I’m from California, but just a few months ago I moved to the amazing cultural city of Melbourne, Australia to earn my Masters in Publishing and Communications. Luckily, my move to Melbourne wasn’t as traumatic as you might think. I had lived here for six months before (Feb ’08-June ’08) through a study abroad program at my undergrad university.
Granted Australia and the United States are not enormously different, somehow Australians can always tell if you’re American. I have realized a few factors, besides the accent, that are dead give aways you’re American. If you want to blend in with the Aussie crowd, there are 6 things you can do or not do – some are gender specific (sorry about that).
1. Don’t wear clothing that makes you look like a frat boy or sorority girl.
Be proud of your Greek letters at home, but OZ doesn’t have either fraternities or sororities. What they do know of sororities and fraternities is what they have seen in Legally Blonde or Old School, and, let’s face it, neither of those films portray Americans as the smartest bunch. Basically, wear your Greek fraternity or sorority letters and it’s a dead give away you’re American.
2. Pick up some Aussie slang.
The Aussies certainly have their own way of saying things and sometimes it just gets plain confusing what they’re talking about. The one that used to get me was ‘tea’, meaning dinner. When I first moved to Melbourne and my roommate kept on saying I’m going to have some tea, I honestly thought she was referring to the British tea and crumpets. ‘Ta’, which means thanks, to this day still confuses me – I always think they are saying ‘bye’ as in ‘Ta ta’. For a guide on more Aussie slang, check out this manageable list of Australian Slang Expressions and Words.
3. Start slathering that brown, gooey substance Vegemite on your toast.
It’s brown, smells kind of weird, and has the same mysteriousness of the meat served in the cafeteria, but the Aussies love it. And after being shown how to properly eat it (with butter and cheese on toast), I love it too. If you’re spotted eating some vegemite, no one will be the wiser that you’re American.
4. Don’t wear Uggs.
They’re made in Australia, but the Aussies don’t really wear them. Perhaps they bust them out in the privacy of their own homes, but you won’t see many wearing them outside. If you wear Uggs, you’re most likely American.
5. Boys, don’t wear baseball caps.
Just don’t. You won’t see an Australia boy wearing a baseball cap, ever.
6. Say goodbye to baseball and football, and say hello to cricket and footy.
Americans play baseball, Australians play cricket. Americans play American football and Australians play Aussie rules football, or as they’ll refer to it, just Aussie rules or footy. Also don’t say you root for a team, say you barrack for them. To see why, look up ‘root’ on the Australian Slang Dictionary.
I’m a born and bred Australian, and it’s true, we can tell pretty easy if your American. If you want to pretend you’re Australian (lol)wear ‘flip flops’ but, call them thongs.. i know it sounds wrong but it’s a dead giveaway if you call them flip flops. They’re like an Australian must have. Also, it depends on what part of Aus you go, because i come from Queensland and I don’t say tea time, I say dinner.