I think I’ve mentioned this before, but my biggest shock coming to Sydney was how much it was like the U.S. Specifically, it reminds me a lot of Washington D.C. Everyone here is young, attractive, and fighting to get ahead (obviously this is a generalization, but it holds up surprisingly well).
There are, however, differences. There are differences in speech, different slang is used and “thongs” means flip flops rather than underwear. There are differences in eating habits, mostly because people in Sydney are extremely healthy for the most part. There are differences in education, like the fact that all the lectures here are recorded and most people who go to university continue to live with their parents.
There are differences in drinking culture, where it’s somehow much more prevalent than in the U.S. and yet I don’t hear nearly as many horror stories about drinking over here. There’s differences in dating culture, as the idea of splitting the tab doesn’t seem to have hit off here yet.
The main difference I can tell is their police system. I was talking to a guy who is applying to be a cop in Melbourne, and he told me that in order to get the job you have to go through extensive de escalation training, as well as hours of psychological evaluation. As a result, I’ve seen very few news stories about cops shooting civilians in Australia, whereas I’ve seen far too many of those headlines in the U.S.
The biggest culture shock, by far, has been the serious lack of bagels in Sydney. I can hardly ever find them, unless I go to a really expensive cafe, and then they’re covered in other food. Sometimes (all the time), you just want a big, fluffy bagel with (fake) butter.
I’m kidding, of course, although I am seriously disturbed by the lack of bagels here. I honestly haven’t gone through much culture shock, except for the aforementioned shock of cops not killing the people they protect. The consumer culture that shocked me when I returned to America from the Netherlands is still here, the language is the same, and the city is dominated by hipster cafes and high-rises. If you want to travel to somewhere that feels like America…but safer, come to Sydney. It’s a beautiful, wonderful place and I’ve fallen in love with it.
