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The other day, when I was on my way to do some grocery shopping, I saw a woman who was carrying a plastic supermarket basket.
She was walking alone on the street, quite far from the shops, with a nonchalant air.

Nobody seemed to think it was strange, except me.

Soon after she walked past me, I saw an old, Asian lady pushing a shopping trolley, from the same supermarket. They both seemed to be walking home with them.

I wondered if the supermarkets allowed their trolleys and baskets to be borrowed, similar to the way  you can borrow an umbrella from some railway stations in Japan.

There's no problem as long as you return the umbrella after you borrow it. It is an honesty system.

Somehow, I doubt it. I am sure that no supermarket offers this kind of service to their customers.  Sometimes I see shopping trolleys abandoned in parks or streets. Maybe the ones I saw wethat day were destined to be laundry baskets.  
Many supermarkets have introduced a system where you have to put a coin in the trolley's lock and chain system, then the trolley must be returned to get your money back. 

Cinema applause

I recently went to see a Japanese film called “Like Father, Like Son”,  which was the winner of this year's Cannes film festival.

The movie did not have any famous actors in it and was not a blockbuster, by any means.

It was a just simple, thought provoking story about families and blood ties.

I really enjoyed it.

When the movie ended, I was surprised to see the audience clap their hands in appreciation. I have never experienced this before! We don't do this in Japan.

I wondered if anyone would hear the applause.

I like Australian audiences!

If they enjoy something, whether it is a movie, concert or sporting event, they are really enthusiastic to show their feelings with generous applause. 

 

Disabled?

I sometimes see obese people parking in the disabled car park. 

They have a disabled sign on their car, but they usually don’t have wheelchairs or walking sticks.

I don’t know if they are overweight because of their disability, or if they are disabled because of their weight.Perhaps if they parked further away and walked a greater distance, it might help improve their condition.

I am curious as to what the criteria is for granting a disabled sign.

Funeral Attire

I have been to a few funerals since I have been in Australia.
Here, people don't seem to mind how they dress so much. Many people choose not to wear black, as we must in Japan. We always wear formal clothing, suits and sometimes formal kimono.  
Although some people wear suits here, I have seen people wearing very casual clothing and even some teenage girls wearing very short skirts, as though they are going to a night club. 

I was surprised to learn that sometimes Australians even play rock music, have a drink and tell funny stories about the dearly departed during the ceremony. 
Many Australian people like to celebrate the lives of the departed and see them off in a fun way, instead of having a sad and depressing funeral service. 

Cigarette packs

 

One of my co-workers, who is a smoker, removes all of her cigarettes from the packet, which has shocking health warnings and very disturbing images of cancer victims on it.

She then puts the smokes into a nice cigarette case, so she doesn't have to look at the ugly packet and be reminded of the damage that smoking can cause. 

The taste and damage to health is still the same, no matter what type of box they come in!

Last year the Australian government banned all tobacco companies from printing their commercial logos on cigarette packs.  

More than 75% of the front of the cigarette packet and all of the back, now show shocking health warning pictures. For example, terrible gums affected by disease, horrific damaged eyes, etc. 

All because of smoking.

At the beginning of this month, the government announced that the tobacco tax will be increased by 60% in a step-by-step manner for the next four years.

In four years time, a packet of 20 smokes will cost more than A$20.

Even if becomes $50 or $100 per pack, I'm sure many smokers will continue to pay the price, and also all of the health damage caused by passive smoking will continue.

Scary!

Barbie party?

 

Not only is English very difficult to learn, but then there is also Aussie slang to contend with! 

Australians like to abbreviate many words, for example: Uni for university, bikkie for biscuit, pressie for present, hanky for handkerchief, etc. etc.

Soon after I came to Melbourne, one of my co-workers invited me to a 'barbie'. 
I later learned that this is a summer party where they cook the food outside, but at that time, I didn't know what a barbie was. My first thought was that it must be something to do with the famous doll.

Don't judge a book by it's cover

 

After I parked my car in the city, I went to the vending machine to buy a parking ticket.

Just before I started to insert some coins, a guy approached me.

I was a bit worried because he looked very kowai (scary). He was covered in tattoos, even on his neck! 

In Japan, tattoos are a sign of the yakuza, a criminal organization. 

But, to my surprise, he was very nice to me!

He offered me his parking ticket, which was good for 2 hours, and he had only used 15 minutes.

He didn't seem friendly at all and did not smile as he spoke to me, but even so, I thought this was a very kind act.  

We should not judge a book by its cover.

Vet waiting room

Most of the pet's owners at the vet are very friendly and talkative.  
Every time I take my cat (sakura-chan) to the vet, I am warmly welcomed by them when I enter the waiting room. 
They all love to talk about their pet's health problems, their age, etc. and they always give nice compliments about each others pets. 

We all listened sympathetically as one lady told us about her dog's recent lack of appetite.  Another lady replied "Oh, the poor thing. He looks quite pale."
Pale? The dog was black!
I thought it was a joke, but nobody was laughing.

I stared at the dog, looking for signs of a pale complexion, but he still just looked black to me.

Four seasons in one day

Australia is a very big continent, 22 times the size of Japan!

In the far north of Australia, people can enjoy summer all the year around. 

Fortunately, I live in Melbourne, where we have four seasons, even though sometimes they all occur in one day. 

We have been having several mornings of low temperatures, as low as one degree this winter.

samui!

Compared with the usual winter, I think we have been enjoying a colder winter in Melbourne this year.

The weather lady on TV news was telling us that recently we had the coldest morning in this winter!

Then she gave the snow report for the alpine ski areas, but I thought it was funny that she was wearing a sleeveless summer dress!

In Japan, the TV news weather ladies wear outfits to reflect the current season.

I know she was in a heated studio, but this is on local TV. 

It is in Melbourne, desu ne?

Assorted Sushi Platter

 

One of my young female co-workers was at a Japanese restaurant with her friends.

One of her girlfriends was on a diet which restricted carbohydrates and sugar, so she ordered 'Chirashi Zushi'. (Chirashi Zushi is vinegared rice with thin strips of mainly raw fish, crab meat and others arranged on top). But because of her diet, she wanted the rice to be removed!

Eventually, an assorted Sashimi (raw fish) platter was served.

I imagined the restaurant staff, including chefs and waitresses making the dish and then busily picking all the fish pieces from the rice.

 My co-worker was very surprised with her girlfriend at the restaurant. Why didn't she just order sashimi?

I think eating in moderation by reducing the amount on your plate, along with regular exercise is the best.