Its the little things in life

Let’s just get this straight…
I say down under and I mean Australia.
Although to be fair, It’s not like I moved much in latitude.
South Africa and Australia are both considered to be on the wrong end of the globe by the northerners.

So there is the big ugly true! I am a SAFFA (and a newbie too)
I am a new South African living in Australia.
The man (or husband) and I have been living here since Jan 2008 and so far so good! The whole why we are here and why we left story is just to boring and ordinary! So onto the fun stuff, the random things you never knew about living in Australia.

As it is my first blog I will take the easy road and just illustrate a couple of items:

1.They stock the shelves in the supermarket strangely (sometime unlogical?). In a general supermarket the olive oil and balsamic vinegar are not in the same aisle. Neither is the baking powder and flour. Bizarrely, common neighbours on South African shelves, have now moved great distances apart. It’s a small thing, but it really threw me on my first major shopping expedition.

2.There is no haze. Ever been in Johannesburg on a crisp winter day? Next time you are , take a good look at the horizon, and you a see a brown smudge? (a bit like a dirty ring in the sink when you’ve let the water out) Well not in Sydney!

3.They have the coolest birds here! No sparrows and doves in my neighbourhood. Instead I have flocks of loud (and stupid) cockatoos! Not to mention the rainbow parakeets. In Baulkham Hills I often also see Galea’s (pink and grey version of the cockatoo). Even the few doves I have seen are strange, they have domes on their heads! Oh yes…don’t forget the "white" ibis, the grey ones are know in South Africa as a ha-de-da! I have even had owls and kookaburras in my yard. I admit though, I totally LOVE the cockatoos. They are always doing something bizarre and un-bird like!

Its funny how when you move countries, you prepare yourself for the big changes (such as lifestyle and language). You can accept that there will be big changes and yet it’s the littlest things that can make or break your everyday existence so far from home!