the australian language is a tricky little thing. fascinating, but tricky — how the a’s and the h’s and the z’s are pronounced so differently from the american way of saying things that i once asked jeff to sing the alphabet just so i can listen to how it sounds on this side of the world. (he did. bless him, he’s such a sucker sometimes. *evil laugh*)

somehow, i noticed how aussies love to shorten their words. from the easily decipherable g’day to the what-the-hell-does-arvo-mean?! apparently, arvo means “in the afternoon.”

and barbie holds no reference to the doll whatsoever. it’s simply an abbreviated word derived from “barbecue.”

but this post is not about the australian language at all. i’m pretty much stuck with a diluted american accent, with my r’s intact and my bisaya as strong as ever. or evuh.

whatever.

today i’ll be talking about barbecues. or barbie, as they say over here. something i’ve always loved way back in the philippines when grilling was the method of choice during summer outings at the beach. except that there, we usually grill fresh fish, squid, etc. apart from the pork we specially marinated the night before the trip.

here, it’s all about the meat — lamb, beef, chicken, sausages, sometimes pork. at the risk of sounding sosyal, the lamb is my favorite. and pork too because i’ll always be filo like that.

but more than the food itself, it’s the whole process of cooking and bonding around a warm heat-generating contraption that makes it both primitive and enjoyable at the same time.

like that sunday a week ago when jenny and brett, a very lovely couple who happen to be el2’s friends, invited us for some barbecue at their place. needless to say, that was where my love for lamb (and aussie barbie) began.