What's different ?

My TOP 15 the most surprising things in Australia

What is surprising and amazing for a foreigner when we arrive in Australia ?... lot of things of course. After 6 months I decide to take stock through the top 15 the most surprising things ! And tomorrow... I will publish a new article about our favourites in Australia : "top 10 of my little pleasures made in "Australia"... But today it's "TOP 15 the most surprising things in Australia". I am not sociologist or a scientist researcher, just a new arrival... but less and less new arrival ; it does not recede as we say in my country.

> GREETINGS: The Australian shake hands in very special occasions: first meetings, formal presentation, signed contract. And it's very unusual to see them kissing (on the cheek of course)... when Australian people are in France it must be very shocking for them to see so many people to kiss. Perhaps this is why lot of people think often that the French are great lovers ;-)

For us, greet by shaking hands is the minimum and it is mark of politeness. So the first time it was rather cold welcome Australian and sometimes rude. Now we are used and are very well in its stride. Lot of kisses just for my children… and my husband…

> MEALS: with our three meals a day set as a clock, Australian meals we always seem very disjointed. We still do not understand also what their meal times finally ... in fact we begin to understand that eating for them is not so "social"than french people. Their goal is just to eat and they eat when they are hungry and usually that means many small meals or snacks taken throughout the day. Just in inconceivable in France.

> CULTURE: just looking around and we can say that being Australian is to be a citizen of the world, as the cultural mix and diversity in matters of nationality are important. Strangely, it works pretty well with a country generally safe and where you feel free and safe. This results in the Australian very difficult to understand because not hesitating to take expressions or words from other languages and a global population that speaks English but in different ways and with his own accent. Happy mix...

> CHEERS: Here we do not buy alcohol in supermarkets like in France, you go to specialty stores ... you can even buy packs of beer in his drive-in, without leaving the car. Funny ! But apparently, the advertising is possible here whenever it’s totally forbidden in France.

> HUMOUR: acid humour, trashy, very dark and often extreme ... I like a lot this kind of humour, a little bit like Belgium humour.

Somme people say that is explained by the dark past of the Australian people and also made an hostile environment of desert and virgin lands ... the image of their fantasy ... But I will be very curious to know the more famous Australian joke ?

> BUY: buy at auction here is a method of sale like any other, need not be in bankruptcy to have recourse. It’s like that we have bought our car… a good bargain !

> RENTING: when they rent a home, the real estate agency performs an inspection per quarter on behalf of the owner to ensure that the property is well kept, well maintained. I hate this moment where someone come in my home to check if it’s alright… Certainly a good thing for the landlord… but I feel as deprived of my freedom ... to live as I like.

> WATCH AREA: Warning you are being watched! It’s like «　Big brother　», isn’t it ? the dark past of France during the 2nd World War, probably explains the fact that this concept would not applicable in France ... although increasingly we see many install CCTV cameras.

> FEET: Australians like to walk barefoot, it's not a legend, children, teenagers or adults ... I love this and it‘s a very good idea because your shoes are very ugly ;-)

> FASHION VICTIM: Australians : fashion victim ?... we don’t really say that… clothes, furniture, homes, cars .... are practical, conventional, comfortable, but not exactly original, sophisticate or elegant, aren’t they ? Australian must find Frenchies "precious" almost "wimps". Maybe we are too.

> TOO EXPENSIVE: competition does not exist a lot in Australia, whatever the kind of products. The market is tight (no housing, few vehicles), growth is still strong here, the floodgates of immigration are well open and always bring more newcomers consuming to install (buy a car, translate its official documents, rent an apartment ...). But how do you explain that a same product (made in China) costs 30 to 50 % cheaper in France ? Why is so expansive ?

> VIVA AUSTRALIA: Australian people are very patriotic and protectionist. The most of agricol products are produced in Australia. It’s a very good thing and fruits, vegetables and meat are very delicious. Well done ! Consuming "Australian" is well received. After the closure of many factories, this concept arrives in France: "buy French" : necessary concept to protect our employment.

> LANGUAGE: All words over two syllables are contracted, very confusing especially when your English language is not really good.

Even American people say that Australian language is difficult to understand. For example: wednesday: Wedny; breakfast: breaky, cup of tea: cupa, football footty, See you later: see ya, How are you going: Hey going ... And I don’t speak about lot of expressions that I am not able to decrypt yet…

> PRESS/MEDIA: women's magazines such as "Marie Claire Australia" are four times more expensive than in France and I have not yet found a great weekly or monthly magazine with analysis of the news, society news, economy.

> SUPERMARKET: To supermarket, there has never wait, it's still very fluid (stores have large amplitudes of openings and are open on Sunday), the cashier puts your goods with a lot of precautions and common sense in your shopping bag and you made conversation during this time. Cool ... The opposite of France : stress time !

See you tomorrow with : MY TOP 10 of little pleasures made in "Australia"