but what do you mean??

hello. are you having a nice sunday? i am. i've somehow managed to shake off all the stress and unhappiness from work and reach a point of calm laziness. this was, of course, helped along by having friday off, and therefore enjoying a 3 day weekend!

i had actually had something in mind to write about this week, but it would seem that all the relaxing has lead me to forget.

i could talk about houses, and how even the word house has different connotations for people. you know last week when i was ranting about things i couldn't get used to? well in part it has to do with language, and how two people, both from countries that speak the same language, can have no idea what the other person is talking about.

for example, a bungalow (according to jeff) is a house that has only one level. it isn't a house unless it has two levels. hence my husband describing australian houses as being mostly bungalows. to me a bungalow is more like a cottage, although it could have more than one level and still be a cottage. but the defining factor is that it's small. most australian houses aren't small, so i would describe them as a house.

a flat is different to an apartment, although the only explanation i've been able to figure out for this is that an apartment is a posh flat. i've always used those words interchangeably, and unit as well, as in "it's a nice 2 bed flat/apartment/unit." so when a colleague of mine at work was complaining about a property she had seen advertised, i was confused when she said "i hate when they advertise a flat as an apartment, when it's quite clearly a flat!"

language, i think, is as much about the picture in your head, as the word that you use. which i guess explains why most people look confused when i say i chose to live here rather than australia, because this is all they see...


ps happy australia day for last wednesday!