quicko: election upcoming

So this last weekend the Australian government announced an election.  For September.  2013.

(Yep, that'd be roughly a month out.)

Somehow, suddenly, it hit someone:  time to vote!  Make haste, make haste!

And so, on September 7, all Australians are required to vote.

At least this time they get to vote instead of having the leaders of various parties go changing it all around on them willy-nilly some drizzly (or sunny, it doesn't really seem to matter) morning.  Wonder how long it'll all last this time.

Incidentally, it is a pretty contentious decision coming up.  Basically (as I think is usually the case worldwide) nobody remotely likes either of the two major candidates (though, again, it's not the candidates, but the party, the people are voting for ... though you wouldn't really know that from the campaigns ... not that I've actually really noticed either campaign, but my friends are certainly vocal in their sentiments).  Not sure who will win, but I get the impression nobody's going to be happy about it.

quicko: in a similar vein

Here's not so much an article (though I read it, mistaking it for one) but a long collection of comments on the same topic as this blog -- cultural differences between America and Australia.  I think you've got to sign in to google to keep reading most of it (??), but it's an interesting read.  Naturally there's parts I concur with and parts I don't ... some places where one country's a bit too shortchanged or a bit too overstated ... but on the whole, fascinating.

quicko: undersold ...

I find this truly bamboozling (and quite possibly my best answer to "what's the strangest Australian custom?" to date):  the number of times I've been sold less than what I wanted to buy.  Generally this involves hot chocolate and an "American small" (AKA "large" here) that I wish to purchase ... when, suddenly, somehow, I discover that I've been persuaded to buy an "American microscopic" (AKA "regular" here).  Here I was, prepared to pay, set to spend, ready to retail and, presto!  More cash in my wallet and less chocolate in my tummy.  As I said, truly bamboozling.

quicko: servings

At dinner in American homes, the table is set and there are various dishes served on the table -- meat, vegetables, salad, etc. -- that are passed around and everyone takes what they want.  There's generally a fair few leftovers at the end that make, say, lunch the next day.

In Australia, though, the standard is for each plate to be individually dished up in the kitchen by whoever prepares the meal and everyone is given a set amount of food that simply, I am told, becomes the amount of food you want for dinner that night.  Leftovers are rarer and generally along the lines of "the sausages came in a pack of 10 but there are 4 people who each ate 2 so we'll put 2 away for later."

quicko: pseduo-bridal photos

It's a funny pet peeve to have, but I've been getting annoyed lately with all the brides I see around the Sydney Observatory.  Oh, it's not the real brides that bother me.  They're happy and glowing and perfectly entitled to be there.  It's the fake ones.

How do you know they're fake?  You know they're fake because you see them on a Tuesday afternoon.  Or a Wednesday.  Or a Monday.  With a groom, a photographer, perfect lighting and no one else.  Real brides come with entourages.  On weekends.  Regardless of it's perfect lighting or not, because they picked the day months prior when they couldn't guarantee it wouldn't rain at 5 pm.

No, the brides I see are the ones running about getting fake photos before the real event -- in fake dresses!!  Dresses that can be rented for the photo shoot (photos from which will most likely appear at the actual wedding, say, in the order of service or on placecards or something)!  For goodness sake, you want the real dress -- and that's why you take so many photos on the actual, real day!

I'm all for photos on real wedding days -- but no more of these highly orchestrated hoaxes.  When you see a girl in a bridal gown, you ought to be able to gush because you know she's a real bride -- not an imposter who's getting a whole 'nother day to herself two months down the track.

quicko: salt water pools

In Australia, some pools are salt water pools.  As in, in apartment complexes, sometimes they get salt water instead of chlorinated water.  I had no idea!

quicko: to drink or not to drink

As a non-drinker, I find this ... really unfortunate, but it seems that there is a very definite percentage of the Australian (generally male) population that feels it cannot go "out" without drinking.  Some would prefer to stay in than venture out and have to avoid alcohol.  I suppose there's probably a group for whom this is also true in America, but my impression is that it's a larger percentage of the population here.

quicko: role reversal

I find it funny that in America the male "tradie" (i.e., construction worker, etc.) is stereotypically thought to be the lewd, leering sort ... whereas in Australia he'd have distinct competition from many of the girls oogling him!

quicko: pros

Having just spent a month abroad, and half of it in the U.S., I figured a list of pros of both places makes sense.  I have a feeling I might have mentioned some of these before ... possibly repeatedly ... but hey.  I've been on vacation.  You should be happy just to get a break from all those photos!  So, without further ado:

Australia:
--scenery
--accents
--work-life balance
--4 weeks annual leave
--superannuation
--more ability to travel
--dates written reasonably
--tax built into prices
--tipping non-essential
--higher education paid for by government
--public transportation
--safe
--cool money

America:
--prices
--floors in elevators numbered reasonably
--easy to have pets
--more cities
--more cultural events
--celebrate holidays fully
--can eat, shop, etc. 24/7
--diversity
--easy to have a car
--hay rides and pumpkin patches
--college campus experience
--snow
--good passport to have

quicko: scooting by

This seems really odd, but there are actually lots of adults (generally men) who ride scooters around on the sidewalks.  They look ridiculous, but don't seem to realize it!

quicko: differences

I like to think I've come to a point now where I'm reasonably able to take a step back from both American and Australian cultures and pick elements of both that I like and both that I dislike.  I've never been known as the most unbiased of individuals, though, so here's my very subjective opinion on various matters:

--I prefer the Australian system of quoting prices with tax included.  It is a pain to go back to having to add it in.
--I also think they're really on to something with the whole dollar coin and no penny.  Makes way more sense.
--However, Americans charge way less tax, which is of course highly preferable.
--Tipping.  Okay, Australians, you win.  I'm with you.  I think waiters and waitresses should be paid decently ($14 an hour to start!  Man, you do pay well!).  However, Australians, I am also convinced that you must suck it up and ACTUALLY TIP (15%!) when you are in America!
--American customer service (airlines, particularly United, excepted) is way better in general.
--American accents really do exist.  And they really can be egregious.
--Australian food courts are much healthier -- more sushi, salads, juices, multi-cultural cusine; less McDonalds, Wendy's, Arby's (delicious though it is!) and greasy such places.
--Australian portion sizes really are healthier.  Though American ones definitely give you your money's worth, which is far more than I can say for Australian ones.
--The on/off switches Australians have on their "power points" (aka outlets) I'm undecided about.  They do seem potentially safer, yet they're a bit of a pain.  Hmmm.
--The system of labeling floors for elevators is odd in Australia (and Europe).  The American way (starting with, are you sitting down?, the number 1) makes way more sense.
--The Australian (and European) system of dates going dd-mm-yyyy does actually make more sense.
--But ... I don't care how much sense Metric makes, I'm an Imperial girl all the way.  5,280 feet in a mile, 1,760 yards in a mile, 8 ounces in a cup, 2 cups in a pint, 2 pints in a quart, 4 quarts in a gallon.  0 degrees is REALLY cold, 100 is really hot, 32 is freezing, 212 is boiling, 98.6 is normal for a person, what could be simpler?  Honestly!

quicko: radio

Did you know that in Australia it is technically on the rulebooks that you're not supposed to play the radio in a workplace unless you've paid for it?  I had no idea.  Is it like that in America too and I just didn't know?

quicko: barefoot in the park

Australians are much more likely to go barefoot than Americans -- just walking down the street, out in public or even -- oh horrors! -- on the bus.

quicko: rotting lunches

So even though I have a new job, I still happen to remember a thing or two about my old one.  And one of these things is that some people would bring their --carnivorous -- lunches in the morning and not put them in the fridge!  They'd just let them sit out all day, and then eat them.  They assured me it was fine, no problem, didn't affect them.

Well, if that was the case, you'd just think they'd have had the strength to toss a small paper ball all the way to the recycling box.

quicko: you've got mail

Yesterday I got a package in the mail -- only, by in the mail I mean that it came via the postal service and ended up at the bottom of my stairs inside my apartment building.  Which is suspiciously not within the confines of my mailbox.

Now I admit this made it easier for everyone concerned -- the postie didn't have to lug it around town any farther and I didn't have to traipse up to the post office to retrieve it -- so I guess I'm happy enough with it, it's just that I find it slightly ... irresponsible.  What if it was a very important package?  What if it got stolen?  What if I was on vacation and it sat there for a week?

So, while currently all's well that ends well -- please be careful if you send me something vital in the mail!

quicko: parent-teacher conferences

I've been continually learning that, much as I want to, I can't just take one person's experiences for this blog and make them universally applicable to the country at large (universal country that it is).  Not that this stops me, but it does tend to result in getting later lambasted in the comments when it turns out I've talked to the one weirdo in the country.  Evidently I've recently had such an experience.

My co-worker was explaining at length about his parent-teacher conferences, if by at length you mean saying nothing about what was said but everything about how hot his English teacher was (runs in the profession, of course).  When he finally got to the end (gorgeous toes!) I asked why he'd been at the parent-teacher conference.  He said the kids always went along.

Which I repeated the next morning with shock and horror to an another Australian -- "so I hear you guys all go to your parent-teacher conferences, how odd is that!" -- only to have her explain that not everyone did that, and, while it might have been possible, it wasn't particularly encouraged.

And so, with one fell swoop, she destroyed my shock blog tabloid and made it ... well, what it is.  Sorry it wasn't more dramatic, but I guess all Australians aren't strange.

Just the one I sit next to each day.

quicko: weddings

Differences between American and Australian bridal festivities:

--the signing of the register takes place during Australian weddings, but before American ones
--the speeches are a bigger deal at Australian receptions
--there tend to be more Australians present at Australian weddings, go figure

update: backrub lines

No sooner did I blog that Australians don't do public backrubs then what to my wondering eyes should appear:

quicko: the nutbush

A great Australian dance tradition, I am told, stretching back thousands of years.

Either that or one of those tacky lines dances.  Your call.

quicko: gingerbread houses

So, I'm having a bit of an open house ...

No, really, isn't it cute?  (You have to say yes.  Go on.)

But really, here's the thing (did I mention this last year?):

Australians eat their gingerbread houses.  How wrong is that?

I actually tried my gables (how often can you say that?) and was amazed to realize they were kind of chewy.

Kind of chewy!  I'd never had gingerbread that wasn't stale, unless of course you mean real, homemade gingerbread which is very different and one of my all-time top ten favorite desserts.