Cultural Differences

February 22, 2007
It’s been a week since I arrived in Australia and the newness, the whole “Oh my God! I’m actually in Australia!!!!” is starting to wear off and I’m starting to feel the cultural differences in a stronger and very different way.
When I first arrived, it was a novelty for myself and Aussies to compare the differences between our cultures; the cause was mutual curiosity, which, at this point, has all but dissipated and what is left is the American stereotype I occasionally fill.
For some reason, it’s totally bugging me tonight… I was playing poker in the common room with a bunch of people, including some guys I’d never met before. One may have been fairly attractive… but that’s not the point. The point is that I said some things while we were playing, usually something derogatory and/or rude toward another player that Americans would have considered either “trash talk” or funny. Australians are sarcastic, but the sarcasm is different somehow. It’s gentler, really, without any malice whatsoever, whereas Americans are usually sarcastic with the intention of making someone feel dumb. Both can be funny, but Australians don’t understand America sarcasm and I come across as a bitch. Not the best light.
And it doesn’t help that there’s this Canadian kid who is half way to driving me completely up the wall. He’s about my age, but young and doesn’t seem to have a real clear grasp on social situations. Or at least that’s my harsh interpretation. He talks about Canada all the time, says things like “Oh, if we were Knucks (whatever those are), we’d be winning,” and constantly berates America and me. Being nice to the socially retarded kid is expected, so I assume it’s common knowledge that no matter, how harsh or incorrect his comments are, I am not supposed to retaliate. I didn’t realize until now how frustrating anti-Americanism is. I am completely comfortable discussing politics, as long as the other person has some clue what is going on, or has a genuine interest in learning about American government. But talking with people who truly believe American stereotypes? There is no combating that, because no matter what I do, in some ways I fit those preconceived notions. I reason that culture defines those stereotypes, which in turn defines the situations I have been facing. Okay, so I’m probably making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is. I am a bit sleepy, probably a bit emotional….the usual.
During “O Week” (Residential Orientation Week), there is a different themed party every night. Basically, it’s an excuse to drink a LOT of alcohol every night, with the exception of tonight. Tonight was a night for recovery and activities that required mental exertion. Last night’s theme was “Beach Party” and a cloudy, slightly ill-planned one at that. My new roommates have finally moved in- Ben just showed up yesterday for good, and there were a ton of new people at the party. I had met been, incidentally, the morning after a late night of being very drunk and slightly ill (I think I may have bronchitis or pneumonia or at least allergies), so my voice was shot and I’d just climbed out of bed; it was close to noon. And there’s Ben, with his parents, and I’m looking- and sounding- like hell. But I don’t know if he remembers, so I’m working on letting my very bad first impression go. It’s almost too bad Ben is in the same unit as I am because it means he is completely off-limits. Unofficial Resident Code and Girl Code and Common Sense all state that it is a very bad idea to have any feelings other than sisterly ones for a roommate. Like I said, it’s a bit sad, because he’s very nice, reasonably attractive, and tall.
Australian men, or at least a lot of them, are a bit on the space-efficient side. Say I’m in the shopping center and I see a guy from down the aisle. I might check him out, find that’s he’s completely gorgeous in the stereotypical Australian male way, and then discover his head is about even with my shoulder. It’s a cruel trick Fate has played on women. Cruel indeed.
Last night’s Beach Party was supposed to run into the early morning, making their little “Boot Camp” that much more painful. I was awakened at six a.m., having been asleep for about four hours, to seemingly very drunk people banging on pots and pans and yelling.
I drew upon my previous experiences with intoxicated people to arrive at this conclusion: “They’re drunk and they think this is funny. If I ignore them, I will get back to sleep.”
I was very wrong in my assumptions. Apparently, the people who had lived on-campus before had devised a little “Boot Camp” for all the Newbies/ It involved a very inaccurate impersonation of a drill sergeant, which failed miserably mostly because the people yelling were still a bit drunk. But we “ran” up the hill and did jumping jacks and ran through mud, drank a shot of Tabasco sauce with tuna, and went down the slip ‘n’ slide just like we were supposed to. Actually, it was kind of fun. I’ve always heard of initiation ceremonies, but never been part of one. Apart from the complete demolition of my one pair of pajamas, the whole experience was enjoyable.
I spent the rest of my day trying to sleep, but mostly just doing stuff on the Internet. I actually went grocery shopping at Woolworth’s online store. The fact that this is available is great for two reasons:
1. They deliver your groceries, which means I don’t have to walk for fifteen minutes with heavy
Bags and melting ice cream.
2. I find grocery shopping in Australia hugely daunting.
Seriously, I went to buy food the other day and couldn’t find anything I needed, didn’t have enough time to convert things from liters and grams to units of measurement I understand, and, naturally, couldn’t find the proper brands and flavors of things. And things you’d find commonly in America, like tortillas, tortilla chips, granola, and ranch dressing, are incredibly difficult to find. I did find Ranch dressing though, so I was extremely (perhaps obnoxiously) excited.
I tried to take a nap and failed. Eventually, my roomies and I went on to the next activity, a pseudo- Amazing Race around Campbelltown. The game was fun, and we got free pizza afterwards. In a lot of ways, this week is like being at summer camp, with the exception of the alcohol. We never had alcohol at camp, especially church camp. Lots of activities and a lot of free food, which is great. I can’t afford to eat over here!
Tomorrow is MTV night. I have to go try downtown in a second-hand shop to see if I can maybe find a costume. I was thinking of going as Ozzy Osbourne, but can’t bring myself to get that discusting. So who will it be?