G'day mate!
As far as the famous phrases “G’day mate!” and “Cheers, mate!” goes… I cannot tell you how thrilled I was when I actually heard it from a real Aussie the first time! It was something that I almost only thought existed in the Hollywood-films, but the Aussies actually use it as a phrase of greeting, which (to me) sounds so… I don’t know, relaxed? It feels so much better to be greeted with that than by a simple “hello” for some reason, and I think that the Aussies have realized that as well! Another thing that I found pretty interesting is that Australians are used to using the first name of the people they meet, even if it is the first time. This might not seem odd to a Swede, but I know it does to most people from other nationalities, like England. Oh, and the BBQ’s! Jake told me that if you get an invitation to someone else’s house for dinner, it’s almost always for barbeque. Most of the time, you’re supposed to bring your own beer or wine to drink, and sometimes you even bring the meat you’re going to eat! When we were on our way to that birthday party I told you about earlier, I also learned something about the way you walk in Australia. As you might already know, they have left side-traffic when driving their cars, but did you know that this also the case when walking? Everyone always keeps to the left as often as possible, and while going in an escalator you’re supposed to keep to the left for everyone that needs to pass by. I found this to be extremely confusing in the beginning, since I’ve been taught to always keep to the right! But hopefully this will sort itself out as time passes, I just have to get used to it!
My host family is taking me out to see the Sydney Opera House in a few minutes, so I have to get going! I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!
Cheers!
//Alicia
