I am going to Australia this summer and would like to know more about the culture...help?

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Desperate Mummy

Hey Steph, I am an Aboriginal woman and to experience some of the Aboriginal Culture is a must if coming to Australia. Central Australia such as Uluru and Alice Springs are probably the most rewarding Aboriginal experiences available. However, Aboriginal artefacts and tours are available in most areas if sought out. Australia is a Multicultural country and the diversity that U will experience is just amazing. I love Greek, Chinese and Thai food in that order. When I am in Sydney I frequent China Town simply for their food. I am very tolerant of all nationalities and am very intrigued by different cultures. Hope you enjoy Australia.

molly

Well we couldn't be more laid back if we tried you must be able to have a laugh at yourself and you will find that most people are very welcoming and try and go to an Aussie rules footy match while and learn to eat a pie in one hand while leaving the other free to hold your beer while you are here and you will have a ball hope you enjoy your holiday and Slip Slop Slap lots of sunscreen.

Ducatifred

www.letsgotoaustralia.com has a free e-book on Australia that will give you a great start on learning about the culture.

Hamish

I guess you already know that the Northern Hemisphere Summer is our Winter.

I'm assuming you're from above the Equator.

bty720348

http://www.somuchworld.com/australia

iansand9876

This site http://www.toxiccustard.com/ tells you most things you need to know.

Ken E

Same as the US only different. We spell English differently, we call some things by different names. We are a lot more relaxed about some things. We don't like people who "big note" themselves. "The bigger the car, the smaller the *&%."
We can be very direct about some things. It is not usually meant to offend.

Some foods are different, Australian hamburgers come with salad, we don't have Oscar Meyer stuff but we do have Coke and Pepsi. Have not seen Dr. Pepper but I have not looked either. We've got Harry Potter all over the place for the kids, well the bookshops have him anyway.

We don't have drugstores. We have "Chemists" which are pharmacists. We do have shopping malls & supermarkets. We use plastic banknotes, the smallest is the purple $5, the $10 is blue, the $20 is red and the $50 is a sort of slightly greenish yellow. There is a $100 note too but I have not seen one for so long that I can't remember the colour. Coins are 50c with many sides and the 20c, 10c and 5c which are circular. All coins are silver coloured, ther are no bronze coins anymore. Most places take Mastercard or Visa.

Your 110V hair dryer will not work here unless by chance it is a dual voltage one. We use 240V electricity and the plugs are different anyway. Switches in Australia are "down" for "on". Your portable AM/FM radio will work, but your DVDs won't unless there is a dual region player about.

We don't tip, since waiters and other service people make a living wage, or are supposed to. They don't mind though if you leave an extra dollar or so.

We have live theatre and symphony orchestras, jazz and rock bands, graffiti and skateboards, movies and niteclubs. That "toxic custard" site someone mentioned is excellent.

Get out your old school atlas and take a look at the maps of Australia or look on the net. Check out Wikipedia for articles on Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. Also Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne and Alice Springs. Look for Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.

Australia is almost as big as the USA between the 54th parallel and the Rio Grande. So it can be a very long way from one place to another. Sydney to Perth is like Washington to San Francisco. Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia are all much bigger than Texas. So Australians are like Americans and Canadians, we are used to travelling long distances.

Cookies are called biscuits, car luggage compartments are called boots, railroads are called railways. There's lots of others too.

Samantha

Have you ever been to America ? Yeah pretty much the same

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