quicko: half-shaved

This naturally varies from person to person, but generally speaking American girls shave their calves and their thighs -- whereas I've noticed a fair few (classy, not tree-hugging) Australian girls who only shave below the knee.

quicko: shhh

I don't know if I can really claim this a sweeping generalization, but by and large I think American girls discuss their periods more openly/frequently than Australian girls.  My suspicion is that this has to do with the fact that most of us live together at college in quite close quarters and are just generally more comfortable with such things because we've gotten used to it more so than many Australians.

This example may also be idiosyncratic, but I have Australian girl friends who will keep their tampons firmly out of guest bathrooms to save themselves the embarrassment of anyone accidentally finding them ... whereas I think most American girls will keep products easily accessible in case any visiting girl needs to borrow some (without having to ask and thus create an even bigger scene).

quicko: good hair

Now I'm not the American that came up with this, but I see no need to disagree:  American girls have great hair.  What else is there to say?

quicko: 10 things i'll always love about you

Okay, it's not every day I re-watch 10 Things I Hate About You, but every time I do I remember why it's just one of those classic, can-never-go-wrong sorts of movies.  It's perfect if you're happy, sad, bored, lonely, ecstatic, jealous, put out, giggly, bouncing off walls, angry, neglected, stood up, frivolous, indulgent, lazy, sick, depressed, anxious, blase, trying to pick up an Australian accent, trying to pick up an Australian, slightly crazy, lots crazy, having fun, eating marshmallows, whatever.  It's just really hard to go wrong with 10 Things. 

It turns out that all the boys in Australia don't look or sound exactly like Heath Ledger, but, hey, moving here was worth a try, wouldn't you say?

For now, I'll content myself with 10 things to love about 10 Things:

10.  "The #$*% hath hitteth the fan."
9.  "Are you telling me I'm not a pretty boy?"
8.  "That's for making my date bleed, that's for my sister, and that's for me!"
7.  Life lesson:  if she owns black underwear, she wants to have sex.
6.  Life lesson:  paintball makes for the best first kisses.
5.  "Should you really be drinking if you don't have a liver?"
4.  "It's not every day you find a girl who'll flash someone to get you out of detention."
3.  "You're just too good to be true" accompanied by the marching band.
2.  "You're just too good to be true" accompanied by sneaking away from cops.
1.  Heath Ledger.

quicko: girls

The other day I was talking with a visiting American woman who asked what the biggest differences I'd noticed between American women and Australian women were.  I was actually quite stumped.  Seeing that I know probably significantly higher proportions of both American and Australian women to men, I really ought to have a seriously good answer.

Aside from Australian girls being less reluctant to "go" in the wild, used to tampons without applicators, somewhat better on the outdoor survival skills and, depending on the girl, generally a bit less creeped out by potentially dead lizards in coffee mugs, I haven't found a sweeping sort of girly generalization to make.  A bit more liberal, a bit more accepting of guys not leaving home until they're 30, a bit more interested in tradies (i.e., workmen) perhaps?

There's also the broad categories of being exceptionally well traveled, living in the city they grew up in and not being ridiculously gung-ho about their universities, but those are general culture and apply to the guys as well.  I suppose you'd be right to say Australian girls smoke a bit more, drink a lot more and swear a lot more than American girls.  Possibly you could argue that American girls are more concerned about body image -- but also have greater reason to be.  Plenty of exceptions on all sides of that one, though.

I don't know.  Anybody else have any more insightful thoughts?

quicko: hens and weddings

American girls have bachelorette parties before their weddings; Australian girls have hen's nights/days.  I've recently been invited to a hen's celebration and have been researching protocol to be sure I get it right.  It's a good thing, too, because it turns out they're slightly different.  This Australian party is an afternoon of fun scavenger hunting in the Rocks.  It has an admissions fee, though, I've thankfully just learned, no present/card requirement.  Thankfully because I could really have embarrassed myself, seeing as bachelorette parties are generally the time to bring the sauciest underwear imaginable for the bride-to-be.  (This can also be done at the American bridal shower -- and there are generally two; one for the friends to bring underwear and one for the relatives to bring practical things.  (The difference between the saucy bridal shower and the bachelorette party is that the shower has a wider guest list, is an afternoon sort of event well before the wedding and often includes silly games, etc.  The bachelorette party is more of a pajama party for a select number of close friends -- more of a night on the town affair just before the wedding.)  The Australian bridal shower equivalent is the kitchen tea, which is only like the latter type of American bridal shower.  I'm not exactly sure how Australian girls get their ... trousseaux, if you will ... but evidently it's not my job to provide too much of it for a friend.  I think ...)

quicko: girl stuff

So you have to go to a drugstore (aka chemist's) if you want to get a tampon with an applicator, and the plastic ones don't even exist, unless you've been smart and stocked up on Kotex while you were home.

While Australian girls don't seem to mind the lack of applicators, what it means in actual practice, alas, is (without getting too graphic about it), you've basically got to wash your hands before and after you go to the bathroom ... which is a bit excessive, to my way of thinking. At least I'm good and stocked up on the Purell, too.