quicko: cake walks

Now possibly Australians do these all the time, but I've been here nearly six years and I've yet to be invited to a cake walk, so I'm going to go with the descriptor "not all that common" or else possibly "things we never invite Americans to."

quicko: specialized interests

One my Australian friends recently observed to me that Americans tend to have random, quirky, specialized interests.  I'm not sure how scientific this theory is, but I see what he's getting at.  There's the collections for one thing.  My mom has lots of pictures of chickens.  Another American friend collects everything moose related.  Most American households have at least one fish-themed bathroom, too, but potentially that's another blog post altogether.

Then there's hobbies.  My (Australian) boyfriend's sepak takraw obsession notwithstanding, Americans tend to have kind of quirky pastimes.  (Okay, now I go to think of them my mind's gone blank.  All I can come up with genuine anecdotal evidence of is racquetball, quilting and dumpster diving -- none of which are that unusual and all of which are also done here.)  I'll get back to you on precisely what.

Another realm is that of obscure knowledge.  I'll consider myself a prime example here.  I'm no expert, but I can still tell you everything I learned in elementary school (and I was a pretty darn good student) about Marie Curie, Marie Antoinette, Abigail Adams, Cleopatra, many American presidents and, for the clincher, Idaho.  (It's the Gem State.)

I'm sure you could argue all of this could apply in Australia, too, but, well, I'm not arguing that point at the moment.  It was a genuine comment from a genuine Australian that Americans are oddly intrigued ... and, well, I think I'm really kind of proud of it.

comic: from the doghouse diaries

This hits eerily close to home in more ways than one ...

(Obviously this isn't my work ... it comes from The Doghouse Diaries.)

quicko: overt christianity

Another Garry noticed a lot in America was the more overt Christianity -- particularly billboards, highway statues of Jesus (yep, that one on 1-75), etc.  One that really stood out was a sign targeting models and actors for Christ ... hmmm ...

quicko: flashing yellow

This was one of my favorites of Garry's questions while we were in America:  he wanted to know what that flashing yellow lights meant on the roads.  I explained they were just for caution; to warn drivers that there was a dangerous intersection.  He'd thought they were all broken.

quicko: garry's thoughts on food

We arrived back in Australia safe and sound after three weeks in America, and, what do you know, Garry had a few thoughts on American food.  You can check them out here.

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: things americans are funny about

There's a handful of things that have cropped over the years that I always thought everyone was edgy about, but it turns out the Australians I've been around haven't been remotely phased by.  For instance:

--mail.  If it's not yours, you can't possibly open it.  Mail is like legal documents -- it's illegal to go messing with it if it isn't yours.  (Hence, I refuse to throw out junk mail addressed to my flatmate.)

--going into grocery stores with items previously purchased from the same establishment.  Freaks Americans out -- they'll think we stole it and we'll get in trouble if we can't find the receipt wadded up in the bottom of our bags.  Hence, one also always keeps one's receipts wadded up in the bottoms of our bags.  You never know, you know.

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: 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!

link: midwest v. coast

One of my friends recently posted this on facebook -- I was drawn because the the graphic shows "Greetings from Ohio!" with a picture of Iowa's shape and a slogan for Idaho:  "The great potato state."  Upon closer inspection, "Iowa" has various Ohio cities such as Cleveland, Akron and Toledo, as well as Idaho's capital Boise and a couple actual Iowan cities (Davenport and Des Moines).  I thought it was great because it sums up most Australians' understandings of American geography perfectly:  "oh, yes, you're from Ohio?  I have a brother in Oregon, is that nearby?"  Utah, Iowa, Idaho and Ohio seem to particularly throw people, as does the idea that you can be in the Midwest and still be in the same time zone as New York, as does the idea that all the states in the Midwest aren't exactly near each other.  "Minnesota?" I'll be forced to discuss.  "Well, I, um, suppose it's not as far from Cincinnati as Kansas, but I might not quite call it 'my neck of the woods,' either."

Anyway, the article itself is interesting, too:  it's written by a Kiwi sharing her perspective on Americans' great "cultural divide." She's referring to the "liberal coasts" v. "conservative center" debate, though I'd be curious to hear if she gleaned anything about the "north" v. "south" debate as well.  Check it out!

http://jezebel.com/#!5792535/the-specious-midwest-v-coastal-elites-debate

quicko: backrub lines

I've only ever encountered these in America.  The concept of a group of people sitting in a row and giving a backrub to the person in front of them seems to be mostly high school sort of thing, though, so quite possibly it's done here, too, but I just came over a bit late.

ohio

I grew up in Ohio, which is clearly a state that has people clawing to get out of it. First we had the Wright Brothers, and then we had Neil Armstrong. Thank goodness Edison’d lit up the place first, or we’d all have died in darkness.

Usually when I meet people I try to keep the Ohio bit under wraps and leave it that I live "six hours south-east of Chicago, which is practically a suburb in American distances," but sometimes the truth comes out. Generally the listener pauses thoughtfully and goes, "Ohio. That’s in the Midwest, isn’t it?" and then smiles, pleased as punch at having genuine assurance his geographical skills are so finely attuned. Occasionally I hear someone’s got a brother-in-law in Michigan or even a cousin in Oregon. Is that close? Recently a woman gushed, "Ohio! How romantic!," a notion I would have liked to preserve, except that the hysterical laughter got slightly in the way. My favorite, though, was a student who thought for a second, then bravely ventured, "Aloha!"

It all backfires, of course, when I meet another American. Half the time I’m so busy placing myself south-east of Chicago that I don’t recognize an ex-pat until they stop me, "Are you talking Kentucky? What city? I’m from Columbus." At which point I ‘fess up to living significantly north of Kentucky, halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton, but really having been born in Boston. And then we forget about Boston and talk about Graeter’s and Skyline and King’s Island until someone interrupts and asks if Cleveland isn’t in Ohio, too? He remembers something vaguely with Drew Carey that he’d never understood until now.

It’s terribly exciting to meet another American abroad, though, and even better to work with one. One of my co-workers is from Missouri but married an Aussie, and has taught me numerous essential bits of Australiana like that jumping jacks are called star jumps, that estrogen is spelled estroegen and that Freddos are wonderful chocolate frog treats, though the strawberry Freddos don’t sell as well as the caramel, or even the honey. And then we talk about Jolly Ranchers and Halloween and how we both cry when we hear "Proud to Be an American," even though we don’t like country music.

Sometimes it’s the little things that I miss, like Bath and Body Work’s vanilla bean soap, tampons with plastic applicators and paying $1.98 for a hot chocolate with free whipped cream at Panera. Sometimes I wish they’d all just drop the annoying accents and talk normal, and, gosh, couldn’t they just switch to Fahrenheit and pounds while they’re at it? Sometimes my head hurts and even the Tylenol I brought over with me isn’t doing the trick and my mom’s too far away to help. Sometimes it’s 5 pm and I want to call home, but I don’t because it’s 3 am there. And sometimes I remember my family is on the other side of the world, and missing me and loving me, and then I think about them, and miss them and love them, too.