1.
NOT REFRIGERATING EGGS. It's weird to go to the grocery store and see eggs piled next to the tupperware containers. Or walk into convenient stores and see them in cardboard boxes on the floor. I still haven't bought or eaten eggs since being here. The fact that they're not refrigerated kinda freaks me out.
2.
NOT TIPPING. I'm not used to going to a nice restaurant and leaving a $10 tip for a bill that's over $100. I once tipped at the bar and the bartender goes, "that's a very American thing of you to do"
3.
WRITING THE DATE. In America we write MM/DD/YY here they write the day first so it's DD/MM/YY. It's confusing when you see events scheduled for 10/09/12. I automatically think October 9th. Really they mean September 10th
4.
DRIVING ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD. I never know which way to look when I cross the street. I almost got hit by a car my first week here because I was looking the wrong direction. Additionally, the driver sits on the right side of the car. I remember seeing a dog in the front seat and thinking "is that dog driving the car!?" Then I remembered Australia's passenger side is America's driver side...
5.
AUSTRALIAN EXPRESSIONS. When people greet you they don't say "how are you?" or "how's it going?"... instead they combine the two and say "
how are you going?" It seems a little redundant and I didn't like it at first, but it's finally catching on. And instead of saying "have a nice day" they say "
cheers" or "
see ya later" (I still don't understand the whole "see ya later" thing; I am almost 100% sure that I will never see that person again in my life) Instead of saying "you're welcome" they say "
no worries." And breakfast is called "
brekkie."
