Random Observations on Aussies and their Way of Life

Ok, I remembered a few stories to catch up on before wrapping up the week in Brisbane:

 One morning at breakfast in Hamilton Island, we saw a cockatoo land on some dude’s table and steal a large ham and cheese croissant right off his plate and then fly away/ And then a great chase began with all the other birds chasing the croissant wielding cockatoo here and there/ Man, he had a death grip on that thing/ I’m not sure if he ever got to eat it or had to just keep flying/

 We have really enjoyed watching the spirit of play in Australia/ This comes out in a lot of ways, but in particular, the incredible playgrounds and parks and fun things for kids/ They are really outstanding! I’ve never seen anything like it in the states/ Also, serious kudos to Aussie dads – they seem to be very hands on and playful with the kids/ We saw a dad and son hopping like a kangaroo in the  yogurt aisle at the grocery store/ Another playing tag in an open area in an airport/ AND, don’t get me started on the dads in the pools with the kids! Holy cow! Almost exclusively it was the dads in the water playing and having fun with the kids/

 In general, the kids seem very well behaved and totally chill/ I have to think the time to play and run helps extensively with this/ Also, the adults are attentive and interacting with them/ We didn’t see a single melt down, temper tantrum, etc/ Now, do I think this doesn’t happen? Of course not! But it is sure worth pointing out that after so much time in public down under we didn’t see it even a single time/

 Australians and New Zealanders are so interested in Americans (and possibly other tourists, I don’t know)/ They would stop what they were doing to talk to us at length about where we were from, what we were doing, how we were liking it/ If we happened to mention liking a town they were from, they were genuinely proud and said that made them happy to hear/ I’m not kidding – this happened everywhere/ Even the postal worker stopped the line to chat with us/ The bottle shop worker wanted to know if we liked Trump Airline stewards wanted to know what we thought about their wine country/ It made us feel famous!

 Coffee/ I know/ I’ve talked a lot about the coffee, but there is so much more wrapped up in this/ First, it really is true that every cup of coffee is hand made at the time you order it/ Imagine if every place was starbucks, but the coffee actually was delicious (not sorry, hate that bitter, burnt coffee)/ Know why else this matters? Because people wait patiently for their coffee, sometimes for quite a long time/ And they don’t mumble under their breath or zone out into their phones/ Know what they do? Talk to other people waiting/ Pet the cute dogs who came along for a walk (dogs are often allowed in shops and restaurants) They just relax and patiently wait for really good coffee/ We sat at breakfast the other morning and it was very busy and backed up/ I saw people stand and wait at least 20 minutes/ They seemed totally unfazed/ This relaxed vibe is AWESOME!

 People seem to like their jobs/ And, honestly, I’m not so sure if that’s the best way to phrase it/the truth, as much as it is that the quality of life and the spirit of wellness is so strong that everything is in balance/ We met a barista who loved her job and was so proud of it that she was beaming telling us about it/ How great is that? The tour guides we met were happy and loved their jobs/

 Part of the relaxed vibe in public places is that people work for living wages and not tips/ This eliminated the urgency to get people in and out quickly/ Sure, you could see this could backfire – and yet, it doesn’t seem to/ The waitstaff don’t mind if you linger for an hour after the meal and just drink water They remain kind and attentive/ It’s nice/ When you are ready to go, you just go up to the counter and pay and leave/

 People really do say mate, good on you, jolly good, cheers – didn’t hear anyone say g’day mate, though

 The most common greeting is “How are you going?” This messes with my brain, which tries to parse it into either, “How’s it going?” or “How are you doing?” How are you going seems so technical to me/ Like should I answer with my mode of transportation? I’m going by bus, thank you! Mostly, I just lock up and say nothing because I can’t come up with something/ I think I finally started saying “good” which I think works no matter what/

 There aren’t many Aussie specific meals/ Now, at breakfast, a typical Aussie meal would be scrambled eggs, mushrooms, and a grilled tomato/ They are also known for meat pies, which I think would be more of a lunch or dinner option/ Jason had a breakfast one in Brisbane and we shared a lunch one on our kayaking adventure/ They are like mini, personalized pot pies you can eat with your hands/

 Not a lot of sarcasm around here/ In fact, not sure I heard a single Aussie or Kiwi be sarcastic much at all/ This isn’t to say they don’t have good senses of humor – because they sure do!

More soon! Just wanted to capture these things in one spot because they don’t really fit in my linear blog/