Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Translation Tuesday -Dedicated to Bridging (or Widening) the Cultural Divide

I've mentioned before that Australia is a big country. I've mentioned our outback, and our vast-ness. Some places are remote and most of us live crowded along the coastline. I still don't feel I've given people a sense of how big our country is - or where everything is located. Sure- you know the outback is a large piece of nothing straight up the guts with a massive rock in the middle of it , but where is everything else? The following map and the joke that follows came to me last week via my email (I'm really sorry that I can't reference the source of the joke) and I think it sums up Australia and Australians pretty much spot on. It had to be a Translation Tuesday post!



Being Australian is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then on the way home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. Oh and only in Australia  can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.Only in Australia do banks leave both doors wide open and chain the pens to the counters. Only in Australia do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.

Thank Goodness we Australians have a sense of humour.  I'll be back next week with my own unique slant on Australian -isms!

17 comments:

Marg said...

Bwah ha ha. You are single handedly going to shut down Australian tourism.
I am going to have to be careful when out in the country, I live near the man eating koalas.

Shay said...

And apparently I live near scorching desert and fires!

Anonymous said...

I'm crocodiles and cyclones bahahaha!

Shay said...

Duh. that's not surprising L....That's all they have in the NT.

GaAm said...

Lol I love the map! I've been reading your posts to my hubby. He laughs loud enough you can probably hear it in Australia!

Anonymous said...

Ohhhh...they forgot cane toads..we have cane toads too! Disgusting creatures that they are! I just had one that met the broom head and was promptly swept out onto the street (only cos Mr P isn't here otherwise he would have baggied it and put in the bin).

Unknown said...

Oh too too funny. I hear that the toads can eat small dogs too!
I'm sending this to my son who lived in "Aussie land" for 4 years.

Anonymous said...

Don't even get me started on the pythons that live in washing machines lol

Paulette said...

Laughing my butt off! (If only that worked.) Especially Sharks with Frickin' Lasers and Steve Irwin by the Stingrays (snort laugh/sniffle), may he RIP.

Cynthia L. said...

My Mother is planning on going to Australia for a visit with her cousin. She asked me to come along and I thought, hey, maybe I can see Mrs. P and Marg! The map has solidified the fact that I will NOT be coming! Thanks Mrs. P. you just saved me a lot of money! Perhaps I will go on that safe Quilt Shop Hop I was looking at instead.

Brenda said...

I can only assume you live in a compound surrounded by razor wire and drive an armored vehicle to work and to get Thai food? Good luck - he he he he he.

Michelle said...

LOL! Another fun post. That map is a riot. However, I will say that Americans who live in warm climates also tend to leave their cars in the driveway and lock up their junk in the garage. A well-known phenomena in Las Vegas.

Lorraine said...

Ha Ha...I love the bit about leaving the car in the driveway and the crap in the garage!! LOLOLOL.....I thought that yesterday as I de-iced the car to drive to work....having just moved house the garage is full of flattened cardboard boxes...christmas decorations and other stuff that won't fit in the house...! I kid you not....I have about 10 containers with Christmas decs in them! I think I need to have a clean out! So on my week off next week I am going to work on getting some crap out of the garage so I can put the Jazz in....she's only small....she doesn't take up too much room!

Rainey said...

Can you please say something about Marmite and why some Aussies love it? I can't understand wanting to consume this viscous black substance for the life of me. Patching holes in roofing...maybe. But not eating....

Anonymous said...

I'm here to tell you that even Americans who live in cold climates as I do, (Chicago) leave their cars in the driveway and lock up their beat up lawn mowers! LOL. Loved the map! claudida

Elizabeth said...

I started laughing just looking at the map. Thanks for another friggin' awesome translation Tuesday!

Baa-Me Kniits said...

I live in Steve Irwin Country....My hero!!