Culture etc - different strokes for different folks (5 Viewers)

A warning to forum members coming to Australia ! Forget about the sharks and spiders but beware the purple stuff.
As mentioned by Ozdigger earlier in this thread Australian food joints have a habit of including beetroot in many of their burgers and sandwiches. In Macdonalds it is clearly indicated so the unwary won't be caught out (it is called the McOz ! so it would appear beetroot is a particularly Aussie thing).
However the danger is you can order something you think is edible but they will throw in a thick slice of the purple stuff which then pollutes the rest of the food. Makes the bread go soggy and ruins the taste. I am partial to bacon and egg "burgers" which are usually just bacon and egg. Can ruin my morning if it turns up with a slice of beetroot inside. You always have to be on the alert for the beetroot being slipped inside without you realising that is the way they make it. I always specify "no beetroot".
Other than that Australia is a great place to live. There is the occasional difficulty when sporting events take place between England and Australia and the kids are supporting Australia and I am supporting England.
Previously lived in Hong Kong for twenty years. Big hint for me to leave Hong Kong was when I took my 5 year old daughter to the Police Training School for an Easter egg hunt. When she saw the cricket pitch she said "look Daddy
grass". That's when I started to think about leaving. If I had stayed I would probably have been one of the last Europeans in the Hong Kong Government/Police and would still have seven more years to go (a clue as to my age). Still about 200 there.
Incidentally Ozdigger I presume I know you, or should, but have not been able to work out who you are. Let me know next time you see me as have been curious for quite a while !!!
Regards to all Brett Williams Brisbane Australia.
 
Brett, a taste for the purple stuff only comes when you develop a true Aussie accent ;)

PM sent about your other query.
 
Just watched a show called Australia's deadly dozen. If it's not snakes, it's spiders or crocs, or sharks and even an octopuss, now this purple stuff. Sounds like everyday is an adventure in survival. Here all we have is fast moving cars and drive by shootings.
 
That purple stuff is tough as anything, in fact it's often said in Australia that you can't beat-a-root, or something like that :)
 
OzDigger. I am quite happy with my "Pommie" accent. Luckily I lived out of Uk for most of my life as otherwise could have ended up with a "Scouse" accent (I am from Liverpool in UK).
However a sign I was becoming Aussiefied was when I started to watch cricket and now even watch complete Rugby League games.
However could never be a Victorian as that Australian Rules stuff is hard to get into. Very physical but I just don't get it.
 
The Military Workshop said:
OzDigger. I am quite happy with my "Pommie" accent. Luckily I lived out of Uk for most of my life as otherwise could have ended up with a "Scouse" accent (I am from Liverpool in UK).
However a sign I was becoming Aussiefied was when I started to watch cricket and now even watch complete Rugby League games.
However could never be a Victorian as that Australian Rules stuff is hard to get into. Very physical but I just don't get it.
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So am I :) A number of toy soldier collectors and dealers in Australia seem to have at least a slight "pommie" accent as most of them came from the UK.

I played soccer up to high school level and have coached two kids teams locally. I'm not a big soccer fan but always watch any Socceroo games and go for the red team, be it Liverpool or Manchester in the UK FA comp, I guess I just like red :)

I mainly watch Cricket and League games for the beer side of things rather than any real interest in either game since the 1970's, and have never watched an entire Aussie Rules game.
 
Sorry, I guess we eat our hotdogs completely wrong here--pass the ketchup and mustard please!;)
Pete informs me that "no ketchup" is the Chicago-style way to eat your hotdog so I guess if you're not in Chicago it's "normal" to add ketchup. (He spent his college years in Chicago) We are also known to add chili for a chili dog, some hotdogs come with cheese inside them aptly named cheesedogs and then there is the whole realm of bratwurst which is topped with mustard and/or sauerkraut. Cucumber pickles go on hamburgers but never on hotdogs. Sweet pickle relish goes on hotdogs (not mine!) but never on hamburgers. In my opinion the best hamburger toppings are bacon and a slice of cheddar cheese (a bacon cheeseburger).
Ketchup is a mix of tomato sauce, vinegar, sweetener and spices that we put primarily on french fries but also on hamburgers and hotdogs. I've known small children who put it on almost everything including their scrambled eggs which sounds nasty to me.

Okay, there are some answers, now I have some questions:
What's a Pommie accent? And what do the names Bruce and Sheila have to do with Australia?
 
There really isn't any rights or wrongs, however there are two types of places, one which put the fixings on for you and the ones you do yourself. If you are in one of the places in Chicago that puts the fixings on your dogs and you ask for ketchup, they may refuse to do so, or not so politely ask you to leave. At the very least they will give you a look of disgust. Most of the best hot dogs places aren't your typical brick and mortar building, but rather some old utility van put up on blocks, part of an old school bus or some plywood structure, these are the ones people drive miles to just to get some hotdogs.
 
Give me a Sabretts "dirty water dog" from a NYC street vendor with mustard and onions any day. I've done the Chicago places (Hans grew up working in one of the best ones) and its just not as good.
 
Shannon
In southern hemisphere slang
Pommie refers to anything Bristish and is slightly derogatory. Hence the term Whinging Pom
Saffer is a South African.Sometimes also called Japies because we say Ja not yes
Rhodie or Whenwe is a fomrer Rhodesian who always starts a converstaion with the words When we were in Rhodesia
A Zimbo is a white Zimbabwean
It is a legend that all Aussies are called Bruce or Sheila and the term Sheila is slang for a girl in AUssie. Which is a better term than the words used by some Amercian Rap stars.
Cricket is played by two teams of 11 men. It is equivakent of baseball.
Rugby, Aussie Rules and Rugby league involve two teams id men cahsing a ball. You can pick up the balll and run whereas in soccer you can only kick the ball.

I stand to be corrected by more knowledgable members of the forum.

Regards
Damian Clarke
 
Also in Chicago, they put celery seed on hod dogs. You ask for pickelly instead of relish. I ask for pickelly here and you get a blank look. Leadmen
 
Shannon Reuss said:
Sorry, I guess we eat our hotdogs completely wrong here--pass the ketchup and mustard please!;)
Pete informs me that "no ketchup" is the Chicago-style way to eat your hotdog so I guess if you're not in Chicago it's "normal" to add ketchup. (He spent his college years in Chicago) We are also known to add chili for a chili dog, some hotdogs come with cheese inside them aptly named cheesedogs and then there is the whole realm of bratwurst which is topped with mustard and/or sauerkraut. Cucumber pickles go on hamburgers but never on hotdogs. Sweet pickle relish goes on hotdogs (not mine!) but never on hamburgers. In my opinion the best hamburger toppings are bacon and a slice of cheddar cheese (a bacon cheeseburger).
Ketchup is a mix of tomato sauce, vinegar, sweetener and spices that we put primarily on french fries but also on hamburgers and hotdogs. I've known small children who put it on almost everything including their scrambled eggs which sounds nasty to me.

Okay, there are some answers, now I have some questions:
What's a Pommie accent? And what do the names Bruce and Sheila have to do with Australia?
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Shannon, thanks for the info on hotdogs, I feel much better now about putting sauce and mustard on them :)

Damian is partly correct, but there is no real Southern Hemisphere slang because Australia and Africa are far apart and have few cultural ties. And I suspect he may have a problem with Aussies because we always beat them at sport :p

Here's the Australian version of some slang terms.

Pommie/Pom does indeed refer to people from England and does not usually include people from the other parts of the UK such as Scotland or Wales. So if someone speaks with a "pommie" accent, to most Australians it just means they speak like someone from England. Btw, Brett from The Military Workshop has a barely noticeable "pommie" accent because he has lived here for some time. However he still doesn't like beetroot apparently, but there are a lot of Aussies that don't like beetroot either.

The names Bruce and Sheila came to some fame in 1970's movies such as "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie" which was an over the top comedy about an outback type of Aussie travelling to England: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068173/

Btw, the character Edna Everage now Dame Edna (played by Barry Humhphries) became a popular character world wide and he/she is still making the most of it. The beer brand "Fosters" also became popular overseas mainly because of these movies, but as I have often said before, NO ONE in Australia would ever drink Fosters.

Despite the movie hype, Bruce and Sheila are not common names in Australia, nor is Brett really, and the slang term "Sheila" for a girl went out of fashion in the 1950's.

Global communication and pop culture now means that most Australian children wouldn't know what the term "Sheila" used to mean but they certainly would be familiar with African/American terms made popular in in the US such as "biatch" and "ho" as Damian suggested.

White escapees from Africa are becoming more common in Australia. And those from Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) are usually called "Zims", those from South Africa are called something else :) Their accents sound much the same to most Aussies and it's not easy for some Aussies to tell them apart, the same for us with Americans and Canadians. However I have found that white South Africans have a more Afrikan type of accent due to thier mainly Dutch heritage, whereas most Zims are from English extraction. But neither seem to have much of a sense of humor, maybe Damian is an exception :)
 
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Leadmen said:
Also in Chicago, they put celery seed on hod dogs. You ask for pickelly instead of relish. I ask for pickelly here and you get a blank look. Leadmen
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I think that in Chicago they use celery salt not celery seed.:)
 
From TV etc I know that different counties in the US and I believe the UK have their own police force.

This is very different in Australia as we don't have County Police. And have a State Police Force which covers all enforcement duties in all urban and rural areas of each state, whilst the Australian Federal Police (AFP) handle specific Federal matters. The average Australian would only see AFP officers at their main airports whereas State Police officers can be seen anywhere throughout the state.

The vehicles used varies slightly depending upon the duties required, but four door Holden Commodores are the most common and are usually colored White with Blue checked stripes: http://www.inthejob.com/

qldvx2ss1.jpg


However, Highway Patrol Vehicles such as this two door Holden Monaro (Pontiac GTO) pictured below from the Queensland Highway Patrol section are usually more colorful and faster :) Note that some Queensland Police are issued with broadbrimmed hats rather than caps as it gets hot here, this guy pictured in Brisbane wouldn't look out of place in Texas :D

iholdenmonarovzqldpoliclj9.jpg
 
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OZ
There are no cultural ties mostly because we have no culutre.It may be different in Australia where they are very cultured but in Africa we are not.

Regards
Damian
 
What is Kool Aid with lemon. I don't think we have it here. It must be delicious as everyone is talking about it
Regards
Damian
 
Culture differences do not only divide continents,they also divide households.My wife for instance absolutely refuses to even consider eating pizza with Pinapple on it.Its unatural in her opinion:D

Rob
 
OzDigger said:
From TV etc I know that different counties in the US and I believe the UK have their own police force.

This is very different in Australia as we don't have County Police. And have a State Police Force which covers all enforcement duties in all urban and rural areas of each state, whilst the Australian Federal Police (AFP) handle specific Federal matters. The average Australian would only see AFP officers at their main airports whereas State Police officers can be seen anywhere throughout the state.

The vehicles used varies slightly depending upon the duties required, but four door Holden Commodores are the most common and are usually colored White with Blue checked stripes: http://www.inthejob.com/

qldvx2ss1.jpg


However, Highway Patrol Vehicles such as this two door Holden Monaro (Pontiac GTO) pictured below from the Queensland Highway Patrol section are usually more colorful and faster :) Note that some Queensland Police are issued with broadbrimmed hats rather than caps as it gets hot here, this guy pictured in Brisbane wouldn't look out of place in Texas :D

iholdenmonarovzqldpoliclj9.jpg
Click to expand...

So what about the last of the V8 Interceptors (a little Mad Max reference)?
 
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