It’s not weird, it’s not wrong, it’s just different
4 Apr
Landing in Tasmania was like coming home. I could feel a cool breeze, I could see trees that if you squinted might look similar to the ones in Montana, and there were mountains in the distance.
Hannah celebrates our arrival in Hobart, Tasmania
It’s odd to fly nearly 10,000 miles and feel at home. You think that marathon travel like that would lead you to a really foreign experience, like outer space maybe. But no, they still play music from Nashville and movies from Hollywood over here (which is disappointing, I must admit – I had hoped for a few more Aussie tunes on the radio).
Hannah said that during her international student orientation at University of Queensland they carefully instructed her that things in Australia “are not weird, are not wrong, they’re just different.”
And I would say that’s mostly true except for vegemite, which does seem wrong to me.
At the Tahune Airwalk, a boardwalk through the tops of tall eucalyptus trees in Tasmania
Another treehugger in the family
But I love different English (as in the language) names and expressions of communicating. For instance, you can tell a lot about a country by what they call the “facilities”. In Australia they call a spade a spade, shall we say, and just get right to the point with the word “toilets” and an arrow pointing in the right direction.
We stopped at a winery for lunch on our first day in Tasmania and Doug asked what a toasted sandwhich was. The woman looked at him like he was a little retarded and said, “It’s a toasted sandwich.” See, direct. Hannah got a similar response with the question, “What’s in the salad?” By the way, if you travel to Australia, “capsicum” is green bell pepper.
At a Tasmanian winery in the Huon Valley (which sounds like a Dr. Seuss valley)
My other favorite Australian expressions are greetings and general feel good sayings. “How ya going?” is their version of our “How’s it going?” and “No Worries” to Americans is a reminder to stop stressing, you’re not in America anymore and you don’t have to worry that someone is going to be rude and jump the line here. I was sad that we only heard two G’days. Hannah said you really only hear it in rural areas. Maybe it’s the Aussie version of howdy?
My very favorite saying is “Good on ya.” It’s just so nice and complimentary. We should say, “Good for you!” as often as they say this.
Ordering coffee and tea can get confusing. They have coffee items like flat white and long black on the menu, and when I tried to order tea in jet-lagged stupor the woman asked me what kind and I said, “Medium?” and I got another “are you retarded?” look when she replied, “Black or White.” Oh.
Anyway, morning and afternoon tea breaks at work should definitely be imported to America. We need a few more occasions to talk and times for no worries in our culture. And that’s not weird, or wrong, it’s just right.
Morning tea with Jurlique
see you soon – are you bringing any vegemite home? well, what is vegemite anyway? Leah and group
What about the bee cake?
MJ
Shoot – I didn’t bring any back with me, but I didn’t try it because of the nuts. It looked more like a cake with custard and caramel and apple to me. Janelle
Tasmania is a wonderful place. I think people are already tired of me saying (probably they were the first time I said it) that I’m a Tasmaniac.
The worst thing about vegemite is that it’s so salty. Otherwise, it tastes a lot like some of the yeasty vegan food products my mostly vegan (sometimes cheese-eating) daughter eats and that I’ve gotten used to. I say, Aussies, get rid of the salt and you might have something there! I told my Aussie friends that, and they thought the salt was the best thing about it!
We were warned not to say that we “rooted” for a team. Root is a naughty term, which I probably don’t need to spell out for you. They say instead that they “barrack” for a team.
We liked the “good on you” and “no worries” and were going to keep using them, but sadly already we’ve given it up, except when we try very hard. I do say “brilliant” and “stunning” a lot now, though, as I had long ago worn out “awesome”.
I love your posts on your trip. I sort of pooped out on writing about it, except in your comments space!
I’m stealing your method of replying to comments (just like I’ve stolen a few other great ideas off of your blog). I actually didn’t try vegemite. The description was enough to keep me away, and I couldn’t imagine spreading something salty on my toast in the morning. I didn’t know about “root” so thanks for that great tip. I don’t think we’ll keep up our “good on ya”s either, but I already miss the lingo. Janelle
Your blog is cool