Hello everyone! I’m here in Brisbane, Australia, sitting with Karl’s family, watching “Revenge.” It’s the end of the first season, and I can’t remember if the show’s been on for 1 or 2 years in the US. After sleeping for hours and hours yesterday… I think it was about 19 total, I woke up around 5am local time. Karl woke up shortly after, and he taught me how to play Halo. Turns out, I was pretty good! 

We went into the city so I could go get my phone set up. Sitting in the front seat while Karl drove from the right side of the car, on the left side of the road, was a little scary at times. I kept thinking he was turning into oncoming traffic!

What I saw of the city was really nice. We walked a few blocks from where we parked to the Queen Street Mall. I got my phone set up for Australia, and I had my first Australian fast food (Red Rooster). 

I’ve also begun to see the huge event that will be the State of Origin Game. It’s a rugby match between Queensland and New South Wales. The Queensland team is the Maroons (pronouced Mar-owns), and people are getting excited. Maroon and yellow jerseys and gear are being sold in sports shops, and while the official gear is super expensive, I’m hoping to pick up a non-official shirt to watch the game on Wednesday night! 

So far, not too many things are very much different, but there are some differences even in McDonalds and Subway. I saw a billboard for the “El Maco” at Maccas, as the Aussies call it, a burger “with the taste of Mexico,” and I’ve seen a commercial for the Moroccan Lamb footlong at subway.

Because of the nice climate, the Percy’s don’t use an air conditioner or heat (other than space heaters if needed), so I picked up some “Hoodies for your feet” today for the cold mornings and nights. If I decide to get fancy, I can go pick up some genuine Uggs!

A few other things I’ve learned about Australia so far: tax is included in the price listed; you don’t tip waiters/waitresses, parking in the city is ridiculously expensive (but I invested in a “Go Card” so I can take the train), black ants bite, and you flip switches down to turn things on, and up to turn them off. 

Well, that’s all for now— tomorrow we are planning on seeing “The Avengers” for cheap movie Tuesday, and having some pizza for cheap pizza Tuesday… yet they say not everything’s cheap on Tuesday…