Another list

Some cool facts about Australia(ns):
- Young Australians give up their seat on the bus for old Australians. Without being asked, they just jump up. Awesome.
- Crackle. When making a roast pork, this is the skin of pig that they bake in the oven at a high temperature and then it's fatty and crisp and they LOVE to eat it.
- Everyone seems to travel. Since Asia is so close that's where they typically go. Very unlike Americans who to me seem scared of going to Asia...but it is very far away.
- Wages here are much higher than in America. Makes sense because the cost of living here is way more expensive. Example, I talked to a girl here who was a waitress and they don't do tips here so it's all hourly wages. She'd make like $30+/hour in a slow restaurant setting. I told her that whenever I made $30/hour consistently it was when I was running around like a crazy person with no breaks. Fast food workers get around $15/hour I believe. That's just a bit more than at home...
- Because of the high wages it would be sweet to live in Australia with someone you knew where you got cheap rent and get a job, save it all, then go back to the USA. You'd be rich.
- Public transportation is expensive here. I thought it was expensive in Italy. Nope.
- The big chain fast food restaurants here are Macca's (McDonald's), Hungry Jacks (Burger King), KFC, and Subway (where $5 footlongs do not exist). And you don't get free drink refills.
- Mexican food doesn't really exist here because there are no Mexicans. But the Asian food is delicious.
- The coastline is just endless miles and miles and miles of beautiful beach.
- Football is rubgy (there are 3 versions of it - AFL, rugby league, and rugby union) and gridiron is American football. Cricket is popular. Baseball isn't big, and instead of volleyball being really big their main sport is netball, which is a version of volleyball that I don't understand. And only girls play it.
- Australians accuse Americans of shunning all things British, which I have learned to be pretty much true, while Australians and British are similar. That's what happens when you don't have a war of independence.
- Patriotism is not nearly as big here as it is in the States. I'm proud to be an American.
- Most of the country is empty. The vast majority of the population live near the coastline, and when you live in a country that is geographically almost as big as the mainland United States that leaves a lot of empty nothing.
- People like me automatically because of my accent.
- Snake season is in the spring. I'm glad I'm not going to be here for that!
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the same here as it is in the States. Always cool to see that fact.
- There are lots of Italians here.
- blah blah blah


Australia e' un bel paese!