“That’s okay.” We first heard this phrase 2 years ago in Newcastle. We had arrived after dark and could find nowhere to settle for the night. We had met a pleasant couple in Bali who lived in Newcastle and they had told us to call them when we got to Australia. We were now in their hometown and stranded so we gave them a call. They immediately insisted we come over for dinner and that we stay with them for the night even though it was a school night for their 2 young kids. We felt impolite for crashing on short notice and were sure to be on our best manners. “Thank you so much for dinner,” I said. “That’s okay,” Jenny responded. “We really appreciate you putting us up for the night,” I stated. Brian replied, “That’s okay!”
“Crap, Nug, we are imposing big time.” We thanked them in the morning before heading further south. “That’s okay, come again any time!” they returned. We were not sure if we should believe them. Fast forward 2 years and we are hunting for apartments in the Gold Coast and Lennox Head areas. Anytime we inspected an apartment we were sure to thank the person for their time… “That’s okay,” was always the response. Realtors would not return our calls so we resorted to stalking them; we called each realtor several times per day and invariably reached their secretaries. “Thanks for taking our message.” Each desk jockey would answer “That’s okay.” We started to think that we were a pain in the butt to everyone here and should be apologizing for everything we did. After a few more interactions at restaurants, retail stores and grocery stores we began to realize that “That’s okay” is the Australian equivalent of “You’re welcome” (which by the way is never used).
After almost 2 weeks of chasing our tails (apartment hunting and filling in lengthy applications) and getting repeatedly shut down we finally had 2 options simmering and were playing the waiting game. One in Palm Beach had an especially unhelpful realtor, “Kiani” who had made us drive to the office 3 separate times and also fax additional information (each time, starting with our first trip there, she assured us that we had completed everything only to call us back several hours later to cheerfully let us know that the application required more info to process). Nug was boiling by the end of our 3rd trip to Kiani’s office.
While eating lunch and discussing our options our phone rang. “How ya going? This is Kiani from Palm Beach calling to let you know that you have been approved for the apartment!” I was almost too happy to tell her that we had lined up a place in Kirra earlier in the day and were going to go with that apartment. There was silence for a moment before she recovered and said, “Oh, alright…thanks for letting me know.” I couldn’t hold back my smile as I retorted with my very first, “That’s okay!”
High guys,I am probabley a little behind with what has been going on That,s O.K. Hope everything is going well,Tammy and I just got back from a few days at the Hard Rock in Tampa. Wish i could say i won enough to come see you but i can,t get to keystone on my winnings. Miss you both and will stay in touch. Love reading about all your experiences.Stay safe and enjoy.Love you both Aunty Jill.
It’s always good to hear from you Aunt Jill. We are having a great time but miss you too. Maybe next time the Hard Rock will be nicer too you.
Classic story! Glad you guys got settled into the apartment. Saw that cyclone swell that hit. Hope the job hunt works out and happy you two are living the dream. Will be checking the site Regularly(been slacking for a while) Miss you guys.
Love,
Ryan
Thanks for checking it out! We might not get jobs it seems but that just allows more time for other activities. Keep crushing nursing school and come visit after the semester if you have some time. If you come here after you graduate you will find work no problem. They are looking for nurses everywhere. We miss you too and look forward to talking again soon!