Rainy Saturday and Sunday

There has been a drought in Australia for the past several years, but recently it has been making up for it with all of the rain. The water reserves are 99% full and got that way in a matter of one week, I heard. Everyone keeps telling us it's not normally rainy and cool like this. Queensland (the state Brisbane city is in) is called the sunshine state and is known of it's subtropical climate and blue skies. It just reminds me of Seattle when it's like this, which is never a bad thing. I'm glad I bought a new fleece though!

Stores close early here, usually around 5 or 6pm. Late night shopping is available in different cities on different nights of the week. Brisbane's late night shopping day is Friday, so shops stay open until 9pm. This has made it a little hard to get some things accomplished during the day and I guess will just require us to do a more planning!

Gluten free food items are everywhere! We are not sure what the rationale for this is. Are people just health conscious? Do many Aussie’s have gluten allergies? We are not sure yet, but will keep you posted. They also have very tiny peanut butter jars! So cute, but Brooke says they are very yummy!

Another interesting cultural nuance is that once you are beyond teenage years, people no longer refer to significant others as boy/girlfriends, instead calling them "partners." People can either have a partner or a husband/wife and mixed gender and same-gender are both accepted. I have been told by one person that many people in Oz opt not to get married and instead just remain life-long partners (have kids, buy property, etc). Apparently, there is no tax incentive to get married and besides, if you are living together with a partner for more than two years you are considered "de facto" married and have to follow the similar rules if you split up and redistribute property. I’m curious to learn more about this and see what most people do.

I am not sure why, but we have seem three men and one woman walking around the city barefoot and often when it is cold and rainy out. They are walking around like normal, fully dressed (not in swimsuits or something where you might imagine someone wanting to be barefoot). Not sure what's going on, but it's interesting to observe! 

I am still working out how to watch the American college football games. Some bars will play the games, but they are only listed in the TV guide as "American College Football," so I don't know who is playing on what station. There are some Husky games coming up that I really want to watch! 

That's all for now! Miss you all!