Weird things about Australia (part 2)

Last time I wrote about some of the strange things I have seen in the country we now call home. So, here are weird things about Australia (part 2), and the place just keeps getting weirder.

Cheap sugar

Sugar is dirt cheap in Australia compared to South Africa. In South Africa, there’s a sugar tax to discourage the consumption of sugar (well, rather just to get more tax revenue, but I digress). Even if you convert what sugary snacks cost here into South African Rand, it’s still much cheaper, and the exchange rate is almost  12 to 1.

I’ve seen some sizable people here, and I’m starting to understand why.

Camping

The people here just love camping. I’ve seen so many people with caravans parked outside their homes, and there are so many stores dedicated just to camping gear. It’s insane. I’m a creature of comfort, so I don’t enjoy camping. Also, I think it’s a bit disrespectful because you’re basically pretending to be homeless.

Also, most of the world’s most poisonous everything is native to Australia, and then people are fucking about in the bushes. I just don’t understand.

The wildlife

The phrase ‘nature, you scary’ is personified in Australia. We live in the suburbs and I’ve seen two brown snakes sail across the road when I was walking home from the shops one day. They are one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. Just let that sink in for a moment.

Also, I’m deathly afraid of spiders (and then my dumb ass moved to Australia) so whenever I see a spider, I kill it. I’m not taking any chances.

Dog food

It’s so funny that over here Vienna sausages and polony are for dogs and not humans. It’s a loved ‘meat’ (yes, that is in quotation marks for a reason) in South Africa. Except for that time polony tried to kill us (enter listeriosis).

Personal style

It seems like many people here don’t care too much about their appearance. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think it’s quite liberating.

People have all kinds of hairstyles and dye their hair all the colours of the rainbow. Also, mullets are quite popular. Every time my husband sees someone with a mullet, he looks at me and says, “Flick your mullet”. If the Aussies weren’t so chill, he would have gotten beaten up by now.

Also, it’s quite common to see guys walking around without shirts (mostly guys who should definitely put a shirt on). Also, many people walk around barefoot.

Second-hand stuff is the norm

It’s also quite common that if you don’t want some of your furniture or whatnot anymore, you just leave it on the curb. This is so common that many people furnish their homes with stuff left on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, you need a ute (utility vehicle, or pickup truck) to pick the stuff up. We don’t have a ute or even a car, so we either need to buy new or hope the sellers on Facebook will deliver.

Also, thrift shops, like the Salvation Army, are common. There are three of these shops in our neighbourhood.

The cars

The cars here are modified big time. (The term they use here is ‘molested car’ which is awful phrasing.) Basically, people put turbos in just about anything and it makes a racket. Those cars are just a big ‘fuck you’ to the ozone layer—or rather, what’s left of it.

Coffee

The Aussies are a coffee-loving people. They are quite particular about their coffee, I’ve been told. I can believe it, if I just look at the number of coffee shops, with their varieties. Also, there are so many options of bottled and canned coffees—something we didn’t have in South Africa.

Lastly

Are there weird things about your country? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Meh.

Michelle

P.S. If you’d like to contact me, feel free to comment below, send an email to thatmichelleperson@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @M_ClutterBox.