Fun Aussie facts 'n shit

Some things that are new and different, and things I've learned being here a month that I though y'all at home may find of interest.

What we know as a Red Pepper (or yellow or green) Aussies call a "Capsicum"

They have a blanket term for all squash, which confused the hell out of me the first day. They call them all all Pumpkins. Threw me off when they were giving me "pumpkin bread" with my sausages.

They hate this shit. This shit we know to be Cilantro, which they know to be Coriander. There are Facebook pages about how much they loathe it.

Arugula. They call it "Rocket." Cute, eh?

 

And the worst, is our Oregano. We say or-egg-an-o. They say or-ah-gaaaahhh-no. I think of that Wingardium Leviosa line and giggle every time. I thought my roommate was kidding for about a week when he would order extra extra or-ah-gaaaahhh-no on his pizza. Precious Aussies.

Other differences: Australians party hard. There are a lot of uppers going around all the time (ex, molly, ritalin, adderall...) and they all drink like fish and smoke even more. According to Scott, they were all late bloomers. Remember those girls in high school who were angels and didn't touch a drop of alcohol or ever try a cigarette? Remember how now you see pictures of those girls in college next to bath tubs full of vodka bottles with smeared red lipstick and a Busch Light in each hand? It's kind of like that but not trashy or that over the top. They were all just good kids in high school, and party pretty hardy now. This isn't everyone, but it's a lot of those guys you see in suits during the day. The secret life of the business Aussie.

They also all travel. A lot. Partially due to the fact that their minimum wage is nearly $17 an hour or something. Cost of living is high here, as they pay by the fortnight, and a case of cheap shitty beer is between $50-80. Sunscreen here is $25 a bottle for god's sake, but their wages make them pretty wealthy when they pop over to America and the rest of the world. Pretty cool. Also their Medicare system is badass, as are their schooling systems. And they have strict gun laws, and have only had like one case of abduction combined with rape/murder in like 10 years or some insane shit. Everyone is nice and everyone is wholesome (with the usual exceptions, of course). They just like to have a good time.

Bogans. Guys, seriously. You would love them. They are the Australian equivalent of rednecks/white trash combo. These are the most quoted YouTube videos ever here, and I've seen the train station one happen in real life. I swear it. Pure gold.

Trent from Punchy

&

Damo and Darren 'Train Station'

I'm learning to speak Bogan quite fluently these days, thanks to Damo and Darren here. I here "gimme me loyyytahh" from rando people all the time! Everyone quoting it. Feelin' like I fit in now that I'm good at it. I can say "yah fahking cahnt!" quite fluently now- peoples are impressed. Sorry Mom and Dad :)

Other things...milo. Everyone loves milo. Milo and sausages. Well, not together. But multiple times a day. And meat pies. Meat pies with ketchup.

Delicious. Like healthy, protein-filled hot chocolate. Also yummy cold. Scott's roommate, Scotty, would have equal parts milo, equal parts milk. 1:1. Or 1:1:1 with Nutella. Fuck, right?

I like American sausages better. I miss me a good breakfast sausage. Sigh.

So. Goddamn. Good. America, you need to catch onto this trend. They have a chain called "Pie Face" where they sell all kindsa pies. With faces. Adorable.

And yes, these guys (among others) are everywhere.

<3

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