A Gecko You Say?

OK.  So I know I have said this before, but Australia is a very different country than the US.  I know we both speak our own versions of English and have many similarities and yet there are so many things I notice everyday that differentiate our countries.  Let me give you a little insight into what I am talking about.

While I was staying in Kawana with Fraser and Amanda on the Sunny Coast, I had an introduction to Australian wildlife aside from the beautifully colored lorikets and white cockatoo that are in nearly every tree. Amanda and I had rented a movie, the kids and Fraser were in bed and we were enjoying a glass of yummy Aussie wine when I heard a pretty loud noise from what I thought was outside the kitchen window.  So I nonchalantly asked Amanda what that noise was.  I thought it was a bird even though they aren't that noisy generally after dark.  Amanda very casually says back to me "Oh it's a gecko".  Then I said "Outside right?".  You see where this going by now, but she told me they live in the house.  One lives behind a sconce in the kitchen, another behind a photo in the hall and one in the A/C unit.  You should have seen me whip my head around to make sure she wasn't trying to trick me and she wasn't.  And these geckos straight up bark and it is very loud.  We watched him chill around the walls in the kitchen. 

Amanda is American and I couldn't believe how normal this was to her. I liken it to having a mouse in your home in the States and just when they come out being like  "Oh that's just the mouse that lives in the cupboard".  IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN.  Well in most homes I know at least.  I still cannot get over it and apparently they are in most homes and they just live there.  I am all for cultural differences, but that's just strange to me and when I return to the States I will be happy to know the only animals knowingly living in my house will be the ones that we own.

I am now in Brisbane staying with Katie and Ben and searching for work.  In Australia, you have to complete a course before you can work in an establishment that serves alcohol called RSA or Responsible Service of Alcohol.  Luckily the course is online and albeit extremely boring and seemingly silly you must know the laws here so as a server you don't get into any sort of legal trouble.  So I have completed that and put in a few resumes at some restaurants in the city. 

It is a short and easy train ride to the city center and there is no shortage of people here.  I was a little overwhelmed when I hoped off the train yesterday by the moving crowds of people on the streets.  And although I lived for years in Raleigh, we don't have the business district like Brisbane does.  So keep your fingers crossed that I will have a post tomorrow about my new job or jobs!

The weather here is just perfect and I am ready to start planning my next travel adventure, but want to secure an income before I get too crazy.

Good day from Oz!