Funny Things Aussie's Say

While in Australia it was fun to pick up the lingo. It was also interesting to see the similarity in different stores to American stores, and to compare prices. Things there were insanely expensive.

In one store? A can of pop cost three bucks. Yes, THREE dollars. For a can!! That's nuts! A 12 pack of soda? 25 dollars in a corner convenience store. Ouch!

Big W was basically Oz's version of Walmart. It still seems a little expensive, no?

While I was there I also tried this...

It's a really brown. And reaallllly salty.


Here's a compilation of funny things Aussie's say and do that I noted while we were there...

*You don't get pregnant you would say she "fell pregnant".
*It wasn't called lay away, it was called lay by.
*They say "No worries" instead of "Thank You". Or just whenever. And they say it a lot.
*Everyone was called a "mate". They'd say "No worries, Mate".
*McDonalds was called "Maccas".
*Sometimes instead of saying Thanks, they'd say "TA".
*If you say ripper it means good.
*Heaps and Bits means a lot.
*Oatmeal is called porridge.
*They don't call it gas stations they call them "Petrol Stations".
*They say Addidas all weird. It sounds like ADDY-DAS.
*A vacation is a "Holiday".

As for things they do that are odd:

*They don't tip cabs or wait staff. They get paid regular salary, so they get what they get. This reflects directly on the type of service you get. Compared to USA, service in Oz is HORRIBLE. There is no rush, no hurry, and they could really care less if you get what you want or need when you need it, because it doesn't affect them in any way.
*This may be why they suck at this one - they don't put ice in drinks. Very rarely was that ever and option, and Chris HATED it. I think Missy said it's just not as common to have very cold drinks there. I LOVED that, cause I prefer my drinks lukewarm anyway.
*They put beet root on EVERYTHING. On burgers, with breakfast, on ev.ry.thing. it is verrrry popular.
*They also served their french fries, called chips in Oz, with sour cream and chili sauce. This was AMAZING. We should do that here, cause America? You are MISSING OUT.
*Chips sometimes were served with a seasoning called Chicken Salt. Again, AMAZING.
*There are no pennies there. So if your total comes out to be uneven? Tough, you don't get your pennies back. Usually you paid for things as they were listed. If it said 5 dollars on the shelf, when you go to the checkout you would pay 5 dollars.
*The stores there close at 5. All stores except grocery stores. Even on a Saturday. Thursdays, however, is the late shopping day. They are open until 8 on Thursdays so if you have any shopping to do, you plan to get off work early on a weekday or you go on Thursdays!

The fun thing about Oz was their accent. It was nice to be able to understand most everything they said, and to get a kick out of the differences in culture. It was definitely enjoyable, and funny to see how things some of the familiar things can be so different.