A question I get a lot from families is “what do American’s think of Australia and do they welcome you into their country?” In a nutshell, American’s love Australian’s! There are a lot of American’s that never travel outside of the USA but in a country where you have everything and every kind of landscape you can imagine, there isn’t a need to travel internationally. In the US they have big cities like Los Angeles and New York, snowy mountains in Utah and Colorado, beaches in Florida and North Carolina, deserts through Arizona and Texas and a great mixture of people and characters scattered throughout, so when an international comes to visit their country they are very intrigued and curious about the rest of the world and different cultures.
There are many great things about being an Australian living in the US and I am sure that if you have ever travelled to the United States before then you can certainly agree with me on these points!
#1 – They love our accents! Constantly you will get asked to say ‘G-day mate’ and they are forever in your ear about ‘let’s put another shrimp on the barbie’ with a horrible, try hard Australian accent. As Australian’s, we shorten every single word in the English language and American’s find it hilarious so almost every time you say something, there will be a flock of people around staring at you trying to understand your accent.
#2 – Getting bonus marks on your speeches because they love your accent. Massive win for any student there. Almost every time I had a presentation the class and professor would give a few bonus marks simply because they enjoy hearing you speak and it adds ‘entertainment’ to your presentation. Hey, I’ll take any bonus marks on assignments!
#3 – There is always someone there to help. Everyone wants to be friends with the Aussie kid so there is always someone around that wants to lend a hand or give guidance if you are a little lost. I remember a few times not being able to find my classroom and got some help from some lovely students who were curious to learn more about our home country. Not just on campus but off campus in the shops or Walmart or even in the city, people want to help you out. Your teammates will want to take you home and show you off to their family and friends during holidays so there is always an invitation to travel with your teammates if you choose to stay in the US during holiday breaks.
#4 – They think we wrestle crocs, snakes and sharks. 100% they think that we live with these deadly animals in our backyards. Numerous times I was asked if I had seen a shark, or been bitten by a snake, or had a pet kangaroo and of course after being asked so many times I decided to have some fun with it. I would tell them that we ride kangaroo’s to school and when it got cold we would get in the pouch. They think that Kookaburra’s are the funniest sounding bird in the world and always asked for an impression. Of course then you have drop bears and you have to warn them to always keep an eye out when in Australia because you don’t want to be crushed by a drop bear!
#5 – Having friends around the world. Having mates from all across the US means that you always have a place to stay and a tour guide for when you travel in the future. It is always a good excuse to take a holiday and travel so you can catch up with your friends over there but they will also be keen to travel to Australia so you get the chance to check out the sights and do the touristy things around your own country too!