Hug A Ranga

I have always loved redheads. When I was younger, my sisters and I pretty much worshipped Anne Shirley. We would rent Anne of Green Gables & Anne of Avonlea from The Wherehouse in the OC and watch it over and over and over again. Keep in mind, the movie was on VHS and each box set was 4 hours long. So on any given day, we watched Anne Shirley and her friends for 8 hours straight. You would have thought we would have bought the box set but we didn't. We rented the box sets every single week in the summer. That is what you call dedication people.

One important fact about Anne of Green Gables & Anne of Avonlea is that the heroine Anne Shirley is a redhead. She is incessantly teased about her red hair. Even her biggest rival/crush Gilbert calls her "carrots" to get her attention. Anne gets so mad she breaks her mini-chalkboard on his head. She even tries to die her hair a beautiful raven black to get rid of her red hair (the color of her best friend Diana Berry's hair) but fails miserably and ends up with greenish hair. Fortunately, Anne's red hair grows back to a nice auburn color and she turns into a beautiful successful young woman. Moral of the story - Be nice to redheads or they will show you who is boss.

You would think they would have learned this lesson in Australia. I mean, most of the Australian outtback is red. Nicole Kidman is a natural redhead. And there current Prime Minister is a redhead. But, they have not learned how to embrace red heads. Quite the opposite in fact - Aussies make fun of redheads left and right. My friend Stephanie is a beautiful redhead. She thought her nickname in Oz was "ginger." Oh what a sweet nickname for an American redhead right? Yeah, redheads are not just called "ginger" in this country. In fact, they are called "ranga" as in orangutan. Isn't that just awful? I mean don't get me wrong, orangutan's are highly intelligent animals but, they're not as cute as a koala or panda if you catch my drift.

Learning that Aussies call redheads "rangas" was a huge turning point for me in Australia. It was like I was finally let into this secret Australian club where every politically incorrect Aussie nicknames or phrase are hidden. Let's just say that Rosalie has learned a lot about the "ranga." :) If you want more info on redheads in Australia, you need to read my friend Steph's amazing blog. And if you want an Aussie 101 lesson on the "ranga," watch the video below. *WARNING - It's not a G-rated video so prepare yourself for Alf and Irene's frank discussion of redheads in Oz.*

In honor of this video, Steph and I hosted a bunch of co-workers at her place in Balmain for an official "Hug A Ranga" party. She wore her ranga shirt and was the queen bee of the party. We ate loads of soup, drank copious amounts of wine and laughed extremely hard. And we all hugged Steph to make sure our ranga felt extra loved. Redheads rock and don't you forget it. ;)

Welcome to Stephanie and Rose's lil' piece of heaven in Balmain

Sweet Rose gives you this look when she wants a treat

Our ranga host Stephanie before the festivities begin

I make a mean guacamole which is ironic b/c I'm allergic to avocados

Steph's kitchen is so colorful

Wish you could smell the delicious corn bread in the oven

Linda, Tom, Rommi and Lisa are up to no good on Steph's comfy bed

Red wine only at our "ranga" party

Snapshot of all the delicious macaroons before dinner

Soup and bread for all!

Rommi clearly likes the pumpkin soup

A hug from my favorite Linda

A snapshot of me and sweet Lisa eating Adriano Zumbo's famous macaroons

All smiles at the end of a "Ranga" of an evening

Next up on the Blog: Aussie 101 - Everyday chit chat