More language. Some other differences:

Entrée -- here, it means "appetizer" as opposed to main course. This is actually truer to the French meaning, I think.

Reckon, as "I reckon it's dinner time" -- actually this means the same thing back in the states, but it's considered more of a redneck term there. Here, everyone uses it. Except me; I can't bring myself to.

Fillet or filet -- this means the same thing too, but they pronounce it "fill-it" here, instead of "fil-ay".

Slab of beer -- means, a case of beer. I like this.

I also like the official country cheer at sporting events. America's is just "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" which generally gets derisive laughs from other country's fans for its simple-mindedness. But Australia's is just so silly that it practically makes fun of itself: "Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oy Oy Oy!"

The dingo ate my sunglasses. Laika did that yesterday when she was left alone in the house for an hour when I returned our rental car. She also has a tendency to nip at hands and sleeves when she's overexcited. But in general she's a good girl. She's walking fairly well on her leash with the help of her "halti" a mouth harness that works like a choker chain, but more humanely and more effectively. She's funny too. She likes to attack her leash when she's excited on walkies, and in an attempt to remove her halti (which she hates) she's turned more than one somersault in the grass. Inside she has a fondness for flipping her bed over and pulling it to other parts of the room. She's not perfect, but she's got the potential to be a very good dog.
In other news: I found both Kasari cheese and salt bagels here recently. Two items I love but couldn't find in Singapore. Now I just need a job.

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." (Groucho Marx)

Laika had her first trip into the Albert Park Library today. Yes, into. I tied her up outside -- her first time being left like this -- and went in to get something to read. I was well inside when she broke her leash and came bounding into the library after me. Apparently she has some abandonment issues.

She's a funny girl. She keeps grabbing the side of her bed and dragging it and flipping it over, or sometimes just holding it, or thrashing it around.

All in all, though, not many behavior issues. She nips at you if she's excited by play, and pulls a little on the leash, but for a pound dog, if those are the only problems, that's pretty good. Even those problems should be fixed with the help of obedience class in a few weeks.

Laika came home today. She's two years old (almost) and was surrendered to the pound because her last people had young children and apparently not enough time or patience for her. She's a little unsure of herself here, but she's becoming more confident. We're a little freaked out too- we've waited so long to get a dog that it seems a little unreal that she's actually here and ours.

Her name, Laika, is an homage to the little Russian astronaut dog that went to space on Sputnik 2. Laika (the original) has figured into our thoughts on dogs for quite awhile and we toyed around with the name Sputnik, but Laika fits our girl better.

TV. We have satellite here now. We're not disappointed; many of our favorite shows are in heavy rotation. At any given time, the Simpsons, Frazier, or Seinfeld are on. Marjorie gets a lot of her shows which I don't like; I get a lot of the sports and such that she doesn't (NFL football, English Premier League soccer, etc.).

There's only one Australian show we've latched onto -- Kath and Kim. We actually discovered it while in Singapore though.

Weeknights at 11:30 we get The Naked News, in which women newscasters read the news while they take off their clothes. Full frontal. The news seems to be two weeks old, at least, but no one seems to be complaining. It's actually the least sexy thing you could imagine. Especially when they cover US election news.

For the second time in a month, I am wigging from an intense episode of Six Feet Under. It was the one where David helps the guy who runs out of gas. I had bad dreams about it all last night, and couldn't get it out of my head all day. Is this the best show on TV? Definitely the best acted.