Aussie-isms

Quick stats:

• 2 movies watched (good job Laika on Missing Link)
• 2 books read
• finally calculated how many seasons of TV I’ve watched while here… and it’s a lot. 40+! So… that’s I think why the books & movie stats have been lower than they were in the beginning. 😀
• 2 house plants killed (I think one may be salvageable… not I think I’m being optimistic)

So took it easy this week since I’ve been travelling a bit lately. It’s a bit rainy this week too so it was easy to just chill out at home again. I’ll be hitting the road again soon, so I’ll enjoy the calm before the storm while I can.

It’s super basic but I was keen to go to my first Aussie sausage sizzle. It’s basically a fundraising BBQ. This last weekend was their national elections, and almost all polling places have a sausage sizzle going on. Just super simple, sausage in plain white bread (why pay for a hot dog bun when a loaf of bread is so cheap?) with grilled onions for a whopping $2.50. I went to a local primary school so this sizzle and bake sale was for the school itself. This being Melbourne, they also had vegan/halal offerings and a proper espresso machine too! Sheesh. Voting is mandatory ($50 fine for those that don’t participate) so folks pretty much make it out. They make it easy and you can mail in and I was visiting a friend that just gave birth and voting groups were going room-to-room doing ballots for those new parents that’d be too busy to make it out on Election Day. So smart!

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I heard this before but I think Australia is the Canada of the South. The base level of politeness and chillax is wonderful. That’s been lacking from the States lately so it’s nice to see cordiality again.

Thought I could share the few Aussie-isms that I’ve experienced and love. I’ve already shared quite a few, like the Ute that makes me smile whenever I see it on the road (which is rather often), all their furry-yet-deadly creatures, meat pies galore, parents-with-prams parking and also Malaysian food up the wazoo.

• The ubiquitous “How you going?” from everyone. Baristas, cashiers, shop workers, Uber drivers, etc. It’s just SO Aussie and I love it. It’s ever so slightly not what is said in the States that it’s just a charming getting all their own.
• I know they’re not the only country to do this, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE not having to tip ever here. Folks are paid a fair living wage everywhere, and tax is always included in the totals you see on the price lists, so all totals are nice round numbers too. They eliminated 1 and 2 cent coins back in the early 90s. This is already a signal to how pragmatic they are about things here. (Side note:
• It’s small but I’ve noticed that folks tend to sit in the front seat in Ubers/cabs here. It’s a minor difference but sort of nice. You get to chatting with the driver pretty fast that way and it doesn’t seem as ‘business’. I guess not everyone wants that, but it’s just interesting to note.
• The slang! Shortening of most things and funnily enough, sometimes lengthening of things! For example for names:
  • Barry = Bazza
  • Jon = Jono, Dan = Danno, Jack = Jacko
  • Jason = Jase
• For just general stuff the list of slang is endless:
  • Afternoon = Arvo
  • Sandwich = Sanga/Sammie, Stubbie = Beer
  • Tradesmen = Tradie, Electrician = Sparky, Carpenter = Chippie, Bricklayer = Brickie
  • Shout = spot / cover the cost
  • Bottle shop = Bottle o’s (where you buy booze since you can’t buy liquor in grocery stores)
• Being in the Commonwealth, there are a ton of British-isms that many folks don’t even seem to know if it is a British-ism or a uniquely Aussie thing.
  • Lawyer = Solicitor
  • Fairy lights = any string lights
  • Footie = Soccer
  • Plaster = Bandage (ala Band-Aid)
  • Not sure if this is British, but for neighborhoods, they say the direction after the place, e.g. I live in St Kilda East. Watch movies near Carleton North. Pub trivia in Collingwood North. Yet it’s not consistent either, but it is funny that the direction is after the place name.

There are a few Melbourne only bits I love too. Endless superb coffee available everywhere. I wish I could handle more than two cups a day, but even at that, it’d take me ages to cover all the cafes in this town.

• Milk Bars – I guess back in the 90s or so, grocery stores weren’t open too late so everyone had these smaller local grocers where they could go get milk, bread or something quick. At first I was confused that folks here really liked to drink milk, that they needed these milk bars all over the place. They’re sadly mostly closed down as most grocery chains are now open until midnight. You can still see remnants of those older shops all over the place.

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Otherwise, nothing too exciting going on. I actually went on a run the other day, so that’ll be a nice way to explore town too. Glad it’s mostly flat in this city. 🙂 But if anyone knows how much I dislike running, that’s no small thing. Gotta balance out all that TV binge-ing a little bit and you can’t complain about it costing nothing at all to do.

Finally collected enough frames from Op Shops to put up a gallery wall in my living room. I love seeing familiar faces everyday and it makes my apartment feel more like home with pictures everywhere!

I’m out of town all next week seeing a bit of the countryside outside of Melbourne so that’ll be exciting. Gonna explore a nearby national park and maybe see some wildlife too!

Until then, miss everyone!