Returning back to your homeland to live after years of being away can be a very difficult experience. I have expressed some of this already when I spoke of the Land of Exoticness and Dealing with Reverse Culture Shock.
Through the difficult process of readjustment you find yourself often wishing you were in any country than your own. And that is tough. You find yourself disliking things about your own culture. And this is heartbreaking. You’re dealing with massive change and you are trying to find away to fit back into a culture that you have been separated from for a long time.
Sydney Harbour
Australia Day is today and today I am taking the day to really celebrate being Australian. We have spent the past few months, re-exploring our stunning country with trips to the Gold Coast, learning to surf, challenging ourselves with high rope courses, moonwalking, and exploring more of Sydney.
Yet it has been these past two weeks, that I have been presented with many gifts. Gifts that opened my eyes up to how wonderful Australia is and the people who live here. We have a beautiful culture, and while it is far from perfect, there are many things that lie at the heart of it that make me really proud to say that I am Australian. The recent tragic flooding of Queensland, and the spirit of the Queenslanders have shown to me just why our ideals can provide inspiration to many.
Watching the recent Oprah shows about Australia has me dying to visit more of Australia. I felt so elated to see Oprah love our country, and love what we stand for. It is one thing to know who you are as a country, but then when you hear Oprah talking about how evident these qualities are and how much she loves it, it really makes you stop and think.
We spend so much time travelling and celebrating many other cultures, sometimes you need to remember to take the time to celebrate your own.
So today, I am celebrating these things that I love about Australia
Our ideal of Mateship
Mates
Having the opportunity to spend time in Gallipoli for ANZAC Day was one of the most memorable moments of our travels. It was a deeply moving experience and being there first hand allowed us to experience the place where our ideal of mateship was born.
A mate is someone you would do anything for, just as they did on the shores of Gallipoli. Your mates are the things you need to get you through the tough times; they bring you laughter and joy. I think the world witnessed, in action, with the floods in Queensland, what the idea of mateship represents. Strangers came out in hordes to help one another clean up and rebuild. This is who we are.
Our friendly nature
When we first arrived back in Australia, I remember being taken aback by just how friendly everyone was. We had just been living in the South, where people are real friendly, but here it was overly noticeable. We couldn’t go to the street to get anything done, without it taking half an hour. Shopkeepers wanted to stop and talk to us for ages; each subtle step closer to the door was met by a new conversation about last night’s dinner and the too many glasses of wine that were consumed.
When Oprah greeted her screaming fans in Melbourne, she said, “Do y’all go to friendly school or something Down Under?”
Our ability to laugh at life and not take it too Seriously
Roll in the grass and laugh
I know that I used to seriously offend people back in North Carolina. It was so unintentional, but it was just the Aussie in me. We don’t take swearing too seriously, it’s okay to talk about sex and make jokes about it, and having a drink is just as normal as taking a S### (oops there goes that Aussie in me!.)
We have a sense of humour that is easily misunderstood and although we take the piss out of people, we really do it in jest. I can really understand why people don’t like this, but we are just trying to make things light. We hate seriousness. Which is probably why you won’t find many Australians sitting around and talking about politics or religion. And it is why we try to crack jokes and bring laughter into any conversation.
Just spend a few hours with an Aussie and you’ll soon learn the saying, “No worries mate!”
Everyone is considered equal
It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a major corporation or the cleaner on the street, there is no “I am better than you way of thinking.” People of all social classes can be seen sitting at the pub together drinking (yes there are negative things that could be put in here about racial divisions but this is a celebration post).
The attitude is “I don’t care what label you have , or what it is you have done with your life, all I care about is who you are as a person. You are no better or worse than me, we are all equal.”
Our love of the outdoors and the connection we have with the earth for it
Loving the outdoors
Our climate grants us the opportunity to be outside year-round. The majority of us live near the ocean, and are surrounded by spectacular scenery. We have less than 10 really big cities, and have so much natural bush surrounding us. We love to be outside, experiencing nature and the heat. We have a wonderful connection with the Earth which I think this helps add to the vibrancy of our spirits. Australian’s really hate when it rains, because it means we are trapped inside, and that makes us go stir crazy.
That’s why when natural disasters strike, we don’t waste time looking for answers as to why it happened, or we don’t blame God or each other. We know its just Mother Earth doing her thing. We spend so much time with her we understand her.
Our zest for life
Australians have a zest and passion for life. We approach everything we do, be it work or play, with passion and enthusiasm. There is a real sense of living and making the most of life. I think this really stems in part from our convict heritage.
While many other cultures are living to work, we are working to live. We have really generous paid vacation time each year, sick days are there to be taken, the whole nation stops to watch a horse race for 3 minutes each year, after work drinks are common, barbies and social events are always happening, we’re out exploring the world from a young age, we can’t get enough of sport, and we party like there is no tomorrow. I guess the convicts never knew if there would be a tomorrow, so you had to make each moment count.
Our convict heritage
Sometimes Australians get upset to be constantly reminded of our convict heritage. We don’t want to be reminded of our convict past because that is not who we are anymore, and no one wants to be reminded of their bad history. But, I think having a convict heritage is a strong testament to our fighting spirit and just how far we’ve come.
When the British convicts first arrived they were forced to build a settlement on a harsh and brutal land. The soil was not good for farming, unlike they had previously thought; the harsh Aussie climate was brutal, and unlike anything they were ever used to. The colony almost did not survive as they could not produce any food and many people were dying.
Many of these convicts were serving sentences for stealing loaves of bread, and were separated from their families. They were given incentives to work hard. “Make the colony work and you’ll get your pardon and acres of land as a reward.” So that’s what they did. They buckled down and got on with it.
There are many things that come from our convict heritage , that I don’t really like, but I do love the fighting spirit it gave to all of us. I think the recent floods in Queensland show us how we won’t let the tough stuff of life get to us. We put our heads down and just get on with it. It’s probably why we don’t sweat the small stuff either. It’s no worries mate!
So today, we raise our glass to being an Aussie!
Bottoms up mate!
