Mick's Bakehouse: Leeton Australia

---

Hi Everyone,
I am sorry that it has been so long since my last update. I am still alive and working in Leeton. In my last blog I talked about the Fruitshack where I am living with other backpackers. Now I am going to talk about the place I am working: Mick's Bakehouse. So far most of the people I have met have been other travelers but working for a small business means I talk to lots of Australian's everyday! Of course that offers challenges in itself. I love the Australian accent but it isn't always easy for an American to understand. Or at least for me to understand. (I also have problems understanding other Americans but I can't blame that on language differences.)
I am constantly running into problems at the bakery because people order things that I have never heard of. It makes for a steep learning curve at a new job. Like they have these things called fingerbuns which are like a do-nut dough with raisins in them and they are long and look like big fingers. Apparently you are supposed to serve them by slicing them down the middle and buttering both sides. I had no idea so when a customer asked for margarine on her finger bun I was like "that sounds disgusting and weird' but I spread some on the bottom anyway. Then she complained to my supervisor who asked me 'don't you know you are supposed to slice them down the center' and I was like "how was I supposed to know that? I had never even heard of fingerbuns before!"
Then, yesterday someone came in and wanted some sort of pie. I had them repeat it three times and I still couldn't understand what they wanted until one of the other girls whispered in my ear that he wanted a potato pie. Speaking of potato pie, the things that this bakery sells are very interesting cultural study. They sell radically different things than a bakery at home sells. Ignoring the fact that Wal-mart is probably the only bakery you could find near a small town in America. Here they sell all sorts of savory pies: chicken pie, meat pies, steak and onion pies, lamb pies and even lasagna pies. They all sound pretty good except the lasagna pie. That is just weird. The only sweet pie I have seen is a lemon meringue, which is made from the bakery's lemon trees. There are lots of delicious looking cakes and bar cookies.
The bakery also runs a sandwich bar kind of like subway. There you can get sandwiches with whatever you want on them. I was really confused about the the sandwich orders at first because someone would order a chicken salad roll. Since the bread rolls are called salad rolls I assumed they wanted a bread roll with chicken on it. But it turns out that they want a bread roll with chicken, lettuce, carrot, beetroot, onion, tomato, cucumber and cheese. Personally I have never had a salad with beetroot on it, much less a sandwich with a salad on it. I found this very strange, but I am getting used to it.
I have been working four days a week at the bakery and then on Saturdays I have been helping this old farmer guy. He wants his sheds swept twice a week and he pays 10 dollars cash. The first week I did it I thought I was going to die I was so sore. After work Jim said to me "Your not knocked up are you?" And I was like "I suppose being pregnant could make you tired but how is that an appropriate question?" But he was paying me so I just said 'no...' I thought maybe I had misheard him so I asked my friend at the bakery if there was an Australian slang expression that meant tired and sounded like 'knocked up' and she said that 'knocked up' can mean pregnant OR tired. So I solved that mystery but looking back it was pretty funny.

Interesting Australian Bakery Lingo:
Serviette = Napkin
Breaky = two eggs and two slices of bacon and a piece of thick toast .
Salad Roll = a sandwich that includes a bread roll with lettuce, tomato, onion, beetroot, carrot, cheese, salt, pepper, margarine, and mayo.
Lamington = Either chocolate or pink coconut covered cake square (pink ones look like square snow balls)
Jam and cream donuts = a cream horn with a piped line of jam down the center
goss = gossip
Mackers = MacDonalds
gerkins = pickles
pickle = dill sandwich spread
capsicum = bell pepper
Apple Charlotte = a miniature apple pie baked in a tart pan and frosted with icing
Tomato sachet = a small pouch of tomato sauce (similar to ketchup) used on meat pies and sausage rolls
slice = a cookie bar (there are quite an assortment of 'slices' including a apple, hazelnut, mars, caramel, lemon-apricot, and vanilla)
mugachino = a mug of cappuccino

---