adventures with Australian culture

[laurenhat]

I love the moments when traveling where you can’t tell what’s part of the foreign culture and what’s just a misunderstanding. At least, I love them afterwards.

Comments

[rednikki]

The Australian tendency to end sentences on an upward tone is also something that happens here in California, although in a slightly different way.

Recommendation if you're still in Sydney: GO TO HARRY'S CAFE DE WHEELS! Hit the original in Wooloomooloo. They are THE quintessential meat pie place. It's not that they're the best ever, but they're more like...oh, like going to Pink's if you're in LA. It's the definitive experience.

The thing that super-confused me the first time I went to Australia was that the word "hotel" referred to a bar.

When I went to Australia the first time, in 2000, it was just when McDonalds was testing the "McCafe" concept down there. The idea that McDonalds would serve a cappuccino was totally bizarre to me. Of course, I believe it's made it across the pond at this point.

Also, in case you haven't run into it yet, they put beets on their burgers. And they think it's strange that we don't! How can you eat a burger without beets?!?

The way birds chirp there sounded so foreign to me that the sound, more than anything else, let me know I was not home.

Sorry, I love love love Australia and could talk about it for weeks. Are you going to NZ too?

[laurenhat]

I am back in the U.S. at this point, but I did get to experience beet(root) on burgers while there. :) I also had a meat pie, though not a great one, unfortunately. I'll have to go back for more sometime! And to visit NZ, which I didn't hit this time around. My best friend lives in Adelaide, so I plan to go back to the region periodically.