Friday, July 24, 2009

Aliz's Adventures in Oz


First of all, if you ever go to Australia, you will never, ever hear anyone say "G'day, mate!" Never. It's a stereotype on the order of expecting a sailor to say "Well blow me down!" in a Popeye voice. They will, however, call a a beautiful day "a corker" and if you bitch about something, you're "whinging" (pronounced "winjing").

Second of all, if you think anyone will be fascinated to hear your American accent and ask "Oh, where are you from!" think again. They either don't care or are too polite to ask. Probably the former.

I believe that we Americans, in our bloated sense of self-importance in the world, think we're much more interesting than we really are. That said, I can't say that I didn't try to lay on some Texas real heavy, trying to provoke at least one comment. The longer I was in Oz, the more Texas I got. By the time I left, I was all "I'm fixin' to" and "cain't" and "grits" and, o god help me, I think I even said "dangnabbit," but that impressed no one. Everyone continued to treat me with the same reserved friendliness that I found everywhere I went. My sister finally, out of frustration, just flat out asked a taxi driver, "Well, where do you think we're from?" He replied, "Oh I think I detect a bit of Canada, perhaps?"


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