Shocking. That’s what the Aussie prices are for two things:
1. books; Holy cow…I should have stocked up on readings before I left Thailand! To give you an idea…Barack Obama’s Dreams from my Father is about $35 AUD/$30 USD in paperback (for you non-American readers, the same book costs $10.17 USD in the US on Amazon.com). Hardcover editions of many books (American, British, or Australian) here can be in the $40-60 range.
2. makeup; The Aussie girls I hung out with this weekend were making their makeup shopping lists for a friend going to the US, where most of the country’s makeup is imported from. Why? I found out when I went to buy some mascara yesterday. $18 AUD/$15 USD for Maybeline mascara. Are you kidding me? (Definitely staying away from the MAC store here!)
Why am I telling you all this? Well, basically, because I want you Yanks to know that if you ever come visit Oz, to stock up on the above before getting here…and to say that if I run into you over the next few months and I’m an illiterate, ugly beast, you’ll know why.
