seriously, generally done with humor

Tall Poppy Syndrome: taking the piss out of people who think they’re better than others

Sook: a crybaby/wuss/overly sensitive person

No drama: same as “no worries”

Caulk: how c*ck would be pronounced if you were an Aussie.  Makes for interesting conversations about construction (“Caulk! You know, the white rubbery stuff that comes out of a tube…?”)

Rubber: an eraser

Stuffed: Don’t say this in public in Queensland.  Here in Sydney, it can mean anything from “I’m full” to “I’m f*d”

The Stuffed Beaver: a restaurant in Bondi.  Seriously.

Loo: the toilet

Dunny: the toilet

There’s also a whole different coffee cult down here, but being that I’m not a coffee drinker, I’ll have to let Mike explain that one to you.

Learned all this the hard way… no checking the internet, just lots of dumb looks and hard laughs.   Lucky for us, most Aussies we meet take pity on our lack of language know-how and are happy to share the right way to say things.  Now if only I could get that accent right… More to come as the journey continues…

On the 2nd of October, we got to visit with the lovely Pam Conrow, sister-in-law to my Great Uncle Brown.  Uncle Brown was born in the US, but his family moved to Australia when he was still an infant.  He remained here until he was 25, and then returned to the US to find work (and also found my Aunt Claire!).  In learning about our move, Aunt Claire and Uncle Brown were ecstatic, and they passed along the information for Uncle Brown’s family that remains here in Oz.  Pam is the wife of his older brother, Robert, and resides about 45 minutes northwest in Castle Hill.  There are other family members in the Central Coast that we have yet to meet but hope to contact sometime soon, now that we’re more settled.

Leave a CommentPam and Andrea outside of Pam’s house

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Aunt Claire and Uncle Brown, doing the bridge climb on a past visit to Sydney… A Photo Booth reproduction of a print they recently sent me in the mail.

It’s amazing to me that there are family ties, even in far-flung regions of the world.