Comments on: More Things That Make Australia Unique

By: theprofessionalhobo

theprofessionalhobo — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:27:45 +0000

Hey Derek – Your beer tip reminds me of two things:
1) I remember my partner ordering the “large” beer in Paris and getting a litre of the stuff!
2) I also remember seeing a movie or commercial (possibly both) with a big chase scene…..where the Aussie was running for his life…..with a full glass of beer in his hand.
Gotta love it!

By: Derek Fung

Derek Fung — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 04:40:52 +0000

Much as many Aussies claim to be able to pick out different accents based on which state you’re from, I’ve never been able to do anything more than pick out different types of Aussies, namely, country folk, city dwellers, upper, lower and middle class, etc.

But one curious state-to-state distinction in language between Aussies is what you call a regular-sized glass of beer. For clarification there’s always this Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Australia#Beer_glasses

And if in doubt just ask for a glass of beer and if the barman/barmaid asks for clarification point at someone else’s glass or indicate the height of the glass.

By: theprofessionalhobo

theprofessionalhobo — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:46:38 +0000

@John – Try the chili, especially. Oh yeah – and truly: give the pumpkin pie a chance. You’ll love it!

I’ve come to accept both Aussie and NZ telecom prices are murder. But the way people seem to get around it is by sending text messages, which are typically quite cheap. The last time I was back in North America, the SMS culture hadn’t quite caught up to the same level.

By: John In Brisbane

John In Brisbane — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:04:23 +0000

Hey just found ur recipes and have been reading more about your travels … cool! I am going to try to chilli, peanut butter muffins and .. hell all of them! 🙂

I read years ago that in the Australia section of the lonely planet guide that we are likely to ask you what you think about australia … and its true. It normally takes a few beers to get beyond the usual platitudes though and hear some really interesting thoughts.

re – one of my soap box issues – We do get screwed for telecoms here in Oz 🙁 Its improving but still not good. As you said, though, you were on the worst deal – the normal plans are probably 10c a minute. I have put credit on my skype account and it costs 10x more per minute to call Aussie mobiles than US ones! I can chat to my friend in Wisconsin while she commutes to work in her car for 2.7c /min. Sigh. The Kiwis are even worse off… although you shouldn’t be spending too much time on a phone over there.

Love your site – I just saved it and I hope you keep adding to it.

all the best, John

By: Penelope

Penelope — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:40:34 +0000

Cheers!
My son and I are about to leave for tropical far north QLD from Central Oregon, (USA). I have been organic gardening here for twentyfour years and am literally looking at a complete reversal of climate. We are in the high desert, arid with snowfall and almost no humidity! I have been scoring the internet to find info on gardening (shade frames to protect from insect, sun an rain- likely- and ways of cooling). Any tropical gardeners out there? I know that this life change will be a challenge but we are embracing it completely. Thanks for the opportunity to possibly converse with my new neighbors.
Penelope

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:33:00 +0000

Hi, I somehow stumbled across your blog and, as a born and bred Australian, I find it interesting to read an “outsider’s” view of where I have spent most of my life. I admire you for having the guts to up and leave your home to travel, too. I have just returned from a year in the UK and it was the best year of my life, but I couldn’t see myself leaving home indefinitely! As for some of the differences you have mentioned, and in regards to nicho’s comment, we also use both “aitch” and “haitch”. I say “aitch” but some of my friends say “haitch”. As for “schooner”, that is actually the size of the glass, and some areas serve different sizes instead. You could probably ask for a glass of beer, but you’d be asked (in NSW, at least) “schooner or middy?”. Anyway, to finish off, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us!

By: russ

russ — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:37:00 +0000

haha i never left a msg on anyone’s blog before in my life i think !!!! but i happened across ur blog just googling around on mountain ppl/beach ppl (or you had sea ppl i think … and btw, im def a mountain person too 🙂 [and loved ur pics!!!]).

anyway, i enoyed that blog so had a look around, n really loved this one about oz! lol hehehe i’m from australia, so it’s interesting to hear about how other ppl see it through their eyes … i was in montreal a few years back. was for work so only short, but it was dream come true as i’ve always wanted to go canada … was awesome. hope to go back sometime soon n check out the west coast next time. maybe more of the rockies!

By: Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:51:00 +0000

I always found the aussie lingo a bit different. In America we call it downtown too!

Other difference- the pharmacy is a chemist. flip flops are thongs.

a glass of beer is a schooner.

peppers are casicums.

but these are all things that make australia wonderful!

By: Nora Dunn

Nora Dunn — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:22:00 +0000

@Nicho: Thank you so much for your support and comment! I had wondered how many of the differences I’ve detected had European roots. I certainly make no bones about Australia’s characteristics being entirely unique to the world – just unique to me!
And don’t you worry – I’ll let you know when Europe is on the list…(smiles)

@Bradipo – Well huh. Who knew that 9-1-1 actually made so much sense. How short my memory is…I forgot about rotary dial phones. Yikes!
Thanks for this tidbit – I love it!

By: Bradipo

Bradipo — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:22:00 +0000

Dialing 000 is all well and good nowadays. But back in the days of rotary-dial phones it would have taken three times as long to dial.

You can see the same logic in other phone numbers. For example, the quickest-to-dial area codes (ones with lots of 1s, 2s, and 3s in them) are assigned to the most populous cities.