Chloe sat at the kitchen table and poured cold milk over her breakfast cereal.
Mrs. Miller smiled gently and placed a plate of warm toast on the counter.
Mrs. Miller asked, “What are your plans for this arvo, Chloe?”
Chloe blinked in complete confusion and carefully put down her silver spoon.
Chloe said, “I'm really sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what an arvo is.”
Liam laughed loudly and grabbed a piece of crusty toast from the plate.
Liam explained, “It's just a common, shortened word for the afternoon, Chloe.”
Liam added, “Australians love to abbreviate our words whenever we possibly can.”
Mrs. Miller said, “That's exactly right, just like we usually call this morning meal brekkie.”
Chloe smiled brightly and nodded her head in sudden understanding of the strange slang.
Chloe replied, “That makes perfect sense, so I'm eating brekkie before my busy arvo.”
Mrs. Miller said, “Exactly, and later I need to load some heavy boxes into the ute.”
Chloe looked extremely puzzled again and politely asked what on earth a ute was.
Liam said, “It's a utility vehicle with a flat tray in the back for cargo.”
Chloe laughed and said, “Oh, in America we just call that vehicle a pickup truck.”
Liam asked, “Do you have any fun slang expressions back in the United States?”
Chloe thought for a moment while she was finishing her delicious bowl of cereal.
Chloe said, “We use the term couch potato for someone who watches too much television.”
Mrs. Miller chuckled and said, “We definitely have a few of those lazy people in Australia too.”
Liam grinned playfully and said, “I guess I'm a bit of a couch potato on weekends.”
Chloe said, “Well, today we're certainly not going to be couch potatoes at all.”
Chloe added, “I want to explore the city center and practice my new vocabulary.”
Mrs. Miller said, “We can drive into town in the ute after we finish our delicious brekkie.”
Chloe replied, “That sounds awesome, and I will try to remember these unique words all day long.”
Liam said, “Don't worry, you'll be speaking like a true local in no time.”