Language Barrier (of sorts)
3 weeks. I have been in Australia for almost 3 weeks! That is crazy. For 4 years I have talked about going to Australia, and now I can actually say that I have been here for 3 weeks!
I am still absolutely loving church! Maybe I'm still a little star-struck over the whole thing, but it is pretty cool. On Tuesday night I went to a connect group (small group / bible study - whatever you want to call it) with Corrine. I knew 2 of the girls who were there so it was fun to get to hang out with them some more, and meet other really nice people. We didn't do a study that night, just went out to eat at a restaurant in Parramatta called City Extra. All of the restaurants in downtown Parramatta have a lot of sidewalk seating, even though it's winter... they just put up these huge tent-like covers with the plastic sides that drop down (like on a golf cart) and bring out heaters. We ate outside and it was really cool to be right in the middle of all of the people who were out and about at night.
Thursday night at dinner Renee and Corrine made a list of all of the things I have to do while I'm here, and there is a LOT on that list. It is fun the be able to check things off as they get done, but it is also really great to have fun activities to look forward to. There are actually 2 lists; a "to do" list, and a "to eat" list. I have to say, I really like "Aussie" food. Last night Corrine made me try Vegemite and I have to admit... it wasn't so bad. Granted, I think she didn't put a whole lot on the bread, but still, I would eat it again. She also made "beans on toast" which apparently is the staple food of college students and 20-somethings. I guess it would be the equivalent to Ramen Noodles and Pop-tarts in the States. Either way, beans on toast is GOOD. I will definitely be making that when I get home.
Another thing I'm going to have to get used to is the way you order coffee. Today I learned that you don't order a cup of decaf and then put your own milk and sugar in it. Oh no, they do it for you here, and it's steamed milk. The closest thing I can compare it to is a Cafe Au Lait. Either way, you don't just say "I'll have a small decaf, please." You say, "I'll have a small flat white with one sugar." I think flat means there is no froth on top and the white means it has milk in it. All I know is that it is "bang bang boogie" (as Bennett would say) - that means really good. Unfortunately, I learned all of this a liiiiittttttle too late today. My friend Jason, who is married to my good friend Renee, told me that he'd heard of a coffee shop in Sydney that was supposed to be really good. I looked it up, and today I set out to find it. It's called Single Origin Roasters and it turns out that it's only a couple of blocks away from Central Station in the city. It is definitely a place for the locals though because it is this teeny tiny little place on the corner of 2 side streets. There is no menu and I felt like a huge poser because I do not speak coffee. I just sort of stood there for a bit trying to figure out what to do. "Uhhhh......." Well, finally the guy behind the counter asked me if I had been served, I told him no, and our conversation went a little something like this:
Guy: Would you like a cup of take away coffee?
Me: Yes, please.
Guy: Ok what do you want?
Me: Decaf.
Guy: How do you like it?
Me: What?
Guy: How do you like it? With milk?
Me: Yes. With milk.
Guy: Ok. With sugar?
Me: Please.
Guy: How many?
Me (not wanting to seem like that girl that goes to a LEGIT coffee shop where they don't even have a menu because everyone there speaks FLUENT coffee so they just know exactly what to order but I don't because I just go to Starbucks and order something off the menu and tell them to add Vanilla because I really don't like coffee that much unless it's super sweet and the color of my skin - pale.): One.
Immediately I regret saying just one sugar because I KNOW it is going to be too bitter, so I also immediately start making plans to stop at that 7Eleven that I passed a block back and add about 7 more sugars from their little coffee area.
Guy: Ok great.
He finishes making my coffee and hands it to me. While handing it to me, he repeats back to me what it is that I ordered, but because of his Aussie accent and the fact that I, again, don't speak coffee, I only caught about half of it.
I wait about half a block until I try this coffee that I am positive is going to be too bitter so that none of those cute boys I saw going into Single Origin will see me scrunch my face up in disgust. But wait! What is happening?! The coffee is GOOD! And not too bitter! It's a MIRACLE!! I immediately make plans to go back as soon as possible to order another one of those miracle drinks... only after I figure out what it is that I ordered. I'll ask Corrine. She speaks coffee.
I am still absolutely loving church! Maybe I'm still a little star-struck over the whole thing, but it is pretty cool. On Tuesday night I went to a connect group (small group / bible study - whatever you want to call it) with Corrine. I knew 2 of the girls who were there so it was fun to get to hang out with them some more, and meet other really nice people. We didn't do a study that night, just went out to eat at a restaurant in Parramatta called City Extra. All of the restaurants in downtown Parramatta have a lot of sidewalk seating, even though it's winter... they just put up these huge tent-like covers with the plastic sides that drop down (like on a golf cart) and bring out heaters. We ate outside and it was really cool to be right in the middle of all of the people who were out and about at night.
Thursday night at dinner Renee and Corrine made a list of all of the things I have to do while I'm here, and there is a LOT on that list. It is fun the be able to check things off as they get done, but it is also really great to have fun activities to look forward to. There are actually 2 lists; a "to do" list, and a "to eat" list. I have to say, I really like "Aussie" food. Last night Corrine made me try Vegemite and I have to admit... it wasn't so bad. Granted, I think she didn't put a whole lot on the bread, but still, I would eat it again. She also made "beans on toast" which apparently is the staple food of college students and 20-somethings. I guess it would be the equivalent to Ramen Noodles and Pop-tarts in the States. Either way, beans on toast is GOOD. I will definitely be making that when I get home.
Another thing I'm going to have to get used to is the way you order coffee. Today I learned that you don't order a cup of decaf and then put your own milk and sugar in it. Oh no, they do it for you here, and it's steamed milk. The closest thing I can compare it to is a Cafe Au Lait. Either way, you don't just say "I'll have a small decaf, please." You say, "I'll have a small flat white with one sugar." I think flat means there is no froth on top and the white means it has milk in it. All I know is that it is "bang bang boogie" (as Bennett would say) - that means really good. Unfortunately, I learned all of this a liiiiittttttle too late today. My friend Jason, who is married to my good friend Renee, told me that he'd heard of a coffee shop in Sydney that was supposed to be really good. I looked it up, and today I set out to find it. It's called Single Origin Roasters and it turns out that it's only a couple of blocks away from Central Station in the city. It is definitely a place for the locals though because it is this teeny tiny little place on the corner of 2 side streets. There is no menu and I felt like a huge poser because I do not speak coffee. I just sort of stood there for a bit trying to figure out what to do. "Uhhhh......." Well, finally the guy behind the counter asked me if I had been served, I told him no, and our conversation went a little something like this:
Guy: Would you like a cup of take away coffee?Me: Yes, please.
Guy: Ok what do you want?
Me: Decaf.
Guy: How do you like it?
Me: What?
Guy: How do you like it? With milk?
Me: Yes. With milk.
Guy: Ok. With sugar?
Me: Please.
Guy: How many?
Me (not wanting to seem like that girl that goes to a LEGIT coffee shop where they don't even have a menu because everyone there speaks FLUENT coffee so they just know exactly what to order but I don't because I just go to Starbucks and order something off the menu and tell them to add Vanilla because I really don't like coffee that much unless it's super sweet and the color of my skin - pale.): One.
Immediately I regret saying just one sugar because I KNOW it is going to be too bitter, so I also immediately start making plans to stop at that 7Eleven that I passed a block back and add about 7 more sugars from their little coffee area.
Guy: Ok great.
He finishes making my coffee and hands it to me. While handing it to me, he repeats back to me what it is that I ordered, but because of his Aussie accent and the fact that I, again, don't speak coffee, I only caught about half of it.
I wait about half a block until I try this coffee that I am positive is going to be too bitter so that none of those cute boys I saw going into Single Origin will see me scrunch my face up in disgust. But wait! What is happening?! The coffee is GOOD! And not too bitter! It's a MIRACLE!! I immediately make plans to go back as soon as possible to order another one of those miracle drinks... only after I figure out what it is that I ordered. I'll ask Corrine. She speaks coffee.
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