far far north

When you move town or country, there are always cultural surprises to be experienced and for us, this latest move has been no exception.

If you had told me that I needed to learn another language to live in far north Queensland I would have given you a very strange look. Instead the strange looks were from me as I have had to learn the local lingo. For example: "Hey dahl, can you pick up some avos when you go to the servo, and don't forget the garbo", can be roughly translated as "Honey, can you pick up some avocados when you go to the petrol station and don't forget the rubbish collector." Perhaps it has something to do with being so very far north in Australia combined with the large population of european immigrants; Phil has second generation australian born italians in his class that speak english as a second language.

Interestingly, in southern Chile both language pronounciation and the use of slang could be so extreme that people in Santiago found it difficult to understand their compatriots that were supposedly speaking the same language (it was a relief to know that it wasn't just my poor spanish that was hindering my understanding). Maybe the 'remote' factor is the stronger influence on language.

Another challenge in adjusting to life here is the extensive use of acronyms in almost every publication from newspapers, local government policy, state government literature, church bulletins and brochures. It took me about four weeks to figure out that FNQ stood for Far North Queensland, and only then because I saw it inscribed on a man hole cover. That was a 'DUH' moment. But beyond the written form, people use acronyms so much in speech that they no longer know exactly what they represent. One could say that overuse has somewhat defeated the purpose.

The biggest shock to us has been the tax system. I have never seen anything like it. Filling out the pages and pages of forms is such a chore (albeit one which can now be done online unless like us it is your first time) that most people use a tax agent. It looks like being an accountant here is good business.

The most outstanding lifestyle features are backyard sheds, camping and barbeques. This is blokes and their sheds at a whole new stratosphere. Sheds here are not the garden shed variety - no they aspire to a 3 bay garage to fit the boat, the workshop and all the gear besides. Note that this has nothing to do with where you house your car - these sheds often don't even have vehicle access.

We thought we might buy a bbq so started shopping for one- what a revelation. You can spend from $150 for your rust up in 6months model up to $10,000 for the stainless steel and granite outdoor kitchen. The decision was so involved that we still haven't bought one, although we have picked a favourite gas model. Barbeques are a serious business here, but we still believe that the simple Argentinian and Chilean method of slow cooking over a wood fire is the best (if you can be bothered).

Finally camping. Like the sheds it has to be seen to be believed. There is so much gear I reckon you need a shed to store it in. Aside from the huge campervan phenomenon, we've seen people camping with porta showers, extra tarps over the tent (I think for the heat and the rain), furniture, full on cooking stoves and wooden boxes that hold a full supply of kitchen utensils, plug in chilly bins and fridges, generators (not always allowed), satellite dishes for TV signals - you imagine it and they have it. It makes our tiny two man tent pitched next to the car look pathetic really. More on our camping adventures later.

The biggest pleasures of being the far north are the small things, such as chatting to strangers in the street, cars and houses left unlocked (not recommended), walking on bush tracks on my own, and generally polite kids. It is an easy place to live.