Where everybody knows your name

"Thank you!"
~"You're welcome!"

A fairly basic exchange, neat, tidy, familiar. We are taught these phrases from the earliest possible age, and as children, we would rattle them off at the slightest twitch from a parents eyebrow. As we grow older, we become more adventurous with the tested, tried and true phrases. "Thank you" might be abbreviated to simply "thanks." "You're welcome" goes through any number of transformations: "No problem," "my pleasure," "don't worry about it," "any time," or even the locally ubiquitous "no worries." There are many more, I am sure, but you get the idea.

The point is that the function of "thank you" and "you're welcome" are familiar and comfortable.

So, when I put down a plate of food at the steakhouse, how am I supposed to respond to "Cheers"? It's not quite "thanks," but I think that they are expressing gratitude. Should I say "You're welcome"? Or would that be assuming too much? If someone said "Hello", you wouldn't necessarily reply with "Fine, you?" because, thought the person might very well inquire after your health, you don't want to anticipate them too much.

This is my quandary. People say it all the time and I never know how to respond!

Even more befuddling is the equally over-used "Ta." Just two letters and I am supposed to glean it's meaning from what, the inflection? That's not much to go on!

"Ta."
~"And ta to you as well, sir!"

I'll keep working on this one.

Vocabillary

Australia is a strange land. This is not news. But it is really fun finding out exactly how strange a land it is on a day to day basis.

One of my first days here, my cousin Imogen and I sat down and made a list of things that we have different words for, and I have been adding to it since.

Here's what we've come up with:

flip flops = thongs
sweater/hoodie = jumper
candy = lollies
ketchup = tomato sauce
grill = barbeque (both the noun and the verb)
tank top = singlet
toilet = dunny
ping pong = table tennis (does this one count?)
cell phone = mobile
trash can = rubbish bin
airplane = aeroplane (you already heard this one)
underwear = knickers
bathrobe = dressing gown (doesn't that make you think of Scrooge in Christmas Carol?)
hat = cap

But my most favorite one that I've discovered so far is, without question:
pepper = capsicum

Isn't that beautiful? Doesn't it have a musical sound to it? "Would you like some capsicum on your salad?" "Care for some roasted red capsicum tomato sauce?"

Love it.