Due to the beautiful weather lately, I decided to check out what it is going to be like in Australia when we are over there. Unfortunately, they do everything in degrees Celsius, which makes me sad because I have never been good at telling how hot or cold that temperature really is. I converted all the temperatures to Fahrenheit for the sake of convenience.
(avg high, avg low)
September: 75.2, 55.22
October: 78.98, 60.44
November: 82.04, 64.58
December: 84.38, 67.64
In comparison to the United States' temperature at that time of year, there is clearly a considerable difference. I am so excited to spend Thanksgiving in a short-sleeve shirt or a dress rather than a sweatshirt.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tokyo!
Thursday night we had a meeting talking about arranging our flights. We have to fly to LAX in California, where we will all meet up and then fly out to Australia!!!! During the meeting Mrs. Atchley, one of the coordinators, said there was a chance for a select few to make a stop-over in Tokyo, Japan.
Now, Tokyo is very expensive. The directors of HUA were telling us to set aside $400 per DAY. The burgers and drinks at fast food total to be about $10 EACH, and a taxi cost $7 just to get inside! It is the most expensive city to live in the world, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer.
One serving of sushi rolls in a restaurant costs about $9.68.
Pizza delivery (1 piece)? $22.64.
One serving of Tendon Tempura Rice Bowl? $11.17
One serving of curry rice? $7.43
One SINGLE cup of COFFEE....... $4.88
Yeah.. I'll say Tokyo's expensive! Though it would be fun to see Japan and its culture, I think I'll have to spend my money elsewhere, like horseback riding down the Lord of the Rings trail in New Zealand!
Now, Tokyo is very expensive. The directors of HUA were telling us to set aside $400 per DAY. The burgers and drinks at fast food total to be about $10 EACH, and a taxi cost $7 just to get inside! It is the most expensive city to live in the world, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer.
One serving of sushi rolls in a restaurant costs about $9.68.
Pizza delivery (1 piece)? $22.64.
One serving of Tendon Tempura Rice Bowl? $11.17
One serving of curry rice? $7.43
One SINGLE cup of COFFEE....... $4.88
Yeah.. I'll say Tokyo's expensive! Though it would be fun to see Japan and its culture, I think I'll have to spend my money elsewhere, like horseback riding down the Lord of the Rings trail in New Zealand!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Australian Climates
- Summer: December to February
- Autumn: March to May
- Winter: June to August
- Spring: September to November
The north: tropical regions with high temperatures and high humidity, and wet and dry seasons. The wet season lasts about six months in summer and spring, between December and March. The dry season lasts about six months in autumn and winter, usually between May and October.
The center: dry, desert regions with high daytime temperatures and low amounts of rain. Temperatures range from around 104 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to between 61 and 75 degrees in the winter.
The south: temperate regions with moderate rainfall and temperatures ranging from hot to cold. The summer frequently has periods of heat wave and drought. The winters, while usually cold, wet and windy, are quite mild.
Droughts, bushfires and cyclones are typical to Australia. Since Australia is the driest inhabited continent with unpredictable rainfall patterns, it experiences a lot of droughts. Bushfires are large, out of control fires that happen in the bushland. Low humidity, high winds, high temperatures and low rainfall add to the chance of a bushfire. Cyclones happen about six times in Australia a year. They usually happen between November and April. The worst cyclone to ever hit Australia was Cyclone Mahina. In 1899, it killed over 400 people when it destroyed an entire pearl-fishing fleet at Bathurst Bay in Queensland.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Unusual Australian foods
Abdomen of small green ants
It is said the abdomen actually tastes like lemon sherbet! If you're wondering how to eat one: pick them up by their head and squash it (so they won't bite you) then bite off the abdomen. Enjoy!
Vegemite
Black, tacky, salty yeast extract that is spread on breads or toast.
Crocodile sausage
"Tastes like salty chicken."
Kangaroo/Emu steaks
They are very good for you, though it may mean eating the country's national emblems.
Witchety grubs
Moth larvae that measures about the size of a pinky finger. They used to be eaten only by the Aborigines, but now are known as a local delicacy.
It is said the abdomen actually tastes like lemon sherbet! If you're wondering how to eat one: pick them up by their head and squash it (so they won't bite you) then bite off the abdomen. Enjoy!
Vegemite
Black, tacky, salty yeast extract that is spread on breads or toast.
Crocodile sausage
"Tastes like salty chicken."
Kangaroo/Emu steaks
They are very good for you, though it may mean eating the country's national emblems.
Witchety grubs
Moth larvae that measures about the size of a pinky finger. They used to be eaten only by the Aborigines, but now are known as a local delicacy.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Typical Australian Cuisine
Food food food!
Every different place in the world is going to have different food and different traditional foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Americans, for example, are all about their bacon and eggs with a side of toast for a normal breakfast. For lunch, maybe a sandwich, and meat and potatoes for dinner.
But what is a typical Australian day look like for food?
Breakfast
For breakfast, a light meal typically includes porridge, cereal, toast and fruit. In the colder regions, or simply if someone wants a little heartier meal, breakfast in Australia can resemble a full English breakfast. A full English breakfast and a heavier cooked Australian breakfast will frequently include your typical bacon, eggs, sausages and toast with spread, but also mushrooms, baked beans and tomatoes. Vegemite is a popular black, salty spread which is put on toast or bread and eaten in the morning. It is similar to Marmite, which is made from yeast extract.
In seventh grade my social studies teacher asked if anyone wanted to sample Vegemite. I did. Let's just say my opinion of the stuff is less than favorable.
Lunch
Lunch is not big in Australia since they fill up on morning tea. However, if one was to eat lunch, chances are they would eat a Vegemite sandwich, or one made of pretty much anything they could find. For example, they would make sandwiches out of baked beans, sweet corn, mushrooms, fish paste, banana and sugar or even cold spaghetti. Also popular are hamburgers, but with their own flair of course. Some even add a fried egg, pickled beet root or pineapple.
Dinner
Every different place in the world is going to have different food and different traditional foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Americans, for example, are all about their bacon and eggs with a side of toast for a normal breakfast. For lunch, maybe a sandwich, and meat and potatoes for dinner.
But what is a typical Australian day look like for food?
Breakfast
For breakfast, a light meal typically includes porridge, cereal, toast and fruit. In the colder regions, or simply if someone wants a little heartier meal, breakfast in Australia can resemble a full English breakfast. A full English breakfast and a heavier cooked Australian breakfast will frequently include your typical bacon, eggs, sausages and toast with spread, but also mushrooms, baked beans and tomatoes. Vegemite is a popular black, salty spread which is put on toast or bread and eaten in the morning. It is similar to Marmite, which is made from yeast extract.
In seventh grade my social studies teacher asked if anyone wanted to sample Vegemite. I did. Let's just say my opinion of the stuff is less than favorable.
Lunch
Lunch is not big in Australia since they fill up on morning tea. However, if one was to eat lunch, chances are they would eat a Vegemite sandwich, or one made of pretty much anything they could find. For example, they would make sandwiches out of baked beans, sweet corn, mushrooms, fish paste, banana and sugar or even cold spaghetti. Also popular are hamburgers, but with their own flair of course. Some even add a fried egg, pickled beet root or pineapple.
Dinner
This is the biggest meal of the day. Australians have family dinners for the most part- sitting around the table with immediate family. Like America, there are various typical dinners according to each household and their background; common choices would be meat and vegetables, stirfry, pasta, pizza, casseroles, barbecue meat, vegetables, salad and soup. To me that seems pretty "Americanized." Restaurants serve the same type of food: salad, curry dishes, steak, chicken dishes, risotto, along with the red or white wines.
Specialities
Considered by some as national foods, ANZAC biscuits and pavlova are popular in Australia, though the oldest recipes trace back to New Zealand. ANZAC biscuits are made of rolled oats, flour, cocnut, sugar, butter and golden syrup and were highly popular during the war times since the ingredients didn't spoil. Pavlova is a meringue cake with a light, soft inner layer complete with a crispy crust. It was named to honor the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova after one of her tours in 1920 to Australia and New Zealand.
Meat pies and sausage rolls are big in Australia. There is even an annual competition to find the "Great Australian Meat Pie." Some places where they sell meat pies are Four-and-Twenty, Mrs Macs, Balfours, Villis, J. R. Pinders and Big Ben. The picture below is of a meat pie with tomato sauce on it. Look for my next blog about the weird foods of Australia!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Random Facts
It's always fun to know random facts about a place before you go there, so here is a list of random facts you might not have known before you read this!
-The Great Barrier Reef is the longest reef in the world. It's over 2010 kilometers.
-The average Australian will consume 165,000 eggs in his or her lifetime.
-The average family in Australia has 1.65 children.
-In 1838 it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day. This law was enforced until 1902.
-It has been reported that the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per head of population than any other community in the history of mankind.
-Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved Convicts.
-In 1832, 300 female Convicts at the Cascade Female Factory mooned the Governor of Tasmania during a chapel service. It was said that in a "rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor's party could not control their laughter."
-A baby kangaroo at the time of its birth measures 2 centimeters.
-Kangaroos need very little water to survive and are capable of going for months without drinking at all.
-A kangaroo being chased by a dog may jump into a dam. If the dog gives chase, the kangaroo may turn towards the dog, then use its paws to push the dog's head underwater in order to drown it.
-The day of the Melbourne Cup (a horse race!) is a public holiday in Melbourne.
-The 'dingo fence' in Australia is the longest fence in the world, and is about twice as long as the Great Wall of China.
-Australians may refer to Americans as 'Seppos'. This is an abbreviation for 'Septic Tank' which is rhyming slang for 'Yank'.
-In 1967, Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia went for a swim at the beach and was never seen again. Theories about his disappearance include kidnapping by a Russian submarine, eaten by a shark or being carried away by the tide.
-Per capita, Australians read more newspapers than any other nation.
-It is estimated that 50% of Australians aged 14-19 are active users of Cannabis.
These facts came from:
http://www.australianhistory.org/australian-facts.php
http://www.convictcreations.com/culture/facts.htm
-The Great Barrier Reef is the longest reef in the world. It's over 2010 kilometers.
-The average Australian will consume 165,000 eggs in his or her lifetime.
-The average family in Australia has 1.65 children.
-In 1838 it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day. This law was enforced until 1902.
-It has been reported that the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per head of population than any other community in the history of mankind.
-Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved Convicts.
-In 1832, 300 female Convicts at the Cascade Female Factory mooned the Governor of Tasmania during a chapel service. It was said that in a "rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor's party could not control their laughter."
-A baby kangaroo at the time of its birth measures 2 centimeters.
-Kangaroos need very little water to survive and are capable of going for months without drinking at all.
-A kangaroo being chased by a dog may jump into a dam. If the dog gives chase, the kangaroo may turn towards the dog, then use its paws to push the dog's head underwater in order to drown it.
-The day of the Melbourne Cup (a horse race!) is a public holiday in Melbourne.
-The 'dingo fence' in Australia is the longest fence in the world, and is about twice as long as the Great Wall of China.
-Australians may refer to Americans as 'Seppos'. This is an abbreviation for 'Septic Tank' which is rhyming slang for 'Yank'.
-In 1967, Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia went for a swim at the beach and was never seen again. Theories about his disappearance include kidnapping by a Russian submarine, eaten by a shark or being carried away by the tide.
-Per capita, Australians read more newspapers than any other nation.
-It is estimated that 50% of Australians aged 14-19 are active users of Cannabis.
These facts came from:
http://www.australianhistory.org/australian-facts.php
http://www.convictcreations.com/culture/facts.htm
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