What is it like in Australia?

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simplegal

G'day mate that's how they greet you Aussie style. The people are are very friendly so you have no worries man. Shopping is good too, lots of shops to choose from. my fave place is Sydney lots of diff culture living there, night life is great, clubbing, drinking, eating. its not that expensive compared to Europe.

check out guide books from lonely planet they give great info or find out more from websites.

you will get to meet lots of new friends especially when you are studying there, so have fun. cheers

Aussieblonde -bundy'd

I have to laugh out loud at the comment made by Shoe S, obviously he misunderstood aussies, truth is, like any country we dont like americans, so leave the yank crap in the northern hemisphere before arriving.

Paul T

I also spent six months in Australia back in '02. I can tell you that the people are EXTREMELY friendly, some of the most well-mannered, accepting people I've ever met. I remember coming back to the States and thinking that everyone here was rude. Australia has much to do. As far away as it is, though, I think you will find that the culture there is MUCH the same as it is here in the States (I'm assuming you are from the U.S.) As far as shopping goes, almost everything here you will find there. It might be named something different, but it's there. Big W, for example, is Wal-Mart. There are also Targets in every major city. Much of Australia is very beach culture... most of the population lives near the coast. You'll find it to be very chill and relaxed. The food is, to some, an acquired taste. I, for one, loved it! There's nothing better than meat pies covered with tomato sauce (their version of ketchup.. very tasty). You will have to try a Tim Tam slam with hot coffee or Milo... and please, please eat some pavlova! You will not be disappointed! As far as black people go... I remember not seeing too many African Americans. However, native Australians are Aboriginal - very dark-skinned people. Since Australians tend to be very open and accepting, you will find no problems with being an African American in their culture. None at all. For fun... man, there is so much to do. Catch some sun on the beach, go surfing, shopping, movies... really anything you do here you can do there. If you close to the north east coast, I'd recommend renting a boat to take you to the Great Barrier Reef so you can go snorkeling. That was one of the coolest things I've ever done! I hope that you have a fantastic time exploring and relaxing in Australia! My time there is one of my most cherished memories of all time. I know that you will enjoy yourself. Good luck with your trip and your studies! :)

Serena

Australia's a beautiful place.There's no Wal-Mart,we have Big-W ,K-MArt and Target.Yes,we have what you would call a mall,but where I live,they're just called shopping centres.There are nightclubs,but mostly in the cities.Mostly there are pubs.There are black people,but obviously demographics are different.You will find a wider variation of people in say,Sydney,then you would in other parts of Australia.It's not exspensive over here,especially since you would be exchanging US money.
Don't restrict yourself to just being in in the city.There are beautiful areas in the rural parts of Australia as well.

The_Mouse

Just come over, there is nothing to be scared of. You'll have lots of fun
Us Aussies are laid back and don't care where you come from as long as you treat people the way you want to be treated. And yes, we are civilised here - we actually have "malls" and we even have ATMs with real money!

Accent? what accent?

Black people? We have all colours here! Europeans, Asians, Africans, and the Indegineous Australian.

By the way - don't say "gidday mate" to everyone you meet especially just after you arrive at the airport hpoing to impress us that you can talk aussie. IT DOESN'T! We use the phrase but NOT all the time and not to everyone. A "Hello" or "Good morning" will suffice.

Nemesis

Bloody hot. We have aborigines if you call them black you will probably get punched or sued. We have supermarkets luckily as of yet no walmarts. Every city and most towns have malls. We are a multicultural society.Your idea of fun and mine may be very different coming from America you will probably think everything is cheaper. Aussie food is very good compared to most countries. The people are easy going

jo j

depending were you are coming from and what part of australia you are going to, it can be different in each state, in summer its really hot but you just go to the beach, people are friendly, its a pretty layed back life style depending where you are going, we have shopping centre some 3 stories high for shopping we dont have wal mart,

hot

renclrk

This experience may well turn out to be the most educational six months of your entire life.
All you need do is listen 'an learn! Good luck mate!

ndtaya

Everything's upside down!!

SimpleGuy

The people, which city? Generally people are ok. Don't expect friendliness, although some are, but they are not rude either. Indifferent mostly, at least in the capital cities.

The food: OK. Lots of fish and chips, and pasta, and burgers and fries type. Some Asian food and middle eastern food around, but its authenticity is always questioned.

Shopping: malls close at 5 pm, except on the late night shopping days (thursday or friday, depending on which suburb).

No wal-mart, almost no hypermart at all. Not enough demand I suppose. YOu have department stores, and Big W and K-Mart as just the closest you can get.

NIght life : party! lots of drunks.

Black people: not many, some refugees from Africa. The aboriginal people do not live in teh city mostly.

Acceptance of black peple, mmhhh...... avoid Sydney (check the Cronulla riot last year December, shameful!), Toowoomba and GYmpie (those are the 3 cities I Know that do not accept any other race too well). I am sure there are other cities, but most capital cities are OK. The people mostly are not racist, but occassionally you will hear reports about racial tension in parts of australia nad it could really tarnish your image about Australian. I have met the most loving ones here, but the media always focus on the bad side, so, not wanting to have your hopes up high, be warned that occassionally the image of easy-going all accepting Australians might be challenged.

FUn: going to beach, get drunk, watch sports, do barbequeue.

shoe s

they like americans they are friendly the nightlife is as good as ours the food is fine, the aborginal blacks YUK, the aussies talk like babies with ie's and y's at the end of the words they cut in half hard to understand them, it is not expensive against our american dollar, they have malls aand boutiques stores lots of shopping,have fun good luck

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