Learning About Australia

[Cobber]

What about the Kangawalafox, they can take you head clean off your shoulders when they swoop down out of the sky. It's advisable to wear a hard hat with beer cans strapped to the side to avoid them. They think the beer cans are eyes from the air and they wont go near you.:wizard:


Ps the Kangawalafox eggs make a great breakfast omlet if you can find out where they nest.

 

[Pro]

ah this is so funny! it's like those stories you tell japanese tourists in the hotel lobby before they go out on their all day expedition to the middle of nowhere.

i swear i've seena few swedish tourists with vegemite behind their ears.

 

[-Nemesis-]

Dudes, I thought Australia was tropical and rained all the time over their, what's the deal?...Then again I didn't think it snowed over their either... It's a big place this Australia and I guess you guys see it all... :33:

Australia is a very diverse place and has just about every available ecosystem/environment on offer. It has deserts, tropical rainforests, alpine ranges with snow, dry mountain ranges (normal 'bush'), flat savannah type lands... You name it we have it.

The biggest thing to make you US guys jealous..... our Public Health system My wife has been really sick lately (okay now) and spent 4 days in hospital, constantly pumped with medicines etc and all meals. The only cost was for me to park when visiting.

 

[stormtrooper]

Australia is a very diverse place and has just about every available ecosystem/environment on offer. It has deserts, tropical rainforests, alpine ranges with snow, dry mountain ranges (normal 'bush'), flat savannah type lands... You name it we have it.

No glacier sorry to say.

The biggest thing to make you US guys jealous..... our Public Health system My wife has been really sick lately (okay now) and spent 4 days in hospital, constantly pumped with medicines etc and all meals. The only cost was for me to park when visiting.

This is so true, my dad was in hospital earlier this year and ambulance + 7 days in the hospital cost us nothing. Stupid thing is if you have health insurance you have to pay, go figure huh.

 

[-Nemesis-]

And that is a sore point indeed. My wife (again lol) had surgery last year after braking an ankle playing netball. We pay a fair bit for private insurance and as such used the nice private hospital. I can't believe the rediculous costs involved!!!!!! Thousands of $.
To the point when she was being discharged the Dr gave her a packet of Panadiene, a week later we received an invoice for it!

 

[jibbby]

Hey, I have another question.. I went out to movies last night and saw the Hulk movie which was decently good for what it is... The ending was a little cheesy but the movie was entertaining...

What is out in the Movie theaters where you guys are at?

We got these in USA -

Hulk
The Happenings
Don't mess Zohan
Ironman
Sex and City
The Love Guru


In Australia do you get all the American made movies or do you guys only show Australian made movies and maybe some American made movies?... What is TV viewing at home consist of? What are some of your most popular shows? Is most of your viewing American made shows or Aussie made? Do you get shows like American Idol which I don't watch? How about CNN and Headline news?

 

[XR8tt]

Yea we have all that crap too..
http://www.yourmovies.com.au/?
Cable T.V... Foxtel..
https://www.foxtel.com.au/EPG/EPG.aspx#

 

[redback]

all the CSI's our own big brother (shits me to tears), ER pretty much allo the stuff you have. we also have australian made All Saints and crap like that. all gets fed to us through High Definition aswell... and foxtel/Austar

 

[jibbby]

Wow, so if you lads are all watching Amercan shows most of the time as appears you do (courtesy of xrtt8's provided TV guide link) you must all have a good idea on what goes on over here in the States... Our tv. listing are nearly identical.... Were Fox network and your Foxtel..

You know that would kinda piss me off if I was an Australian. For example if I had to mostly watch British TV being an American living in the USA all the time or something like that I would go nuts.. No offense to the Brits... Now I fully understand why us Yanks can get annoying and disliked to most Europeans in general... You see us on your TV.s too much and not enough of your own countryman...

Am I correct in saying that?

 

[XR8tt]

Yea and on internet as well !!! Hahaha
Talk about the times we live in...
I was talking to my brother in Chicago.
I herd an interview on radio about a train accident that just happened in Chicago..
I told my brother about it..As takes a train home...
I told him about it and to stay back at work for a while. All the way from Sydney before he found out..

On T.V...
Big brother ?? What a waste of time...
http://www.bigbrother.com.au/

 

[redback]

Wow, so if you lads are all watching Amercan shows most of the time as appears you do (courtesy of xrtt8's provided TV guide link) you must all have a good idea on what goes on over here in the States... Our tv. listing are nearly identical.... Were Fox network and your Foxtel..

You know that would kinda piss me off if I was an Australian. For example if I had to mostly watch British TV being an American living in the USA all the time or something like that I would go nuts.. No offense to the Brits... Now I fully understand why us Yanks can get annoying and disliked to most Europeans in general... You see us on your TV.s too much and not enough of your own countryman...

Am I correct in saying that?

americans are up them selves. lol.... always going on about "god bless america", america this and america that...

i dont like G W Bush... he took advantage of john howard.... anal'ly and it **** everything for australia.. lol

just jokes... but thats how i view america...

 

[XR8tt]

Been to U.S many times.. The people are totally different to politics...

 

[redback]

shoot first debate later... lol sorry ill stop now.

 

[Pro]

jibbby,

our free trade agreement means we have to take on "x" number of shows from america.

not the good ones mind you (okay, we got good series like LOST, heroes, house etc) but we also get slammed with the crap at the bottom of the barrel like boston legal, CSI-fkn-everything, law and order, hannah montana, wings, scrubs etc.

ugh. i wanna puke already. just *thinking* at that level gives me nausea.

 

[redback]

an americans pay around AUD$1.25L for fuel and we pay AUD$1.70+ how does this work..... (ive vonverted gallons to L the multiplied american price by exchange rate)

 

[jibbby]

americans are up them selves. lol.... always going on about "god bless america", america this and america that...

i dont like G W Bush... he took advantage of john howard.... anal'ly and it **** everything for australia.. lol

just jokes... but thats how i view america...

Redback - who isn't behind there nation and flag?... I think that goes for everyone, the Aussie's especially.. You guys love being Australian and are proud and voice it, no? Oh, and your not the only one that hates Bush, alot of Americans do too.. Remember, not every Amercan thinks the same..


The true feelings are really coming out on the forum now, that's good please speak your mind lads.. No wonder I get so much heat sometimes on this forum it's because I am American and not because I am the annoying Jibbby..Ha Ha.:rant:

You know what I can't blame you guys for feeling the way you do about the USA, even though it's against my nation and country... I got the same vibes from many Europeans traveling thru the UK, when they found out I was American.. If I were Australian born I am sure I would think the same about the USA as you guys do, no one likes the big boy on the block and I am sure you guys don't like foreigners on your TV set all day long speaking in our American accents.......Maybe your use to it by now though..

Fellas may I kindly say just don't stereotype us because the USA has some very good people and some very bad people just like in every country.. Some open minded some closed.. We are very diverse over here... Atleast in the big cities from what I can tell...

Xr88t - So how does your brother like living in Chicago and the US? That is a cold and busy state, music is good and flows in bars, however, he should have moved to Florida or California where it's nice and hot and women are better looking and wear less clothes.. Maybe not nicer women but definetely better looking... I hope no women outside of Cali and Florida are reading this...

Cheers fellas, as I only got love for you Aussie boys... I have never met an Aussie I didn't like here in the States... :beerchug:


PS. Aaron I hate all those shows too... I'm with you on that... Pure rubbish...

 

[stormtrooper]

Jibbby, I should be studying but I like reading this site so I'll post this and then go and work. Your ok in my books, you say it how it is and don't hide your feelings, you also dont single people out and that is admirable. This is, unfortunately, the first site I have been able to "chat" to Americans without getting the "America is best" line every second post. Yes we all love our countries but it seems here at least we all recognise our countries are not perfect and are willing to bag our own countries as well.

This isn't just a "learning about Australia" thread, I have been able to learn abit about America and Holland to thanks to you and guys like Lextreme and Striker who have taken part here.

Now to the TV situation, Foxtel and Austar etc are not free, I wont buy the right to watch tele especially considering I don't have alot of time on my hands anyway. SO I generally watch the free to air stuff and mostly the ABC (our own national broadcaster) nowadays. I like the latest group of British thrillers, spy and detective shows, such as Silent Witness, Spooks, and even The Bill. The ABC and another station callled SBS (Ethnic TV or Wog TV for short) have great documentaries and other shows if you stay up late at night (in other words soft porn). Then we have our own homegrown stuff like Neighbours (crap show) and Home and Away (another crap show) and Sea Patrol (another crap show with overpaid actors like Lisa McCune who can't act if her life depended on it). We also get a bit of NZ tv as well and its funny listening to that cause if you dont watch it but listen you here all sorts of strange words

 

[redback]

i was only sh!t stiring a stero type. lol. my brother went to america and said the same thing.. there are some american hardcores(not sure what you would call it) and there are a lot of decent ones.

my favourite american show that make me say "only in america" are "Wife swap", and all those "reality shows" like the paris and nicole thing.... (i know bad examples but my miss's watch's them all the time)....

im sure this stuff also happens in australia....... we just dont televise it. lol. america seems cool... and i would never write this type of stuff on a general forum cos the god bless america would just flame it...

As for australian's we are generally very laid back... extreamly patriotic... mainly about sport and beer... especially if the two are combined...

we keep are heads high... even in the worst times.... can be arogant.... mainly cos we can get away with it... australians mainly males are generally well built to handle most things.... on and off the footy field... oh and footy is AFL... not soccor.... here i am back to sport..... all i need is a drink lol

Generally work hard... but are paid well for the hard jobs (most of the time) everything still seems expensive.... compaired to usa.

back to the patriotic about sport... the nation... litrally the entire country stops for 5 minutes a year to watch the melbourne cup... olimpics are huge as well.... most people i know are just like the add we have on tv for this year olimpics when you see people burning food on the barbie and pulling there car over and screeming like there actually there to cheer on a australian.... me personally id move the tv outside infront of the barbie.

majority of australians have concern (that can become personal) about other australians in bad situations... eg. Bali bombing. or even the biggest thing at the moment the scheppel corby saga... doesnt matter if you think she's guilt or not watching 60mins last night about her last 3 years tore at my heart and brought on a tear.... and i think shes guilty.....


anyway im blabbering on... that should be enough to read.

 

[Pro]

yeah i find myself watching SBS and ABC a fair bit these days - i just can't handle commercial stations and their stupid news broadcasts.

 

[XR8tt]

What gets up our noses is at least once a week we get some U.S overpaid uni scientist or Dr telling us the obvious. Often some kind of commercial company behind it..
U.S is a big country population wise which is why things are cheaper..
Jibby I guess you hate red necks too ?? We have one at work, he thinks any race other than his, is lower ?? To think this guy is welsh, ex pom...
The comments about Africans makes me crawl...
Especially Zimbabwe...
Communication is the best thing to have between people...
Aussies believe in a FAIR GO !!

My brother worked in Chicago originally doing software for GPS systems.. He played rugby there for a while.. But he's getting old now... He thinks he's still 21 and carries on like one at times..
He bought 5 rental homes about 5 years ago in Naperville.. The house market is not the best there at present.. But he'll come good...