So, who'da thunk we would have to gain facility with TWO languages???

It all started at the first rally meeting in Cairns. As we were assembling at the yacht club, I heard quite a few people inquiring as to when the 'mates' would arrive. Since at that moment, we were awaiting Annie's arrival, I surmised that others were expecting additional crew, as well. Then, I heard someone say 'frozen mates'. Huh? No...not crew arriving from cold climes. Frozen MEATS.

This Aussie-American language barrier is two-fold.
First, there is the accent. While I certainly cannot differentiate the different Aussie accents, I can say with conviction that there are huge differences. When we were touring around Darwin with our friends Dee and Betty, we were on a boat ride, and I think I may have understood one out of three words that the driver said. With others, we could understand 99% of their words. Once Annie from Brisbane arrived, we had our own in-house (in-boat) interpreter. It must be like an Aussie coming to the States and traveling in Brooklyn or the deep south.Of course, there is the usual 'tomahto' for tomato and 'bananah' for banana. Annie and I did a little role reversal and swapped accents...just because.....

Secondly, there are these phrases and expressions. I should have made notes from the get-go, and could have compiled an Aussie-American phrase book, but I didn't think of it early enough. Here's my fav: We were pulling into an anchorage with a tiny village. Many of our rally mates were already settled in. I heard Robbie, from the motor yacht, Southern Star, chatting on the VHS that he was on the dock, having a beer, and inviting everyone to join him. I'm thinking...'really? They have a pub on the dock in this itsy-bitsy traditional village? How unusual.' What he really said (in Aussie) was that he was on his 'duck' having a beer. His duck? Aussie for a rubber dinghy. Other expressions are 'chalk and cheese' for 'water and oil', 'Chinese whispers' for what we used to call 'playing telephone', 'horses for courses' (to each his own'), 'braces and belts' (we don't really have a comparable expression but it means taking extra precautions), and the 'thunder box' (toilet'.) .....and, we all speak the same language.

(Annie: if you want to add any I've missed, feel free.)

Sorry about the pic of the day, it was the best I could do. Stay tuned for Part 2: On Language (Indonesia) when we have another slow news day.