Whenever I travel and meet new people I am always interested in their way of life, the things that are important to them, how they communicate, and generally how they live their lives. You would think that it’s that same for all of us. We have somewhere to call home, we eat, drink, work, play, cook, clean, love, and pray. We have family or friends (both if we are blessed), we have bills to pay, people we care about, people who care about us, plans to make, dreams to realize, ambitions, hopes and goals to achieve.
So what could be so different about Americans? They speak the same language, have a similar history, both have Indigenous residents, both are primarily Christian countries, our laws are basically the same, our countries are nearly the same size (mainland) but there are some obvious differences.
- Our drinking age is 18 throughout the country. In the USA it is 21.
- We drive on the left hand side of the road. They drive on the right.
- In Australia, you can't drive anywhere with a blood alcohol concentration of more than .05 and seatbelts are compulsory for everyone in a car – different US States have different rules.
- Firearms (for personal use) are prohibited in Australia and handguns are illegal without a permit and it's very difficult to get one. All other types of guns are strictly controlled. In the US there is a strong belief that everyone who wants to has the right to own a gun - we have seen firearms on sale in the supermarket.
- Australia is completely metricated - we use Celcius instead of Farenheit for temperature, litres instead of gallons, kilograms instead of pounds, metres instead of yards, etc. The seasons are the complete opposite.
- Most of Australia’s population lives within 100km of the coast and the population density in the inland is very low. In the US, many, many people live in the deserts.
- We celebrate Christmas, New Year’s and Easter just like in the US but we don’t traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Memorial Day Weekend or Halloween. However, we Aussies know about those holidays as we watch a lot of American television and movies and tend to know a lot more about the USA than they know about us.
Some of the other everyday observations.
We say tom’ar’to They say tom’ay’to
bonnet hood
pedestrian crossing crosswalk
fuel gas
paddock meadow
carpool ride share
mobile cell
odd (different) weird
boot trunk
motor engine
hire car rental vehicle
ring call
grill broil
holiday vacation
chips fries
biscuits cookies
scone biscuit
capsicum pepper
nappy diaper
Cheese is orange
Bread is sweet
Iced tea (unsweetened) is a popular drink
An Entrée is a main meal size
Artichokes and Capers are popular
Can’t find curry powder or green / red curry paste
Vegemite is $8.50 for a small bottle
We haven’t seen a newsagency or travel agency yet – nearly 7 weeks. Newspapers are found at news-stands - you put in your dollar and take out your paper. It’s hard to find a magazine. Most people have them home-delivered by mail. Sometimes we see them in bookstores.
Speaking of bookstores, we came across this really quaint book store in Poulsbo, Oregon, the other day. Many of the books had a card sticking out of the book like a bookmark. On closer inspection we found that members of the local book-club read the books and provide their comments. So you get a readers review before you buy the book and as it is only a small place it’s likely that you would know the reviewer. They also had a readers lounge, espresso coffee, comfy chairs, and a children’s corner. We reckon if they just included a CD / music room (preferable blues says Johno) then they would have captured the market for the ‘baby boomers’. Anyone want to invest in one in Australia – we could look after it for youJ…..
Drive-thru is popular and varied. You don’t have to get out of your car, in fact the signs say – ‘do not leave your vehicle’. We have seen drive-thru……..
Pharmacy
Liquor
Smokes (cigarettes)
Fireworks
Pancakes
Ice-creams
Burgers, tacos, etc (all sorts of foods, esp Mexican)
Dry-cleaning
Loans
Insurance
Coffee
Banking
ATM
Check –in at National Parks and Motels
Another thing that has been missing from our trip is the ‘humble clothesline’ – Oh Mr Hills Hoist, you have been sorely missed. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, has a clothesline. Everyone has a drier and uses it all the time. RV Parks will not permit ‘the hanging of washing’ on makeshift lines and no lines are provided. We have asked about this in many places and people look at us like we’ve got two heads.
I guess it makes sense in areas where it rains a lot – in Ketchikan they don’t call it rain, they call it ‘liquid sunshine’ because there is more rain than fine weather. One man from Tacoma, Washington told me that he does use a line but hangs it out then brings it back in because ‘if you don’t the line goes mouldy and then stains your clothes’. But what about sunny States like California, they don’t use clotheslines either? Just not the done thing, eh!
Anyway just a few of my thoughts and observations for you to consider.
Til next time,
have funJJJJ
(The most popular saying in the USA)
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