Initial Impressions

Sorry for the long delay since my last post, for some reason the internet connection where I am staying would not open this website. It was very frustrating, but it’s all good now.

After being in Australia for a little over a week now, I’ve noticed quite a few differences between American and Australian culture.

First off, as you all are most likely aware, we have the Australian accent. I assumed it would be rather easy to communicate with all of the locals of Sydney since I speak English and so do they. However, it’s actually been sort of difficult at times to pick up on everything I’m hearing in a conversation, mostly because Australians use a lot of different words to describe different things, but also the accent is sometimes just so strong that I don’t quite make out the words. One word that is used a lot is “heaps”. Instead of saying, “I’ve got a lot of money,” an Australian would say, “I’ve got heaps of money.” And a very common response to “thank you” is “no worries” and even one day when I sort of got stuck in a corner of campus and couldn’t find my way out I asked a girl how to get to where I was going and then thanked her for her help. She responded with, “That’s OK,” as if I’d done something wrong and had just apologized to her and she was forgiving me. A bit different than what I’m used to hearing in such a situation. Another very prominent word that is used is “uni”. No, Australians don’t use this word when talking about what the cricket players wear on the field, it’s an abbreviation for “university” and it’s used for just about any of the words we may use to describe university back in America. Instead of saying “college” or “school” it’s “uni”. And even instead of saying “I’m on campus” you’d say “I’m at uni”. The world “college” in Australia actually refers to what we would consider residence halls in America. So there are lots of “colleges” at “uni”. I’m currently staying at Warrane College until I can find a more permanent place for the semester.

Something else that most probably already know is that in Australia, like the UK, you drive on the left side of the road instead of the right side like in America. People even walk on the opposite side of sidewalks, too. I’ve been caught on the wrong side here and then just brace myself for the “crazy tourist” look that will surely follow. Also, the cars are flip-flopped around too, so the driver is actually on the right side of the car. It’s going to take some getting used to riding shotgun on the left side of the car and thinking carefully about which side the cars are coming from before crossing at a crosswalk, but there are really nice crosswalk signs that make a loud laser beam noise when it’s OK to cross. It sounds like something straight out of Wolfenstein 3D, anyone remember that computer game? Actually, I learned that the sound is to help blind people to know when it’s clear to cross. Pretty practical, I guess.

Speaking of crosswalks, drivers in Australia actually respect crosswalks! The other day I was walking down the street and stopped at a crosswalk that was in the middle of a road, so it was not at a stoplight, but I stood there waiting for some cars to pass, but the cars stopped and let me cross first! That definitely does not happen in America. I’m surprised that we don’t hear more stories of Australians being hit by cars that just ran right through crosswalks.

Also, I must admit that I have visited McDonald’s a few times and it’s actually quite a bit different than US McDonald’s. First off, the servings of the food are quite a bit smaller. The burgers are smaller and the french fry servings are smaller. They also have a pretty different menu to choose from as well. No dollar menu, unfortunately, but they do have some new sandwiches. On my second visit, in full tourist form, I spotted the McOZ burger and just had to try it. When I bit into it, much to my surprise, I found that what makes the McOZ so special is that they put a beet on it. Who would have thought, a beet!? It didn’t taste very good but I finished it off anyway. The french fries are quite a bit less salty than they are in the U.S. and they also just sort of taste a bit different, too. Kind of a bit more healthy actually. Anyway, apparently Australians like to drink Coke because when you order a McValue Meal, as they are called here, if you don’t specify what you want to drink, they will automatically give you Coke, so as you can imagine, my first drink was a Coke. Last and probably most shocking is that you actually have to purchase ketchup! I’m not sure how much it is, but I found that to be pretty ridiculous and did without. Alright, enough about McDonald’s.

On my first night in Sydney, I had the pleasure of learning the true meaning of going out for “a drink”. I was eating in the dining room at Warrane and met a few guys who are here for a 5-day course. As we finished up they asked if I wanted to go to a pub with them and have “a drink”. I jumped on the offer and we were off to the pub. After about 20 minutes of walking, because as my good friend Steven informed me, Aussies prefer to take a good walk before having a drink (not really we just couldn’t find a place). Steve is the king of sarcasm, but anyway we finally arrived at a nice sports bar and Steve got the first round. Then maybe 10 minutes later, Adam, the other guy with us, brings up the second round, and maybe 10 minutes after that these guys are already done again with their second beer and I’m about half-way done with mine. Well, I didn’t want to look like a poor American cheapskate, so I offer to buy another round, not thinking they would accept, since I knew they had to be back soon, but to my surprise they happily accepted. This is a lot of beer in a short amount of time for someone like me. Luckily, it ended after that third beer and after some great conversation and good laughs we finally headed back to Warrane and I had learned the true meaning of going out for “a drink”.

It’s been really neat to see how a place that looks so much like the US is actually quite different when you immerse yourself in the culture. I’ve definitely come across far more interesting and surprising things than what I was expecting and I haven’t even been here a week. I’ve had a very open mind about everything and it’s worked out well. My Aussie Mate, Khalid, several times referred to the differences in Australia as being weird, but I simply told him that things in Australia aren’t weird, they’re just different.