The following things aren’t necessarily better or worse than things in America, they’re just… different:
· You drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road. At least the clutch, brake, and accelerator are in the same order or I’d really be in trouble then!
· The commercials, both television and radio, are really sappy, cheesy, and dramatic. And a lot of time the TV commercials are just video footage of random places all over Australia – accompanied by elevator music. Needless to say you find something else to do during commercial breaks.
· And on that note, TV shows are mostly American shows but they are all re-runs. So my initial excitement when I hear “All new episode of Glee this Friday night!!” disappears when the preview only shows clips from season two.
· A mango only costs $1.00!
· You don’t tip your waitress or waiter – unless they were SUPERB. I’ve been having a really hard time leaving the tip line blank but when servers make $15 an hour I guess they don’t need tips like American servers do.
· There is no such thing as a cup of coffee with cream and sugar. Ordering coffee here is like speaking a different language. Yeah cappuccinos and lattes are basically the same but there are no regular cups of coffee. I had to look it up when I was in Sydney but I think to get a normal cup is just called a “Vienna” though I have heard some people say you should order a “tall white” or a “long black” or whatever, I have yet to try it out. There aren’t any coffee beans around in the grocery store either; each morning I have a nice cup of dry-freeze coffee mixed with hot water… you don’t know what I would do for a cup of pumpkin flavored coffee from Dunkin Donuts! But on the plus side there are really good iced coffee and espresso drinks sold at gas stations and concession stands.
· The school year is a lot different here too – instead of having summers off, the kids have multiple month breaks spread out over the year. Or at least that’s what I have gathered. Actually the kids just got back from their summer vacation (which included the holidays, weird right?) and started school January 23rd.
· Pant sizes start at size 6.
· Because the name “Burger King” was already trademarked in Australia, you have to decide if you are going to grab a quick burger from McDonalds or Hungry Jacks.
· Here in Roma the movie theatre, oops I mean the “cinema”, only has like 5 movies playing a week. And not five different movies, but two different ones that play once a day each. I’m sure there would be more options and play times at cinemas in more urban areas, but out here in the “bush” you definitely need to have a specific time and plan set out to go see a movie.
· Tim Tams. Are the best things. Ever. Chocolate filling sandwiched between chocolate cookie dipped in chocolate. Served cold because it’s too hot to store them anywhere besides the fridge. Best things. EVER.
· My nickname, Zee, would be “Zed” here. (They also say ‘H’ like “haych” opposed to us saying “aych”.) But not to worry, because I don’t go by that nickname anymore, my new one is “Miss America” or “USA” (I have also been called “Chicago” and “Mexico”).
· And it’s funny how many people start speaking in a southern drawl when they hear I’m from America. And for a while I was wondering why some people would say something to me in a really weird slow uneducated sort of way and then laugh about it, but then I realized they were just trying to sound “American”. Awesome.
· No Netflix, Hulu, or up to date iTunes.
· Going out for breakfast is weird. Only slightly less weird if it’s on a Sunday.
· They have pre-mixed rum/whiskey and cokes sold in cans at the bar. And yes it’s true Aussies drink as much as you would expect, but I have yet to even see a can of Foster’s (come to think of it, is that even Australian or am I making it up?).
· For people like my boss (campdrafters) it’s perfectly normal to buy a horse at an auction for $40,000, as long as it has a good pedigree. And after sitting at the majority of the three day sale at the Tamworth campdraft and sale a few weeks ago I can now tell you which sire and dam you want for your campdraft horse to have in Australia.
· The main sports are rugby and cricket. Which are the only two sports I know hardly anything about.
· You drive around with a big metal bar on your front bumper, called a bull bar but they should call it a roo bar because they have them so when you hit a kangaroo it won’t demolish your front end. I guess roos give moose a run for their money in being dangerous to hit because if you hit them mid-jump it’s bad news for you, your windshield, and the roo.
· Speaking of kangaroos…. They are EVERYWHERE. I guess there are three kangaroos for every person in Australia. They have a really quick reproduction rate too, almost like rabbits, so they are basically around all the time even if you hire someone to come shoot them (it’s illegal to shoot them yourself, you need a license from the government and then you need to tag each roo you shoot and usually you can only shoot a certain number of them). Which probably sounds like a sad story to you, but to farmers they are wicked annoying because they destroy fences and attract wild dogs. And you could (and most likely will) hit them with your car. All of which suck.
· In Roma the only way you can park on the street is if you pull past an open spot and reverse into it on a diagonal.
· There are rotaries everywhere. I’ve still yet to figure out when I need to have my blinker on or not when going through one.
· And here’s the big one, the vocabulary:
o Truck = Ute (sounds like ‘yoot’)
o Cooler (as in what you put stuff in to keep it cold) = Esky
o Beer Bottles = Stubbies
o Porch = Veranda
o Comforter = Doona
o Random tea/snack break in between breakfast and dinner = Smoko
o Dinner = Tea
o Wrench = Spanner
o Pitchfork = Rake
o Pen = Borrow
o Boxed wine = Goon
o French Fries = Chips
o Chips = Crisps
o Lettuce and Tomato on a sandwich = Salad (So if you are ordering a sandwich and they ask you if you want salad with that say yes unless you want just meat and mayo on slices of bread.)
o Pharmacist = Chemist
o “I was just picking on you” = “I was just having a go at you” (And someone who often has a go at you is what you call “cheeky”)
o Drunk = Pissed
o Crazy = Mad
o My room = the room I sleep in
o Hurricane = Cyclone
o “I’m all set” = “I’m alright” or just “I’m right”
o Rain boots = Gum Boots (Funny story about how I learned about this one: I was in the restroom at a campdraft last week washing my hands and a little girl, about 5, walks up to the sink as well and says “I like your earrings” to which I responded “Thank you, I like your rain boots” [they were pink and purple, so naturally that’s what I would say…] to which she looks at me like I’m an idiot and goes “They’re called gum boots” and continues to look at me like I’m an idiot until I’m finished washing my hands and leave the room.)
o Restroom/Bathroom = Toilet
o Thank You = Ta (but only sometimes)
· And there are a whole bunch of words that are used commonly here that you wouldn’t necessarily use back home:
o Righty-o! (as in “hey mate, make sure you don’t run into that kangaroo” “righty-o!”)
o Dear (as in “the beer truck didn’t come in today so the last carton of beer left was very dear”, or “because there were so many buyers at the cattle sale the cattle were very dear”…)
o Keen (as in “I’d be keen to go to town today”)
o Ornery (as in “that road will most likely have a few ornery patches where the mud puddles are” or “when you catch that wild horse it’s going to be pretty ornery, so watch out!”)
o Mongrel (as in “That mongrel Teenie [one of the dogs here] got into your room and starting chewing on your slippers” or “The tractor almost flipped over going down that mongrel hill”).
o Handy (as in “that mare is real handy, she always wins at campdrafts.”)
o And of course the typical “mate”, “cheers”, and “bugger”. Not a lot of “g’day”s though, but a common greeting is “how[’re] ya going?” which is weird to me for some reason and I’ve yet to master answering it without pausing to think about it.
o And apparently when you say “it’s nice out” it doesn’t make sense to Aussies, they would say “it’s a nice morning” or “it’s a nice evening” instead (the reasoning for that being, what if it’s nice inside too, not just nice out?).
There are TONS more, I’m thinking I’ll have to have a part two of this post when I can remember or encounter more.
And on a side note I am doing well! Keeping busy with work and going to campdrafts about every weekend. I’m also realizing that most of you don’t know what a campdraft is and if I’ve tried to explain it to you I’ve most likely confused you more about what they are. So maybe another future blog will explain that more. Who knows I might even throw in a few pictures too.
Hope all is well for anyone reading this! Xoxo Zee
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