I spent the majority of 2017 working and traveling in Australia. In my travels, I noticed how Texans and Australians love football.
My Aussie friends waxed on about footy (Australian rules football) the way the older men in town go over Friday night football games during their Monday morning coffee clatches.
Still, it was quite a transition moving to a nation that on the surface, seemed so similar to the United States, but was entirely different.
For instance, they drive on the left side of the road; they have Christmas in 100-degree weather and kangaroos hop across the interstate like deer do on Milam County roads.
My biggest challenge down under was the communication barrier.
I remember I would walk through Cole’s (not a clothing store), Woolworth’s (Yes, they still have those) or Kmart (They still have those, too) and ask an employee: “Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering where I could find the bread?”
The clerk would stare at me confused, wondering why I would use so many words just to ask what aisle bread was on.
Although English is the national language, they had words I’d never heard before like “brekky” for breakfast, “arvo” (pronounced Au-ur-vo) for afternoon.
I spent a lot time staring at my text messages from my Aussie friends the way the clerks at the grocery stores looked at me.
When I came back home, it took me a while to adjust to American English.
“My car needs more petrol,” is an actual sentence I’ve said on U.S. soil.
Sometimes I catch myself slipping Aussie-isms into casual conversations. Every now and then, a cashier at the grocery store will say “thank you” and I’ll respond, “No worries, mate.”
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Top Three Road Trips in Australia
3. Great Ocean Road - This is a two-to-four day road trip with constant oceanside and mountainside views. It’s the perfect trip along the Southern Ocean between Melbourne and Adelaide.
2. Tasmania – This island stand, the size of South Carolina is located right below the bottom-right corner of continental Australia. It has beautiful forests, mountains and seaside towns.
1. Australia’s South West - About the size of Alaska, but with only 2.3 million people. Western Australia (WA) has some of the most beautiful untouched land in world and many clear-water and white sand beaches that are mostly quiet, except for the occasional kangaroo.
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