School is starting soon and I'll need to start changing how I write the date. 19 Jan, 2014. Or 19/01/14, I think. I'm not sure where the comma goes though. I'm also thinking that they use commas a lot more between a string of sentences, but I'm not sure how that grammatically works. I'll also have to start using new vocabulary (e.g., coloured pencil vs pencil crayons). Hey, is it spelled 'color' or 'colour'???? Oh boy. Restructuring one's thinking, especially when I'm expected to teach things like phonics will be interesting.

Case in point …. driving on the left side of the road with a right sided steering wheel has completely messed my idea of 'left' and 'right'. It's not that it feels just weird to drive on the wrong side of the road or get in on the wrong side of the car, but I actually can't remember which side is left and right. When John tells me to turn right, I pause to mentally picture my hands in front of me, holding my thumb and index finger out to see which one forms the letter "L". (If you're a teacher, you'll know what I mean.) There have been way too many times when John has said to me, "Um, the other right." Can you imagine that you can actually forget your right side????

We have driven from Cairns to Airlie Beach to Fraser Island to Capricorn Coast to Brisbane to Gold Coast to Port Macquarie to Maitland and to Sydney. That's easily over 3000 km. Yet, I still haven't re-organized my thought patterns to adjust for, not only left / right, but also for their driving habits. For example, I have noticed that Aussies (not so much in Sydney) drive exactly at speed limit. To pass a car, they barely accelerate. Putt putt putt as they creep by a slow moving vehicle. (I'd prefer to gun it, leaving them in my dust!) In saying that though, they also love to tailgate. If a slow moving vehicle holds up a line of cars, everyone bunches up within a few feet of each other's bumpers. Changing lanes means inching up within a feet or so of the bumpers before switching lanes. Eee. If the front car ever slammed on his brakes, there would be a huge pile up! However, I watch in awe when they can zip in and out of each other in harrowing close proximity without a fender bender.

Today we were driving to Manly, a peninsula of Sydney. Besides the insane traffic, bumper to bumper, and the constant mental pauses of which direction is left, we saw heaps of garbage (Aus: 'rubbish') in front of people's houses down a stretch of 5 blocks or so. Boxes. Garbage bags. Old washing machines. Old mattresses … and things that looked not too bad. I wondered if it was a neighborhood garage sale or was someone coming to collect everything for the dump. I can't imagine it being a garage sale since there was nowhere to pull over to check out the piles. Nor could I imagine it being garbage collection day. We can't just throw out a mattress for the weekly garbage man to pick up! But, how do you organize a neighborhood dump day??? Turns out that a city's Council DO organize a Hard Rubbish Day 1x - 2x a year. COOL! I would love to put everything and anything out to clear out my garage or basement annually. That would save so much time and hassle hauling things to the city dump! Nor do I have to pay to get rid of my own garbage! AMAZING!

My day ended with a long 52 minute drive from Manly back into North Sydney, across the Harbour Bridge. It was nerve wracking. Too many lanes to deal with. Too many road signs pointing in all kinds of directions. A GPS system that was freaking out over all the intersections. A toll booth without knowing how to handle one in Australia. (Oh, and the usual. Driving on the left side of the road. Turning left … which is which way??? Tailgating.) I'm sure I annoyed (or scared) every local when I swerve suddenly across 4 lanes of traffic on the bridge to make the exit. Admittedly, I'm not even sure I checked if there were cars in those lanes. I just had to make the exit. Eeee. A friend of mine asked if I looked up during the bridge crossing to see the tourists climbing up to the pinnacle of the Harbour Bridge. Yeah. Right. I had time to look up when I was panicking about what was happening in front of me!!!

I must say that it has been difficult making the switch in my brain to adjust to this country. Some things are a little easier though. I have picked up the 'Yah' instead of 'Yes'.

"Do you live in Canada?' - Yah. Yah. We are Canadians. Yah.

Love this country!