I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat, anxiously awaiting pics of the beach. Well, before we get to that bidness (there are lots and lots of pics forthcoming), I'm taking a break to discuss some of my observances regarding the culture here. I really enjoy people watching, and maybe this sounds weird, but in my man satchel I've been carrying around a small notepad so that I can notate things to share with my flock. My assumption is that I'll be furiously making notepad entries when I'm in Asia, but let's not discount the Aussies quite yet. At any rate, here we go...
1. Hairstyle: I probably have the longest male hair in the country (not counting mullets). Pretty much every guy has a shaved head, is bald, or has shortly cropped hair. Additionally, there is an amazing mullet trend here -- it's what I've deemed the "A&M Corp Mullet." Ingredients are as follows: take the A&M Corp style (ya know, the shaven sides with pubes on top), add a sweet mullet to the back, and viola!! Classy. I wish I had a pic to show, but I've been laughing too much when I've tried to take a pic of one in the wild.
2. Rip-off Restaurants: There are a couple of cool fake restaurants. I started looking out for these when we all got a kick outta "Fishers" in Bogota. Thus far, I've documented: "Hungry Jacks" = Burger King. It's really weird because the menu still includes Whoppers and all that jazz. Not sure if once being under British rule means that a "King" reference is frowned upon or what...Weird.
Also, I know there's a big Dunkin Donuts fan reading this, and there is a "Donut King" here that uses the same color scheme, same names, etc. Ok, after typing that, now the Burger "King" thing doesn't make any sense. It's ok to be the "King" of donuts, but not burgers? I'm confused. My brain hurts.
3. Anti-smoking Ads: These are crazy. I wonder how they'd fare in the States. Basically, there are two ad campaigns going on right now (I haven't watched any television, but I've seen these on buses, and posted around town). The first, which caused me to do a double-take, shows a guy holding a tissue to his face. Apparently, he just hacked into it, because there's a nasty bloody spot in the tissue. The ad says something to the effect that smoking causes bloody discharges. It's really nasty.
The next ad has a guy (I've also seen one with a woman, but I see the male version more often) presumably sitting in a doctor's office with his shirt off. He's not really fit and there are a bunch of arrows pointing to different parts of his chest. The ad says something like, "let the healing begin" and there are little descriptions next to each arrow that indicate how that body part has improved since he quit. Not quite as graphic as the bloody tissue thing, but it's still something that I think the tobacco companies would never let fly in the US.
4. Diversity: When I moved to Philly, it was interesting to me how there were hardly any Hispanic people relative to the numbers in Texas, and in their place, they seemed to be replaced by black folks. Here, there are virtually no black people (I've yet to see a single black person anywhere -- it's bizarre), and almost no Hispanic people. Instead, Asians are everywhere. Today, I got some gelatto from an "authentic" gelatto place that was run by Asians with Australian accents. Reminded me of the Hispanics running the kitchen at Zen (Japanese food) in Austin. This isn't really a good / bad comment, I just found it interesting and thought I'd share.
5. Language: Of course, as Americans, we realize that we speak the correct version of English (wink, wink) -- well, at least I know I'm correct (hehe). These are the little things that I've experienced that have given me a grin thus far:
Our word for sandals = thongs (I took this to a whole different imagery level when I was talking to a girl about her "thongs")
Our pharmacy = chemist (I actually think this is awesome and we should use it)
Our elevators = lifts (though "escalator" is still used)
Our men's shorts = ruggers (though not always; I'm still not clear on the proper usage)
When they use "arcades" they mean shopping areas (I don't get this one at all)
If a word ends with a "r," the "r" sound is never pronounced. For example, "far" = "fah."
This doesn't occur with everyone, but most of the Aussies that I've encountered thus far end their sentences, whether or not the sentence is a question, with a high intonation.
6. I didn't mention this earlier in my post about the Future Music Festival, but the festival was sponsored by Smirnoff. There were 4 or 5 variations of Smirnoff Ice that were offered (no Bud, Miller, or any other American crap beer). However, it was somewhat vindicating to my masculine propensity for girlie drinks when I saw tons of huge mullet wearing dudes chugging Smirnoff Ice.
And, before you ask, I have yet to see Fosters offered on a menu.
7. I did two tests, and yes, the sink drains the opposite direction.
8. Cars drive on the opposite side of the street which makes crossing the street fun. There are even markings on the streets that tell idiot Americans which direction to look.
9. Stop signs don't really exist. Instead, there are "Give Ways" [yield signs]. Almost every block uses a strange sort of traffic circle thingy. I've only been honked at twice while crossing the street.
10. SUVs are non-existent. These weird El Camino things (made predominately by Ford) are everywhere.
11. More motorcycles than scooters by at least 2:1.
12. Australia has done away with $1 and $2 paper bills. Dunno why, but these only come in coins.
As I collect more of these, I'll share...
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