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| Australian Husbands | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 9 2009, 04:58:11 AM (3,413 Views) | |
| Bronxgirl | Aug 9 2009, 04:58:11 AM Post #1 |
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Anklebiter
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Some of my family and a few friends are very unhappy I am moving and have this idea in their heads that I am going to be living on a dirt road somewhere in the outback surrounded by crazed killer kangaroos and a husband that sits at the pub every night and forces me into sheila manual labor.  hehehe I mean get real people when my husband came to the states he freaked out when he saw a snake while mowing the lawn and I came home from work to find him folding laundry while watching oprah and I could have sworn he had a tear in his eye although he wouldn't admit it. I am still amazed at generalizations, it never ceases to amaze me especially when I tell people I will actually be living in a city pretty comparable to New York and they ask if kangaroos are a traffic problem there in Sydney and they are serious.  I have to admit that I was once as naive about a lot of things Australia I mean I didn't fall for the whole drop bear thing but I had these generalizations in my head about what the culture was like. I finally relized that Crocodile Dundee was not meant for education in Australian culture. I have generally found that the difference in my husband's culture and my own have made the whole relationship tons more fun and have served up jokes worth nobel prizes for the next lifetime. Like the time he came to visit and told me he thought he broke the hotel toilet because of the amount of water in there I will admit I kept him going for a little bit on it but then had to laugh, turned out Australian toilets don't hold near the amount of water ours do. The time he washed dishes by hand and left them in the drainer with soap on them (ewwww) when I became appalled his response was "well you don't taste soap in the food now do you?" The first time he went in a supermarket here and said really loud "this looks like a shopping mall no wonder America wastes so much food." The times I brought him out to eat and like a little fascinated child he couldn't hardly believe how much food was on the plate and how cheap it was or that he had to leave a tip. Oh and to watch him sit there and calculate the tip in his head was very entertaining. Or when he walked into my house and called it a mansion, took me a while to figure that one out. Or when he was trying to figure out how to work the central heating and air but tried to put it on celcius instead of farenheight. (That one was pretty hilarious to watch). Or his disgust at peanut butter and jelly together. Or when he was truly dumbfounded at why he couldn't buy beer on sunday in Georgia and argued about it. heheheheBut really I was no better there in fact I was much worse. I remember sending him to the store for tampons and looking at the box thinking "how cute" until I opened it and realized there were no applicators. ewwww. He laughed at me for a solid hour. Or when I tried to shop and cook and I had to pull out my little converter for weight and degrees in the oven and everything and held up the line trying to figure out the money. hehehe Or the first time I ate an aussie hamburger and I sat there examining all the strange stuff on it like I was doing a hamburger autopsy. My mother in law had to tell me to stop playing with my food. hehehe forgetting which way to look when crossing the street and holding on for dear life in every moving vehicle thinking we were in the wrong lane and going to get hit head on. or the time we were watching the olympics and my husband's nephew asked me who I was pulling for for and I yelled out "I'm rooting for Michael Phelps" My husband's eyes got as big as silver dollars and he told me "ahhh that is not a good word here." oopsy! Or when he took me to the park and I saw the wild cockatoos and said aloud "God I could get like 2 grand for one of those back home I'd be rich" and all the people looked at me like a vile predator whereas my husband commented "new yorkers what can you do?" hehehehe Or when I awoke crying that terrordactyls were after me and really it was squawking cockatoos at 6am. Or the look on my face after biting into a vegemite sandwich. yucky! hehehe The stories are endless and priceless and we have a lot of fun screwing with other people too. I tell people my husband works in Sydney pulling koala bears off the buildings so they don't attack people and he has told people that I know celebrities here. All in all its been a great journey learning eachother's cultures and experiencing them together. So whether some people like it or not I'll be moving in three weeks and I know it will be a lot of adapting but hey if I can deal with The Bronx which is sometimes like another country within a country I can deal with another country hopefully hehehehe. I'm going to miss Thanks giving and Superbowl Sunday though!!! 
Edited by Bronxgirl, Aug 9 2009, 05:19:42 AM.
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| KimInMellie | Aug 9 2009, 10:47:52 AM Post #2 |
True Blue Mate
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 That was fun reading and boy, could I identify with the bit about the dish soap! And who told these Aussies it's okay to put beetroot on hamburgers?   Isn't the lesson for all of us Americans living in Oz to just relax, be flexible, and recognize that OUR way isn't the only way -- or even, sometimes, the best way?  And in any case, taking a look at your description of your family & friends' concerns: Change 'outback' to 'Ozarks' and 'killer kangaroos' to 'rabid squirrels' and I'm pretty sure you've got a fair description of many American urbanites' fears of rural life. When I was a kid I had a pen pal from Chicago who assumed that being from Texas, I rode a horse to school every day -- even though I lived in Houston, which is almost as large a city as Chicago is.  Perhaps you can get some advice on how to deal with your friends from The Council of Australians for Uneducated Americans : Tee hee! |
 Go that way really, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn. -- Charles De Mar | |
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| Pamm | Aug 9 2009, 01:34:11 PM Post #3 |
True Blue Mate
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I am *so* with you on the dishes! I've trained Jason to rinse the soap off finally... given up on Dad, so I try to get Jason to get to them before Dad does  |
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| Laurie | Aug 9 2009, 01:40:52 PM Post #4 |
True Blue Mate
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That was awesome!!! When John was here he proudly announced when I got in from work "I did the dishes and I even rinsed them!!!" (was a proud moment for him) I know I sound blonde here, but what is beetroot? |
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| canaussie | Aug 9 2009, 01:48:06 PM Post #5 |
True Blue Mate
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Beetroot is simply known as beets here....I would assume its the same in the US. |
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Paula (dual Canadian/Australian) married to an Aussie since 1999 and mummy to an Aussie since 2000 | |
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| natasha_alena | Aug 9 2009, 01:48:44 PM Post #6 |
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True Blue Mate
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Just plain ol' beets
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| "You can plan a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather" | |
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| shylady | Aug 9 2009, 01:49:19 PM Post #7 |
oldYank
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 I've heard the same proud statement from my husband, Laurie!  Beetroot is a slice of cooked beet. Turns the hamburger bun pink
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| Pamm | Aug 9 2009, 05:04:57 PM Post #8 |
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True Blue Mate
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Beetroot *shudders* Mum loves the stuff, Dad and I can't stand it, and Jason is neutral The first time Mum wanted some for dinner, I automatically heated them up like my mother does, and totally confoosled Mum ..
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| LookingDown(Under) | Aug 9 2009, 07:41:33 PM Post #9 |
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True Blue Mate
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Ha! - Beat me to the punch Kim! I hope that picture will help bring smiles to the faces of your family and friends Bronxgirl! Sorry to hear your near and dear aren't so receptive. But once you start making plans, they will become more so. Good luck with your plans, and remember, it's an adventure so have fun! |
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| dtwilcox | Aug 9 2009, 09:55:48 PM Post #10 |
True Blue Mate
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I'm laughing while I sit smack dab in the middle of the Ozarks and thinking about the living stereotypes I've seen around here. And Bronxgirl, even though I've wanted to live in Australia since I was a kid, until a few years ago I thought the whole country looked like the scenery from Crocodile Dundee. I'm glad I know better now. Hopefully your family becomes more receptive sooner than later. |
| Trouble is inevitable, but misery is not. | |
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| Bronxgirl | Aug 10 2009, 12:24:47 AM Post #11 |
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Anklebiter
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Well hey there Kim! That picture was too great. I nearly fell off my chair this morning! hehehe When I was a kid I thought all Texans wore cowboy hats and rode mechanical bulls. You think it might have had anything to do with watching Urban Cowboy? hehehehe Funny I grew up in a city with such diversity and many different cultures but I really didn't know much about people from other parts of my own country. Funny because the stereotype people put on us is that we are somehow mob related because we lived in The Bronx and our family is Italian. Thanks for the laugh and good fun today Kim.
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| Bronxgirl | Aug 10 2009, 12:27:59 AM Post #12 |
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Anklebiter
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Oh Pamm we are two peas in a pod. I don't want to change him but the soap on the dishes has to go! Apparently he never had his mouth washed out with soap as a kid!
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| Bronxgirl | Aug 10 2009, 12:38:43 AM Post #13 |
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Anklebiter
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Thats too funny! Well my dear you know what is funny too? That no matter if you live in America or Australia the blonde jokes will abound. I've heard them all so I dyed my hair red.
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| Bronxgirl | Aug 10 2009, 12:52:59 AM Post #14 |
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Anklebiter
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Awww thank you very much. I'm not too terribly worried about it. They don't have to live my life is the bottom line and if they love me they'll support me. Its a funny thing with my family though they immigrated to America during tough times and they feel America offers safe haven and so it is a touchy subject talking about living somewhere else because America has become so deep rooted in they psyche as the country that gave them opportunity and safe haven. |
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| Bronxgirl | Aug 10 2009, 12:57:24 AM Post #15 |
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Anklebiter
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So funny that movie is imbedded in people's minds! Well I have a pretty thick skin with my family and things usually blow over sooner or later...Its kind of like that arm wrestling match no one will ever win so you just sit there and wait it out until they give in.
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| KimInMellie | Aug 10 2009, 09:20:29 AM Post #16 |
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True Blue Mate
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That's the healthiest attitude to have with family in general, I think! I was nosing around for another of those photos and found this one on this blog: So, kangaroo-riding doesn't happen in Australia ...  From the blog: ' ... please note that the problem with the second one isn’t the kangaroo in the house, nor the cigarette in its mouth, nor the over-sized stubby, nor the fact that a child has it, nor the fact that he’s drinking beer with a straw (I saw somebody do that in a pub yesterday). 'The reason it’s wrong is that no-one in Australia drinks Fosters.' ETA: Is that blue eyeshadow on the kangaroo?
Edited by KimInMellie, Aug 10 2009, 09:21:38 AM.
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Go that way really, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn. -- Charles De Mar | |
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| meg1388 | Aug 10 2009, 10:16:47 AM Post #17 |
True Blue Mate
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It does look like the kangaroo is wearing blue eyeshadow... I don't get it, am I missing something? |
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| shylady | Aug 10 2009, 10:27:03 AM Post #18 |
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oldYank
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I reckon the roo is the kid's adoptive mother |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| CheekyOne | Aug 10 2009, 12:26:41 PM Post #19 |
True Blue Mate
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Omg that is hilarious Kim!!
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| tina_o | Aug 10 2009, 12:51:35 PM Post #20 |
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Chinwagger
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Well, this is just really depressing. I didn't get a horse or a mechanical bull when I moved to Texas and now I'm not going to have a kangaroo to ride when I move to Australia. :-( Tina |
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