everything here is in varying degrees of difference than its counterpart in the US. I'm reminded of this all the time, especially when i see posted signs. they are always so damned polite.
the day i made the conscious decision to stop saying "y'all" was a big step in my evolution as a human being. 3 days ago (or 4? i can't even tell anymore) i boarded a Qantas jet bound for los angeles. i had row to myself, which was pretty sweet. these new qantas planes have individual tv screens with a huge selection of movies. which was also pretty sweet. hurt locker is a good movie. anyway, got the pat-down in melourne before leaving. titilating. when i arrived at LAX, walked down the stairs to the customs lines. there were 50 lines, and the first dozen were full, so a customs guy was standing in front, telling people to move on down the line. some little asian guy, who just got off a 13-hour flight, prolly didn't speak english, was trying to enter one of the full lines. the customs guy yelled at him "hey buddy! what part of keep walking don't you understand?". yep, i'm back in america. two days with the fam in Texas, now i'm in boulder, ba...
Siewyee, my coworker, Singaporean tour guide/ambassador, took us to Bugis market last night, to fulfil my mission of trying the Durian (aka 'the stinky fruit'). Singaporeans call it 'the king of all fruits', a delicacy. All I knew was that the smell and taste are famous. You can smell a durian from 10 feet away. Siewyee offers some Durian already shucked: chris takes a bite: reaction 1: reaction 2: brian takes a bite: reaction (note chris is still gagging on the left side of the picture): jim takes a bite: reaction: and it's done. the taste is like... i can't describe it. foul. and it stays with you for a while. we immediately rushed to get some indonesian barbeque as soon as the tasting was complete
have now completed my first full week living in another country. It hardly seems like 7 days; it's mostly been a whirl of stress and excitement and new experiences. some news: i'm on my own at work now, and it's a bit hard to support clients when i dont' know how to dial out of these wacky australian phones. phone numbers here are like : 011 0044 63 (3) 9884 6416 who the hell can understand all that mess? anyway. finally signed on an apartment in a kick ass location, davis street a block south of toorak avenue, just across from the south yarra train station, about .25 km from chapel street and all the trendy glitzy shit down there. of course it costs more than i can afford, but, well, ya know. tomorrow i'm off to explore doantown melbourne, maybe catch a train out the pier or the beach. peace
More polite, yes, but still as poorly spelled as it's US counterpart...
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