Now that I've been in Sydney for 6 months, I figured it was about time to read Bill Bryson's "In A Sunburned Country." A lot of people told me to read this when they found out I was moving and I must say, this book is pretty spot on. I hadn't read any of his books before, but everyone said it was a funny read. While I have found it funny, I'm more finding comfort in the fact that other people see the oddities that occur in every day life down here, that are "normal" and it's not just me.
It goes through all sorts of life from trying (or admitting defeat in trying) to explain how the Aussie government works, to all the poisonous creatures the size of your pinky that can kill you in minutes, to the comedic history of this vast continent. Despite becoming one commonwealth just a little over a hundred years ago (1901), they didn't seem to learn much from the rest of the developed world. One of my favorite parts of the book was the 11 year battle between people to come up with the name of the Capital city, Canberra. They tried to mimic DC in giving the capital it's own city, but choose a location 40 miles off the main highway connecting Sydney and Melbourne. And if you've looked at a map, that's in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, here is a list of names that were seriously considered for the name of the capital city, Myola, Wheatwoolgold, Emu, Eucalypta, Opossum, Gladstone, Thirstyville, Kookaburra, Cromwell and Victoria Defendera Defender (seriously). But my favorite because of the sheer creativity involved has to be Sydmeladperbisho. Some genius thought it would be a good idea to take the first syllables from every territory's capital city and combine them.
If anyone is planning on visiting or wants a more eloquent depiction of Australia than what you're getting on this blog, definitely give it a read.
I will leave you with my favorite question I've received so far about life here versus the US. And I quote, "Do they have banana bread in America?" I kid you not, that was an actual question someone asked me.
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