I thought I’d dedicate this blog to the things about Australia that are a bit bizarre to the British senses.
Sight. So the glaringly obvious first then, Summer = Winter and vise versa, therefore January = hot, so for the next year I will be seasonally disturbed. Unlike the perfectly tamed country side of England, here it’s more like the environment controls us. The weather dictates your living so much more. I mean walking anywhere is pretty suicidal when it is so hot, as indicated by the fact that 2 in 3 Australians will get skin cancer by the time they are 70a. And to get anything to grow in such a harsh environment takes a lot of money (which is probably why food is so expensive). You also kind of need to wear sunglasses when you go outside as the light is soo intense (so a risk of eye cancer too).
Sound. ‘‘G’day mate’’ ok this iconic phrase of Ozzie’s isn’t actually that common, and no one really puts ‘shrimps on the Barbie’ unless it’s Christmas time or something. The accent though, is amusing as they raise the end of the sentences so everything seems like a question or they tag on an affirmative ‘Hey.’ You don’t use the greeting ‘are you alright?’ (or its derivatives) because they think you are implying something is wrong with them. The sounds of the animal kingdom are not so much sweet chirrups and lazy buzzing that resonate through and England, more so high pitched screeches and wails. Anyway it’s the things that make no noise that you want to be wary of.
Touch. Don’t touch anything, it’s probably poisonous. Period.
Smell. Barbeque (BBQ) breakfasts, yup who would have guessed this was possible; well I was certainly shocked anyway. I must point out that the top of the public BBQ’s are a sheet of flat metal so you can indeed cook eggs on them (a feat unlikely on the griddled variety). Also, I had BBQ pizza (the literal version not the barbeque sauce variety) the other day, using a flat ‘hot stone’ thus cooking the whole pizza evenly, and boy did it taste nice!
Taste. Chocolate tastes different as there is a different recipe required for it to withstand the heat and the milk is sourer. So yea you can pick up your standard Cadbury’s chocolate bar but don’t be expecting the same taste as the one you’d get in England. The ‘life’ of natural food here is reduced too, so fruit is kept in the fridge.
In summary you wonder why anyone would choose to live here in this chaos and uncivilised environment, quite different from what one finds in fair old England. But with the white sandy beaches on your door step, everyday an excuse to have a ‘barbie,’ and the much more laid-back life style, it sure is a nice change.
Bibliography - I feel obliged (or more accurately trained) to reference my statements.
a. http://www.cancer.org.au/cancersmartlifestyle/SunSmart/Skincancerfactsandfigures.htm
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