Working near the border

[jmc]

I never realized Australia had a problem with illegal immigrants, being an island, and where it is. Seeing stuff on TV with the reefs, diving, fishing, desert, and so much elbow room I may want to become an illegal immigrant.

Way back when, England sent their perceived misfits to Australia AND The Colonies. Many of us are kindred spirits.

 

[bunyip]

Most of the perimeter is all that is habitable withe exception of large tracts of the North West which is hot and arid, the illegal people smugglers have dropped them here and left them to fend for themselves probably several hundred kilometres from the nearest road and at the mercy of big saltwater crocodiles, equally large snakes, no food and no water.
I wonder how many are just laying in the desert to date undiscovered.
The language barrier could be a problem and I have taken many Americans who have been here on business to a pub for lunch and an education, I admire their ability to adapt and learn quickly:thumbsup:
Conversely when I was working in Denver I inadvertently turned at an intersection and proceeded to the left side of the road and almost ran head on into a police vehicle, they were quite good and laughed it off (we were conducting training courses with the PD at the time) and even took me fly fishing later in the week, I haven't been there for over 20 years but I liked Colorado.

Edit.JMC, they are still here, we call them politicians.

 

[jmc]

Edit.JMC, they are still here, we call them politicians.

My mistake! (I thought the politicians were the ones who got to decide which of us were the misfits)

 

[Fuddy1952]

Ha Ha!

Years ago I worked at a sales/service store in Virginia, the parts department supervisor was a lady Ellen from Australia who had that wonderful accent.
One day she calls a customer, their dishwasher part was in. She said (phonetically) "Yo bahsket has arriaved". Customer says "dew whut?"
This went back and forth a few times, then Ellen says "This here's Ellen an' yer baskits here". Customer understood that.

 

[reb]

...
Conversely when I was working in Denver I inadvertently turned at an intersection and proceeded to the left side of the road and almost ran head on into a police vehicle, they were quite good and laughed it off (we were conducting training courses with the PD at the time) and even took me fly fishing later in the week, I haven't been there for over 20 years but I liked Colorado...

I had the pleasure of visiting your country about 30 years ago. Had a similar experience when making a right turn on a highway. Figured out what was wrong in time to avoid a collision with a large truck (lorry?). Later I found out what an extended thumb means over there.

 

[bunyip]

Never make the mistake of ussing the word 'root', here it is slang for procreation and has caused a few red faces when used in mixed company.
Truck is used here, lorry is UK however we pronounce 'semi' as semmy not see-mi.
And watch out for drop bears.

 

[Redbug]

I have been practicing. I may be an Ocker but certainly not a Root Rat!

Australian slang dictionary

 

[reb]

Never make the mistake of ussing the word 'root', here it is slang for procreation and has caused a few red faces when used in mixed company.
Truck is used here, lorry is UK however we pronounce 'semi' as semmy not see-mi.
And watch out for drop bears.

Also, don't refer to the cloth you use to wipe your lips at the table as a "napkin."

Never came across the term "drop bear."

 

[jim_wilson]

The sand strip is interesting, didn稚 know they did that. The trash is a problem here too. I have a crew working on my place every year from Feb to November. They are highly skilled, and do a great job, the one thing I can稚 seem to change, is they just drop whatever they don稚 want anymore, right where they are.

There are trash cans throughout the area that are rarely used. I go through the area every few days and clean it up. Don稚 like it much, but I value the workers, and it is getting more difficult to find people that will stick with it. That, and I probably need the exercise.

You mention the trash thing and it makes me think of something that I saw somebody comment on during a discussion on another forum I frequent up here in the Northeast. I don't even remember what the original thread was about - but a couple of people made mention of how it seems like "society" is going to **** these days - because people do things like just dump their dirty diapers in the parking lot , where they obviously just got finished changing their baby.

I can tell you that up here in MA - the "complexion" of the populace has changed quite a bit. It really depends on what town you go to - but the time you really notice it is if you go out to the mall or some "family" places. Then you see that we're really running a "multicultural" operation around here.

I've always thought of MA as "Trashachusetts" - and I've lived here my whole life. It seems the people who live here just have a thing about dumping their trash out the windows of their cars - or wherever they feel like. It's particularly noticeable when I go on vacation down to the Carolinas - where everything seems to be a lot cleaner. Go away for a week or two - fly back into MA , and the trashcan look is instantly noticeable. I can't see how that's helped though - by seeding a bunch of people into the population who just have no understanding whatsoever of that way things should be done.

Because back when I was kid - dumping a diaper on the ground would be seen as a big no-no. Now it seems to be commonplace - judging by the number of completely separate people I've talked to who have seen the same thing.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Never make the mistake of using the word 'root', here it is slang for procreation and has caused a few red faces when used in mixed company.....

O my o my. My favorite soft drinks are Hires, A&W and Barqs root beer. I imagine they aren't available down under. To be safe I'll just order a Coke if I'm ever there.