A little something about the Melbournians

We’ve been more than six months in Australia now and I have been spending some time observing the local population, the Melbournians. This is what I have noted so far:

Australians love tattoos! Both men and women Or blokes and sheilas in Aussie English. There are more tattoo parlors than there are pizzerias. The fashion in tattoos seem to be ”the bigger the better” or ”the more the merrier”. Sheilas seem to prefer having their legs decorated by permanent ink, blokes have them anywhere visible. Sometimes I tell my daughters that I’m considering popping in to the tattooist by the school before I pick them up. They don’t believe me, I’m not cool enough. I have ear piercings though; three in the left ear and two in the right ear. That’s the level of my coolness.

Australians love to drink! There’s a liquor shop by every grocery store and there are a great number of drive-thru liquor stores as well. Liquor stores are also called bottlemarts – or bottle-o’s. Good to know is that ”hotel” doesn’t necessarily mean ”an establishment providing accommodation, meals and other services to travelers and tourists”. A hotel i Melbourne could also be an establishment providing food and entertainment with an adjoining bottlemart. There are always promotions in these shops with ”Buy 2 get 1 free” or ”Buy for AUD 75 and get 30% discount”. The Scandinavian governments attempts to get their populations to drink less have not influenced the Australians. My husband and I do not drink very often; a glass of wine with our dinner on Friday and Saturday every once in a while. The taste of sour wine, brewed in the bathrooms and laundry rooms of fellow-expatriates in Kuwait is luckily just a faint memory by now.

You need to put fuel in your car yourself, but you do get help when you want to fuel up yourself!

Australians love their AFL! That is Australian Rule Football, known as ”footie”. It is similar to American football and rugby; just less protection and more violence. The players’s outfits consist of very short and tight shorts and a tight, sleeveless t-shirt to show off tattoos and biceps. The two major clubs in Melbourne are Collingwood and Carlton. You will be asked which one you favor and judged based on your choice. This can make or break friendships. We get the question often and always answer: ”we’re new to Australia” and this is a totally acceptable answer and we are not pressured into taking positions.

                    The most Australian of sports and no, I do not watch it. 

I’d love to continue unfolding the truths about Melbournians but unfortunately I have to call it a day now. It’s Sunday evening and time to serve the family dinner. Bon Appétit!