Meet the Aussies

Frequently I am asked if I have any Aussie friends. I feel like that is kind of a bold question, as I could just as well not have any friends!
Mostly because of my catering gig, I have been fortunate to have many Australian acquaintances, as well as others representing Israel, France, Germany, Ireland and Mauritius (a tiny island off the coast of Madagascar).
It is most helpful though, to know some locals on a personal basis. They are handy for general knowledge of the area, history of the country, stuff to do, appropriate cultural translations and in general, just finding out what shit means.
I am am thankful for their patience, willingness to help and honesty. When I say honesty, I mean not fucking with us when we ask dumb questions about Australia and Aussies.

LIZ is great with girlie stuff, other advice and Melbourne culture and happenings. We live near each other & frequently create mischief. Great company & partner in crime. At one of our catch-ups...as you can see, we will enjoy sticky date pudding and wine

GUS is a general know-it-all. The kind of person you want to have on your trivia team. I have nicknamed him Gusipedia. He's funny, too. He always keeps us laughing. The happy family. Our BFs: Aussie Gus, Coloradan Melissa and new-ish pup Charlie

Our Pretty Money

My Mom ordered some Aussie currency before her recent trip here. When she showed people, they all commented on how pretty it was. Gusipedia recently told me (and I verified via the internet) that the money is actually plastic or specifically polymer.

Here, Jim is peaking through the clear plastic window of the $10

According to The Australian Gov website: "These notes provide much greater security against counterfeiting. They also last four times as long as conventional paper (fibrous) notes. At the same time, the polymer notes are cleaner than paper notes and easily recyclable." That explains the always pristine condition the money is in. If it got soiled, you could simply clean it with Windex. Under normal circumstances, they can't be torn either.

What about $1, you might ask? Well, that is a gold coin. Similar to the Sacagawea gold dollar.
We also have a $2 coin. Even more brilliant is that we don't have ANY pennies!! The smallest denomination of coin is 5cents. All prices are rounded, up or down, to the nearest 5cents. For as great as that is, I my loathing of the small coins continues. Now it's just worth more, 5cents instead of 1.
Big to little: fifty cent, twenty cent, ten cent, one dollar, 2 dollar and 5 cent coins

When Mum and Auntie were here, they started off really confused because the $2 coin is smaller than the $1 coin. "It's smaller, but worth more?" How could this be??
Our 50 cent piece is the biggest and quite an odd shape. I would show them the tiny 5cent coin...and it would be baffling. Just not quite coming together for them. Then, one time my Aunt asked, "So this is a nickel?" I was a little dumbfounded. To be quite honest, I never looked at it that way. We don't say nickel or dime. She then got smart, saying, "They five and ten cent you to death here." So cleaver, that one ;)