"Um, I've never met anyone that said Shrimp on the Barbie. And What is Foster's beer?".....The real australia....

So, one of my favorite stories from these past few days…… Manny is from Quebec, so there’s a bit of a language barrier there. Yesterday he jumped up from his seat grabbing his leg and Isimply asked if he had a Charlie horse. Well apparently this isn’t a well-known term because he immediately fired back with, ”Who is Charlie?” Then asked everyone else in the house if they knew where Charlie was… When asked where that came from….I had absolutely NO idea. So if anyone can fill me in on that I would be thankful.

Then working again…….I woke up to the death crow of some horrific bird. Not the best start tothe day. So yesterday was pretty priceless. It was if everyone here knew things we had never attempted, and then made us do them…ALL.DAY.LONG. It began with gardening. We were planting a veggie garden, which would’ve been fine if I hadn’t once killed a 30 year old bonsai

tree in a mere 2 weeks. We planted zucchini, and beans, and radishes. I was wondering what it would look like in a year……but I’m pretty sure it’s going to look the exact same as it did yesterday……..like little mounds of dirt. In all seriousness though……we are both decked out in headbands, nike track shorts and designer sunglasses……that doesn’t exactly give off the impression that we are ONE with nature. So after the garden was finished, we were asked to cook dinner. I was excited because I was finally going to be productive instead of relatively counteractive. I love cooking…I can cook pasta, hamburgers, chicken, even steak. What do they want?......Minced KANGAROO curry. Um, WHAT? We attempt it. To call it a disaster is a vast understatement. Runny curry, mushy broccoli, and really really overcooked rice. Not a lot of dinner conversation during that meal………

Today was a little bit better minus that same dang bird outside my window. I sware……it’s like they know how much I hate them. But anyway, we started out with a bit of organizing…this

house has been run by men for a little bit too long. Well I was vacuuming and Jill went to clean the bathrooms. Next thing I hear is severe dry heaving. I run downstairs to see Jill hunched next to the tub, which, thanks to all these boys, has been filled with our dishes. Unsanitary doesn’t even begin to explain. I of course die laughing, careful to take note of exactly which dishes are soaking in that orangish filth. Anyway…..we then build shelves out of bricks and old doors. I’m just praying that little contraption can hold at least until we’re up and out of here, because I am surely not rebuilding it. Then we have a long lunch and go fishing for “work.” The irrigation system here

runs on dams filled with fish….so we needed to replenish. Everyone here probably thinks I’m such a girl but one thing Daddy taught me is how to hook a fish. Literally 30 seconds after the line is in the water and I’m reeling in a fish. The look on the guy’s faces was definitely one to remember. They may think it was just luck but I am 100% sure that it was pure Drown skill. J