Now, the locals think the weather has been cold this winter (June, July, August). I think they look rather silly walking down the street in winter coats, hats, gloves, and scarf when the temperatures are about 15-25C. I haven't worn socks since June...barefoot in sandals has been the norm, and I have a number of pairs of sandals. There were a few days when the temps dropped below zero in June, but I wore a sweater in the mornings as I walked to work and by noon the temperatures were up to 20C again. I didn't bring a jacket to Australia and can't imagine needing one. I do have a beanie (what they all call stocking caps here) but have only worn it just a few times. My big giant head holds enough heat that I rarely find it cold in any situation except in northern Canada.
The smells of Alice...ahhh...well that's an interesting topic. With flowering foliage year round, there always seems to be something that smells good. As we head into spring, the scent of jasmine is in the air, along with other flowering trees and bushes. With very little pollution, the air is crisp and clean most of the time. That is, unless you are walking near some bush folks. Then you will smell campfire smoke, excreted goanna oil, and body odor. It is a uniform smell, and rather pungent to say the least. And often added to this scent is grog - aka booze. Many of these folks cook bush tucker (wild meats) over open fires, so there isn't much to be done about that particular scent. It comes with the culture. I've also been told that because goanna is popular bush tucker along with kangaroo, their bodies excrete the goanna oil with it's own distinct scent. Add to that the smell of the unwashed/unclean body and clothes. I'm not sure why so many choose not to wash or clean their clothes. Fresh water is readily available to all, even in the town camps and remote communities. It could simply be that it isn't as important to them as it is to others. All I know is it can be quite overpowering if you are in a confined space with a few bush folks, and when you're in the hotter part of the day, it can make one feel rather ill. And then there are the bushfires and the smoke that accompanies them. The territory has been ablaze for the past 6 weeks or so with many bushfires burning close to town. Some days are worse than others as the town fills with the smell of bushfire, acrid at its worst, and barely noticeable at its best.
Regular sights that one will see in Alice Springs - more Toyota Land Cruisers than I have seen in my entire life, often laden with extra gas cans, water cans, tires, and swags. They are the vehicle of choice for many businesses including government and they are 98% of the time - all white, except when covered by red dirt. About 2/3 of the population seems to drive a 4-wheel drive vehicle - other popular choices are the Nissan X-Trail, Jeeps, and Toyota Hilux. And rivaling Toyota seems to be Australia's own Holden vehicles, quite popular with the indigenous population, and quite frequently found dead on the side of the road - flipped over, windows bashed in, stripped of everything, and set on fire.
Another common sight is barefoot indigenous folks. It still amazes me given the amount of broken glass in town, and the amount of rubbish in the town camps and remote communities. Children attend school barefoot, and folks of all ages are seen about town and community barefoot. As much as I enjoy running barefoot myself, I cannot imagine walking about town on the hot pavement over dirt and glass in my bare feet. It's almost endearing.
With no recycling plan in Alice Springs, there are bottles and cans EVERYWHERE. The beer of choice among indigenous is VB, and the cans are green. Most of the time when children I interview talk about their parents drinking, they refer to the green cans. In the communities, town camps, and Todd River bed, green cans and empty wine casks (the boxed 2 litre wine bladders) are to be found in piles everywhere. The amount of rubbish that could be recycled is staggering. I've been told it's too expensive to recycle here - bullshit. If they put a bounty on the cans and bottles, with a bit of planning and government money they later spend on cleaning up the mess, it is totally feasible. If they can do it in Northern Canada where it is just as remote if not more, they can certainly do it here in Alice Springs. I have seen what a difference it has made in Canada to have deposits on cans and bottles, I just wish they would buy into it here.
There are a lot of tourists passing through Alice Springs. At least once a week I get asked by a tourist where something is. It seems to be a natural stopping point when passing through central Australia and a leaping off point for anyone coming to Australia to see Uluru (the big rock). Tour buses come and go constantly, the hotels and hostels are very busy, and backpackers are seen daily padding along the roads coming and going.
Shopping hours are very strange here in Alice Springs. I don't know how they differ from other parts of Australia because I haven't seen any other big town than Darwin, but they differ greatly from any town in Canada. Many of the shops close up at 1 or 2 pm on a Saturday or Sunday for the rest of the day. WTF? I can understand limiting Sunday shopping as that is a battle just barely won in some Canadian provinces, but Saturday? The busiest shopping day of the week and the big stores are shutting down? Stores like the big furniture chains, the hardware store, and many of the clothing stores. The grocery stores are open, but much of the rest is closed, with many not opening over the weekend at all. Weird for sure. The bottle shops (aka liquor store) doesn't open until 2pm on weekdays which is totally weird, but supposedly an attempt to get a handle on the alcohol issues here. Now everyone just lines up at 2pm...
Terminology has been interesting getting used to. It often feels rather British here, which is not unexpected, but interesting. The use of "ta" is very frequent for saying thanks, great, good, etc. I thought it was only a British term, but apparently not. The use of "cheers" in darn near every situation is also surprising, particularly when rarely used while drinking and toasting...the use of the word "mate" was not surprising, but it's used in every situation as well, whether you are "mates" with them or not. Going home to cook tea still makes me laugh. Tea means supper, not the hot beverage. Coming over for tea means you're sharing a meal, not a pot of tea, though tea can also be served at Tea. I've had people over for a meal and been thanked for Tea, even though the kettle hasn't even been boiled, let alone tea being served. Looking for a case of beer? You'd have more luck asking for a "slab" of beer. And if you're looking to gas up the car, someone might show you where to buy propane...you need to ask for petrol. I've gotten used to saying I'm going to "ring up" instead of phone or call, but I'm still having problems with idea that a baby car seat is called a "capsule". When they say capsule, I picture someone going up in space...
Money and measure are very set here. Ask someone for a dime, nickel or quarter and they have to think about it. Tell someone you live 5 miles away, or that something is 6 inches long and they are equally confused. Gold coin refers to one and two dollar coins, not actual GOLD. People know how tall they are in centimetres, not feet and inches, and how much they weigh in kilos not pounds. Even though Canada has been metric since the 1970's, most folks still use feet and pounds when referring to their bodies. When someone tells me they had a 3 kilo baby, I give them a blank stare as I try to convert in my head.
Phone numbers and how people tell them to you makes my head spin and I have to slow down and think about it. If my number was 1233 455 666, they would say, one two double three four double five triple six. Um what? okay that was a double, another double, and a triple...let me catch up. The many different number combinations for phones really baffles me and I've written about that here before. A phone number can be 12 34 56, or 1234 567 890, or 1800 2345 6789 or 1234 5678 and so on...wtf??
Being an immigrant in a whole other continent has been very interesting and I do not regret the move in the least. I don't know how long I'll stay in Australia but it is safe to say I'm here for a few years at least. I love it!
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