Home of the taco?

Uluru at Sunset 4
Originally uploaded by steven_jj.

Some things that I say in this country get lost in translation.

I get so many kind comments about how 'cute' my accent is, that it's very obvious to me that some Americans have NO idea what I'm actually saying.

Last night at the pub, musing over his nachos, Rob asked me whether we have Mexican food in Australia. After I blinked a few times and realised he wasn't kidding, I admitted that we did.

Then he asked me what the Aboriginal people eat. Again, a bit of blinking from me.

To clarify, I asked "do you mean traditional food, in the Outback?". He nodded.

Not really my area of expertise, but not wanting to let the ignorance show, I told him: bush tucker. Summoning up all the footage from documentaries I'd seen in the past, I started to regale Rob with stories about Witchety grubs, berries, honey ants. I was on a roll.

And Rob was impressed. "These bush tacos sound really neat".

Hmm. Not really what I meant, but it convinced him Australia was cool. And that was enough for me.