Hunting the night sky

Tonight, I went on the first run of my Australian travels (not very far mind you) and certainly not the last (as I have already agreed with my mates to go running again tomorrow morning). As we were warming up, quickly strolling around an open park, we looked up into the night sky and very clearly discovered the fierce hunter of the astronomical sky : Orion.

Now, I am sure most of you are familiar with this outline:

Orion as the gigantic hunter who eventually meets his demise by a scorpion. After which, the gods raise both him and the scorpion to the skies.

However, this outline is according to Australian Aboriginal Astronomy in which Orion (which they call Julpan) is depicted as a story of three brothers, a canoe and a forbidden fish. The three brothers go fishing and catch a fish that is strictly forbidden by law. As result, the Sun creates a waterspout that sky rockets the brothers and the canoe up into the night sky where they are still banished today.

Both of which are a reminder that although everyone may see the same it is the interpretation that can range greatly. In away I have been taught this lesson over and over again since being in Australia.

Take the family style dinner tonight which consisted of homemade Miso soup (made by the international exchange student from Taiwan), chicken stir fry with ginger and honey (prepared by Courtney, and Aussie and I), and the most delicious chocolate cake topped with bananas and Nutella (created by T, our computer science friend from Lebanon). After a non-competitive game of volleyball, and introducing the game of SlapJack to my friends from New Zealand, Finland, Australia, and Ohio, our stomachs began to growl.

Shortly afterwards I realized that although Courtney and I both may see a green bell shaped vegetable she would forever refer to it as a "capsicum" where as others know it as a "green pepper". Making some "lemonade" my Aussie friends thought I had purchased some "Sprite".

Ah, the continued adventures in the similar languages of English.

Sweet dreams, Becca