The big move - is it really going to be worth it????

[Amanda and Josh 12]

Haha....Mine used to pick out the carrot beetroot and pineapple....then he got used to it...

I was very sick yesterday and sent yank husband up the store for lemonade....now he has lived in Oz for nearly 12 mths before so he must have known but said nothing....eventually he comes back with lemonade and yeah...its lemon solo stuff....I specifically told him not sprite or mountain dew....just schweppes lemonade but no...they dont have it here....been here for all this time and I never knew that....and now we have ran out of cheesymite....14 year old son is not impressed we cant just go to the store and buy some....

I was really hung over on a trip to see hubby and asked him to order me a lemonade, it was the gross lemon juice stuff they have here and made me vomit. he said "oh I wondered if you meant sprit but figured you would have said that" DUH

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thanks Deb and Lyn - its all a little better this week as I have found us a new rental to move into next month. Will solve a lot of my niggly issues. Don't talk to me about comfort eating Deb I'm spending $40 a month on the Simply Oz website buying Allen's lollies lol.

Thanks for the heads up about the Sara Lee bread Vanessa - I bought a loaf today and its much more palatable

Now if I could just get a little more sleep I may actually crack a smile lol.

Happy to read you agree about the bread! It's a little more expensive than "cheap" bread but worth it

I can't wait to get another job so I can start ordering stuff from the Simply Oz site... I'm hoping to travel back to Aus sometime between July/August (my sister is having a baby) and my mum is hopefully visiting at some stage so I'm planning on brining stuff back with me then, and giving mum money to bring stuff when she comes Stockpile!!

I was really hung over on a trip to see hubby and asked him to order me a lemonade, it was the gross lemon juice stuff they have here and made me vomit. he said "oh I wondered if you meant sprit but figured you would have said that" DUH

Oh I agree on how many times I buggered up that order!! But even sprite doesn't taste the same 'cause it has lime in it as well. I miss Kirks lemonade and creamy soda (the red one) from home... le sigh.

[JezJess 2]

I'm the USC - but have spent over a year living in AUS with my fiancee in a suburb of Sydney. We have an application in to have him come to the Pacific NW. Then, we may move back to AUS in a few years, we'll see.

I think food can be one of the biggest "home" markers, and one of the hardest things to get used to not having. For example, the lack of half-in-half for my coffee in AUS drives me nuts and I've gone to great lengths to try to recreate it there. I found the milk types there so confusing - but he says the same about here.

Haha, I also hate the lemonade there! It's funny how the things we are used to become entrenched. I do, however, love the Schweppes lime cordial there. And the ketchup, the ketchup there is so much better! I drown my meat pies in it and he laughs at me every time!

But, I've had things that are similar-ish to AUS lemonade from health or organic stores here - I don't know if there's a Whole Foods anywhere near you, but they tend to have sodas or sparkling things that more closely approximate lemonade.

Also, that red creamy soda - if it's the one I'm thinking of, I had a sip of it last time I was there. Oh man, I almost spit it out, I hate it - and I knew the flavor because it tasted exactly like this cream soda my dad loves here in the US. I can't remember the brand, but it could be Thomas Kemper. Again, he gets it from a natural store - Whole Foods, the local food co-op. I wonder if the difference in flavor is because those places sell stuff that doesn't use corn syrup as its sweetener.

That's my waiting challenge though - to find a Coke substitute for him. He drinks it every day, but the Coke in the US is flavored with corn syrup, while AUS Coke is not. I believe Canadian Coke may not use the corn syrup, so am considering a run for the border to stock up for him. I'm trying to figure out how to explain a car full of Coke(a-cola).

Anyway, like Chocolot - if I can answer any questions about anything let me know. I do a fair bit of baking too - so have had the confectioners sugar/powdered sugar moment. Also the flour in AUS with the bicarbonate/baking soda already in. And, the weird difference in vanilla extract that seems to change the flavor of things.

:-]

[VanessaTony 3,567]

That's my waiting challenge though - to find a Coke substitute for him. He drinks it every day, but the Coke in the US is flavored with corn syrup, while AUS Coke is not. I believe Canadian Coke may not use the corn syrup, so am considering a run for the border to stock up for him. I'm trying to figure out how to explain a car full of Coke(a-cola).

Mexi-coke!! Mexian coke comes in glass bottles and tastes like Aussie coke You can tell it's the right kind 'cause it has a white sticker with the nutritional info etc on it. I've found it in Texas but also here in Iowa at the service station. Also mexi-fanta Same thing, real sugar

[JezJess 2]

AWESOME! Thank you!

haha, that's so exciting, I just texted him to tell him!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

AWESOME! Thank you!

haha, that's so exciting, I just texted him to tell him!

No probs Hope you're able to find it in your area I can drink US coke now but I had to do it gradually

[Athena13 10]

Is there Solo or Lift drink in US? I can't find any in california, nor UK.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Is there Solo or Lift drink in US? I can't find any in california, nor UK.

It's basically their lemonade as the only option similar (but SO tart usually)... their Mountain Dew tastes different too.

[Athena13 10]

It's basically their lemonade as the only option similar (but SO tart usually)... their Mountain Dew tastes different too.

I don't like Mountain dew (haven't tried US version yet). so any Solo of Lift substitute?

[Amanda and Josh 12]

Ahhh so that's why I don't think american coke tastes wrong. Josh thought it was in my imagination!!

[lynJer 7]

The only time I drink coke is late at night with rum....and it tasted OK then!

Corn syrup...now that is interesting....my (about to turn 18 tomorrow) daughter has turned vegan and is going off her nutter about the bad ingredients in some of the USA food/drinks here....She is studying to be a nutritianist...so I cannot wait to ask her take on the corn syrup versus normal sugar....

[AmyWrites 593]

If I had no obligations at home or no language barrier, I'd stay in Russia at least till we had even more money saved up. I won't find work in the USA at all. In Russia I make $40 for a tutoring job I'd make $15 a in the States. I can understand the economic practicality of staying somewhere abroad while you get enough savings or a job guarantee or something; things are real tough in the States right now.

[Amanda and Josh 12]

corn syrup is really bad for you.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The only time I drink coke is late at night with rum....and it tasted OK then!

Corn syrup...now that is interesting....my (about to turn 18 tomorrow) daughter has turned vegan and is going off her nutter about the bad ingredients in some of the USA food/drinks here....She is studying to be a nutritianist...so I cannot wait to ask her take on the corn syrup versus normal sugar....

I like the adds trying to debunk the idea that corn sugar is bad... my fave quote "Corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't taste the difference".. I always follow that up with BUT MY TASTEBUDS CAN!

corn syrup is really bad for you.

Can you explain why? This from the Mayo clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588 states that there is insufficient evidence to say one way or the other.

Here's another: http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/is_high_fructose_corn_syrup_bad_for_you

Edited March 19, 2012 by Vanessa&Tony

[JezJess 2]

My dad does medical research - he mostly does biostats, which means that he sits on a large number of research teams doing a lot of different types of research. He's been telling us for a couple years now that corn syrup is incredibly bad for you - that emerging research is showing just how bad. He says that high fructose corn syrup is not processed by our bodies the same way as other sugars - and that it is probably helping to foster diabetes and obesity in the US. He often sees stuff - or hears about it at medical conferences and then comes home and tells us to stop doing X or Y - before it's published, so maybe it's not out there? I also don't have any links, but I will ask him about it tonight and see if he can provide any. (The thing before this was how dangerous plastic is, causing him and my mom to replace all the plastic in the kitchen. Which was a lot of work.)

Sugar itself is also incredibly bad for you - there is some indication that diabetes starts appearing in the larger population as soon as sugar became available to everyone (not just rich people) - so this is not to say that sugar is great while corn syrup is not, just to say that high fructose corn syrup is particularly bad.

And, setting aside all of that - it doesn't taste as good, haha. The Coke in Australia is so much better than US Coke. I don't even like US Coke, too sweet.