🦘 When Sergio receives a surprise postcard from his friend Matilda the Kangaroo, he’s invited on a big new adventure—to Australia! But before the exploring begins, he discovers just how far away it really is. A 21-hour flight across time zones? “Wait… I lose a whole day? That’s wild! It’s like time travel!” With a few curious new words to decode and Mimsy feeling unsure about flying, Sergio dives headfirst into planning a journey filled with bold steps, fun sounds, and the deep, buzzing rhythm of an instrument that makes the whole ground feel like it’s singing.
🦘 When Sergio receives a surprise postcard from his friend Matilda the Kangaroo, he’s invited on a big new adventure—to Australia! But before the exploring begins, he discovers just how far away it really is. A 21-hour flight across time zones?
“Wait… I lose a whole day? That’s wild! It’s like time travel!”
With a few curious new words to decode and Mimsy feeling unsure about flying, Sergio dives headfirst into planning a journey filled with bold steps, fun sounds, and the deep, buzzing rhythm of an instrument that makes the whole ground feel like it’s singing.
SERGIO: Hi There. It’s me, Sergio. The Accent Explorer. I hope you’ve been having a fun week filled with lots of listening, discovery and yummy eating. Before we dive into today’s adventure though, I want to hear from you. Have you tried a new food lately? Met someone who speaks a different language? Or maybe discovered a place that felt like a whole new world? Get your grown ups to send me a message on Instagram @TheAccentExplorer, or e-mail me. I would love to hear all about it. And guess what? Mimsy wants to hear it too. Wouldn’t you, Mimsy?
MIMSY: Yes! Please share!
I’ve got something really exciting to show you today. You’re not going to believe where it came from. Last week, I mentioned that I got a postcard in the mail. But not just ANY postcard…this one came from a good friend of mine who lives halfway across the world. Like,so far away that when we’re brushing our teeth for bed here in Green Ridge, my friend over there is just waking up for breakfast. Crazy, right! It’s from my friend Matilda. She’s a kangaroo and she had a lot to say!
Okay… I’m going to try something new. I’m going to read this next part using my very best Australian accent. Keep an ear out, because soon on our YouTube channel, we’ll break down exactly how the Australian accent works in your mouth. But for now, listen closely and see if you can hear the difference. Try it out if you’d like, and remember to just have fun with it. Here goes!
G’Day Sergio! Matilda the Kangaroo here, writing to you all the way from winter-y Australia. Long time no speak! I just wanted to call and ask you a question. Did you want to come and visit me in Australia this November? Look, I know it’s really far away, but we’ve got so many cool things to see and do over here. I could even cook you a traditional Aussie barbeque one arvo. Then we can walk through the city and listen to all the muso’s playing on the street. I think you’d love it! And whatever you do, make sure you bring your cozzies. Let me know! I’d love to see ya!
Wow. That was a lot of words in that postcard that I didn’t understand. Arvo? Muso’s? Cozzies? Even though Australians speak English, they’ve got all kinds of new words that sound totally different! Isn’t that wild?
Anyway, I think the basic idea of the postcard was that…Matilda was inviting me to Australia! What do you think? Should I go visit hera in November? Should I pack my bags and hop on a plane all the way across the world? What about you, Mimsy? You can come too if you’d like!
MIMSY [Shy]: Oh, no thank you.
SERGIO: Oh. That’s right. I should have remembered. Mimsy gets a little nervous about flying. She loves learning about all these fun, new places, but actually going there? That’s a whole different adventure. And you know what? That’s okay. Sometimes trying something new can feel a little scary…even for us explorers. Well, Mimsy, maybe this trip can be a good opportunity to show you how fun traveling can be. Flying might feel a little…wobbly at first, but it’s also super exciting! Snacks, windows in the sky, movies, and maybe even some surprises along the way.
I should book my flights. Luckily, my Aunt Izzy is a travel agent…and she’s the one I always go to when I have a question about the world. She’s a total whiz when it comes to geography, travel tips, and finding the fastest way to get from here to anywhere. She knows all the tricks. She can help me plan my perfect flight to Australia and maybe even help us figure out what those words in Matilda’s postcard meant. Let’s go see her, shall we? Mimsy, you stay here and hold down the fort. I’ll be back before you can say “koala in a kayak!”.
[TRANSITION]
Okay. I’m sitting here in my Aunt Izzy’s office, all ready to book my flights to Australia. Can you say hello to my explorer friend here, Aunt Izzy?
IZZY: Hi there! It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you.
SERGIO: Aunt Izzy, what can you tell me about the trip to Australia? Anything I need to be ready for?
IZZY: Oh absolutely! First things first: it’s a loooooooong flight. From Green Ridge North Carolina, not including stop overs, it’s going to take you about 21 hours. That’s almost a whole day of flying!
SERGIO: That is a long trip.
IZZY: But don’t worry, there will be plenty of fun things to see and do on the airplane. Including my favourite thing of all…sleeeep! And here is the most interesting part about flying to Australia, Sergio. Because of how time zones work, if you left on Monday morning, you wouldn’t get to Australia until Tuesday night!
SERGIO: Wait. What? So I lose a whole day? That’s wild! It’s like time travel.
IZZY: I know. Time Zones can be very tricky. They involve a lot of math. But don’t worry you’ll get that time back. Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here [typing out sound effect]. Okay..how does this sound? You leave Friday morning and you land in Australia on Saturday. Then, let’s see, when you fly home from Australia on Wednesday morning, you’ll land back in Green Ridge on…the same Wednesday afternoon! Or as they say in Australia, Wednesday “arvo”.
SERGIO: “Arvo!” That was one of the words that Matilda mentioned in her postcard! She said “ I could even cook you a traditional Aussie barbeque one arvo.” Now we know what that means. Afternoon! Next up, we just need to figure out what “muso’s” and “cozzies” mean.
IZZY: Okay! You’re all booked! You’re officially heading to Australia this November. WOOHOOO!! It’s about time too. I’ve been telling you to take this trip since you first caught the travel bug! Now just remember one more thing: even though Green Ridge is quite cold in November, in Australia it is almost summer! So make sure you pack accordingly! Maybe you’ll even need your swimsuit!
SERGIO: Great tip. Thanks, Aunt Izzy! Let’s go back home, shall we? I have some serious packing (and decoding) to do!
[TRANSITION]
SERGIO: Okay. So I was juuuust about to walk into my house, when I heard music coming from next door. It was my good friend and neighbor Ava! She runs the music shop down the street and is always exploring global sounds by playing fun instruments from somewhere in the world. Ava’s super curious—especially about other cultures—maybe because she’s still searching for clues about her own family history. Her last name is Neves…that’s seven spelled backwards! Cool, right? She’s the only person in town with that name, and she’s not even sure where it comes from. I told her about my trip to Australia though…and guess what? She is very excited. Say hello, Ava.
AVA: Hello, everyone! Sergio, you’re going to love Australia. It may be a young country, but it’s packed with history, stories, and so much culture. Do you know what my absolute favourite thing about Australia is?
SERGIO: Tell me!
AVA: The didgeridoo! It’s a long, wooden wind instrument that was invented by Indigenous Australians almost 1,000 years ago! It makes this deep, buzzing sound, and many of them are decorated with cool Indigenous artwork. I had a friend who taught me how to play many, many years ago. You know about didgeridoos, don’t you Sergio?
SERGIO: I think so. That’s the instrument that sounds like this…[SERGIO MIMICKS A DIDGERIDOO] Can you try it with me? Ready? One, two, three…. [SERGIO MIMICKS A DIDGERIDOO AGAIN].
AVA: That’s terrific! You sound like a bonafide Australian muzo!
SERGIO: Wait! MUSO! That’s another word that Matilda mentioned in her message. Remember? She said “We can walk through the city and listen to all the musos playing on the street.” Muso must mean musician! We figured out another word… just by listening. That’s two down: arvo means afternoon, muso means musician…Next, we need to figure out what “cozzies” are. But that might have to wait until a little later. Because it’s almost time to go.
But before we head out, guess what? I’ve got another voicemail to share with you. This one is from my friend Ms Sallie. And you know what? Mimsy will probably want to hear this too. Let me see where she is. Mimsy?
MIMSY: I’m here!
SERGIO: Mimsy, we have a voicemail from Ms Sallie. Wanna hear it?
MIMSY: YES!
SALLIE (Voicemail): Hey y’all. I just wanted to say that I tried cooking those German pancakes that you made with Ms Simone last week and I have to tell you, they were delicious! Thank you so much for sharing that recipe with me. I know exactly what I’m going to be cooking this Oktoberfest for sure! Now, I figured I’d return the favor. I may not have grown up overseas like Ms Simone, but right here in the South…well, that’s a culture all its own. So I’d like to invite you and MImsy over to my place to cook my world famous sausage balls! They are a true Southern staple…and I just know y’all will love them. Let me know! Bye-bye.
SERGIO: What do you say, Mimsy? You did such a good job at cooking pfannkuchen with Ms Simone last week. Ready to roll up your sleeves and make some sausage balls with Ms Sallie?
MIMSY: Yeah! Let’s do it!
SERGIO: Great. I hope you listening at home will join us too. And just like last week, we’ll make sure to have Ms Sallie’s sausage ball recipe available for you and your grown ups too. We wouldn’t want y’all missing out on all that tasting now, would we?
Whether you’re flying across the world or cooking something new at home…you’re exploring. And guess what? Trying new foods is kind of like learning a new accent. Each dish has its own rhythm, its own flavor…just like every voice. Thanks for listening, Explorer. Have a great week and I’ll see you soon! (whisper) Psst…a little birdie told me that this Aussie trip might just turn into a book. Stay tuned!