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| How American are you now? | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 5 2010, 10:06:23 PM (10,121 Views) | |
| Dev | Aug 5 2010, 10:06:23 PM Post #1 |
"No day but today."
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The 28th of May this year marked my sixth year living in Australia. Six years! On one hand, it feels like the time has flown past rather quickly. However, my life has changed so much and so many times in this span of years. I've fully adapted to the Australian way of life and can barely remember how things are done "back home"! Going back to the States has now become the adventure for me - Rediscovering things from my past that I had forgotten or discovering new awesome things to miss when I return to Australia. In turn, I have also noticed that the cliche old saying rings pretty true: "You can take the girl out of the USA, but you can't take the USA out of the girl!" As much as I've assimilated to Australian life, there are some things that are fundamentally American about me.  Here are some things that have popped up as of late:1. Despite having a generally healthy lifestyle now, I had a MASSIVE craving for hot dogs and baked beans tonight. Luckily for me, my local milk bar sells honest-to-God hot dogs. Having my beloved craved dish for dinner has made for one very happy Devon. 2. Every time I see A&W Root Beer sold somewhere, I automatically rush over to buy a can. 3. I don't know if this stems from the military culture in the USA or just the boys in my hometown, but I found out that I am still sooooooo attracted to the whole boot camp thing. My housemate recently got a fun side job at a paintball place and was required to get camo gear for the job. He came out of his room the other day after shopping in a brown t-shirt, brown and green camo pants and boots.    *melt*4. I still refuse to pronounce it "or-i-gone-oh" (oregano)! 5. The occasional "dude" still manages to slip into my conversations. This is more amusing to my friends now that it is immediately followed by some sort of Australian slang. So now I'm curious: For those of you that have been here for an extended period of time (say...3+ years), what little traits of yours are still inherently American? 
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Devon ----------------------- "What a shame that bitter irony has no nutritional value." 
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| janders1957 | Aug 6 2010, 01:33:00 AM Post #2 |
True Blue Mate
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Have you been around long enough (and willing to admit) to know that canned A&W Root Beer is but a pale imitation of what the franchise once sold from the tap? God, I miss that... Though I'm not even there yet permanently, I really look forward to my first visit back to the States after a couple years down under. I most want to try and gain an appreciation for what an American 'accent' sounds like to an Aussie. |
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| DS6540 | Aug 6 2010, 11:16:20 AM Post #3 |
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True Blue Mate
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I've been here for about 5 years now, and I still have not let go of American pricing expectations. I can't come to accept that a reasonably priced car costs $30k new, and that I should expect to pay $1M for a house close to the city. |
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| SanDiablo | Aug 7 2010, 09:52:29 AM Post #4 |
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True Blue Mate
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I swear I dreamed about chili dogs last night. |
| "I'll try anything twice." | |
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| (provocateur) | Aug 7 2010, 11:35:40 AM Post #5 |
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I'm 100% American, but comfortable living where I do. Posting from Saratoga Springs, NY tonight with 10 days to go. |
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| shylady | Aug 7 2010, 12:40:20 PM Post #6 |
oldYank
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that was sooo good, saving your glass gallon jugs and taking them up for a refill! eta: Though then we started making our own, and that was good, too! Edited by shylady, Aug 7 2010, 12:42:41 PM.
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| RachaelK | Aug 7 2010, 01:32:00 PM Post #7 |
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True Blue Mate
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That'd be me too. I haven't been in Oz all that long but I haven't lived in the US for about 4 years now and still 100% American - just with a few funny expressions now and again. And I'm SO jealous you're in Toga right now. I'm missing race season like crazy! |
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| wd9and | Aug 7 2010, 05:31:24 PM Post #8 |
Chinwagger
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Hmmm.. After 20 years here I also refuse to say o-rae-ghan-o that's just silly... I won't say 'boot' instead of trunk I won't say 'bonnet' instead of hood. I always say windshield. (I tell the unwashed masses that a wind 'screen' would let the air through) I fly the American flag over my little patch of Oz.. so my neighbors are convinced I'm some sort of spy. I have my friends over for Thanksgiving & the 4th of July. I give my staff the day off on Memorial Day, 4th of July & Thanksgiving (they think I'm crazy but I think they still love me). I make my own Half & Half It's a GAS station... It'll always be a DRUG store. and I occasionally head for the left hand door of the car... Still... After all these years.. Scary stuff... |
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Alex Colquitt - Director the Lake FM & 2USA Australia's only American Multicultural Radio Station | |
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| shylady | Aug 7 2010, 05:48:56 PM Post #9 |
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oldYank
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 And tinfoil is tinfoil, not alumin-i-um foil. 
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| wd9and | Aug 7 2010, 06:17:30 PM Post #10 |
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Chinwagger
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Bwah Ha Ha! Absolutely! It's one of those words that always turns heads when I go to buy the stuff. And did you know Aluminium was also the accepted spelling in the U.S. until 1925, at which time the American Chemical Society decided to use the name aluminum thereafter in their publications. The Canadians say Aluminum.. The Aussies say Aluminium.. Now, you'll have to excuse me whilst I run down to the Chemist and purchase some plasters. |
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Alex Colquitt - Director the Lake FM & 2USA Australia's only American Multicultural Radio Station | |
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| Bindie | Aug 7 2010, 08:05:58 PM Post #11 |
True Blue Mate
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LOL. I don't think you have to give up one for the other. It's better to be MORE not LESS. Assimulating to a culture and saying tomahto, doesn't mean you're less American. It just means you making it easier to commuicate. I"m a firm believer of "when in Rome." I wish my accent was LESS American. I would rather not answer questions about where I'm from. I just want to.... be. |
 The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
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| Dev | Aug 8 2010, 12:40:26 AM Post #12 |
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"No day but today."
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LOL I don't get that as much anymore. I guess working in customer service for so long has changed my accent, at least in a work setting. Nowadays when someone asks me where I'm from, I say, "Blackburn!" They give me weird looks, then laugh.
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Devon ----------------------- "What a shame that bitter irony has no nutritional value."
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| (provocateur) | Aug 8 2010, 06:23:35 AM Post #13 |
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Deleted
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My experience is different from others here. I can't remember the last time anyone asked where I was from. 2 exactas yesterday. I'm killing the rest of winter up here. |
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| shylady | Aug 8 2010, 01:23:40 PM Post #14 |
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oldYank
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I've had an accent all my life, doesn't matter WHERE I've lived, I confuse people everywhere~
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| Sallynec5 | Aug 8 2010, 09:40:29 PM Post #15 |
True Blue Mate
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Amen to these posts! I've found it so hard to decide what's the lesser evil - say it the way the Aussies say it and sound silly (in my own mind), or say it the way I say it and get made fun of by the Aussies. It depends on the word, but for the most part I just say it the way I would normally say it (the American way) and get made fun of. I'm not changing who I am because for me personally, when I start doing that I feel weird and silly and that's just not cool. I'd rather feel like "me". Edited by Sallynec5, Aug 8 2010, 09:41:30 PM.
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Hi! I'm Nikki and I moved to Mackay, QLD in Sept '08. I'm an aunt to a beautiful girl named Violet who I love soo much and the wife of an amazing Aussie who treats me like a queen
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| Reader3333 | Aug 9 2010, 03:21:17 PM Post #16 |
True Blue Mate
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lol!!! Nikki... I've heard you!! you SOUND AUSSIE!!! lolol |
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| TerritorianTori | Aug 9 2010, 03:42:02 PM Post #17 |
Dance to disco
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Hmmm... I think it's one thing when you make a conscious decision not to do something (such as, say "to-mah-to"), and quite another when it happens naturally. Neither is wrong, necessarily, but it's interesting to me to see what factors people use to define who they are. Anyway... My six-year anniversary is coming up on August 20. 1. I still import Secret deodorant because the stuff available here just doesn't cut it in Darwin's biting humidity. 2. Actually, I import a lot of stuff from America - clothes, bras, even puzzle books. 3. I also seek out A&W root beer and other American products, just for a treat. But I can also go months, even years, without it. 4. I eat PB&J, and I've raised my kids on it, too.  I have a lot of contacts back in America, but I often find myself unable to relate to them as a fellow countryman. Culturally, I am much more Australian now. I find that I sound very Aussie to some Americans, but to Aussies I still sound very American. Go figure. I still have to field questions about where I'm from, but thankfully not as often nowadays.  |
 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
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| Sallynec5 | Aug 9 2010, 06:13:07 PM Post #18 |
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True Blue Mate
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Yes, I agree, it is different if it happens "naturally", but I personally don't feel natural at all saying "toe-mah-toe". Not saying that everyone else is like me, I'm just saying that's how I feel about it. I'd rather feel like I'm being "me" and say "toe-may-toe" than try to fit in by saying "toe-mah-toe". Definitely not bagging anyone out for doing this! This is about each individual person's feelings and I feel weird saying it "the Aussie way" so I just say it "the American way". But like I was saying before, either way, I get made fun of haha! You just have to laugh about it I guess... And Vicki - I remember you telling me you thought I sounded Aussie - but I definitely don't think I do!!!! I think I have rounded off the 'harshness' in my accent in some ways just by being around Aussies 24/7, but I don't think I sound "Aussie". I've been told ever since I moved here that I have a very 'neutral' accent, so I think it's just partly the way I sound too! haha I know what you're saying Tors - some Americans think I sound Aussie but then Aussies think I sound American. It's like you're in this weird in between state.
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Hi! I'm Nikki and I moved to Mackay, QLD in Sept '08. I'm an aunt to a beautiful girl named Violet who I love soo much and the wife of an amazing Aussie who treats me like a queen
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| Bindie | Aug 9 2010, 07:10:25 PM Post #19 |
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True Blue Mate
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That's exactly what I meant. You're so good with words, Tors! I'm comfortable with tomahto, but banana will always be banana. It sounds fake saying it otherwise. =) I'm not sure the words we use define our nationality are who we are, anyway. I think it's more about how comfortable you are, when the holidays wear off and real life begins. When things start feeling normal, when the news doesn't rattle you cause the map the weather man points to is all wrong. . . that sorta stuff. |
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The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
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| Sallynec5 | Aug 9 2010, 08:08:25 PM Post #20 |
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True Blue Mate
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I also often wonder if the reason that brought you to Oz is a factor in how quickly you do or do not feel comfortable with different things. For example, some people moved here for work, others because they wanted adventure, some for love and for others it was a safer place for them and/or their families. Some moved here because they didn't like where they were living. I'd be curious to see how big of a part that plays in the whole scheme of things... |
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Hi! I'm Nikki and I moved to Mackay, QLD in Sept '08. I'm an aunt to a beautiful girl named Violet who I love soo much and the wife of an amazing Aussie who treats me like a queen
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