A to Z of Australia
U for Uniforms
Uniforms are a wonderful thing! They mean the kids never have to compete with the latest fashions at school. I asked our four “What is something starting with “U” that you all find different or unique in Australia compared with Nigeria. The answer came back in unison: “UNIFORMS!” I thought this was odd. I knew […]
W for Wonderful Weather
Australia is a LARGE piece of land. So large we have several different climate zones, ranging from tropical in the north to temperate in the south and bloody cold cool in Tasmania. Temperate doesn’t translate into any form of constant temperate ranges though! Down here in Victoria, we have be freezing one day and cooking […]
R for Republic
Australia is not yet a republic, we are a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of England is our head of state. On November 6, 1999 a referendum was held to ask Australians if we wanted to become a republic. I voted no, primarily for two reasons at the time. I could see how expensive the American […]
V for Victoria
The Australian state of Victoria is the state where we live. Where I have lived for most of my life. When I first came to Australia I got a flight into Melbourne, not Sydney (where Mum came from and my planned ultimate destination) and I seem to have just stayed! Melbourne is a lovely city, […]
S for Spiders
I recently put out a call for Questions about Australia as part of the A – Z Challenge. Gilly of Lucid Gypsy wanted to know about Australian spiders as she has heard you are bound to get bitten if you step foot on our shores. Now let me tell you, Gilly is NOT the timid type. […]
Q for Questions
I’ve been slack. VERY slack! Earlier in the year I signed up for the A – Z Challenge and today is the 26th of December. December, in case you hadn’t noticed, is the last month of the year and I have R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y and Z to go! Terrible state […]
P for Politics and Politicians
“War – what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” One might ask the same question of the use of politics. Like every other country in the world, Australia has politics. Unfortunately, where one finds politics, one also finds that rare breed of beings: politicians. “Blind faith in your leaders, in anything, will get you killed.” […]
O for Overseas
For those who may be geography challenged, it takes a LONG time to get anywhere from Australia, other than to New Zealand! Yet most Australians travel, unlike some other countries. Look at the map – we are a long way from most other countries! In the 12 months to June 2010, 6.8 million overseas trips […]
N for NBN – National Broadband Network
Americans visiting Australia often complain, somewhat imperiously, about the speed of internet connections here. Whenever I’ve been to the USA, I’ve found the internet connections over there slow, so I’m not at all sure who is slower! I never actually measured. Intercontinental competitiveness aside, Australia’s government is rolling out the National Broadband Network, affectionately known as […]
Random Observations of Life 