about those aussies
there are many aussies in hong kong. i have met enough of them to know that the generalisations made about aussies are about as true as the generalisations made about, well, canadians. (or do i mean, aboot?)
aussies are apparently cheap. i know some very tight australians, yet one aussie friend had sebastian over for dinner and a bath every day for three weeks while charles was travelling and the babies were first home. another aussie family had sebastian over for dinner and a bath for five days while i was in the hospital. we didn’t ask either of these families to do this, they offered out of the kindness of their hearts. so being the recipient of such generosity makes me realise that the australians are cheap cliche is not true.
are there a lot of blonde aussies? yes, actually i do think that cliche is more accurate than some of the others. but then again, does nicole kidman count as a blonde or a redhead? but of most aussie couples i know, at least 50 per cent is blonde. and usually, it is pretty great hair.
food wise? they are the makers of tim tams, so they have great culinary tastes. muchos applause for that creation. they eat more lamb than most canadians do.
one thing i have noticed, is they can put a positive spin on most things. for example, the charming children’s song ring around the rosies, (in aussie speak is ring a ring a rosies) endearingly ends with everyone falling down, well, dead.
the aussies just couldn’t let that, well, lie. i learned this the other day while playing ring a ring a rosies on the playground with a bunch of kids who were collapsed on the ground. and then a mother started singing to the same tune,
the cows are in the meadow
they’re eating buttercups
a-tishoo! a-tishoo!
they all jump up.
it is a good way to get the kids up off their duffs so i am glad the verse exists. but then the second time you all fall down the optimistic aussies start again,
fishies in the water
fishies in the sea
they all jump up
with a one two three
which is a good thing because every single child i have ever given birth to, and all the other ones i know, are not content to sing ring just the one time.
are aussies like canadians? hard to say. many of them like to make fun of the canadian "accent" and a few feel free to speak disparagingly about canada, so possibly the canadians are more like the kiwi’s. or maybe lots of canadians do imitate the australian accent/lifestyle, and i just don’t know enough of them.
i am not listing a lot of traits – courage, integrity, humour, compassion….but that’s not to say australians don’t have them. i am lucky, i know some spectacular aussies, many of them live in my building and have become my close friends. and they do have those traits, and others. let’s not even get started on another aussie friend of mine, who understandably left her husband and then REFUSED to go back to him, although it would have been the easiest route to go. she trusted herself, her self worth, and is today a published author and mother. and another aussie friend, a hen i will call teresa….she has determination, courage and so much love. she sent me cd’s when i was in the hospital, she has not let sorrow stand in the way of her happiness. amazing women, amazing aussies. waltzing matilda’s.
australia/nz is on our list of places to visit. we want to visit both of these beautiful countries for a total of seven weeks, and we’re hoping to do it when we leave hong kong permanently. when will that be? good question. maybe we shouldn’t visit too soon….i have just learned that tim tams now come in tia maria flavour. who knows what other versions of the near perfection tim tam could be created in the coming years? enough to match the people, i hope.
NOTE NEW PHOTO ALBUM #9 IN THE SIDE BAR!
