play WITHLOVE Being from the other side of the world in the City of Angels is a bonus, says LA-based Aussie columnist Naomi Chrisoulakis. FROM You can see it happening at places like Coffee + Food, an Aussie-owned cafe across the road from Paramount Studios. Youll meet George (Rose Byrnes bro), the barista from Sydney who moonlights as an actor on shows like New Girl when he’s not making flat whites for homesick fools like me. I’ve spotted more than one Packed To The Rafters star eyeing their Kingston biscuits, and whenever I feel the urge to crack the shits over Tony Abbott, I know there’ll be someone there who knows what crack the shits means (and who Tony Abbott is). “A of me at my here to pursue a dream: re you Australian?!”, Partly, that’s because a lot of exclaimed the girl my fellow countrymen are standing in front creative, interesting types, new web series Low Life (lowlifeseries), created by my mate Luke Eve — another Sydney transfer. There, we were surrounded not only by party pies (which almost made me weep with home- MEET ANOTHER Hollywood gym. I’d only asked her if my mat was in her way, but with just a couple of heavily-accented sentences, we knew we were now TOTALLY GOING TO BE FRIENDS. See, here in Los Angeles, it’s very exciting when you meet a fellow Australian. It’s not that we’re a rare species — there are a ton of us around — but once you’ve lived here for a while, you begin to really appreciate what it means to meet another member of the Gumleaf Mafia. actors, directors, editors, costume designers, writers and even the odd Kiwi who we welcome into the fold. They’re just cool people to meet. But even when they’re just averagely interesting, it’s nice to know that there actually is a fold here in this huge, confusing and occasionally isolating city. Because when great coffee is lacking and the freeway system is hectic, or you realise Americans dont get our humour (or that humour is spelt this way), there’s something very comforting about hanging with a fellow Aussie. Yep, someone who doesn’t need to ask, “What’s a bludger?” And when big-ish fish move from Australia to become tiny guppies in Hollywood, I’m sure they suddenly realise how nice it is to have a support system, filled with other people who appreciate the finer points of Summer Heights High and know what a Tim Tam is. Never was that clearer than at the launch of the YOU BEGIN TO REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT IT MEANS TO MEMBER OF THE GUMLEAF MAFIA. The funny thing is, our strange ways are rubbing off on the ’mericans. sickness) and decent coffee (courtesy of Aussie-owned Longshot Coffee) but also a horde of imported Aussies. Theyd all turned up to support Luke and the stars of his comedy about depression, Henry Nixon and Claire van der Boom. At home, it’s quite possible that half the people happily chatting in the trendy Downtown gallery wouldn’t speak to each other. But here, the barriers drop and we all bond over a shared nationality. Even Naomi Watts asked where I was from when I met her — just like all the rest of us non-famous Australians in LA do when we hear that distinctive accent. A flat white is the hottest coffee order in town (see also: Two Guns and The Hart + the Hunter), and Time Out’s LA edition recently branded avocado on toast a trend. Do I feel smug? Oh, yes. Happy that it’s getting easier to give a small-but-delicious nod to the homeland in this town? F**kin’ oath. But the best part? That I have awesome Australian mates over here to enjoy a good breakfast with and American buddies who let me bang on about our superior coffee. Follow Naomi’s LA adventures on Instagram @naomichrisoulakis 
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 11:02:28 +0000
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