2016-08-22 04:45 All we need is at supermarkets
Y (Kuma's owner)
The busy and fun week has passed. My husband and I had two guests from Japan, my husband's mum and brother from last week to this week. This was the first visit to Australia for them. My husband's mum wanted to see her son, and the brother was just an attendant because he is an English teacher at a high school and can understand English.
At the beginning, we took them to one of the famous zoos in Queensland and they cuddled a koala there. There was a long queue at the place where there is koala cuddling. It was so crowded. I felt sorry for koalas. They spend about 17 hours for sleeping and spend rest of the time for eating. I don't know how much time they spend taking picture with tourists, I'm just anxious that they may have stress. Anyway, our two guests had a good time there and got pictures with koala.
My brother in law wanted to see and buy something that can be seen and bought only in Australia. This was a bit difficult. Well, he saw Kangaroos and Koalas, and my husband and I wondered where else we could take them to?
The next day, we took them to Tamborine Mountain which is near Gold Coast. There are lots of souvenir shops and cafes. He wanted to buy something with aboriginal art but it was hard to find. We barely found T-shirts with aboriginal art but the size of T-shirts were all too big and we couldn't buy it. In general, most clothes are too big for ordinary Japanese. I know my friend who is short always wears children's wear. Unfortunately, we found really good aboriginal design T-shirts but couldn't buy it.
I wanted to find a place where he would be able to enjoy Australia. How about national parks? No, no my mother in law was old and she was not able to walk long distance. Well, how about a shopping centre?
Then, we took them to a big shopping centre. It was a very fashionable area but not peculiar to Australia. He found an opal accessories shop there and bought some for his wife and his daughter. A shop assistant showed us a booklet with an Australia map. The map showed the area where opal can be mined. I asked a shop assistant that if I could dig in my backyard and get opals. He laughed and said "I'm sorry, the area you live has no opal."
I love a little chat like I had at the opal shop. It improves my English and is also fun. Australians are friendly and most shop attendants enjoy chatting with a sense of humor. I love it.
Oh, no, no. I had to entertain our guests, not me.
Then, we went to the local supermarket to buy food for dinner. What happened was our guests became excited to see products there. They bought lots of Tim Tams and cheese. One of the surprising things was that my brother in law said that he loved Vegemite and he bought it as his souvenir. I know that most foreigners don't like Vegemite due to that unique taste. I asked him "Are you sure that you like Vegemite?" He said he was sure. He was given a bin of vegemite as a souvenir before and he became a vegemite lover. This was the first time I met a foreigner who loves vegemite.
After that, we went to the local supermarket "Coles" two times and bought chocolate, ice cream, and sausages for BBQ. I didn't expect that my guests would love the local supermarket so much. They bought lots of souvenirs at the local supermarket, not at souvenir shops. Supermarkets have everything.
2016-08-10 23:34 The new habit and the old habit
Y (Kuma's owner)
We all have habits. Some habits are related to cultural backgrounds or the environment. Since I moved to Australia, one of my habits has disappeared.
I had lived in Japan for a long time. As you know, there are many earthquakes in Japan. If I put something on the edge of the shelf, it might fall off when the earthquake happens. Therefore, I was getting a bit nervous to put things on the shelf, especially the shelf without any depth. I used to put breakable or delicate things towards the inside of the shelf just in case.
When the Fukushima disaster happened in 2011, the energy of the earthquake was massive and all my effort was helpless, but usually it's helpful for small earthquakes. After I moved to Australia, I still had this habit and I told myself "Don't worry, this area has no big earthquakes", and the habit of putting things towards the inside of the shelf gradually disappeared.
Then, I lost one habit and got a new one. The lawn sometimes gets wet with morning dew, so I wear rain boots in the morning. One day, I inserted my leg into the boot and touched something soft. It was a weird feeling.
"What did I touch?"
It was a toad. I have no idea why he was there. The inside of the boots were not wet. I've been believing that frogs and toads love a place which is wet, don't they? Since then, I check the inside of the boots every morning. This became my habit.
However, I don't have to do this in winter because they are hibernating. I know that they are hibernating and still peep into the boots, you know a habit doesn't choose the season. Once it became a habit, I do it always. I think myself I'm stupid but that's the habit.
2016-08-09 20:32 The guests from Japan
Y (Kuma's owner)
Australia is one of the most popular countries for Japanese tourists. The beautiful beaches, pretty Koalas, Kangaroos, unique scenery and friendly Aussies all attract Japanese people. There is not a big difference in time between Australia and Japan, and that makes people feel it is easy to come here.
This weekend, my husband's mum and brother are coming to Australia. I think my husband's mum wanted to see her son (my husband) and asked her the other son who teaches English at a high school to go with her. Isn't she lucky? She cannot speak English but she has got a nice interpreter.
I was wondering what she wants to see in Australia. Come to think of it, the first time I came to Australia, I wanted to see kangaroos and koalas. I think we have to go to a zoo.
Well, what else? She is staying for seven days. She is going to stay our house located in South East Queensland. There aren't many options because we live in a rural area which is far from the most popular sightseeing places.
Therefore, my husband and I plan to take them for a picnic at the local park. It's not exciting but she will be able to enjoy a relaxing time with wild birds as background music. I hope this holiday will become a memorable one for her.