New 2011 LAND DOWNUNDER, Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Got my Green Card today!

So happy.

Congrats!!

[Mitexi 8]

Got my Green Card today!

So happy.

Congratulations! ^^

In my own visa news, my fiance is having a hard time getting the police check. =/ For the past two days now they have had someone in custody EVERY time he calls, all day long. They tell him to call back in a few hours, so he does, and they either still have the same person or a new one. I don't know if it's just a bad area or what, but this isn't going well. How is he supposed to get the fingerprints if someone is always in custody? )=

Edited June 7, 2012 by Mitexi

[Travis and Meghan 24]

Haven't really been on here that much lately so just thought I'd check in and say hi

my husband and I moved from Arizona to Portland, Oregon earlier this week and I have to say, Oregon is the most beautiful I have ever seen! It is stunning, trees everywhere, snow capped mountains, and rain, and cold. I love rain and cold. Much better than all those 100+ days in Arizona! Got approved for my first American credit card yesterday too which was exciting, I didn't even have to put money down on it

Anyway hope everyone else on here has been keeping well and every one is having a smooth journey

[Dave and Shannon 9]

Haven't really been on here that much lately so just thought I'd check in and say hi

my husband and I moved from Arizona to Portland, Oregon earlier this week and I have to say, Oregon is the most beautiful I have ever seen! It is stunning, trees everywhere, snow capped mountains, and rain, and cold. I love rain and cold. Much better than all those 100+ days in Arizona! Got approved for my first American credit card yesterday too which was exciting, I didn't even have to put money down on it

Anyway hope everyone else on here has been keeping well and every one is having a smooth journey

hey i havent been on here in ages either... sounds like you moved to a nice place... im still living here, country sort of area... alot different to the gold coast i can tell you that haha.. but oh well.. ive pretty much been house hunting of late which is fun and exciting, been to college, working, holidays... all the fun stuff... hope everyone is doing well

[Travis and Meghan 24]

Ohhh, college? that sounds like fun We'll be joining you in house hunting soon...well, kind of, we'll be apartment hunting, lol

[Mitexi 8]

Uhg, has anyone else had problems with people at the medical in Sydney being rude? My fiance is very discouraged at having to deal with them now after calling them to make an appointment. I will share with you some gems from the conversation:

Medical Office Lady: "Do you have a passport and a case number?" (at this point he was wondering how you can even get to this stage in the process without a passport)

Fiance: "Yes, I got the case number."

Medical Office Lady: "Do. You. Have. A. Passport?"

Fiance: "...Yes."

And apparently she then continued talking to him like he didn't understand English, even though he was born in Australia with a regular Australian accent, and you can understand him just fine.

Later on in the conversation:

Medical Office Lady: "I need your phone number."

Fiance: "My mobile is xxxxx. Do you need my home phone too?"

Medical Office Lady: *in a rude tone* "No. I don't want that. Not unless you're sitting at home all day."

Then she sent him a form that he needed to fill out and email back to her. This was yesterday. The lady said it would be fine as long as he got it there by this Friday. But today (the very next morning, in Australia) the lady called him on his mobile and started complaining that he hadn't sent the form in yet.

Fiance: "Oh, you said you needed it by Friday."

Medical Office Lady: "Well, am I going to get it by Friday?"

Fiance: "...Yes."

Has anyone else had similar experiences? I feel really bad that he has to deal with those people when he's the one sacrificing to do this process and come over here for me. He asked if there was anywhere else he could go, and I said "not unless you want to go to Melbourne" (he lives an hour from Sydney). His reply was "It's almost worth it."

Edited July 4, 2012 by Mitexi

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Uhg, has anyone else had problems with people at the medical in Sydney being rude? My fiance is very discouraged at having to deal with them now after calling them to make an appointment. I will share with you some gems from the conversation:

Medical Office Lady: "Do you have a passport and a case number?"

Fiance: "Yes, I got the case number."

Medical Office Lady: "Do. You. Have. A. Passport?"

Fiance: "...Yes."

And apparently she then continued talking to him like he didn't understand English, even though he was born in Australia with a regular Australian accent, and you can understand him just fine.

Later on in the conversation:

Medical Office Lady: "I need your phone number."

Fiance: "My mobile is xxxxx. Do you need my home phone too?"

Medical Office Lady: *in a rude tone* "No. I don't want that. Not unless you're sitting at home all day."

Then she sent him a form that he needed to fill out and email back to her. This was yesterday. The lady said it would be fine as long as he got it there by this Friday. But today (the very next morning, in Australia) the lady called him on his mobile and started complaining that he hadn't sent the form in yet.

Fiance: "Oh, you said you needed it by Friday."

Medical Office Lady: "Well, am I going to get it by Friday?"

Fiance: "...Yes."

Has anyone else had similar experiences? I feel really bad that he has to deal with those people when he's the one sacrificing to do this process and come over here for me.

He asked if there was anywhere else he could go, and I said "not unless you want to go to Melbourne" (he lives an hour from Sydney). His reply was "It's almost worth it."

Nope sorry mine was in Melbourne. Then I had to fly to sydney for the interview. So honestly, be happy he's an hour away 'cause that's the ONLY place that interviews in the whole country. So people come from WA :S

Aside from that though, he just needs to remember this woman is hella jealous of him. He's off on a big adventure to be with the one he loves and she is stuck where she is doing the same thing over and over. Plus, she could have just been PMSing. Or she could have just been yelled at by her boss. And.. again honestly, it's not the worst he's gunna get... esp not till he gets here.

Much as some Americans are lovely I've had my fair share of people I wanted to smack in the face. Take today for example. 2 people. Bank woman and person in box at Checkers. First was new. Totally useless and wouldn't listen to me. Second couldn't understand me. Seriously how hard is #8 plus bacon :S Wouldn't let me come up to the window to continue the order so we struggled through for 5 or so minutes :S I'm not the only one either. Another friend of mine, recent America entrant is struggling to talk to people on the phone (so did I especially at the beginning) and it gets REALLY frustrating (she was close to tears I think). Even ordering a pizza is rocket science. And don't get me started on people laughing AT me (not with me) every time I slip up and say something Australian.

So yeah while that lady sucked, he will be okay. He doesn't have to think of her again once he's all done.

[Travis and Meghan 24]

Wow, that sounds awful :/ I highly recommend the one in Melbourne though, everyone there was absolutely fantastic and pleasant to deal with

I totally agree with what Vanessa said too, lol. I've met some fantastic people since moving here and most people are very friendly and helpful etc but some days...and some people..ughh. I've been here for nine months and am currently going through a phase of refusing to speak to Americans over the phone. I've completely ran out of patience with it right now, it's surprisingly stressful. Although, now when i speak to my family back home they always tell me I sound less Australian! Apparently i talk slower and say random words weirdly.

[Mitexi 8]

Well, after reading my post, my fiance told me I'm just over-worrying. =P He said the rude people don't bother him, they're just making him lose his trust in doing the medical there. He says it's really unprofessional and it makes him wonder about how they handle everything else, like the paperwork. But unfortunately he knows there's no other option and was just joking about Melbourne. It just makes him a bit mad that theyŕe the only people in the entire state that can do it, and they treat people like that. Like they do it because they can get away with it, knowing that you have to go to them either way.

And my fiance knows EXACTLY what you both mean about people not understanding you on the phone and such in the US. He lived here with me for a year on a work and holiday visa, and there were times when he was really frustrated with the phone. Especially anything automated, like if you have to say letters or numbers into a computer system, and they keep coming out wrong. The airport flight verification was probably the worst. It even added random letters to the end of his name, lol. But he says most of the real people on the phone have been nice about it. He said one person told him "I'm having some trouble understanding you, but you have a lovely accent!"

The Australian words thing he is familiar with too. Like one time he asked for more "serviettes" at Pizza Hut, and the serving girl just stared at him. He had to point to the used ones on the table and say "serviettes?" and finally she was like "Oh! Ok." But when she came back, she said "Here are your napkins" like she was trying to correct him. =P Another time a customer couldn't understand him at his job here. She was asking him something he wasn't sure about, so he told her "sorry, I'm not sure, but I'll go get someone who will know." But she didn't understand him and thought he was telling her to go find someone herself. She stormed off and complained to the front desk about him, while he just stood there wondering what happened. She told the people at the desk that he was "really rude and blew her off." He didn't get in trouble though, because when the desk lady found out who she was complaining about, she just said "oh", like she understood right away what happened. He's had other customers go up to the desk and tell them they liked him and that he did a good job helping them, so it wasn't a big deal.

My family sometimes laughs about different Australian words he uses too. But when he started using the American versions, then HIS family started laughing at him. He can't win, lol. Here's a few that always get mentioned:

Rubbish vs Trash

Bin vs Trash can

Shops vs Stores

Serviettes vs Napkins

Notes vs Bills (money)

Petrol vs Gas

Boot vs Trunk

Bonnet vs Hood

Even some words that are the same in both places he gets made fun of for saying them in a weird way with his accent. Like "mum" was one. My mom is NOTORIOUS for picking out all of his speech differences. She does it to be funny sometimes, because they worked at the same job while he was here and now they just act ridiculous around each other, lol. Like one time he kept trying to tell her something and she made that noise that the adults on Charlie Brown make. The "Wa WA" noise. Indicating that she couldn't understand anything he was saying. I about died, but he just laughed. One day if she ever visits Australia, I'm sure he will get his revenge.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The Australian words thing he is familiar with too. Like one time he asked for more "serviettes" at Pizza Hut, and the serving girl just stared at him. He had to point to the used ones on the table and say "serviettes?" and finally she was like "Oh! Ok." But when she came back, she said "Here are your napkins" like she was trying to correct him. =P Another time a customer couldn't understand him at his job here. She was asking him something he wasn't sure about, so he told her "sorry, I'm not sure, but I'll go get someone who will know." But she didn't understand him and thought he was telling her to go find someone herself. She stormed off and complained to the front desk about him, while he just stood there wondering what happened. She told the people at the desk that he was "really rude and blew her off." He didn't get in trouble though, because when the desk lady found out who she was complaining about, she just said "oh", like she understood right away what happened. He's had other customers go up to the desk and tell them they liked him and that he did a good job helping them, so it wasn't a big deal.

My family sometimes laughs about different Australian words he uses too. But when he started using the American versions, then HIS family started laughing at him. He can't win, lol. Here's a few that always get mentioned:

Rubbish vs Trash

Bin vs Trash can

Shops vs Stores

Serviettes vs Napkins

Notes vs Bills (money)

Petrol vs Gas

Boot vs Trunk

Bonnet vs Hood

Even some words that are the same in both places he gets made fun of for saying them in a weird way with his accent. Like "mum" was one. My mom is NOTORIOUS for picking out all of his speech differences. She does it to be funny sometimes, because they worked at the same job while he was here and now they just act ridiculous around each other, lol. Like one time he kept trying to tell her something and she made that noise that the adults on Charlie Brown make. The "Wa WA" noise. Indicating that she couldn't understand anything he was saying. I about died, but he just laughed. One day if she ever visits Australia, I'm sure he will get his revenge.

Lol. Yep! I'll say napkins when I'm asking someone random for them but for friends/family it's still serviette... and I explain my reasoning as... In American you call what babies wear "diapers", we call them "nappies" which is short for "napkins", which is also what we call feminine hygiene products ("sanitary napkins" is the generic term)... so I'm sorry but I'm not wiping my face with a diaper!

I also got laughed at (and even though it's 2 years later still do) because I say light globe, instead of light bulb and the plumber didn't understand me when I said "turn the globe to turn on the cellar light". I say footpath instead of sidewalk. It says "bins" on my calendar to remind myself when it's "bin day" (trash collection). I'm pretty good about saying "gas" now but when my fuel pump went out i said petrol pump

[Mitexi 8]

Lol. Yep! I'll say napkins when I'm asking someone random for them but for friends/family it's still serviette... and I explain my reasoning as... In American you call what babies wear "diapers", we call them "nappies" which is short for "napkins", which is also what we call feminine hygiene products ("sanitary napkins" is the generic term)... so I'm sorry but I'm not wiping my face with a diaper!

I also got laughed at (and even though it's 2 years later still do) because I say light globe, instead of light bulb and the plumber didn't understand me when I said "turn the globe to turn on the cellar light". I say footpath instead of sidewalk. It says "bins" on my calendar to remind myself when it's "bin day" (trash collection). I'm pretty good about saying "gas" now but when my fuel pump went out i said petrol pump

Lol, I think I remember him saying light globe a few times. Not sure about footpath and sidewalk. I never noticed that. I thought of another one though. Chips vs Fries. I can't tell you the number of times I have been confused in my mind whether he is talking about french fries or potato chips. =P And something that drives him crazy is when we're at a fast food place and I or someone else orders "a large fry." He told me it sounds like we're ordering a single fry that's really big instead of a large packet of fries. xD

That reminds me. Does anyone know where you can find Vegemite in the US? Or other Australian foods too, but Vegemite is the main one.

Edited July 4, 2012 by Mitexi

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Lol, I think I remember him saying light globe a few times. Not sure about footpath and sidewalk. I never noticed that. I thought of another one though. Chips vs Fries. I can't tell you the number of times I have been confused in my mind whether he is talking about french fries or potato chips. =P And something that drives him crazy is when we're at a fast food place and I or someone else orders "a large fry." He told me it sounds like we're ordering a single fry that's really big instead of a large packet of fries. xD

That reminds me. Does anyone know where you can find Vegemite in the US? Or other Australian foods too, but Vegemite is the main one.

Here's a link that you might like: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/331922-new-2011-land-downunder-aussie-aussie-aussie-oi-oi-oi/page__view__findpost__p__5090150

Also, wholefoods has some Aussie stuff. World Market sells Tim Tams and Vegemite from Australia but the cadbury chocolate is from the UK and does NOT taste the same as home. Apparently there are a few shops where you can get lucky.

The sites I mention in the link above look pretty expensive and they are but mum and I did a cost analysis where she told me how much stuff was at home. Then we calcuated the weight and then how much the postage would be and it turned out cheaper or about the same to order it online as opposed to her buying a posting. It meant that she can just send me money for my bday and I'll buy stuff online rather than her spending time buying and posting.

Hope they help

[Mitexi 8]

Here's a link that you might like: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/331922-new-2011-land-downunder-aussie-aussie-aussie-oi-oi-oi/page__view__findpost__p__5090150

Also, wholefoods has some Aussie stuff. World Market sells Tim Tams and Vegemite from Australia but the cadbury chocolate is from the UK and does NOT taste the same as home. Apparently there are a few shops where you can get lucky.

The sites I mention in the link above look pretty expensive and they are but mum and I did a cost analysis where she told me how much stuff was at home. Then we calcuated the weight and then how much the postage would be and it turned out cheaper or about the same to order it online as opposed to her buying a posting. It meant that she can just send me money for my bday and I'll buy stuff online rather than her spending time buying and posting.

Hope they help

Ah, thank you very much! ^^ We have a World Market not too far from here. We'll have to take a look around it. I saw some Australian gourmet licorice at Big Lots one time. And I saw Milo at Walmart (same can and everything), though it wasn't quite the same as the Milo I had in Australia (the granules of this one were a lot bigger and it tasted slightly different). But I got addicted to Milo, so I had to make do, lol. But those kind of places are hit and miss with what they're currently carrying, so it's nice to have links to places where we can just order stuff any time.

Edited July 4, 2012 by Mitexi

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Ah, thank you very much! ^^ We have a World Market not too far from here. We'll have to take a look around it. I saw some Australian gourmet licorice at Big Lots one time. And I saw Milo at Walmart (same can and everything), though it didn't taste the same as the Milo I had in Australia. )= I love that stuff. But those kind of places are hit and miss with what they're currently carrying, so it's nice to have links to places where we can just order stuff any time.

Yep with everything you need to check where it was made. While the Milo might have looked the same it probably wasn't imported from Aus. You can buy it made from Mexico and some other places I think. Lucky you haveing a World Market close! We had one when we were in Houston but not here in Iowa Mmm tim tams.

Remember to check where it was made. I can't say that enough. I found some "Aussie licorice" as well. Turned out it wasn't from Aus and it was NOT like Aussie licorice. Tasted awful.

[Mitexi 8]

Yep with everything you need to check where it was made. While the Milo might have looked the same it probably wasn't imported from Aus. You can buy it made from Mexico and some other places I think. Lucky you haveing a World Market close! We had one when we were in Houston but not here in Iowa Mmm tim tams.

Remember to check where it was made. I can't say that enough. I found some "Aussie licorice" as well. Turned out it wasn't from Aus and it was NOT like Aussie licorice. Tasted awful.

Ah, good advice! I probably wouldn't have considered looking at that detail in my excitement to find something. I'm sure he would inspect these things though if I didn't, since he's more familiar with this stuff. Vegemite is probably the main "want" item at this point, and if World Market has it, then we'll be set. ^^ It's only about 20 minutes away.