10 Things We Have Noticed About Australia, From an American Perspective

In no real particular order...

1. People are active here. In the cities, or rural areas, Australians are out and about hiking (bushwalking), running, etc.

2. Tattoos are very popular here. Much more so than in the US, which is why we noticed it.

3. Walking around barefoot seems to be much more normal. It's not just for the homeless! Grocery stores, down the sidewalk... doesn't matter.

4. As alluded to before, words are shortened to end with a funny or cute ending of an "O" or "Y" sound, like Servo for "service station." Oddly, if the words are already short, they will lengthen it on occasion to force the "O" or "Y" ending, like "righto".

5. Hamburgers are... well, not really burgers. The patties are often mixed with some shredded veggies and spices, and topped with... beets. While not bad, it's not exactly the classic smash burger.

6. To order a coffee, state a length, such as "long" or "short", then combine that with a color, such as "white" or "black." Adding the word "flat" in there makes some difference, too, although I have not figured that out yet. Long blacks seem to be good.

7. People are super friendly.

8. Looks are binary here. You either are quite attractive, or quite unattractive. Fortunately, there is an overwhelming amount of the former, and this is probably due to healthier active lifestyles compared to the US.

9. Chicken salt is put on nearly everything. Think chicken flavored ramen seasoning. It is good.

10. Australians have a smoking habit like the Europeans.

11. It is very multicultural. People from all over the world live here, and thankfully, brought their culinary traditions with them.

12. Australians enjoy a good beer--Seems to be a pub on every corner. That beats the CVS we have on every corner in the US.

13. Australians LOVE sports, especially some of the rather niche ones, like cricket, net ball, and lawn bowling.

14. Striking up a conversation with a stranger is totally normal. Hopefully this will become more normal in the US, too. It leads to many pleasant interactions.

15. Aussies love their calamari rings. Most pubs have it and chicken parm on the menu.

Yes, there are more than 10 things here. Base 10 just makes for a good title.