Dani's Australian Vocabulary
Mini Dictionary of Australian Phrases, Places, and Terms
1770 (Seventeen Seventy) - Beach town founded at Captain James Cook's first landing in Queensland, named after the year of its establishment. The locals are proud of its origins. Has stingers (jellyfish) at the beach, but is still attractive to surfers and surf shops. Has an IGA market, gas station, public library with cheap books for sale, a Laundromat, other vendors, and weeds.
ANZAC biscuit - A historic cookie named after the initials of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Containing ingredients like oatmeal, golden syrup, and coconut, they could be transported to the army without spoiling during World War I. They are sold in tubs and bags in supermarkets and roadside stops.
Australia Zoo - An iconic destination that takes time to explore fully. As Steve Irwin's zoo, there are many photo op posters of the Crocodile Hunter leaping, ecstatic, or posing with his family. His daughter and wife attend the zoo and can be met there.
Black and Gold - A product brand that sells a wide range of grocery store merchandise, characterized by a generic black font on distinctive yellow packaging. Away from the cities, Black and Gold has a monopoly on household staples, and its logo appears consistently in stores and homes.
Brekkie/brekky - breakfast. Typically a light meal of cereal or toast and butter.
Brisbane - ( pronounced brisban) Has the feel of a modern city like Hong Kong and yet the relaxed nature of a resort town. Driving is on the right side, as with all of Australia. The traffic signals are black with white, rounded borders. The GoMA (Gallery of Modern Art) has free admission and cutting-edge exhibits. The Brisbane river winds through the city like the Venetian Grand Canal, crossed by bridges such as the Story Bridge, and covered in private and public transit boats. The skyline features both a tropical canopy and skyrises, with plants tangling into the architecture. People in the city are generally fit and wear unique and stylish clothing. Prices are high. At times it seems almost artificially constructed, like a theme park, as if the real, less colorful world could be found on the other side of a gate.
Bubble tea - An encompassing name for a variety of sweet, cold drinks originating from Taiwan. Vendors like Easy Way and Tea Up offer the popular drinks throughout the major Australian cities. Milk tea and blended ice come in a huge range of flavors from the more unusual - lychee, taro, and red bean - to the familiar tastes of mango, pineapple, and peach. Tapioca balls, or "pearls" can be added, which sit in the bottom of the drink to be consumed with a wide straw through the plastic seal over the top affixed mechanically after the drink's making. A refreshing pick-me-up appreciated along the hot city streets.
Byron Bay - A hippie and surfer town located just south of the Queensland/New South Wales border, below Brisbane. Has a collection of surf shops, cluttered with young, tan people. Little shops like Scarab have Indian/Asian/hippie products that add to the bright clothing of the passers-by.
Capsicum - The Australian word for bell pepper.
Clothes dryers - Exist rarely (same for hair dryers). Instead, spinning poles with spokes and wires for hanging clothes crop up in many Australian backyards. Pipes connect the roof gutters to corrugated metal cisterns in the yards for rainwater collection. Homes are built under the weight of a drought.
Coffee - Short Black - shot of espresso, Long Black - espresso shot and water, Flat White - espresso with steamed milk, to name a few.
Flies - Not a problem in the cities, but a bombardment in the country.
"How are you going?" - The "How are you doing?" replacement that makes everyone sound like a work in progress.
Ice cream - Is not quite the same. Don't buy a caramel Magnum bar expecting caramel - it's butterscotch. Aside from bars and popsicles, outside the city, vanilla ice cream comes only in flat, square tubs with rounded edges. You have to tear off a small rib of plastic to pull them open. The ice cream is the frozen consistency of ice cream that has been left in the sun for half an hour. Like soft serve, but softer. Hard-core ice cream lovers might be disappointed.
"It's ok." -Can mean "yes", and "you're welcome", among other things. It may sound dismissive at first, but is cultural, not personal.
"Keep upright, good on you." - Friendly parting words.
Lennox Head - A small, pretty beach town just south of Byron Bay, with modern shops and eateries and plenty of surf shops. Expensive apartments and clear beaches.
Mangoes - Wonderful in Australia. Don't buy them too ripe, or too small.
Meat pies - Australian street food. They come in beef, lamb, chicken, sometimes Indian and Thai options, and are often sold with vegetarian pies and sausage rolls in little street shops. Usually always under $5.
Melbourne - (Mel-bahn) A large city like Sydney, though a little smaller and less international, it is still a huge metropolitan city with a range of options, from high-end shops in modern malls to markets and op shops. Both Sydney and Melbourne have plenty of backpacker hostels and communities.
Milk - May not be found in small containers outside the cities. However, it comes in chocolate, vanilla malt, strawberry, and lime. A woman at a country roadstop was unfamiliar with the concept of milk in a container smaller than a full carton.
Mushies - Mushrooms
"No worries" - Relaxed manifestation of the culture prevalent in speech.
Nutella - Chocolate-hazelnut spread from Europe. Eaten on bread and pastries, a staple.
Passion fruit - The fruit is slimy, crunchy, and sweet, and can be eaten with a spoon. A popular flavor.
Sodas - Are decaffeinated, all except Coca Cola. There is a slightly different take on lemonade called Lemon Squash.
Sultanas - Raisins. "Sultana Bran" is the Australian "Raisin Bran".
Sydney - Seemingly the most westernized city. The most western and international products can be found here, like pop tarts in a convenience store. The city is divided into regions like Darling Harbor, King's Cross, and Manly Beach. Inexpensive lodgings can be found in the many backpacker hostels, but the streets can be loud at night, so requesting an inner room might be important. Hyde Park and the Domain are lush parks in the heart of the city from which one can walk to most of the city's attractions. For a modern, high-end bookstore experience, Kinokuniya is the best place, located in the Victoria Galleries mall near the Queen Victoria Building.
Tim Tams - The cookie of Australia. Chocolate wafers with chocolate centers. These ubiquitous cookies come in caramel, white chocolate, mint, cookies and cream, double chocolate, etc. They can be found well into the country and should be sampled on any trip to Australia. A Tim Tam straw (a quirky Australian trick) can be made by biting off both far corners of a cookie, dipping it atop heated milk, and drinking the milk through the Tim Tam, which causes it to melt, at which point one must eat it quickly.
Toowoomba - (tawomba) A residential town with the feeling of 1971. Homes look to be built out of brick and mortar kits, all the sunbaked homes in tints of yellow to red brick. Old cars park askew on uncut lawns, lots are uncluttered and simple, kids walk the cracked sidewalk barefoot. The rolling streets carry a nostalgic and worry-free mood through the neighborhoods. Big bugs, red soil, bright flowers.
Television - Similar to American TV, except several months behind, also, less censored. There is a popular music video channel called V.
Variety - Limited. Products come in few brands, which change frequently. All the main grocery stores - Coles, Food Works, Woolworths - carry about the same products - just less of them the farther out they are.
Vegemite - The famous Australian brown yeast spread. It has a very pungent taste and should be sampled tentatively, but must be sampled on a trip to Australia for the full experience. The Australians have a specific style of consuming it - buttering a piece of toast and spreading a very thin layer of vegemite over the butter.
Woolgoolga - A coastal town with open air cafes, thrift stores, coniferous tropical trees, plenty of ants, sand, and weedy grass in the park along the beach. The forest inland is beautiful and home to diverse wildlife.