"Oh, sick!"

The titular phrase of this post, to most people, would be a negative comment. Not in Australia. To say that something is "sick" is to say that it's "cool" or "wicked" or "awesome". To say "fully sick" is the ultimate in coolness.

I'm not one who uses the phrase - it's more of a Queenslander thing to say, I imagine. But I did hear it the other day at work.

For those who don't know, yeah I work at Subway. It's not glamorous or high-paying, but I get a free six-inch sub and all the fountain soda I can drink (er... "fountain soda" means "soft drink out of those self-serve machines"). I also live and work in quite the touristy area, and so there are a lot of resorts and camps out this way - you know, the type for summer camps that we see in movies like Addams Family Values and stuff. A lot of these camps use counselors from other countries; they have programs to help bring them over and stuff. I actually considered this as a way of coming to the States back before Aaron and I were engaged, but it didn't work out. Anyway, so where I work is quite close to several camps, so a few groups of counselors have been in for lunch on occasion.

The first time a group came through, I noticed one girl asking for "uh simwuch on whit brid". I asked, "Are you from New Zealand by any chance?" and she was! I almost cried with joy when she asked for "girkuns" instead of "pickles"!

But the most exciting visitor was a few days later, when a guy started to order and I noticed something very familiar about the way he was talking. Instinctively, I asked, "Are you Australian?" - and he was! I said, "So am I, I'm from South Australia!" and he said, "Oh, sick! Yeeah, Oi'm frum up tha Goldy!" Translation: "I'm from the Gold Coast." And he asked for capsicum instead of green peppers! The rest of the day, I was quite hyper. I confused and amused my coworkers by calling everything, "fully sick". And of course I was quite homesick, but managed to cover it well enough. These moments happen and I can't stop and mope about it when they do. Especially when there's subs to make.

Recommendation, by the way. If your local Subway offers a Chicken-Bacon-Ranch sandwich, take it. Get it toasted, with cheddar and shredded cheese, and add tomatoes, and ranch dressing. Then eat it. Boy howdy that's a good sammich.