NationStates Jolt Archive

Speaking as an Aussie who's never been anywhere overseas except New Zealand, I'm intrested to hear what the rest of the world, especially Americans, think about Australia. Feel free to post something serious.

PS, please post where you come from.

Me = American


I get that you guys aren't all like that Croc Hunter guy. So that's a bit disappointing that you all don't have those accents. Anyways, I don't know too much about you guys since you guys keep to yourselves in current events and never tell people that your Aussies on the internet. So I'm guessing you guys are generally decent people.

I like the punk band Frenzal Rhomb. Other than that, I guess you are like the rest of us.

Tomorrow is going to be bloody hot in Melbourne. :(

It's alright, the last 2 weeks i'm here I've been putting on weight and gaining pimples. Cursed BBQ Ribs and Maltesers!

Tomorrow is going to be bloody hot in Melbourne. :(


Pfftt! When they say "Hot" in melbourne they mean 32 degrees! Here in Adelaide we've already had a 38 degree day, and its 34 today.

I like Australia, I hope to visit there someday. So far the only overseas traveling I've done is to Britain. Yay for the internet...

I think I want to move there.

<--- from the States.

I have heaps of Aussie friends and co-workers, as probably a quarter to a third of the English teachers here are from Australia.

Generally I find the Australians to be the most universally freindly and laid back of all the English speaking peoples (the Irish being 2nd).
Other impressions of Australia:
good beer
having Ned Kelly and Phar Lap as national heros speaks volumes

I'm from California, USA

I've only ever met a few Australians, but from what I can tell you seem to be a friendly, good-natured people.

I think Australia won't be any good until it has nukes.

Edit: Oh yeah, and we need to mind our own business more. Stick to trade only.

I'm from Australia.

speaking as an canadian in australia(getting citizenship)it is a decent place with endless spots to explore if you are the adventurer time, other then that, its hot :) and surfings awesome:) but i highly recommend it to anybody willing for outdoor sports. and the beauty is simply amazing, and its perfect for me cause i met myy love of my life in Sydney:) :fluffle:

Speaking as an American who knows next to nothing about Australia, I can't really form an opinion, nor do I dare without knowing more. Which makes me quite the rare American, huh? ;)

:cool: :cool: :cool:
:fluffle: :fluffle: i like aussies, they're hot
Edit: I'm american chicky

I think Australia won't be any good until it has nukes.

Edit: Oh yeah, and we need to mind our own business more. Stick to trade only.

I'm from Australia.

Crikey mate!

Yeah, I'm an Aussie.

Why on earth would we want nukes? To do what? And why have nukes if we "need to mind our own business more. Stick to trade only." What are you proposing? That we sell them to the highest bidder?

Australia:

I'm fascinated with the idea of going to Australia and spending a few months exploring. It sounds like a groovy place. Two things;

Doesn't Australia have a holiday where they torture dogs? I mean no offense with this question. I think I saw it in a movie once.

Stop wearing so many speedos!! Egad! I don't care if those lifeguard guys are in shape. They still leave way too few unanswered questions. I don't need to know a man's religion just by looking. :eek:

Crikey mate!

Yeah, I'm an Aussie.

Why on earth would we want nukes? To do what? And why have nukes if we "need to mind our own business more. Stick to trade only." What are you proposing? That we sell them to the highest bidder?
We keep them, just in case... Nukes would help us mind our own business. If someone threatens us, we don't need to run off to the UN or the US for help.

Oh, and we should reform the gun laws so it's easier for people to own shotguns (at least), and make it legal to shoot home intruders.

Australia:

I'm fascinated with the idea of going to Australia and spending a few months exploring. It sounds like a groovy place. Two things;

Doesn't Australia have a holiday where they torture dogs? I mean no offense with this question. I think I saw it in a movie once.

Stop wearing so many speedos!! Egad! I don't care if those lifeguard guys are in shape. They still leave way too few unanswered questions. I don't need to know a man's religion just by looking. :eek:

No dog-torturing holiday that I know of... and yes. Speedos should in fact equal instant death.

We keep them, just in case... Nukes would help us mind our own business. If someone threatens us, we don't need to run off to the UN or the US for help.

Oh, and we should reform the gun laws so it's easier for people to own shotguns (at least), and make it legal to shoot home intruders.

Why not just move to Texas? Easier and it means all us dirty hippies don't have to moan about all you strange gun-toting people.

And I don't think I'd trust Howard with nukes. Hell, I wouldn't trust him with a fully-sharpened pencil.

Pfftt! When they say "Hot" in melbourne they mean 32 degrees! Here in Adelaide we've already had a 38 degree day, and its 34 today.

<----- Wellington

When they say "Hot" in Wellington they mean 25 degrees :D

I remember visiting the Gold Coast and wandering around in shorts and a T-Shirt watching the locals in their trackpants and sweaters :D

Oh yeah, we also need more respect for science, technical education, innovation, R&D, higher education and those sorts of things that actually last a while, and less emphasis on top-level sport (particularly with regards to public funding).

Why not just move to Texas? Easier and it means all us dirty hippies don't have to moan about all you strange gun-toting people.

And I don't think I'd trust Howard with nukes. Hell, I wouldn't trust him with a fully-sharpened pencil.
I'm too poor to move to Texas. And I have nothing against dirty hippies. Well except for the unwashed part. I have nothing against hippies though for the hippiness part. I'm a (classical, small-l) liberal, more or less.

I'm from the US, and I wish your immigration standards were a little looser. :D

Seriously, you've produced one of the best poets of the last half-century in Les Murray, so you've got to be doing something right.

It's big, comparable to Canada in it's size. It's the only country that is also an entire continent. It doesn't have snow anywhere. It's inhabited mostly by marsupials instead of mammals. The aboriginal Australians have been there for...something like 40,000 years, at least. It's hot. In the middle it's hot and dry. Where it's really hot and dry, there are opals.
Cane toads and rabbits are troublesome to Australian ecology. You cannot import Australian birds into Canada, so anybody's pet cockatoo you've met outside of Australia was bred in captivity somewhere else. Meanwhile, angry farmers must periodically contend with flocks of wild budgerigars that number in the millions and strip crops like locusts.
Australian wine (and Australian philosophy professors) were the subject of much spoofing on Monty Python's Flying Circus. The seasons are reversed from those in the northern hemisphere, which'd mean it's now summer in Australia. Water spirals down the drain in the opposite direction, too. The constellations in the night sky are different than in North America.
'The Road Warrior' was made in Australia. 'The Quiet Earth' wasn't. For some reason, ABBA was huge in Australia. For some other reason, Kylie Minogue still IS. I've yet to meet a non-blonde Australian. I've yet to meet an Australian who couldn't drink me under the table.
For some reason, you set fire to your fields every summer. You have a national preoccupation with barbeques and patio culture. I've heard that many white South Africans have emigrated to Australia in the last ten years or so. There is a greater move toward forming a Republic there than there is here. That's about it...oh, except 'Crocodile' Dundee. Feh. Who gives a rat's ass?

I'm from the US, and I wish your immigration standards were a little looser. :D

Seriously, you've produced one of the best poets of the last half-century in Les Murray, so you've got to be doing something right.

Someone not from Australia knowing of Les Murray!

:O

I think we should hunt aussies for sport.

I've yet to meet a non-blonde Australian.

I've got brown hair, and I know lots of people who aren't blonde.

It doesn't have snow anywhere.

Yea, we get snow in some places. Mainly in mountainy areas, I think, but I'm not an expert on the snow.

from mexico

my cousin studied in sydney for a year, and visited several other cities and new zealand too... said he loved it, so i am working hard to gather some money and visit you!

I'm too poor to move to Texas. And I have nothing against dirty hippies. Well except for the unwashed part. I have nothing against hippies though for the hippiness part. I'm a (classical, small-l) liberal, more or less.

See, everybody, we still have our right wing loonies thinking of themselves as small-l liberals. Must make many of our American friends feel right at home.

Fortunately, this particul;ar breed is still rare in Australia.

Snorklenork, mate, with your desire for nukes and guns, you sound much more like a big F Fascist than a small-l liberal. And yes, the big F does stand for just what you imagined it to.

I went to Cairns, FNQ, for my honeymoon. Spent about a week there.

It was a total blast.

The things I loved:

1. Driving on the wrong side of the street (made it feel like I was on a go-cart track) and the wrong side of the car (though remembering which was my blinker and which was my whiper had me confused the whole time).

2. Roundabouts rock. Damned if they shouldn't have those everywhere.

3. The metric system. As someone forced to learn it as a child instead of American standard, I always preferred it.

4. The Weather. (and this should be no 1)

5. The money. Damn you guys know how to design a fiver. And it's waterproof even, made snorkling so much funner.

6. Qantas. Great Airline.

7. The snakes. Yes they're deadly. But I grew up around Water Mocassins, Rattlers, and Copperheads. Your snakes are so laid back, I actually watched a group of tourists (Japanese, I thought it was just a stereotype you see in movies, but NO they really do exist.) stand literally over a green tree mamba and take pictures of it in a circle. It just sat there and smiled. You get within 20 feed of a Cottonmouth and it will chase your ass trying to bite you.

8. The Weather.

9. The people. I know it's kind of a bad stereotype that most Americans have about Ozzies, but I definately fealt a much more laid back and nonchalante vibe from the people. Plus it was always nice to get excellent service. I was even suprised when I got polite responses in a McDonalds.

10. The mountains. Gorgeous. Took a cable ride over the rainforest. Was the best $20 I ever spent.

11. The saddles. I do a little riding here. Your saddles are much more comfortable than either western or english. Trying to buy one.

12. Cheers. What a great way to end a conversation.

13. Bring Your Own's. This is the greatest Idea since sliced bread. You mean I get to bring the good shit from home? Or the cheap shit? And my bill isn't going to be $80 just because I decided to have a couple bloody mary's with my meal. BRILLIANT!

14. Grocery Stores in the malls. I wonder why noone has tried this here. The closest we have is Super Walmart or Super Target. But those pale in comparison to the Supermarket inside the mall.

15. The Weather.

16. Speaking of McDonalds. It was nice to see the variance in selection you had in your various fast food resturants. Pineapple Pizza has long been a favorite of mine, and only a couple places in the States have started to carry it recently (in the last 3 years or so). It was also nice to be able to get more than just a Burger at Burger King (though you call it something else, Hungry Jacks?)

The things I hated about your country:

1. The food. Jesus Christ British people and their progeny have no clue how to make something taste good. The only good food I had the whole time I was there was when I went to the prolific Sushi resturaunts.
Rule # 1 Quit overcooking your meat. It is supposed to have flavour, texture, and juices. It is not supposed to have the consistency and taste of shoe leather. Yes, I am willing to risk the slim chance of getting BoE to actually be able to chew my steak.
Rule # 2 Sausage is not just a pork chop ground up and put in a casing. You are supposed to add spices and gristle and fat and different textures of meat.
Rule # 3 And pay attention here. Vegimite is the Devil's Diarrhea. Quit eating it. You will open a portal to hell if you keep it up.
Rule # 4 Spices. Christ, put some spice in everything. It doesn't have to be a lot, just some.
Rule # 5 And this goes for everybody around the world, not just Aussies. If you are going to sell Iced Tea, put some sugar (or at least some honey) in it BEFORE you finish brewing it. No, adding it to it after you have already chilled it is NOT the same.

2. The beer. Do you brew this shit with the drippings from old Gym Socks?

And for the record. The things I liked about your country far outweighed those that I didn't.

It's at the top of my list of places I would rather live if I could convince my wife to leave America.

Australia:

I'm fascinated with the idea of going to Australia and spending a few months exploring. It sounds like a groovy place. Two things;

Doesn't Australia have a holiday where they torture dogs? I mean no offense with this question. I think I saw it in a movie once.

Stop wearing so many speedos!! Egad! I don't care if those lifeguard guys are in shape. They still leave way too few unanswered questions. I don't need to know a man's religion just by looking. :eek:

Please come! We need more people like you :p
No, we don't torture our dogs (unless you count tying up dogs in hot metal trays on the back of trucks). :)

I'm a crazy American

Australia is a cool country. You've got Ayers rock, Sydney, Melbourne and the worlds greatest hats!

I think that Australia needs to be censured for sending the likes of Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin out into the world.

Crikey mate!

Yeah, I'm an Aussie.

Why on earth would we want nukes? To do what? And why have nukes if we "need to mind our own business more. Stick to trade only." What are you proposing? That we sell them to the highest bidder?

Got as far as the "I'm an Aussie" part, and my brain immediately added a bad Neighbours accent to the rest of it...

Oh, the damage Neighbours did....

Well, Shaed is Australian... so, I'm all for it.

:)

Australia sounds like a place where nothing is wrong and everyone's nice. Do we ever see them on the news? No, except when they steal our gold medals in the Olympics (rarely). So, in conclusion, Australia is someplace I want to visit and/or live in because it sounds so peaceful!!! enjoy

Australia's fine except for vegemite :eek:

I love Australia, nice people, cool animals, and an awsome accent.

Well, Shaed is Australian... so, I'm all for it.

:)

Awwwwwwwww
:fluffle:
:D

From the U.S.

I like Australia and Australians. They have wicked cool accents, they're very friendly, and their soldiers are very brave. Australia itself is a great country.

Im an american who used to live in singapore but visited australia on many occasions, its a great place, and the people are probably among my favorites, theyre so chill and laid back for the most part, really easy to get along with.

Awwwwwwwww
:fluffle:
:D

Now I like it even more. :)

:fluffle:

I think....Merry christmas to all the cool peeps of Australia! Spread love, acceptance and freedom atleast for the next 30 seconds! Or just do what i did and run up and down the street yelling. It's all good, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Australia's immigration policy is draconian and your refugee "camps" are a disgrace. I remember an incident where the situation was so bad the people in one of the camps sowed their mouths shut as a protest. Oh, and that ship you refused to allow to dock at an Australian port despite the fact that the people on it were in dire need of assistance just so that they couldn't apply for asylum...

Your current government and prime minister are conservative douchebags.

But the rest is OK, I guess. And I don't get what that person who dissed Australian food was talking about. Australian food is such a mix of European and Asian styles that you can but love it and its penchant for innovation.

I've wanted to visit Australia for as long as I could remember. It just seems to fascinating. I actually want to find a job there and live there for a few years once I'm done with shool.

Australia's immigration policy is draconian and your refugee "camps" are a disgrace. I remember an incident where the situation was so bad the people in one of the camps sowed their mouths shut as a protest. Oh, and that ship you refused to allow to dock at an Australian port despite the fact that the people on it were in dire need of assistance just so that they couldn't apply for asylum...

Your current government and prime minister are conservative douchebags.

But the rest is OK, I guess. And I don't get what that person who dissed Australian food was talking about. Australian food is such a mix of European and Asian styles that you can but love it and its penchant for innovation.
But they're right about the burning steaks lol. It's funny, you get mixed signals about the refugees, some camps they live better than citizens, like they have internets, big screen, endless food supply. It's like a hotel, and at others you get that. ANd yes I agree our government bites, but we're not as bad as America atleast. Governments always suck.

When I think of Australia, I think of Donald Bradman.

Then I think of Douglas Jardine and leg theory; then I have a really good laugh.

See, everybody, we still have our right wing loonies thinking of themselves as small-l liberals. Must make many of our American friends feel right at home.

Fortunately, this particul;ar breed is still rare in Australia.

Snorklenork, mate, with your desire for nukes and guns, you sound much more like a big F Fascist than a small-l liberal. And yes, the big F does stand for just what you imagined it to.
I have no idea how you equate more freedoms with facism. As far as I can tell, you're the one who wants to tell people what to do in their own homes.

Fascists rarely advocate freedom to own guns because it makes it harder to control the populace. Fascists do ban guns, strengthen the military and tell people what to do.

As for nukes they're a sensible deterrent, especially for a tiny country like Australia in a big-bad world. It also means we could save a fortune on our armed forces.

Surely you'll come back with something relating guns to crime. Well, while the argument can be made that the increased restrictions of firearms has reduced their use in crimes (which is true), it hasn't actually reduced the number of crimes (they've simply wandered up and down). Not that the whole argument was very relevant because before 1996, as now, if you shot and, or otherwise, killed someone who was in your home you'd probably get charged with manslaughter if not murder.

What do I as an American think of Australia? Well, except when I think about how much the Croc Hunter annoys me or how bad Outback Steakhouse's food is, I dont ever think about anything remotely Australian.

But the rest is OK, I guess. And I don't get what that person who dissed Australian food was talking about. Australian food is such a mix of European and Asian styles that you can but love it and its penchant for innovation.

All the Asian food (especially the Japanese food) was excellent when I was there. The rest of it tasted like shoe leather in a braise of refried ass. Mind you, I didn't go to any really fancy resturants. Most of my meals were from fast-food, grocery store, or local, medium-to-high-class resturants (~US$50 for 2 people without drinks).

I am sure the 5 star posh places are as good there as anywhere. However, noone there would cook a rare (or even medium rare, or even medium) steak. The burgers were piss-poor. Sausage is intended to be more than just a pre-chewed pork chop in a casing. Meat pies suck. Vegemite is, in fact, the Devil's Diarhea. And they all act like spices are an anathema to their own existence. And don't even get me started on the jock sweat they call beer.

Really people, the words 'flavour' and 'texture' should be connected in a positive way with food. It should not be, "There was no flavour to the meat, and the texture reminded me of an old boot."