Bob's your uncle

We spent a few beautiful days in Sydney. How wonderful it has been to be out of the heat and humidity of Southeast Asia and soak up the Aussie winter rays....winter, but still 70 degrees and sunny! Now we are in Far North Queensland (Cairns) and we'll explore the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow!

Craig is having a hard time understanding Australian English. I am getting a kick out of translating for him, too. For instance, 'Bob's your uncle' means 'there you go,' as in, 'turn the key and, Bob's your uncle, you're good to go.' Other very Aussie words and expressions:

* How ya going? (as in, 'How are you going?'; or "how are you?")
* Good on ya! (or "good for you")
* Ta (slang for thanks)
* Sunnies (short for sunglasses)
* Breakky (the first meal of the day-- breakfast!)
* Bikkies (biscuits, or cookies)
* Chalkie (I met a man from Perth in Western Australia who said, 'Oh, you're a chalkie' when I told him I was a teacher back home...get it? a teacher is a chalkie, as in chalk?! Aussies are so clever in they're abbreviations)

Of course, Blokes are dudes and Sheilas are ladies, but you could learn that Aussie slang from any Outback Steakhouse.

So, yes, Australian speak English, but it's not American English, and what a hoot it is!

Hope all is well at home. We'll eat a delicious Tim Tam (the world's best chocolate cookie) and think of you :)