weird things aussies do

Zambia

The mark of a good pub is its chicken Parma.

Cookie_Monster

smoko

Slidey

The family stickers on the rear windows of their cars.

What's that all about?

Zambia

Pretty sure thats a worldwide thing...

Slidey

Ah right, hadn't seen it in Ireland so assumed it was just here

STIG83

Walking around in their bare feet!!

Testament1

STIG83 wrote: »

Walking around in their bare feet!!

I do that myself so wouldnt really say its that weird! Also prefer driving the car barefoot too

lg123

Zambia wrote: »

The mark of a good pub is its chicken Parma.

Or lack of

Slidey

Drinking Milo by the bucket load.

3 table spoons in a cup with some milk. Diabetes central

Mellor

Testament1 wrote: »

I do that myself so wouldnt really say its that weird! Also prefer driving the car barefoot too

Driving the car barefoot is one thing.
Walking about a shopping centre that's nowhere near the beach is very different.

markymark21

The way they abbreviate everything does my head in. Musician? Nah, let's call it a 'muso'. or an ambulance? 'ambo',

lg123

markymark21 wrote: »

The way they abbreviate everything does my head in. Musician? Nah, let's call it a 'muso'. or an ambulance? 'ambo',

Australia, where syllables are at a premium!

rightyabe

Fireies for fireman...WTF!!

buffalo909

Fair Dinkum! Thought only Alf Stewart said that before I came here...something that bugs me is how one set of fans will boo the others song/arrival onto the pitch for a lot of NRL games and State of Origin series.

Testament1

Mellor wrote: »

Driving the car barefoot is one thing.
Walking about a shopping centre that's nowhere near the beach is very different.

True enough. Dont have any problem with it myself though I dont know how they do it on hot days as the ground can give your feet a fair scorching those days!

L1011

Not bothering with formalities - was migrating data from an Aussie made medical system and they have "left butt" and "right butt" as injection sites. Suspect we'd get hung by some customers if we did the same here...

Iwannahurl

Irish culture tends to be informal, but the Aussies take it to a whole new level. Add in their straight talking and pragmatism and you have quite a combination.

And then there's the adoration of footie and footie players.

One cutural experience I found remarkable when I was in Oz last year was the public reaction to the death of Jim Stynes.

I had never heard of him before, and so I was completely taken by surprise.

He got a state funeral in St Paul's Cathedral, with the premier of Victoria and an Anglican archbishop in attendance. The service was broadcast live on several TV and radio channels, and 15-20,000 people lined the funeral route or gathered in Federation Square to watch the service on giant screens. The Age printed a special 10-page supplement to mark the occasion.

And in the middle of all that public grief and adulation, there's Stynes's friend and former AFL professional Gary Lyon swearing merrily in the cathedral in front of the Archbishop and Premier, broadcast live of course.

Pisco Sour

Iwannahurl wrote: »

One cutural experience I found remarkable when I was in Oz last year was the public reaction to the death of Jim Stynes.

I had never heard of him before, and so I was completely taken by surprise.

Virtually everybody in Victoria knows who Jim Stynes is. You don't need to care about the sport to know who he is. It would be like living in Buenos Aires and never knowing who Diego Maradona is (slight exaggeration but you get my point).

catbear

Checking bags in shops, a left over from prison routine?

Iwannahurl

Pisco Sour wrote: »

Virtually everybody in Victoria knows who Jim Stynes is. You don't need to care about the sport to know who he is. It would be like living in Buenos Aires and never knowing who Diego Maradona is (slight exaggeration but you get my point).

Stynes left Ireland in 1984. I wasn't really paying much attention then.

Zambia

catbear wrote: »

Checking bags in shops, a left over from prison routine?

Occasionally I get the sh1ts with this depending on the day I am having.

Them: Excuse me sir can I see inside your bag ?

Me : Sure go ahead

Them: I'm sorry but I cant touch it myself

Me: Your gonna have a hard time searching then arent you ?

Slidey

I just waltz right passed them. 9 months here and I've not let them look in once.

If they want to accuse me of theft let them do it the official way

catbear

Slidey wrote: »

9 months here and I've not let them look in once

I was here a few months and as I was walking out of Target the lady at the door said "it's ok dear, I can tell you're not local", I've probably tanned a bit since!

fasttalkerchat

Slidey wrote: »

I just waltz right passed them. 9 months here and I've not let them look in once.

If they want to accuse me of theft let them do it the official way

I had my bags searched in NZ and was tempted to tell them to feck off but wasn't sure if they were allowed to detain you are not. This was in Pak'n'Save.

The weird thing was that My GF was outside with 2 bags so when they checked the receipt, there was stuff on the receipt I didn't have.

fasttalkerchat

woolymammoth wrote: »

I overheard someone onetime say that even opening a beer while driving in south australia was not illegal, but i would have to check that.. personally i'd find it hard to believe, but the aussies do love to drink & drive.

you know it's rampant when learners think nothing of it..

"$50,000 repair bill looms for P-plater"

Is it illegal in Ireland to drink beer while driving? Provided you stay under the limit of course.

Pisco Sour

A weird thing about here is that Australia really struggles to have much of a culture of its own. It’s basically just a big mix of borrowed cultures from elsewhere. This sort of spills over into a lack of patriotism. Italian-Aussies, Greek-Aussies, Vietnamese-Australians etc etc are more proud of being Italian, Greek, Vietnamese than they are of being Australian, even if they were born here and lived their entire life here.

Zambia

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Is it illegal in Ireland to drink beer while driving? Provided you stay under the limit of course.

I do not believe it is

Rubadubchub

Pisco Sour wrote: »

A weird thing about here is that Australia really struggles to have much of a culture of its own. It’s basically just a big mix of borrowed cultures from elsewhere. This sort of spills over into a lack of patriotism. Italian-Aussies, Greek-Aussies, Vietnamese-Australians etc etc are more proud of being Italian, Greek, Vietnamese than they are of being Australian, even if they were born here and lived their entire life here.

I agree that it is a big mixing pot of different cultures but i have actually found the opposite of this. Seem to talk to more Australians that believe they are 100% Aussie born and bred and they are very passionate about it to the extent that it can sometimes come across as racist. Especially with the younger generations.

AngryHippie

Considering the age of the country, it hasn't had much of a chance to develop culture of its own. It isn't steeped in centuries of tradition, Folk music, religion and sport. In its short history it has managed to develop traditions of its own, one of the Majors being the respect and support given to the Anzacs. Just go and visit a dawn ceremony on Anzac day if you don't think Australia has developed culture.
That said, in the area of the arts, it has both got its own culture and its own thriving arts scene, whether its in a capital city, right down to art exhibitions, live music and sports out in rural areas. I would go so far as to say it has quite a rich culture, even if it isn't entirely home-grown. Some examples below:

Sports: AFL, particularly in VIC & SA are huge, granted the level of professionalism, management and marketing involved make this borderline acceptable as being cultural. But the levels of support involved from the MCG right down to local footie comps would suggest that it is a huge and growing aspect of Aussie Culture.

Arts: The various film festivals, city festivals, local exhibition & show days, art galleries, live music festivals and vibrant music scenes in most urban centers around Aus always attract large crowds and are well supported by local and federal government.

While it may seem on a personal level that Generation Y are a bit obtuse about how Australian they are and take it as a point of pride, it isn't really that different from national sentiment in any country in the world. Until people reach a certain age (30 or so in my experience) they tend to bleat on about in order to bolster their own sense of belonging.

After this age, they are generally a bit tired of it and are content just to actively support rather than actively promote how Aussie or All Star American or English or British etc etc. that they are. In my opinion it is a hangover from the sentiment about it that they experienced at high school age.
In fairness to the Gen Y mob, I can see how it happens when immigration and cultural differences are always topics of debate and discussion both in the media and at a social level.

c0rk3r

markymark21 wrote: »

The way they abbreviate everything does my head in. Musician? Nah, let's call it a 'muso'. or an ambulance? 'ambo',

This has annoyed the bollock out of me whilst in Queensland, so much so that i nearly sought counselling. The word that was repeated constantly and used for every occassion was "rightyo" or "righto". Where i worked for 6months we used walkie talkies to communicate with each other from various locations around the facility. At the start of my shift id have to ask one of the lads in the Mill to turn a pump on or something else along those lines and without fail 95% of the times it would be meet by a "rightyo". Intially it didnt bother me but everyone using the radios would use it as a reply. Always ! Constantly! I mean ffs, come on mix it up a little. "sure i can do that", "no problem", "yeah no bother", "ill get that done", "sure thing". Anything... Anything but that word. It annoyed me so much that id occassionally turn the radio off and if someone needed me they could call me on a landline. Im going back there again for another 6month contract in May/June... I'll have to bring up the issue at the induction / welcoming meeting. I can't be dealing with this nonsense again this year.

"Coon" Cheese. Da fúck!

In regional Australia they tend to say "Aye" at the end of every sentence, similar to canadians. Haven't noticed people in melbourne saying using it, Maybe they do. I dunno.

Because ive taken the piss a little bit ill give them some props too

Melbourne has an incredible transportation network. The Trains and trams bring you everywhere and run on time too. As a cyclist the bike lanes are quite good and i havent encountered a motorist try run me off the road yet, in fact im always given a wide space. I jumped up on the grass yesterday due to the fact there was two pedestrains walking in the cyclelane. Now i could of just slowed down and they would of moved off once they saw me but i didnt. As i went passed they apologized! Actually said "sorry mate", incredible! Go to the Phoenix Park and cycle sometime and tell me what you encounter (i was forever cycling on the grass avoiding people which is probably why i done it here, in retrospec i shouldnt have)

I love the outdoor culture. It tends to bring out large groups of family and friends who just hang out, have a picnic and relax.

BBQ's in Parks / beaches. Don't think you're allowed light a fire in the Phoenix Park let alone have the facility there.

Ozzies tend to take Pride in their appearance both physically and fashionably. Mostly related to the outdoors / sporty culture. Apparently Australia has an obesity problem similar to America but i havent encountered it if anything ive noticed the opposite. Im a scuffy looking chap but appreciate others making the effort.

There! some positives and negatives. Balance restored