OZtralia.tv Blog

By: Priscilla Fox

I don’t know about you but I feel like taking a big break from the world as life gets very hectic in the 21^st century. There are constant emails, cell calls, appointments, time for the family, friends, dog, cat, bird, goldfish, pet hamster and oh, somewhere in there one needs to work too.

As I take a big breath after assessing the long to-do list that constantly haunts me, I think about finding a place to visit in Australia that can give me a different perspective on things; a place that will give me the ‘bigger’ picture.

While searching I realised that with only 21,251,958 us friendly folk, Australia tends to be a big place, but when it comes down to it, we do adopt a lot from our USA neighbors. How can I put it, it is just too ‘big’ to describe.

What I am really suggesting is that we have many big places to visit such as the Big Pineapple, Big Banana, Big Cow, Big Egg, Big Koala, Big Lobster, Big Orange and the Big Prawn (shrimp is the translation). For those who are partial to some Aussie beer, the Big VB (Victoria Bitter) can sits at our northern city Darwin and one can not forget the natural phenomenon that all tourists visit, the biggest rock in the world, Ayers Rock at Uluru.

Australia is just full of ‘big’ landmarks and I am sure the astronauts from NASA have no trouble locating our continent by these ‘big’ eye-catchers that are scattered across our soils.

After that thought I’m more relaxed so I’ll sign off as I am about to sit down with my favourite, a big cup of coffee and pancakes…maybe a trip to the USA will help me locate those.

By Priscilla Fox

The humble thong. In Australia the name can have a totally different meaning to our northern US neighbors. Where the potential image of a skimpy undergarment may quickly start to appear, I would like to instantly lead your imagination to an item that is seen as a strong part of our national identity.

These rubber pieces of footwear bring about much joy in the land down under. With a simple slide into them, one can tour our many beautiful beaches, go for extended shopping excursions or foot a casual get together at a bar-b-que.

An indispensible piece of footwear that no tourist or traveler can go without; Australian thongs come in every color possible. For the girls, any outfit can be matched to the many variations and styles that are available. Guys you are not without either, the comfort levels of these flip flops suit even the fussiest of shoppers.

A famous event even embraces this rubber production. Our favorite export Kylie Minogue was part of a huge thong extravaganza. The pop starlet was hauled by a giant representation of it towards centre stage at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Popularized in the 1950’s the thong also has other uses which only the Australian folk can do with great style. Thong throwing competitions are a way to relieve the day’s stress where you’re awarded should you throw it the furthest. The great part about it is that you have a multi-purpose device that you can use to not only win a prize but also walk away with it in style!

Regardless of use, it is without doubt a loved piece of Australian footwear. Allowing free movement, circulation and comfort, it is a fashion piece that is desired just as much as the other ‘under-wear’.