AUSTRALIAN VS AMERICAN CULTURE TOLD BY AN AMERICAN 

It;s not so much the barking it's the changing of the food on the menu that pissed me off in the USA

If that's all you had to whinge about when visiting, I guess you did pretty good, hey? smh

WhiteStone !!!! We don’t all bark. I’m from Utah/Idaho and it’s nowhere near as rude as say the greater NYC metro area/region. Just sayin’..

Coffee creamer isn't cream.

coffee creamer isnt a thing in australia, we only have milk really

in high school hahahaha

Stephen M fuck yeah

Couple beers after footy training

Stephen M that’s very true

Stephen M I’ll get the goon

dale jackman i like it

I take a lot of Ubers, Olas, Taxify's etc, and I always chat to them. I've had many great conversations with them, it makes the trip go quicker but it's genuinely fun to talk, and it can be anything from jobs, to politics, to whats it like living in certain areas, world affairs, really anything. It's always two humans having a chat, not them being a worker, serving me their customer.. that's just a shit mentality

The attitude in the States is a bit different because they don't have the worker rights that exist in Oz. 'Tipping' in Oz is virtually unknown or much less common because all workers have a basic set of rights. Of course America had slavery and that may still be a residual element.

Well said sir ..

Well said!

Sue Smith But they don't

As an American who works in the food industry....use your words, spit out what you want quickly cause I don’t wanna be here as much as you don’t. I have other shit to do, you don’t care how I’m doing. It’s not offensive to the person serving you here...it’s just our culture.

The server doesn't want to be there? So we'll add 'poor work ethic' to the list of things wrong with the usa. Shocking. Maybe usa needs to have a bigger financial crisis than exists now in order to learn to appreciate a job. And to bring the right attitude to work. And to see your customers as more than just an order. Any culture that encourages people barking at others is a culture that is disrespectful to each other. Its horrible.

Please and thank you doesn’t hurt. A conversation is a waste of everyone’s time.

Also no one is barking. We aren’t dogs. Just say what you want and move on.

youre like the first foreigner who likes vegemite haha

Thank I've known of Vegemite for 20 years but tried it and loved it...a friend from near melbourne who sent some yummo

Honourary Australian right there.

Wow. Most Australians (including yours truly) don't like it.

Right you’re in,!

Gena La exactly! It's courtesy.

I'm American and I actually do tend to say "Can I..." when ordering food or drinks, so stop making assumptions about people. Stereotypes and generalizations don't always serve to accurately depict every single person in a country.

It's more polite to say....... May I not Can I

Note that the American says: "I'll TAKE ... a coffee etc." This sums it up. Demanding something as distinct from asking for something the way that most Australians do. In general, Americans seem to prefer confrontation and Australians prefer co-operation. It's a fundamental cultural difference - most Americans feel that they have to fight everyone in order to be top dog, most Australians work together and in a more egalitarian way.

John Shaw Yeah but we dont tend to use the word may unless talking about the month

we had cream in our coffees before milk.

Probably rude because they were flabbergasted by the insane Australian prices and seeing young pubescent Masturbation crazed 14-15 yr Olds about to touch their food

They complain at how expensive fast food is here compared to the us Australia is damn expensive aussies pay double for everything and that is FACT.

Actually a big mac in the united states is twice the size and cheaper than in Australia TRUE.

I'm an American. It's not really that they're trying to be rude to you, it's just the way we order food or drinks. We're not familiar with your culture, just as you wouldn't be familiar with ours if you've never been here. That said, the US is really big, and the culture is not the same everywhere. I'm from the southeast US, and people often order with a please and thank you, whereas it might be different in the northeast. Even Miami is far different from northwest Florida, and they're the same state. Miami is practically a different country in comparison. Just as California is vastly different to Texas.

Also we only tip if we want to! Because people in hospitality get paid well and don't have to rely on tips! Not to mention having cheaper universities and free health care...

As a delivery driver, though, I can confirm that teen pizza drivers get a LOT of money from tips. People just being nice to a friendly face, I would assume. Which is super kind.

Americans are far more polite imo.

Jess Reid American coffee is absolutely diabolical

People have said the exact opposite that Americans are nice while Australians are rude and want to drink and party too much

Lewis Stewart . And there you have it ! Confession from the horses mouth. But if your REALLY honest you will burn their coffee anyway unless its a hot chick or one of your mates. Aussies operate on a hair trigger that makes Clint Eastwood look restrained. If your not of the tribe your gonna get the bums rush because mate i’m only here to earn a quid and youse can all get stuffed.

@Lewis Stewart, I'm a friendly person, in retail. It's a mixed business groceries fuel coffee cigarettes alcohol and meat pies. I always give a warm welcome to customers. One day a guys comes in, I say good morning and smile, I'm ignored. He barks at me "Got any pies and give me a pack of winnie reds (Winfield cigarettes). I get his smokes, then go to the pie warmer for his pie. I inform him we have cheese & bacon or plain, and ask which one he would prefer. Cheese & bacon was the response. All his items are rung up. He throws his money on the counter, most of it coins, so I scoop it all up and begin to count it, he is $1.80 short, he gives me an exasperated sigh, fumbles for more change. He has a pack of smokes and a pie, transaction completed I then begin to serve the next customer, when he bellows "What I don't get a carry bag" I say nothing grab a bag, hand it to him. But don't let go, as he tugs on it, I say a please and thank you never goes astray, he grunts a thank you at me, and storms off. Every other customer in line after him made a point to say please and thank you.

@@dianegreen6513 I'm also an Aussie. I can relate, I used to work in retail a while ago. If I ever pulled that stunt with holding onto the bag and not letting go until they say thank you, they would have called my manager over and had a chat with me for "abusing the customer". BTW, this actually happened. And another time where I asked to check the customers bag, as per store policy and the customer threw the bag on the ground and expected me to look through it myself. I told him I can't legally touch his bag, that he has to open it for me to check, and he asked for my manager. Let's just say my manager was watching the entire ordeal unbeknownst to the customer. The customer told my manager that I tried harassing him. My manager laughed at him and told him to get out of the store lol. The fucking audacity and lip on some customers though, they're not getting a re-action out of me, cheeky bastards.

Lewis Stewart I’d do that too to be honest.

Yes

James as you know it's much more different having conversations over RU-vid or online so we are always seeing rudeness from everyone no matter where they come from. The test is in real everyday life to see how any nationality acts in their groupings. There are nasty people in every nation as there are good. The only way to get a perspective is to actually spend time in each country but that would be a major task in itself LOL!! The bottom line is just to treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. That seems to be missing anyway, everywhere these days. An almost forgotten trait.

Most Aussies aren’t too judgemental and like to give everyone a fair go. I’m in Western Australia and it’s laid-back, big, beautiful and safe. An awesome place to live 😁

There’s an old saying… You don’t judge the many by the faults of the few. There’s idiots in every society.

Well, in my previous life, dealt with many tourists and gave rides to dozens of Australians from different parts of the country. They are, for the most part, polite and easy going. By contrast, people from the UK were quite serious and enjoy reprimanding you for the most minor social transgression.

@@stevedavenport1202 So true. I recall getting off a flight in Cork and being greeted by a German grandmother sort who was admonishing people as they passed for the non-existent faux pas of their being present. It was a stereotype so comical that I certainly won't forget. Still, that is not a defining German characteristic, even if it is a common one.

You definitely should. :)

Samantha A if you do visit Australia Samantha, please visit Sydney. Wayne Holmes from Sydney, Australia.

@@thewayneflyinghigh9128 - Sydney is a hole :P Come to Queensland...or NSW if you don't wanna die of heatstroke. :P

Well, Australia was originally part of England and a penal colony, but I don't find fault with any Australians for that ! They still use a lot of British terms as well. I don't find fault with that. It's just there are different variations of English and I don't find fault with that as well.

Gene, the now, USA was part of England AND a penal colony as well.

Well, you are partly true and correct as to history. There were penal colonies in the Americas, of course (perhaps some even in North America), but the only country of the Americas which received sentenced people for a time was Brazil. Portugal extensively use the penalty of degredo (exile) to get rid of undesirables in an easy and profitable way.America was discovered in different regions by England, France, and Spain, Yes, they did send prisoners there and indentured servants which in time I believe after 7 years worked off their debts to own land be have a new life. Fact: Between 1788 and 1868, about 162,000 convicts were transported by the British government to various penal colonies in Australia.[1] The British government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. When transportation ended with the start of the American Revolution, an alternative site was needed to relieve further overcrowding of British prisons and hulks. Earlier in 1770, James Cook charted and claimed possession of the east coast of Australia for Britain. Seeking to pre-empt the French colonial empire from expanding into the region, Britain chose Australia as the site of a penal colony, and in 1787, the First Fleet of eleven convict ships set sail for Botany Bay, arriving on 20 January 1788 to found Sydney, New South Wales, the first European settlement on the continent. Other penal colonies were later established in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1803 and Queensland in 1824, while Western Australia, founded in 1829 as a free colony, received convicts from 1850. Victoria and South Australia remained free colonies. Penal transportation to Australia peaked in the 1830s and dropped off significantly the following decade. The last convict ship arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. I think I responded to a post about Americans being rude and not penal colonies !! But, to answer your post read above. I love Australia and it's people and I travel around the world. Come to Communist China now and live for a few years. I Think we as allies should show respect to one another re England, America, Australia and New Zealand. I never posted anything negative about Australia and I don't condemn the actions of the past for the people and country of today. The penal colonies conception was not new and France was very much into it as well.

Gene, Australia was occupied when the Europeans arrived. As was North and South America. Perhaps travel to England would highlight the dialectic differences.

Any country can have shootings regardless of gun laws. But, I am not a gun advocate as you might think me or most Americans are! American is a young country and was part of England and guns were a way of life while fighting the French, Indians and looking for food and later the British. The 2nd Amendment of our constitution is a bit ambiguous and that is why we have gun laws that vary from state to state and Americans disagreeing with each other. But, don't get to comfy "way down under" as you never know who and when someone might just shock your country ! I find these school shootings deplorable and agree on that but you are seeing the world through your "rose color glasses" to make that statement if you think Australia is immune to any gun violence in the future; and I only post this as I read of a shooting in Australia one to two years ago in one of your big cities. I don't slight Australia as you slight America as I am proud of my country and nothing and nobody like you doing a stupid post will change that. Laws can be broken and crazy and angry people can get a gun I don't care what your laws are wherever you many live.

I am in USA and I can confirm it. People are always trying to screw each other over. It is shocking when the customer at a restaurant demands things that are not on the menu and has the audacity to tell you you are wrong for bringing out what was specified on the menu. And if the steak is cooked M instead of MW they will send it back and fully expect a new steak without hesitation. I'm talking EVERY NIGHT! They're like ... "of course I get free food it was slightly wrong". Some people will refuse to pay for the food if they don't like it. It was a HUGE culture shock coming from New Zealand.

Your taxes are very high, cost of living is high, you have a lot of Islamic refugees/immigrants without jobs causing problems, your country is crawling with poisonous critters, very drought/fire/dust storm prone, ozone hole/high cancer rates. Most of the Australians I've talked to online are spelling and grammatically challenged and act like they have ADHD or are bipolar... Of course I'm generalizing here but guess what? So are you!

"Your taxes are very high"...they are? How much of your salary goes in income tax?

Ryan Privee don’t forget those damn drop bears, and the sharks and crocodiles. I found one in my shower yesterday ( not the drop bear).

One thing I found really hard when i moved to Australia is that I find that it is socially acceptable for people to be extremely condescending in Australia, especially the older generation. I have lived in Australia for years now and I still notice it. Canadians rarely act that way toward strangers.

With our Native Tongue? Are you referring to the Indigenous population speaking their many different languages or the Aussie accent.

smellyfinger yes that’s true, but we can’t, and that’s the difference.

Or a long black with milk on the side.

xxx..before

xxx. .bedio

fhhsvnggbh It also leaves a positive impact on the people, quite frankly that’s why us Aussies have a reputation for being laid back and friendly because almost everybody gets along

As a australian I wouldn't say that we try to have a conversation with service industry workers but when you phrase it as us asking for something, and particularly thanking the server, rather then saying what you'll have/what you expect it makes sense.

@Athrun Zala they actually say "faster please"? My god, the salesperson would smack you over the head here if you said that to them. Australia's very laid back, but there are very strict social norms that have to be obeyed. Always be polite and treat everyone like a friend, even if they just work in a shop.

That's the 'thing'. Those behind the counter are servers, they are in NO way, your servants!.

Very interesting!

It's a regional thing with yankees. Other parts of the country are more conversational in their ordering style.

The barking an order at them part of your comment is spot.This made me laugh so loud haha. I was born and bred in Australia. However, it depends on what city in Australia you are in with how much people converse in conversation etc. Sydney and Melbourne are not as friendly as say Perth, Hobart and Darwin. Those cities are very very different with what is seen as rude or not. Like in Perth, Hobart and Darwin it's normal to be conversation with people you don't even know and people commonly think you're unfriendly if you don't. Where as in Sydney the people can be seen as quite rude at times to people from Perth, Hobart and Darwin cities. The people are so so different in the busier cities. This is because Sydney and the bigger cities are fast past and it's not as common to see people chatting to randoms etc. You wouldn't go to Sydney or Melbourne etc. if you were looking for a cultural and traditional experience of Australia.

I have served people from all over the United State the rudest, nastiest people are from the North East.

it is because as australians we are and probably will always be far more laid back. less discipline over all. why would the army be much or at all different...

It costs nothing to smile or to be polite and it only takes seconds out of the day. The drawback is that saying nice things to someone may make them feel appreciated, or worse still, it may make their day brighter because someone has noticed they exist.

In a big city like London (UK) you'll see a wide variety of reactions/behaviours. Talking to taxi drivers and thanking bus drivers is uncommon but you do see it occasionally. The stress and rush of travelling around a city can make people forget/ignore other people, so if Australians (and anyone else) can remember to do this that's a good thing imo. In the USA in particular there is a tendency to treat staff as workers rather than people due to the culture of consumers and customers.

IN parramatta , no one will say hi to you lol

Sydney may as well be an American city anyway. People in Sydney are nothing like real Australians.

I loved London , great city, good vibes nice ppl friendly , clean city and subways, id love to go back and see more...

Aussie 1968 I really don’t know how many people say Sheila anymore..

One one does unless trying hard to sound Aussie.

@@OldAussieAds You'd be fun at parties with the "hidden agenda" accusation. Of course he was putting it on. That doesn't mean that everybody does it. I can't believe you needed that to be explained * eye roll *

Name And Address Supplied Not sure how you think I have a hidden agenda.

She seems like a nice bird.

Worse service I ever got was in a Starbucks and the coffee was put it this way dirty hot water with milk would taste better...

Starbucks fails everywhere that has a good Coffee Culture, - Australia, France, New Zealand, they will probably also fail in Italy. Starbucks in these countries are basically for tourists or americanophiles.

Geoff Dein make terrible coffee but great cappuccino

I don't even like coffee, so I can't even imagine....

Love to see how their new store in Milan will shape up.

There was a shooting at my university. But a guy jumped on him and saved everyone ❤❤❤ no one got shot.

@evan butler I'm Australian. Not American. This happened at Latrobe. Not well publicised, oops one fatality. 1999 just looked it up.

You also had a terrorist attack about a year ago I think and they had guns. I am not a gun advocate but any country is vulnerable to an attack by even a citizen of that country. Sure, you have gun laws and as an American I served in the military in Vietnam many years ago, but I feel very safe in America and I live in California which has almost 40 million people where Australia has as of 2018 about 26 plus million people. Don't politicalize a video based on your political agenda or not living in America in different states. Remember "don't throw stones if you live in a glass house". The fact that now in Europe there are many shootings and many countries have strict gun laws. You can write it off to terrorists but you talk about friendly and safe and make a judgment on a population that far exceeds your own. As for Australia I enjoyed it very much and the same for England and other countries. I DO NOT judge a country by a quick assertation/experience or what I read in a newspaper or tabloid. I have met rude people everywhere in my travels. I ask you now to come to where I am working and living on a contract in mainland China and not on a 2 week venture !! You want to see rude people and culture ? Yes, there are good and nice people as well here. So, let's not be quick to post and make a shallow judgment on a country you don't live in !!

@@user-qo2wv7zj5o I'm not totally pro gun laws but in all the cases I know of involving guns, there was one gun. At the Lindt seige it was one gun. The guy at Latrobe was one gun. People died, but it was more limited than say Port Arthur where he had heaps of guns and heaps of people were murdered, after which we brought in the laws. Personally I'm pro reasonable restrictions but on the fence beyond that.

There was also a shooting at Monash many years ago

I suppose that's why Americans need to leave a tip. Lol. How much your coffee cost you? Just $2 plus tax plus $5 tip. Australia how much your coffee cost. Just $2 but I ask how their day was.

Idk if your American or Australian I’m American and not all people are like this. Just because the video said people demand their orders doesn’t mean it’s true. There are plenty of nice people who kindly ask for their food and have conversations.

@@natig3542 - Americans have to leave tips because the poor waiters & waitresses only get a few bucks an hour; they live on tips. That's why it's always good to leave a tip.

Agreed with your points. A lot of people look at the fact that we as a people are not as philanthropic as the US population, but that is in a financial sense. It's at the grass roots level that we all help our neighbours and communities through volunteering, helping out someone on the side of the road, coaching kids sports etc. Local community person gets ill, half the town delivers meals, does household chores and makes sure the pets are fed and the bins put out. The local emergency services are nearly all volunteer based once you get out of the cities. I've seen a local city council CEO in his suit, out in a flash flooding situation filling sandbags next to one of the local doctors, a couple of 'dole bludgers', pretty well every other person within a 2km radius and local emergency service volunteers. A bloke from up the road that wasn't threatened had a bobcat that he was using to divert water from people's homes and the local red cross and salvos were setting up refreshments at the local SES depot for changeover crews as there were people from another 3 towns coming to help. This is the Australian "culture" that even us Aussies say we don't have.

YJ0AUF & Dezzls -> Quite possibly together the best posts on RU-vid of the year. Beautifully put.

Fair comment Dezzls, and thanks for your kind words Ozgrade3. The frustrating aspect of this is it's ok to talk Aussie culture in general, but as soon as we bring it forward to 'now-ish' contemporary culture is affected by politics. As much as I like to bag the incumbent government, I will (almost) refrain here and make a wider comment. Forget the sensationalism of the news cycle, forget bigotry and xenophobia, forget your personal situation, instead, spool every political policy you hear through a YES-NO filter of "Will this decision improve the life of the average Australian - or make it worse?" Within this statement I include the livelihood of the children and their future children too. Then apply this filter to anything any political party makes. Australia has a perfect real-life model to examine, right in front of it. If you execute a cultural model of making short term decisions that will centralise wealth and power, then say that "it's ok, because of the 'trickle down effect' on lower class citizens can maybe help them too... " Then extrapolate that culture of fear and greed for a couple of generations to see what it would do to a country, then I say Behold, go to the USA and have a good look around! So in many ways, Ashley's USA-Aussie comparisons are comparing an American social culture of today with an American social culture of 50 years ago. Yet we do have a political party in power hell-bent on following the self-destructive model of the USA as fast as it can. A bit sad really. All that I can do is to encourage people to go back and exercise that filter I spoke of. It's that simple. But sorry about my rant again.

Sounds very similar to the Dutch culture. Hierarchy over here is like our country; very flat. No sugarcoating, just tell it like it is, whether it is your boss, the prime minister or even the king of our country, they all have to go to the toilet and wipe their own ass, as we say here. Very opposite to our neighbour, Germany, where the boss is in charge instead of a co-worker... If you bark at people you will get the baddest service or even no service at all.

Our council closed the local library a few years ago. So a couple of ladies got together to creat a community library, all books donated by the public. An old fella has his electric trike stolen, his only mode of transport. The community raised funds to buy a new one and a local business paid to have it kitted out with the essentials he had previously. That's what we are about. I mean one of our Prime Ministers was punched in the head for being a dick.

In Australia, this is the minimum expectation :)

Used to go to a particular cafe with friends a lot. By our third group visit, we had a bug dinner there with BYO wines etc, were there for ages and literally every waiter/waitress had their staff meals out our table with us. We didnt know any ofnthem outside getting thenoccasional meal or coffee there

That’s it! You talk to all. Nobody is subservient to you and tips aren’t needed because bosses pay staff a decent wage

Sadly my new recent favourite coffee joint closed but by my third visit there the staff recognized me and what I ordered. When they closed they gave me a free coffee because I was a regular customer and almost always had a conversation while I waited.

Exactly, anything less than that, and you'll be considered short

Harold clark - That makes sooo much sense! Thanks for your insight :-)

I agree with this but I also think that it’s purely awful. I’m an American, and Im regretful of this frequently (I never felt like I belonged here- even as a kid- I’ve always wanted to leave, but it’s nearly impossible if you’re not wealthy. It’s especially awful because you have no control over where you’re born!). Of course not all Americans are inconsiderate or this or that (or whatever other quality is frequently observed), but I do believe the majority are indeed. My parents raised me to be empathetic, kind and caring (and all those other great qualities that will often put you at a disadvantage as an American), & I can’t be any other way. I know I could have a much better life elsewhere, among people more like me (!) (also considering I have a chronic illness and am in debt by thousands because of it), but since I’m just another working class gal with no way to get ahead (forget even ever catching up) I’m stuck here among hateful people for the rest of my life.

Gee Harold Clark: I travel all the time and now in mainland China and I find there are "rather inconsiderate (sic) people everywhere. I love the differences and I am an American. I would not just a few people in one part of America against all American as we are more diverse than you. We have millions of Spanish in California and other countries just in one state. I always greet whether going out to eat or buying coffee with a smile. Not everyone is rude and we have almost 40 million people in California where you have almost 26,000 in the entire country of Australia. Look it up ! Go to New York if you want more rude people ! When I go to Australia I don't like everything, but I do find Australia a nice place.

I have only been to Texas and Arizona and found the people mostly quite polite and friendly, the drivers are so polite compared to West Oz too. I guess it is pretty hard to make a sweeping statement about a place as large and diverse as the US. In reality I would never really understand many of the hidden things unless I could work there for a bit and travel some more. What I did sense is that it is a great place if you have a job but can be terrible if you are unemployed or on the bottom rungs of society. The video is pretty good because it is all the small differences that confused me the most and gave me the most enjoyment discovering and adapting to.

@@user-qo2wv7zj5o Actually, I spent a month in New York city, and people were so well mannered to me. They didn't know I was foreign, but I had a four year old son, tall for his age, and his legs were too tired to do all the walking my friend and I did there. I bought a stroller - I think Americans call them umbrella strollers - and would push him everywhere when he got tired. People thought he must be disabled, and they would hold doors open for me, and give me seats on the subway. They were so much more courteous than in my local town back home. Travelling on buses was like being at a party. LOL People would talk to each other or make a joke, and the whole bus seemed to join in. (That was in Queens, so maybe it was a local thing.) So I have a nice opinion of New Yorkers. Obviously there are always exceptions, and I was there for only a month.

tim smith Canberra is a very safe place....lots of government workers.

Thank you so much Tim Smith for your kind comments. I love chatting to visitors who come here. Most find our life style very laid back. (Hence the term "flat out like a lizard drinking!") I go to our shack beside the Murray River, alone with my dogs for about a week at a time. Sometimes I don't see another person for the whole week. I love sunrises and sunsets there... Silence....the birds are nesting...the animals are quiet.... and there is No sound.

tim smith, mention that to the girl in this video and maybe she might appreciate Australia a bit more than what she does.

The safer areas are the places where people have their own money. Places like Blacktown, parramatta etc still have high crime even with Centrelink.

Aussie high crime rate is a very low US crime rate. Keep your 9mm loaded and you will be right?

I bet your from somewhere like Logan City or the northern Suburbs of Adelaide. This is not a common thing in Australia and is done by a lower class of hominid generally referred to as a Bogan.

That is highly unlikely. Even with bad treatment, I cannot imagine anyone here doing something like that.

I don't ask service workers how they're going because I don't care. I do say g'day & thank you though.

Yeah, I'm "Hi! Uhmm... can I haaaave..?". But I think the line is barking orders. And any time I've seen someone try it, the staff tends to laugh and really weigh whether or not they want to serve the customer.

We do not care if you do not care, use your manners.

I say Howdy, I'd like .... .But Its the thanks that I think is most importent. I make sure I let them know I'm very thankfull for the servce, and I've picked up the "You Have a great Day" from the Americans. One of my mates says "Thanks, I really appreciate it." which is not too long or too abrupt.

Very true! I guess I'm looking for more of an Americano style.

turkish coffee is the best

That's a long black.

Hannah Friedle to me if my coffee doesn't have flavored creamer,its not coffee lol

Seriously? Wow! I couldn't imagine NOT saying please and thank you to anyone serving me. Even striking up a short convo while they ring up your things is commonplace in Aust here, and they often appreciate it if you joke with them, or appreciate and lament with them about their shitty hours or work conditions...or anything, really. To me at least, it's just showing some empathy and acknowledging that they are are another human being, just like me, and being polite and conversational and maybe even brightening their day with a compliment cost nothing. Why is thinking like this so foreign in America? Are they truly that self-centered and self important? No one is better than anyone else. They're just people!

Your last paragraph. All we do is say please and thank you etc. I’m thinking to myself, yeah coz that’s what being a decent human being is about. Common courtesy and common sense are really not that common though. It’s sad

@@TheMurlocKeeper unfortunately I think you hit the nail on the head. Yep some Americans are that self-centred. 🙄

Tipping was originally a way of getting served faster. It then became the norm

I have tipped people a few times, usually because they have gone out of their way. One time I flew into Melbourne from Canberra and was coming down with the flu, high temp, feverish, you know walking zombie. When I got to my home, the taxi driver opened the boot to get out my suitcases and took them up to my door for me, rather than just putting them on the driveway like usual. He said he could see I was sick and asked if I had someone to look after me or if need him to take me to a doctor, but I said I'd be fine my housemate would be home soon. I gave him a $10 tip (it was in the 80's so it was probably a 50% tip) for being so nice. Another time I was going to my parents and I had a boot full of stuff and my car broke down on the Westgate Bridge. After my car was towed (and was going to need a bunch of repairs - blown water pump etc) I had to get a taxi all the way to Packenham (about a $80 trip in those days - about 60km) and most taxis wouldn't take me because there would be no fare for a return trip. I got one guy finally and we chatted on the way, he told me about his family, we swapped jokes and he even helped me get all of my stuff back into the house when we got there. He got a $50 tip (I would have given more but I didn't have any more cash and they didn't do EFTPOS in taxis in those days) as a thanks... and when he got into his taxi he got another call to go all the way back to Melbourne! He was another nice guy and he could have just dumped my stuff and been surly but we had a friendly chat on the way and he was kind.

cream has high fat content and then milk came along.

Or ask for a long black with milk on the side.

It's a nice thicker milk, you get used to it and it's cheaper to get a drip coffee....

Coffee creamer is rubbish - it’s like a lot of US foodstuffs, fake. Also should try the US version of a Caesar Salad - it usually comes with small marshmellows to sweeten it. After a while, I found all US food tasted sweet. Just longed for a salad sandwich. And the comments made about “barking out an order” - it’s 100% true for the Yanks and I found their attitude to serving staff terrible. Then again, a waiter’s concept of good service is coming over to the table every few minutes asking “how’s everything”. At first it was amusing but it soon became infurating.

I was thinking of it as a noun; a person can be a "coffee creamer". Some sort of highly sexualised weirdo. Look at that guy with the nuts hanging out of his jeans! What a coffee creamer!

And we'll take the Irish over Brits any day. 😎

I am an american. And am saddened by many of the negative comments made. I am also very interested in australian culture. It is ver different from the us. I myself say hello to w Everyone in a restaurant from waiter staff to busboys or janitors may e ar I esd raised in the midwest area of the us. I would be embarrassed to be thought of as rude or impolite.have been to many countries and always respect everyone and thank them all. These comments above have opened my eyes to some folks poor manners. If a mate of mine were rude to someone I would cal thrm on it and be put off by their actions I thank all for the informative comments! Have a good day mates!

In fact, most wildlife should be avoided either for safety reasons or safety reasons, or, if you're not sure, for safety reasons. Even the cute wildlife can hurt. And watch out for the Drop Bears.

Ah yes. Drop bears. Had an encounter just last week! Nasty stuff.

AUSSIEDAVEROCKS haha I'm not really a huge fan of calling it that either to be honest.

aussiedaverocks. You people are walking upside down - face it and accept it!

John Smith Well after looking at your avatar, I can tell you that I don't walk around dragging my knuckles, or go around flinging my poop at people. Can you say the same of yourself?

The term down under originally was used by the British meaning we were "beneath" them both on the paper map and status. Now we use all over the place in a joking sort of way😎

Hahaha what.

LOL

Fucking love that movie, you should see animal house

Jeez I hope that's not what American colleges are actually like, those 80s movies were full of sexual predators relentlessly sexually harassing, terrorizing, assaulting & sometimes even raping women. The so-called "heroes" were usually villains.

@@karar7796 - quick you need to get on twitter now and expose the patriarchy

Kara R Turns out a lot of these creepy Revenge of The Nerds predators grew up to become monstrous criminals like Weinstein and Epstein.