PALADO, CHARI MARI C.

BSTM 2-3

LIFE APPLICATION 2

AUSTRALIA AND USA

1. DIFFERENT ACCENTS/SLANG/TERMINOLOGY/SPELLING

To me, being an American, Aussies have an accent. And an awesome one at that! But they also
have their own slang words and different terminology: Heaps (lots), lollis (hard candies), brekkie
(breakfast), bathers (swim suit), ambo (ambulance), biscuit (cookie), bloke (guy), chewie (gum),
Chrissie (Christmas), good onya (good for you), mate (friend), mozzie (mosquito), no worries!
(no problem; I’m happy to say I’ve been using this in the States and didn’t even realize it was an
Aussie saying), prezzy (present), and roo (kangaroo) I’ve gotten used to the spelling a bit, but
I’ve still got to work on it a little.

2. DATE ORDER

Instead of writing April 10, you’d write 10 April.

3. HEALTH CARE

I’ve learned that their health care is different in that they work towards preventing health issues
whereas the USA works on treating health issues. We asked why the States don’t adopt this
method if it works so well, but there is a big population difference and the Australian way
wouldn’t be compatible.

4. VOTING IS REQUIRED

They just held some elections this past month. Everyone who is of age has to vote or else they
need to pay a fee (nothing too bad or anything, they just want everyone to participate, which is a
different but interesting way of enticing people to vote).

5. HIGH WAGES, NO TIPPING, AND PRICES INCLUDE GST (TAX)

The minimum wages here are much higher than those in the States. With these higher wages,
there is no need for tipping, which makes it easier when you’re going out with friends and trying
to figure the bill out. Another thing I really like is that all of their prices, whether in a retail store,
grocery store, or restaurant, include the tax. So when you are trying to figure out how much
something will cost, what you see is exactly what you pay.

6. DIFFERENT CURRENCY

There are the $100, $50, $20, $10, and $5 notes and $2, $1, $0.50, $0.20, $0.10, and $0.05
coins. When receiving change in a store, they tend to round out the change.

7. SWIMMING LESSONS ARE REQUIRED FOR SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN

This is a great thing especially since almost everyone here goes to the beach or pool to swim!
Students, for a certain number of years, are required to take swim lessons for a specific time
each year. The government subsidizes this by helping children (and their families) partake in
swim lessons for $1 a day.

8. NO “COLLEGE SPORTS”

While ‘unis’ here do have sports, they do not have what Americans would consider Division I, II,
or III sporting leagues. At UNDA, they do have sport and recreation, such as different fitness
and wellness classes and evening social sports (mixed soccer and mixed netball) as well as Uni
Games, which are different than Division sports. The Uni Games are part of the TSWA Program
(Tertiary Sports Western Australia) and have multiple sports. For me, I tried out for the indoor
volleyball team (and made it!), which has one tournament/competition day.

9. DIFFERENT ELECTRICAL OUTLETS

Before travelling abroad, make sure you have the appropriate outlet converters! The outlets are
made and look different, but cool.

10. START THEIR CALENDAR ON A MONDAY INSTEAD OF SUNDAY

This is a very small difference, but a difference nonetheless. While I did not think it would make
much difference, it sort of puts you in the mindset that Monday is the day for a fresh start to the
week and lets Sunday be a true day of resting and finishing off the week.
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