The other interesting thing I passed was the Mormon place of worship. The architecture is really different and Jess, Michael and I discussed it as they were unsure of what it was as well. What you can't see from the picture below, is that the grounds are surrounded by a somewhat foreboding fence.
At the end of my walk, I stopped at the shops across the street to pick up some groceries and supplies for the unit, such as laundry detergent. It was an interesting opportunity to compare prices to home. The power laundry detergent I purchases, which boasts that it contains 50 loads worth, was $12.99 on sale. A block of cheese, which is also significantly different as almost all of it is white, despite being a strong cheddar flavor, costs around $10. The most shocking thing I saw, was sandwich meat. Regularly priced at the deli, a Kg of sandwich meat is between $16-18. One thing that is interesting about the grocery stores here, is that they do not sell alcohol. This is in an effort to reduce underage drinking, which is still a problem even though the legal age is 18. If you're interested, the website for Coles, one of the major chain stores, is http://www.coles.com.au
When Jess and Michael got home from work we spent some time working on wedding things before leaving to have dinner with Jess' mom and partner. One interesting difference in vocabulary here is the use of "partner". I feel like I noticed this on my last trip and probably commented, but it stands out again now. I feel like at home we tend to use the word "partner", when referring to romantic relationships, mostly to same-sex relationships. Here, the word "partner" is synonymous with "significant other". There has been some tension between her and Michael and the hopes were that it would be an opportunity to talk about things with the wedding approaching quickly. We ate at a restaurant called Cafe Primo, at which I was told I MUST have a "Chicken Parmy" (Chicken Schnitzel with ham, cheese, and Bolognaise sauce on top). Here, Bolognaise or Neopolitan and what we call Marinara sauce (tomato only). Marinara sauce here is a seafood pasta. Tomato sauce is Ketchup. They are strange differences to think about. The meal was delicious, the Chicken Parmy came with Fries rather than pasta like one might expect. After supper, we talked about healthcare and differences between Australia and the US, as well as some other issues. We talked about jobs and pay rates. They were unable to believe that in a position where there was no contract and I was required to work 40 hours a week, I would only be paid $11 p/hr, which was the case at Lutheran Services. Here, there are different types of position, such as permanent or part-time temporary. The differences tend to be contracted or not, but most employees, it seems are contracted for at least a period of time, whether its a year or 2 years. While there, we decided to go the movies, as we were able to receive discounted tickets from the restaurant. I convinced Jess and Michael to go see Horrible Bosses, rather than Johnny English: reborn. The movie, I discovered involved a very different humor than Australian films. While they laughed, the reaction in the end was that the film was "funny, but SO WRONG." It was interesting to me as I never thought about how the humor might not be as common in another place, as sexual and drug humor seems to be so common in American films. We stopped at a McDonalds afterwards for a shake, and an ICEE! They serve them here, though it was significantly disappointing. It was almost 1am when we arrived home so everyone quickly went to bed, as it was a work day today. I'm excited to say that the sky has cleared up, and now that I've finished this, I'll be getting ready to head out on another adventure.... though not sure where to yet. Most likely it will involve Baker's Delight, though, since I've now discovered there is one in the shops across the street! :)
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