Differences

I should be doing my economics assessments, but writing in my blog seems like an OK procrastination tool.

I may have addressed these things in earlier posts, but I can’t remember. So, I wanted to share some general observations about Sydney and Australia.

Friendliness

People talk about how friendly Australians are. I personally just think they are normal people. Ok, maybe people are slightly more friendly and willing to talk to strangers, but the whole I don’t think there is a huge difference (of course, I guess it depends which part of America you are comparing it to). Are there extremely friendly people, of course. We have them in America, too. Are there rude people…yes. Also, available in America. And, they have everything in between.

Public Transportation

They are big on the use of buses in Sydney. I actually wish their meto/subway line was a bit more developed. Overall the train system is good, but it isn’t nearly as expansion as the bus system or with other subway systems around the world (ie New York, etc.). The trains are cheaper and faster, but they don’t go as many places. Also, if you don’t know what line you need for a train, it is easy to look at a map at the station. However, bus stops do not have maps posted of the bus routes, so you better know what bus you need. Lets just say, I ended up on the other side of Sydney once because I guessed on a bus route.

Prices

Sydney is expensive. And, nothing is free. A local restaurant that is a regular hang out for me and my friends, has a $3 taco night. Yes, $3 is considered cheap for a taco. ONE TACO. A regular candy bar in a vending machine, 2 bucks. Pick the same candy bar up at Kmart, $1.50. Yes, I am talking about a regular sized Snicker. A coke at a restaurant, $3…and no refills. 20oz soda (roughly), $3 as well. A liter of Absolut or Smirnoff is going to set you back about $45. International stamp, $1.30, and you are lucky to find a small post card under $.60. Electronics are much more expensive than they are in America. I paid $15 at the beginning of the semester for an alarm clock that is nowhere near as nice as the one I have at home. I am pretty sure I paid $5 for the one I have at home. Ipods and Nintendo DS are at least a $100 more here. Oh, and if you want to use your credit card, do not be surprised if there is a surcharge. Also, not surprising is a surcharge to eat at restaurants on the weekends or public holidays (they pay the employees time and half…honestly, time and half for the weekend?!?). Speaking of time and half, a girl on my hall, is a hostess at a hotel (they use hotel for many things: 1. For an actual hotel where you sleep. However, it can also mean a bar/restaurant). She decided to work one weekend night, and there might have been another factor to her wage determination for night but I can’t recall…anyways moral of the story, she was going to be making $45/hr. FOURTY-FIVE DOLLARS PER HOUR for an unskilled, repetitive, something my 8-year neice could do, job. She is a hostess for pete’s sakes. Oh, and this place she works, not upscale in the least bit.

Walking

Walking has been much of a challenge here. For the longest time, my American friends and I would spend a significant amount of time debating what side of the sidewalk we should walk down. Now, we typically stay to the left. However, it isn’t as strict as it would be in American city (and that is why it took us so long to figure where to walk). Another thing they do, typically around campus: the sidewalk is wide enough for 2 people. 2 people will be walking towards you, chatting, and even might notice you. However, as you come to a point where you will pass each other, they will not make room for you. One of the partners will not step into the road or behind the other for a millisecond. No, no. I often found myself practically lying in a bush because the people I walked past did not feel the need to move. It happens multiple times a day. I am not going to lie…I find it insanely frustrating!

Professors

Professors here are called lecturers. On some of my course outlines, they didn’t even put a title in front of their names. I am pretty sure my Australian Politics professors has a doctoral degree. Yet, on the course outline it says “Lecturer: Shelly Savage.” No, Dr. or at the very least Prof. This is true for my other classes, too. Except psychology, it does have the title Professor in front of each of their names. Yes, nameS. I have 5 different lectures for psychology. I have never had that before. I guess it is because they each specialize in different areas. But, back to the lack of titles…I have a really hard time writing emails, especially in the beginning. What do I call them? Dear Lecturer, or Lecturer Savage? Well, that just sounds odd. And, I can’t say Dear Shelly, too personal and informal. So, I have resorted to my American ways. I call them Professor in the email. I am pretty sure that is a dead give-a-way that I am American. I’ll have to ask some of my Aussie peeps though. Update to come on this.

Drinking

As mentioned before, the Aussies drink a lot. If I didn’t know better I would think I was among the Irish or the Germans. It is interesting, I walk around campus, and every event just about relates back to alcohol somehow or has alcohol involved. And, never away is there anything about binge drinking. Which is crazy to me, since it is a priority at pretty much every American college campus. Fun fact that I got from psychology class: 9 percent of Aussies drink everyday.


I guess the other big thing would be language, but it is currently dinner time, so I’ll save that for another day :D