To celebrate our return from Australia I have started downloading old Blue Heelers (an Australian cop drama that started in 1994) episodes to show April. While we were there I had wanted to show her some good Australian TV shows, but our choices were somewhat limited by the fact that they do not really make good Australian TV shows anymore. So I decided to go back to the classic shows and I thought Blue Heelers would be an excellent place to start.
April thinks the show is great, especially since 1) she loves "cop shows" and 2) she now understands so many of the references and landmarks of the show after having been to Australia and having seen small town country life (Australian style) for herself. One of my regrets is that I did not get to take her in to an authentic small town pub while we were there; we only went to fancier pubs. Watching Blue Heelers also helps explain my overuse of the word 'bloody' although I don't use the word 'bum' anywhere near as much as they do!
The other aspect of Australian culture it helps explains is my constant consumption of orange juice. In America it seems to be something you will have at breakfast but not really an all day drink. On the show they are always drinking it (along with multiple cuppas), so it is apparently an Australian thing and not just a Brett thing.
In addition to Blue Heelers, I've been paying close attention to the Tour de France, though I have to miss the ending tomorrow because of a meeting with a faculty member. April doesn't quite understand my obsession with cycling, but she is willing to listen to me ramble on and on about the finer details of the sport and the daily race update regardless.
Finally, to Lyn and Brian a.k.a. Mom and Dad (and to a lesser extent Kira): We want to thank you for all the effort both of you put in while we were there. Although we were in and out quite quickly sometimes and exhausted at others, there is no way the holiday would have gone as well without all of your help!
