Australia 101, tutorial 1

Australia 101

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on Australia and Australian culture (I’ve only been here 2 weeks), but here are some important distinctions:

1. Look up, way up and you’ll find yourself marveling at different constellations, ones you don’t see in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, the Southern Cross, which adorns Australia and New Zealand flags is only visible in the Southern Hemisphere. Ok, I did know this prior to coming, but seeing it for yourself is something else.

2. Australians love their roundabouts. In fact, I’ve only seen one 4-way stop so far. The roundabout system seems to work extremely well here.

3. Keep left. We’re driving on the “wrong” side of the road, people! This is easier said than done (many, many close calls…).

4. Kangaroos as road kill (and dinner).

5. Some new and interesting vocabulary words:

• Daggy – unattractive
• Budgie smuggler or Lollisac – men’s speedos
• Bottle shop – liquor store
• Esky – camping cooler
• Thongs – flip-flops
• Singlet – tank top
• Oldies - parents

6. Most words here are abbreviated with either an “o” or “y” (e.g., “Bottle-o” for “Bottle Shop”; “Rashy” for “Rashguard”, that lycra top you see surfers wear).

7. Lots of tasty frozen treats (e.g., Weiss bars; Calippo ice lollies) that we don’t have back home.

8. EVERYTHING is more expensive (but people make more $ here to compensate)