4 Things I Discovered As An Aussie In North America

At 20 I decided to go on exchange to Toronto in Canada, and then travel around the United States. It has been fun, but there have been some crazy things I wasn't expecting. This is my list of what you can look forward to as an Australian living in North America.

1. People want to talk to you about Fosters and Summer Heights High

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Apparently Fosters is the “Australian” Beer. You can see some of their fantastic advertisements here (spoilers: they kinda suck) Thank the Foster’s marketing team for making our beer game look weak as hell.

You’ll also continuously be surprised with what Australian stuff ends up over here. Remember the Chris Lilley show Summer Heights High? It was a huge deal over here... and everyone wanted to discuss it with me. Ja'mie was a star!

The weirdest thing that people have brought up about Australia to talk to me about? Master Chef. Not one, but two separate girls wanted to talk about Master Chef Australia with me. It isn't like there isn't an American version, but apparently Australians eating food is better then Americans eating food.

2. You Will Crave Australian Foods You Hardly Ever Eat

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Tell me, when was the last time you ate a lamington? For me the cravings for that coconut covered deliciousness got so bad that when I finally found one about 3 months into my exchange, I woofed it down in about three bites. I realised at about the second bite that I barely ate lamingtons at home. I have the same issue with plenty of Aussie foods you can't find here. I still have no idea why I would kill someone for a sausage roll when at home I thought they tasted meh at best.

3. New Zealanders Are Really Different to Australians (No Seriously)

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Here is a quick question for you: What do New Zealanders call ‘flip-flops’?

I will be incredibly impressed if any Australian’s actually knew the answers were jandals, instead of thongs. There are plenty of these small differences that I had no idea about, and they do make for interesting conversations with that New Zealander you met up with at the hostel. However the Kiwis can be an incredible ally in the masses of North Americans asking about Fosters. Just don’t ask them about the Hobbit, it is the cultural equivalent of being asked about Crocodile Dundee.

4. You Suddenly Develop a Keen Ear For Any Australian Accent.

Via rebloggy.com

Being surrounded by American’s can lead to some weird things. Mine were an obsession with bagels, an unhealthy addiction to Forever 21 and spidey senses when it came to hearing Australian accents. Now, that isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes, the super bogan voices make you want to keep your head low and hope they don’t notice you’re from the same mother country. Sometimes however, you can meet some of the coolest travellers around. Discuss adventures, times abroad and random stories of really craving lamingtons. They might even have some spare vegemite.