Ahaha came across this article this is how where described it will make any Aussie laugh for sure lol..................................... ................................................. Youre moving to Australia, are you? From an American point of view The people of Australia. The first thing one has to learn in order for a smooth transition to Australia, is to un-learn everything theyve seen from the Fosters beer advertisements. You know, those ads that show a man wrestling a crocodile, or a woman chugging a beer and then crushing the empty can against her head. These advertisements are a HUGE mis-representation of Australia, and the Aussies dont like the image at all. Oh yeah, nobody here drinks Fosters anyway. More common beers are Victoria bitter (VB), XXXX, and Tooheys. But honestly, Im not sure one could taste the difference! What are the Australian people really like? I describe them as very civil. Australia has very close ties to Britain, and have inherited the British manners. Moreover, since most of the communities in Australia are small towns, the lack of anonymity has helped prevent the insurgence of the irresponsible, care-free behaviour that certain media organisations such as M-TV encourage today. Here are a few examples of proper behaviour in Australia: Dont take cuts in lines (jump the queue). If you are waiting to get a drink at the pub, and the bartender mistakenly offers to serve you before somebody who has been waiting longer, then tell the bartender that the other person is next in the queue. Dont worry: you wont have to wait long. The pubs are generally not under-staffed in this country. Dont challenge people. Australians tend to avoid confrontation. Fights and heated arguments are very rare. For example, if you accidently bump into somebody else, the other person will likely say sorry mate even though it may have been your fault. If somebody tells you to do something, then you should probably just do it. Dont argue with them or demand to speak to their manager. You usually do not have to worry about Aussies trying to cheat you: they are very trustworthy people. I have only had one person try to cheat me in Sydney: it was a taxicab driver who was himself a foreigner, and he thought he could lie to be on the cab rate since I had an accent (and you have one too, by the way!) and I was leaving from the international airport. Dont laugh at anybody. In America, if something embarrassing happens to somebody, we tend to have a laugh with the person to make them feel comfortable. This behaviour is not so common in Australia. Instead, turn your head and pretend like they didnt see it. Politeness goes far. In America, especially in large cities, we often use money/status to get good service. For example, we leave big tips or we raise a large sum of money to get the bartenders attention at a bar. In general, you will get better service if you are just polite. In fact, too much display of money/status could work against you: you dont want to be the tall poppy! (explained below). Treat everybody equally. Heres a good example of this one. Once when I was walking back from the grocery store, some guy starting walking with me, asking if I could spare some change so that he could get a train ride back to his home. In America, we tend to look down on such people. At that time, I did not feel like arguing so I just ignored him as if he was not there. My action was actually a huge insult, and he yelled profanities at me because of this. This is one of the few times Ive seen an Aussie get angry. In retrospect, it would have been just easier to say Sorry, mate. I cant help you today. By calling him mate, I am treating him as an equal person - and most likely, that would have been the end of the conversation. More info about equality is given below. Speak softly. Being loud is not the way to make friends or create conversation. Whereas America is the land of opportunity, Australia is the land of equality - a truly egalitarian society. This comes through in the language: the word mate is like the way Asians bow to indicate you are just as good as me. Dont be shy to use the word mate. It seems a bit more common to use it when talking to a man, but women are treated as equals as well. In fact, Australia was the second country to give women the right to vote: New Zealand was the first! America followed some time later. Equality is not limited to people of the same financial status. Whether a person is homeless, or whether he is the prime minister of Australia, you treat them the same. Maybe this is a little bit of an exaggeration, but not too much! You will find that Australia has quite a diverse population, with people from all over the world. Although there is some racism (not much), people generally get treated as equals regardless of race or accent, so long as they behave properly. The equality attitude has also attracted a large gay population to Sydney. The main lesson one should take from this issue, is not to try to portray yourself as better than anybody else. Doing so will make you a tall poppy. In contrast to America where the succesful are idolised, the Aussie hero has traditionally been the loser. They call him the little Aussie battler. This is the guy who fights just to make ends meet, but never attains much success. The theory is that although the little Aussie battler never achieves much, at least we know he is honest. On the other hand, you never know about how honest the tall poppy has been to get where he is today. A true Aussie always cheers for the battler (i.e. the under-dog), hoping that some day he will chop down the tall poppy. This is called tall poppy syndrome. I believe this attitude is changing a bit. With the great success of Australia in sport (example: Australia was one of the top countries in the 2000 Olympics when you look at the ratio of medals to population, and they also have been very successful in rugby and cricket recently), at least some successful sporting figures are true Aussie heros. One very important question, is how do the Aussies view the Americans? There is no easy answer to this. I find Australia mostly pro-America, but often very critical of American politics, for example the Iraq war. Although Australia was a very important supporter in the war against Iraq (they were one of the few countries that actually sent troops), most Australians were against the war. I remember an interview by a very intelligent little girl at a war protest, where she was asked what she thought about the war in Iraq. Her view was that she thought it was good that they are supporting America, but she really didnt see that the war was necessary, especially putting the lives of Australian soldiers at risk when Iraq does not seem to be a threat to them. This attitude seems to be held by many. There are others who are completely pro-America including the war, and others who are generally anti-American. Australians seem to have a strong appreciation for the arts/music coming from America. Whenever a American band is playing, it will always attract a large crowd. They also appreciate the technology coming from America. To them (and us!), seeing made in America is a sign of a good product. As long as one behaves well and is not too loud or arrogant, you can expect to be treated well regardless of where you come from. There are of course exceptions. Sometimes being American can be a major plus, and other times a negative (example: America is the tall poppy of the world). Language. The Australian accent can be difficult to learn. They have an easier time understanding you because they view American movies/television all the time. On the other hand, there are not many movies that have thick Australian accents -- though Crocodile Dundee is one exception. You should really watch that movie several times and try to understand what he is saying. Learning the accent is something that you just have to overcome with time. I dont really have much advice on that other than a comment about the r and the i when the i is pronounced as in bike. The r is very subtle, much like that in Boston. If you dont understand a word that seems to end in h, then think of it as if it ended in r. For example, cah means car. The Aussies can hear a difference between the two, but I cant. I once tried to immitate the accent, but when I said cah, they thought I said cow so I gave up! As for the i as in bike, it is a bit difficult to describe. It sounds to me like they start the sound out with their mouth in the shape that we would make an o sound for, and then they quickly switch to an i. Listen to Steve Irwin say Crikey, mate! It sounds like Croikey, mate to me, where the o is very quickly switched to an i. There are also a number of common expressions which you also need to learn. Here are a few that you will need to know: Alright. This has more of a meaning than in America. When you enter a shop, the employees will not say may I help you? Instead, they will say, are you alright? which means, are you okay on your own, or would you like me to help you find something? If you dont need any help, just reply Im alright, thanks. No worries. Think of this as no problem. Advice. This one confused me a number of times. In America it generally means a recommendation or an opinion. In Australia, it generally means just information which may not mean a recommendation or opinion at all. Have a look in a dictionary: both definitions are given, but which one is meant largely depends upon which country the person you are talking to is from. Uni. Short for university. Australians often abreviate words by cutting them in half and putting a y or i at the end. For example, gambling machines are called pokies, which is short for poker machine. I really suggest you avoid pokies. Concession. Not sure if this is used in America the way Aussies use it. If you are a senior citizen, a student, or a minor, then you get discounts on public transportation, medicine, etc.... This is called a concession. Hotel. Often hotels are just drinking establishments, i.e. bars/pubs. Bloke. Bloke means man/guy, and is okay to use. Calling a woman a Sheila is not okay: it is analagous to calling a woman a broad in America. Pommy. A person from Britain. Sticky beak. One who is nosey/interferes with anothers personal business. Schooner of beer. A regular sized glass of beer. The h in schooner is silent. Midi of beer. A smaller sized glass of beer. Shout. If they say your shout, then it is time for you to buy the next round of beer. Cream. Do you want cream on your ice cream? This means whipped cream. Tomato sauce. Tomato sauce is ketchup. Australians call a lot of things sauce that we Americans dont call sauce. Chips/french fries/crisps. Crisps are potatoes chips, but you can call them potato chips if you want. Chips are french fries sometimes, or potato chips other times. Depends upon the situation. If they say hot chips, then it is definitely french fries. Jelly. Jelly is jello. If you want American jelly, then ask for jam. Lolly. Lollies are synonymous with candy. Biscuit. Means cookie or sometimes cracker. There are many lesser common words that I wouldnt worry about, such as fair dinkum (my favourite), dunny, cobber, and so on. The language is changing all the time so words like these are rare and not too important. Dangers. It is unlikely that you will have to worry about crocodiles, sharks, or poisonous snakes. The hype is just a lot more than the reality. Here are the real dangers that you need to be concerned about: Crossing the street. The cars come from the other direction here. Look both sides before crossing the road, and stay sober. Ocean currents. Many people do not understand how dangerous the currents can be. Even professional swimmers have had to seek help when caught in currents, though most are smart enough not to challenge themselves in water they are unfamiliar with. Dont be an idiot -- swim between the flags and obey lifeguard recommendations. This is one lesson that you dont want to learn the hard way.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 05:01:21 +0000
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