What's the Difference Anyway?

Before you even land in Australia, commonly referred to as "Oz" by the Australians, you need to be prepared that the moment you set foot on the airplane... you are in Australia. Every passenger is greeted with a cheery "G'day" and even a "Ow ya goin' Mate" as you skillfully maneuver your bag, backpack, carry-on, coat, blanket, pillow, slippers, iPod, noise canceling headphones, duty-free items and whatever else you think you might need for the 14 + hour expedition. This is not for the faint-hearted. I am a teenager who still hasn't grown much so leg room wasn't a problem. Tell that to the 6' 4" guy who sat behind me.

My family and I have lived in Australia for the last year. We have learned so much about the Australian people, their culture and traditions, their quirky language, interesting animals and fabulous foods. Even though there are so many differences between the "Yanks" and the "Aussies," there are also so many similarities between our two cultures. My blog's aim is to share my overall impressions, amazing stories and just plain weird things that I have experienced here in the Land of Oz.

Okay, back to the plane ride...

After I had moved into my allocated seat and had arranged all of my "stuff" the steward brought me a hot towel and offered me a clear liquid that he called "wadda." Then he told me to put my hot towel in the "rubbish bin" and asked me if I would like a "cuppa." A what? I knew I should have read the Aussie dictionary before I left. I asked Dad "What's a cuppa?" He told me it was any kind of hot drink. "Like a hot chocolate?" I asked,  and he replied, "No, a hot chocolate is kind of like a Milo."  I opted for a lemonade instead. Which by the way isn't the kind of lemonade I was used to, it was Sprite or 7-Up. The Aussies call our American lemonade... "American lemonade." Hmmm... I already felt like I was in another country and it had only been 30 minutes.

Once I had watched 4 movies from the 100 or so to choose from I finally fell asleep and was woken up to a pretty stewardess telling me that my "brekky" was here. "My what?" I said sleepily. "She laughed and said, "Your hot brekky love... your breakfast!" As I peeled open the foil lid on my hot brekky I noticed two things that should never be served with eggs... baked beans and a hot shriveled tomato. There was also a whitish looking hot dog. At least I thought it was a hot dog. Two months later at a bar-b-que I found out it was called  a "snagger" a type of sausage. Note: A hot dog is commonly called a "savaloy" over here down under.

Fifteen hours, 7 cuppas, 8 movies and too many "waddas" to count later, we arrived in Brisbane, Australia. I was delighted to learn that "G'day" meant hello and goodbye in Australian, it's kind of like their "Aloha.' So I had that one down. As I was walking out of the jet way I kept running into people coming towards me. I figured out that these people don't just drive on the opposite side of the road they walk that way too. This took a lot of getting used to and so did the frustrated looks that I received from the people that I kept colliding into.

Just then I looked up and saw a large sign that said "G'day" and I knew that I had finally arrived in Oz.