-DISCLAIMER- The U.S.A. is my favorite country on earth, my home and where I want to live, mostly...
The pics below are taken from a two or three block strip in the center of downtown. It's harder to find these sorts of places elsewhere in Melbourne, but admittedly, I haven't been everywhere.
The pics below are taken from a two or three block strip in the center of downtown. It's harder to find these sorts of places elsewhere in Melbourne, but admittedly, I haven't been everywhere.
Sometimes, I'm very paranoid about my accent and feel the need to apologize for being American, or rather, apologize for the actions of some Americans. "Dear Australia, I'm sorry that when our economy tanks, your economy tanks. I'm sorry that when we go to war, we force you to choose sides. I'm sorry that Jennifer Aniston is on all of your magazine covers as well."
On the other hand, when I tell people my website address, they comment, "Oh, nice, you don't have to have a country suffix on your websites. You just get a "dot" com (instead of .com.au)." And I think, "Yeah! Damn straight. We win! We're number 1! We get dot com. USA! USA! USA!"
Yesterday in class we were discussing the "Yes we can" slogan of Obama and the Australians all commented on how that wouldn't work here. They would be a bit skeptical of a "Yes we can" opting more for "Perhaps we can" or "What if we can't?"
Australians are also much more casual than us and I'm having difficulty adjusting to this. Libraries close at 6? Computer labs close at 5? You have to sign up to practice in the evening and weekends? I feel like I want to grab the whole city by the arm and say, "C'mon, let's go, Let's go!" I consider myself a pretty laid-back person, but also a need-to-be-busy person. When I complained about the computer lab hours to my classmates they looked at me like I was some coke addict. They also commented that Americans ARE seen as "can-do" people. "Yeah, that's right. I CAN DO it. I don't need coke, but if I want it, I can get it. It's a free country. Don't tread on me. USA! USA! USA!"
Lastly, my Brazilian roommate says that many Latin and South American people are offended by "Americans" calling themselves as such, seeing that we aren't the only ones living in "America" (you know, North and South America). He asked if maybe we could call ourselves, "United Statesians" or something. Hmm, probably not gonna go over too well. But what are you gonna do about it, Brazil, or Honduras, or Guyana? Nothing, USA! USA! USA!
Yesterday in class we were discussing the "Yes we can" slogan of Obama and the Australians all commented on how that wouldn't work here. They would be a bit skeptical of a "Yes we can" opting more for "Perhaps we can" or "What if we can't?"
Australians are also much more casual than us and I'm having difficulty adjusting to this. Libraries close at 6? Computer labs close at 5? You have to sign up to practice in the evening and weekends? I feel like I want to grab the whole city by the arm and say, "C'mon, let's go, Let's go!" I consider myself a pretty laid-back person, but also a need-to-be-busy person. When I complained about the computer lab hours to my classmates they looked at me like I was some coke addict. They also commented that Americans ARE seen as "can-do" people. "Yeah, that's right. I CAN DO it. I don't need coke, but if I want it, I can get it. It's a free country. Don't tread on me. USA! USA! USA!"
Lastly, my Brazilian roommate says that many Latin and South American people are offended by "Americans" calling themselves as such, seeing that we aren't the only ones living in "America" (you know, North and South America). He asked if maybe we could call ourselves, "United Statesians" or something. Hmm, probably not gonna go over too well. But what are you gonna do about it, Brazil, or Honduras, or Guyana? Nothing, USA! USA! USA!
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If you look closely, you can see Subway, 7-11, Coca-Cola, AND Krispy Kreme down the way. I was telling my roommate how Subway blows and in the U.S. you can't get a decent vegetarian sub at Subway. He was surprised, saying that Australian Subway is probably better and I should try it out. I'm skeptical. They still have the triangle cheese.
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Internet at McDonalds! Now you can bring your laptop while you eat french fries! All the McDonalds(es?) I've seen also have a "McCafe" where you can get fancy coffee drinks and pastries, albeit McDonalds versions.
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This is the Australian Burger King. I guess they already had a place named Burger King in Adelaide. I checked out the menu and they still have the Whopper.
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KFC, really? Gross.
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There are actually quite a few donut places downtown. There are also cupcake places and at the farmer's markets, they sell "gourmet cupcakes."
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I guess I don't know if EB Games is American.
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Yep, there's Starbucks, and like 4 of them in a 6 block radius. I know, it's ridiculous.
God bless AMERICA the CONTINENT :)
ReplyDeleteBig hugs! I'm going to the other tip of AMERICA in a couple of days