The parents of the boy I babysat this summer told me that Australia was like Wisconsin. This is false. So here are some things that I have learned and observed about Australian culture. I will hopefully keep updating this post as I do more things and travel to more places, so try to check back here once in a while!

Aussie Slang
-Goon = cheap boxed wine, therefore goon bag = slappin’ the bag
-Flying fox = zip line
-Maccas = McDonald’s
-Sunnies = sunglasses
-Brekkie = breakfast
-Lemonade = Sprite-ish type drink (We found this out the hard way when Sidra bought lemonade and we almost choked on it because we didn’t expect it to be so fizzy)
-Agro = aggressive (definitely the Aussie word I use most)
-Take away = to go (like take your food to go at a restaurant)
-Rubbish bin = trash can

Way of Life
-All stores and businesses close around 5 or 6 pm because Australians value time for relaxation and play
-Australians are WAY quieter than Americans. Our advisor warned us of this but it is amazing how loud Americans really are
-Travel is highly regarded in Australian society and almost everyone, adults and children, travel frequently. It is expected of students to take a gap year between high school and college to travel domestically and internationally
-Everyone in Sydney is very fit, probably because their portion sizes are way smaller than in the US
-When dancing in clubs, everyone kind of does their own thing and jumps around; there is not a lot of partner dancing like there is in the States
-People are very relaxed and laid back in Australia. They never seem pressed for time or in a rush to get somewhere
-The TV channels here are named after the number of the channel that they are on. For instance, instead of channel 21 being called the Discovery Channel, it would just be called Twenty-One in Aussie
-People here are very obedient of the crosswalk signs (probably because their cars drive on the wrong side of the road) and it is rare to see someone cross the street when the little green man is not illuminated

Fun Facts that I Learned in Class That I Thought You Might Want to Know
-The two animals on the Australian Coat of Arms are a kangaroo and an emu. Both of these animals are incapable of backwards movement, symbolizing Australia as a country that never backs down
-Australia’s land mass is almost equivalent to that of the US, but Australia only houses a population of 22 million, equal to the amount of people that work in New York City everyday
-The construction of the Opera House was funded by public money from the lottery and took 10 years to complete
-Some of the oldest proof of human life outside of Africa has been found in Australia
-The word “koala” means an animal that doesn’t drink water. It is estimated that there are only 2,000-8,000 koalas left in the world 😦
-A group of kangaroos is called a troop
-A baby platypus is called a puggle. Also male platypuses (platypi?) have a poisonous spike on their hind legs. I have to include a picture because they’re too cute