Life in the Red Centre

I finally have the internet at home so can realtime blog again instead of writing them at night and hoping to find internet somewhere in town to post it. Yahfrigginhoo! I've had a lot of questions about Australian life and what it's like to live here, beyond the massive amount of photos I've taken so here goes:

• I have managed to nearly master the art of driving on the other side of the road in a right-hand drive car. Nearly. I still forget at times and walk over to the left side to get in and drive...I haven't actually gone as far as getting in, but I still make for that side on occasion. I also forget occasionally in the parking lots, but thankfully not on the roadways. They have a lot of signage that helps - KEEP LEFT...I think they should also have the pedestrian walkways painted up like they do in the UK - LOOK RIGHT...nearly got smoked a few times that way while crossing the street. Pedestrian crosswalks are not often marked and no one stops for you to cross the road. In fact, when I have stopped to allow people to cross, I've been honked at, loudly.
• I have adapted very well to the climate. Turns out the fall is the perfect time to come to central Australia. The days are getting cooler and always below 30C, and the nights are 10-15C which is perfect for sleeping. I haven't worn socks or a sweater since I arrived, just short sleeves and flip flops.
• Food buying is sometimes a bit of a challenge as prices on some things are sky high like $6.49 for a pint of strawberries. Yes, a pint. I don't think they even sell them by the pint in Canada. Apparently the high cost this year is due to the Queensland floods destroying much of the crop. who knows...
• other groceries are often expensive too. 
• Milk is not known by the fat it contains but rather by the fat it doesn't. So instead of buying 2% milk, I buy 98% fat free milk...weird, I know.
• I cannot find orange cheddar, and instead of labeling them by mild, medium, or old, they are labeled tasty, extra tasty and mature.
• there is no parking provided at work so I park in the K-Mart parking lot each morning like many other government workers it seems. No one seems to care. Parking under a tree keeps the car cooler, but then it is covered in bird droppings...gross.
• I still have to look at the paper money to see what denomination it is, as the colors are different than ours, and all different sizes. The ten dollar bill is blue and the five dollar bill is purple. The twenties are orange/red and the fifties are gold. They have a 5 cent piece, 10 cent piece, 20 cent piece, a 50 cent piece, a dollar coin and a two dollar coin. They stopped using the one cent piece nearly 20 years ago, so prices are rounded up. 
• the downtown area is very busy at quitting time, but rush hour only lasts about 10 minutes. Then the streets seem empty.
• there are far too many roundabouts! I've only driven around them in Canada a handful of times, as most towns have just a couple, but they are very numerous here. I hate them. 
• there is a large river that flows through town. There is no water in it this time of year and won't be until next summer (December or so). 
• People keep telling me I have an accent, and often they think I am American (egad!) so I just show them my maple leaf tattoo and tell them I like their accent. 
• they do not recycle here. At all. No paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, or metals. Not even deposit recyclables. There is movement afoot to start accepting pop cans, but that will be it. They claim it is too expensive to ship them south to a recycling plant, but I don't buy it. Canada has been doing it in the north for years, so it isn't a valid excuse to be polluting the environment. There is garbage everywhere, often drink containers - wine bottles, liquor bottles, juice containers, pop and beer cans, pop and water bottles, wine bladders (the foil ones) and so on. 
• they still smoke in the bars here. I was out last night and stunk like a 3 pack a day smoker when I got home. Gross.
• alcohol is rather expensive. I bought a round last night - wild turkey and coke, a Smirnoff Ice, and a Heineken = $23...holy shit. And a 24 case of cans is about $50...
•  red, green, and yellow peppers are known as capsicums. 
• Cadbury products are very popular here. Thank-you Australia for not forcing me to eat Hershey's chocolate. I much prefer Cadbury.
• take-out food is known as takeaway, as it is in the UK. It took us well over an hour to find someone to order food from last night during the royal wedding. It was a popular event with my fellow members of the commonwealth. It was a gorgeous wedding. Diana would have been proud.
• there is a mouse plague in town and the rats have begun to arrive this past week or so from Queensland. And me without a cat for the first time in probably 35 or 40 years. I hear Stormy is getting his own fill of mice and rats - mostly by watching them outside the window, but he did run out into the garden after a big rat last week. Go Stormy!
• Toyota is a huge seller here, with many Land Cruisers, Hilux, and Prados on the roads. Land Rovers are also popular but nowhere near as popular as the Toyota Land Cruiser. I'm hoping to buy one second hand if I can find a good deal and a reliable one. A 4x4 is necessary to cross any of the floodways when they fill with water, not to mention to tackle many of the roads. 

So there you have it, life in Alice Springs so far.