Friday, July 23, 2010

A Quick Study on Aussie Culture

I've got some time to kill before dinner, so I'll let you know some things I've learned about Australian culture, as well as international cultures.


  • First things first, they drive on the wrong side of the road. I thought Americans were the only ones to drive on the right side, apparently its only the British commonwealth countries that drive on the left. 
  • The toilets here really don't swirl one was or the other, the water just rushes out from all sides and then stops. 
  • I asked one of the Aussies that lives in the house, and there is an Outback Steakhouse chain here as well!
  • Burger King = Hungry Jacks. Some sort of copyright over here made it so BK couldn't be BK here. The whole menu is basically the same though, just a little smaller.
  • Their beaches are weird. The longest one, Bondi, is only 800m long. The cliffs make long beaches (like FL) quite difficult, I guess.
  • The people who are taught english by the british say 'zed' as opposed to 'z', it's not just the Canadians.
  • "to book it" (ie I just booked it to get here on time) is a very odd phrase, but apparently some Brits use an  equally odd phrase for it: "to cheese it".
  • Everything is really expensive. Like 2 to 4 times as much as in the states. (like $20 covergirl mascara...)
  • Most shops close at 6 here, except on thursday when they stay open until 9pm. Coffee shops close at 4pm (except in the CBD).
  • They listen to House music, which is very odd to Americans, but completely normal to all of the Europeans
  • They use change frequently. I do not. They have bills from $5 and up, but theres a $2 coin, a $1 coin, $0.50 coin, $0.20 coin and $0.10 coin. The bills also look like monopoly money. They're quite practical though because each different amount is a different size and color. Your cant crease it or tear it and its waterproof. 
  • Napkins = serviettes; and they don't use them much
  •  Arvo = afternoon. Good on ya = good for you. Brekky = breakfast. Washing powder = laundry detergent (they don't have the liquid kind). 
  • There's a party every night of the week.
And heres a picture of some of the people who are teaching me these things:

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