| How do I greet people in Australia? Do we have to shake hands?
The first time you are introduced to someone you will probably
shake hands. Australians are generally relaxed and social situations
tend to be quite informal. After the first meeting, a simple “hi”
or “how’s it going?” will do amongst friends.
Is it very expensive to eat out in Australia? I’m sure there are
no Indonesian-style ‘warung’ where we can find cheap food.
There are a whole range of different places to eat in Australia
to suit all budgets. You can also find a fantastic variety of different
food from all over the world, e.g from Vietnam, Thailand, Greece, India,
Turkey – and, of course, Indonesia. Prices for a meal start at around $7.
Food on campus is very reasonably priced too. Enjoy your tucker!
Can you explain to me what is the ‘outback’?
The outback is the huge, mainly uninhabited interior of Australia.
Did you know that the majority of Australians live on the coast, mainly
the east coast?
I’m confused about what to call my lecturers – Professor? And what
about other students?
Lecturers will usually tell you at the beginning of the course
what they would like to be called. This depends on the lecturer –
some like to be called by their first names, others by their title and
surname. With fellow students first names are used. |
Aussie Slang
Here are some common expressions which you will probably hear in
Australia.
No worries, mate. – It’s ok, don’t worry.
She’ll be apples – Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.
How’re ya going? – How are you?
Awesome –fantastic, great
Daggy – old-fashioned
Wotchabinupta? (What have you been up to?) - how are you?/ how are
things?
The idiot box – the TV
To chew someone’s ear off – to talk too much
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Party ... Party ... Party
One day my friend invited me to a party. At the party my friend
came up to me and asked if I would like a drink. "Yes please", I replied.
A few minutes later my friend came back and gave me a bottle of beer".
Oh no", I said. "I don't drink alcohol". "But you said you
wanted a drink," replied my friend. Then we realized we had misunderstood
each other. I meant water but in Australian culture ‘a drink’
means alcohol. Anyway, I finally got what I wanted!
Agustina (ex-EAP student)
My supervisor invited me to a BBQ at his house. I had 2 bottles
of beer and felt I had drunk enough, so when my supervisor asked me if
I would like another I said 'thanks', meaning I appreciated his offer but
really didn't want to drink anymore. However, he handed me a fresh
bottle and I realised that I should have said 'NO thanks'.
(Willy Yape, ex-ADS student)
When my students first come to Australia, I often ask them
what their biggest problem is, and usually they say "I can't understand
Australians!" This is because many Australians speak quickly and
use a lot of slang. It was particularly difficult for my students
to use the phone - one of my Polish students simply hung up in fear!
Luckily, this problem is not permanent and after several weeks they can
feel their listening improving. It can only get better!
(Sarah Wood)
Don't Touch Me!
This is an experience involving a student in a year 7 class at a
school in NSW. As an assistant teacher representing Indonesia, I
was assigned to teach this class Indonesian. All the teachers agreed
that this class was very difficult to teach as their motivation was so
low. I tried several different approaches, including games, etc,
but the students just continued to fight and talk and refused to listen
to me. During one lesson I got annoyed with one particular student
who was either just sitting on his desk or jumping around the class.
I had had enough so I went up to the boy, grabbed his hand and made him
sit on his chair. Apparently he didn't like this and
said, "I'm going to sue you". This puzzled me a bit. In  Indonesia,
teachers are highly respected and the situation in the classroom would
never have happened in the first place. I reported the matter to
the Principal. He told me that in Australia teachers do not touch
students under any circumstances.
(M. Bundhowi)
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