Australia - Quirky Things

So I’ve been here in the land of Oz for just over a month now, and so far my stay here’s been great. I have however managed to have plenty of “foreigner moments” (one of which was my coffee experience) where something as simple as a different word or way of doing things causes loads of confusion. At the time I usually get frustrated but usually a few hours later I look back on it and laugh. Here are a few of the funny things I’ve noticed here in Australia as well as a few of my “foreigner moments”.

Does this look like spaghetti to you?

Not what I was expecting...

I had an interesting time one afternoon in Sydney where me and my friend Rob ordered some fish and chips at a restaurant by the beach. My food came out and as I started to eat, the waiter comes by and asks me if I would like tomato sauce with my meal. The question made no sense so I just give the waiter a weird look and ask him to repeat himself. “Would you like some tomato sauce with your meal?” Still didn’t compute, even though I understood what he said. At the tip of my tongue I was gonna ask him “Does this look like spaghetti to you?” but thankfully Rob butted in. “Yes he’ll take some” and low and behold a bottle of ketchup shows up at our table. After arriving back in Melbourne I met a girl from Perth who was staying in my dorm. After telling her this story I couldn’t help but ask... “What do you put on your pasta then?” “Pasta sauce silly!” Wow...

Where do I look?

Can't miss it!

Us foreigners arriving from North America are definitely not used to traffic that drives on the left. Thankfully places like Sydney expect that and have painted signs at each crosswalk telling us where to look so that we don’t get killed. Trust me, they are doing us a favor as looking RIGHT first just seems completely wrong and takes weeks to fully get used to. In Sydney I got a sort of vacation where I would just follow the sign’s directions. Here in Melbourne on the other hand, instead of signs on the road there’s a much more high tech system in place to help pedestrians like me adjust to my new surroundings. As I go to cross the street, should I happen to look the wrong way, a progressively loud honking noise will alert me that I looked the wrong way. Thanks to this system (and a few close calls!), my brain is now well trained to look RIGHT first.

Huh? Why’s it called that?

Well...at least I still got a whopper!

Some stuff that we have all around the world, unfortunately due to copyright and naming issues goes under different names here in Australia. I remembered researching fast food chains to see if there was maybe anything original here in Oz. Ta-da! Hungry Jack’s came up. I was excited to try this exciting new Australian fast food experience. Well... I got a little confused when I got to Hungry Jack’s as the logo looked kinda familiar...but no...couldn’t be! I was still optimistic as maybe somebody had just got to it first. Well I went inside and they were serving whoppers so nope...same ol’ BK! (Do they refer to it as HJ here? *giggity*) You’ll notice that as well when you go to the supermarket and walk down the grocery aisle. To my shock and dismay, Snap Crackle and Pop were NOT on a box of Rice Krispies but on a box of “Rice Bubbles.” *Sigh*

As you can see I’ve had some interesting moments as an outsider here in Australia. A sense of humour is key in these situations as it can be quite frustrating. Thankfully I can look back on these moments and laugh as otherwise I’d be very angry and bitter. The old motto “It’s not wrong, just different” applies when you’re immersing yourself in a new culture. As similar as both our countries are, there are still some differences, and it’s the subtle differences that are the hardest to adapt to.