Cultural Differences

So, I’ve been meaning to compile a list of some of the differences in culture here, both Australia-wise and college-wise, just for your interest and for me to remember, but every time I think about adding it to the end of a blog entry, the entry is already way too long. Therefore, here is a whole entry devoted to Aussie/Sydney-isms. :)

- You can’t ask for a “coffee” here - people will think you are weird. Australians are apparently huge coffee snobs and you order either a long black (I guess like a normal strong coffee), a flat white (kind of like a latte), or a short black (espresso shot). There are also all kinds of other drinks, like normal lattes, hot chocolate (which is SO GOOD), macchiatos, ristrettos, and cappuccinos, and no matter what your drink is, when you get it they will put a pretty pattern on the top of it in cocoa or milk or something. Maybe this is why you can rarely find a cup of coffee for less than 3 dollars.
- Along those lines, there are cafes literally EVERYWHERE. And every single one has the most amazing baked goods ever. It is very difficult to restrain myself. Every McDonalds has something called a “McCafe” next to it where they sell all the above drinks and all sorts of little baked goods and stuff. They are really cute.
- Junk food here basically comes in a ton more varieties and just seems a lot higher quality than US junk food. The varieties of candy here are AMAZING. There are literally like ten different kinds of kit kat bars (mint, double chocolate, café latte, cookies and cream…the list goes on), and a gazillion kinds of Cadbury chocolate, and brands of candy that don’t exist in the US at all. Also, they have these chocolate biscuit cookies called Tim-Tams that are basically heaven in a little cookie. And they come in like eight different flavors too. I will have to try to bring some back!
- There are no pennies here. There are also no one dollar bills. Instead, there are one and two dollar coins. This is awesome because when you have a ton of change in your purse, in the US, it adds up to like 3 dollars, but here, you dump out your change and you’re like whoa, I have TWENTY BUCKS. Hahaha
- There is no sales tax or tipping - anywhere! It makes going out to dinner with friends SO much easier because you literally just pay for your meal and don’t have to figure out tip. At first I thought that is why everything is so expensive, but it really doesn’t make up for the exorbitant costs of food here.
- However, the reason for this is that the minimum wage in Sydney is SIXTEEN DOLLARS, apparently. Maybe I should get a job. Like right now.
- The Internet is slower here than home, and there are all sorts of stupid firewalls. Also we have to pay for our internet use by the megabyte, which is incredibly antiquated. This is one area in which the US wins over Australia - definitely more technologically advanced.
- Toilets here have a “half flush” button and a “full flush” button because Sydney has been in a drought for a while. It was really confusing at first…haha
- Instead of asking “What’s up?” or “How are you doing?” a typical greeting is “How are you going?”
- When you push the button to cross the street, it makes this high-pitched beeping noise, and then when it turns to the “walk” sign, it makes what can only be described as a galactic noise. If you would like to hear it yourself, please see my mother, as she literally recorded it. *smothered laugh*
- Almost all dogs just kind of wander along by their owners and are never on leashes.
- It’s called “uni” here, never college!
- The university is seen more as a working environment than a community. Most people at USyd commute there from the suburbs and still live with their parents! Out of the 45,000 people going there, my estimate is that only about 2000 actually live on or walking distance from campus.
- Girls aren’t engineers here. Like, at all. Except for my Materials class, which has other American girls in it studying abroad like me, I am literally the only white female in my engineering classes. Kind of unnerving. The guys don’t know what to do at all, either…the other day I walked past a full lecture hall and kind of did a double take because it was ALL guys, and then suddenly everyone was staring at me, like “what is she doing here?” (or maybe it was like “OH MY GOD A GIRL”, I don’t really know)
- People are incredibly competitive, to the point where it is obnoxious, and also have no concept of privacy in grades. When an assignment is handed back, complete strangers will come up to you asking what you got. It’s kind of weird.
- It is expected that the professor will actually fail about 30 percent of the class. (I am NOT OKAY WITH THIS.)
- The final exam is always worth more than 50%, and is typically 60 or 70 percent of your grade! (also not okay with that.)
- In clubs, they do not play music with words. It is called house music, not techno, apparently. I have already complained about this so I won’t talk about it again. :)
- There are some great phrases here that are distinctly Aussie, especially when spoken in that great accent. Whining is “whingeing” - I love it when people are like “stop whingeing!” People say aluminium, not aluminum. (and AL-u-min-ium sounds infinitely cooler) Instead of saying “no problem”, people will ALWAYS say “no worries” or sometimes “no worries, mate”. They call English people “PoMEs” which stands for “Prisoners of Mother England.” Hahaha
- They play a lot of American music here, but it’s always hits from like three months ago, or even a year ago. Which is great, because I haven’t heard them in a while!

Wow, as you can see, that is kind of a long list. The culture here is deceptive - you think that because this is an English speaking country, it’s pretty much the same as America, but there are a lot of subtle differences that have become more and more evident to me!


Anyway, I got to see Larissa's dad tonight because he's here for APEC, and we went to Blackbird Cafe, which was awesome as usual. Also, it was SO cool seeing how the whole White House press pool works. Plus, they are all staying at the same hotel that Mom and Nick stayed at!

Tomorrow night, I go to Cairns to explore the rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef for the weekend. I am SO EXCITED! Now, to just finish that impossible program first...

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