April 25th is Anzac day in Australia and New Zealand. It's a public holiday and a big deal.

I baked some Anzac bisquits for the occasion.

They're a cookie popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats, flour, desiccated coconut, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda and boiling water.  It has been claimed the biscuits were sent by wives to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation. (I'm hoping to have them perfected by the time Tom visits.)

Here in Toowong there was a sunrise ceremony and since Brisbane is the capital of Queensland there was a parade in the CBD. We decided to watch the parade live on TV so we could hear the explanations of everything. We learned a lot and it was fun to hear from the commentators, and some of the folks watching. One of the unusual things about Anzac day is that it commemorates a battle that was a defeat, not a victory.  It has remained a very solemn occasion, to remember the courage, sacrifice and loss of life in war.

From Wikipedia: 

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, originally commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries.

The parade was led by re-enacters wearing the WWI uniforms of the famed light horsemen. (The reason the hat is pinned up on one side is keep it out of the way of the rifle.)

We also got to see the Pipe Band from our next-door neighbors, the Brisbane Boys College, marching in the parade. (Adorably over the top)

 

Almost everything is closed for the holiday so we're hanging out at home, relaxing and having some beef stew, Coopers Pale Ale and Damper, and watching some Australian rules football.

 

Getting your head around Oz

It can be difficult to understand how large Australia is and how far apart all the famous places are. I've dug up a few maps and some information to make it easier. This first map shows our position on the planet. The top of Australia is not far from equator, so the Northern parts of Australia have a rainy season and dry season, while the Southern part has temperate seasons, although mild (about like Arkansas) It does snow in the Southern mountains and in Tasmania, there are even ski resorts near Sydney.


This shows the detail on the climate. Brisbane is in the Subtropical Zone.

 

Here's a good one! 
As you can see, Brisbane is about where Virginia Beach is,  Sydney is in N. Florida, And Perth is about where Tijuana is. The famous red rock, Uluru, is near Denver, and the Great Barrier Reef would start around Cleveland and go up to Ontario. Everything from L.A. to Chicago would be desert or near-desert, and the Great Lakes region along with Southern Canada would be tropical. There would be some rainforests across Canada and down the Eastern coast. With more than 8 thousand islands all the way around.

The U.S. has about 300 million people and AU has about 22 million. We only have 5 cities with a population over  a million and 25% of the people immigrated here from somewhere else. Indigenous people are only 2.2% of the population (It's much more common to see Maori people living in or visiting in Brisbane than indigenous Australians).

Speaking 'Strine

We definitely have it easier living in a country where English is the official language. In practice, most folks here speak what they would call "Strine" We decided before we came here to try and adopt the Aussie pronunciation of place names but use the American pronunciation for most things. It's going pretty well, but we do get in to a bit of bother once in a while.

Things that have tripped us up include:

Not being able to understand certain numbers
Ex.) I thought the clerk said thirteen, but she said thirty.

Being called luv or darlin', (mostly by women). This happens a lot, especially when you're being given instructions or correction.
Ex.) "Your fine luv"  when you're doing alright  or "You can't stand there darlings" when people aren't following the rule on where to queue. Adults speaking to young children almost always address them as "darling" even if they don't know them.

That Accent! Much like regional accents in the US, there are big variations in how thickly speech is accented. An adult speaking to me as a customer in a shop will be using speech that's easily understood by us, but two young Australian dudes speaking to each other will be incomprehensible.

The constant nicknaming of everything can be confusing. Brizzie, Tazzie, Breky, Pollys, Avo, Macca, Tinny, Esky, Veg, Ambo, Mozzie.
,

For some reason about 85% of restaurants in Brisbane close before 2 in the afternoon..

We've learned a lot of new vocabulary words
Lift = elevator
Unit = apartment
EFT Pos = debit card
Flat white = coffee with cream
Travelator = escalator
Kebab = a wrap with hot meat
Chips = french fries
Crisps = chips
Confectionery = candy
Fill your boots = do what you want
Cover = Insurance
Ute = Truck
Tipping = Picking the winner
Footy = Australian Rules Football or Rugby
Power Point = electrical outlet
Prep School = pre-school
Nipper = young surf lifesaver
Posh Ute = Refurbished El Camino
Uni = university
Queue = line