Last year I informed you about the significance of Australia Day and why Australians celebrate it. This year I’d like to explore the differences and similarities between Australians and Canadians.
I’ll also go through the lingo so you too can be an Aussie larrikan.
(From hence forth, Australians will be A’s and Canadians will be C’s.)
A’s and C’s are both good travellers and therefore if the situation calls for it we can usually hold a conversation about… say, how good the beer is at Oktoberfest in Munich.
A’s say "What do you reckon?" or "What’s doing?" C’s say "How’s it going?"
A’s call sweaters and pullovers, jumpers.
A’s use the word "heaps", as in "we’ve had heaps of rain this year."
A’s call a couch or a sofa, a lounge.
A’s drive and walk up stairs on the lefts hand side, C’s use the right side.
A’s call men "blokes" and women "sheilas" but they have to be very careful who they call a sheila.
A’s say "fair dinkum"; C’s say "right on."
A’s say "G’day", C’s say "hello" or "salut."
A’s are generally funny and loud, but never as loud as the yanks. C’s are funny but rarely loud.
A’s buy utes, not trucks.
A ute is a utility vehicle i.e. a car with a tray on the back. In Canada you call these vehicles trucks, but you also call semi-trailers trucks so there is some confusion. Kill the confusion and start calling your "sick" trucks, UTES.
A’s are laid back, but not calm.
There’s a difference, and you can normally notice it when A’s and C’s are watching sport. C’s only get fired up about hockey but A’s get excited over just about anything.
To use a crude and more unrealistic example… if somebody dropped a bomb on Sydney, A’s would be pretty laid back about finding the crook that did it and pulling their arms off.
If somebody dropped a bomb on Toronto, Canadians would be annoyed but there would be a lot of people who’d just shrug their shoulders and head back to the farm until the situation could be handled calmly.
If somebody dropped a bomb on New York then the yanks would probably come up with another plan to invade an "evil" country that had nothing do to with it in the name of "freedom" and "democracy".
Both A’s and C’s methods have their merits but it’s easy to see why C’s are renowned for being peacekeepers. When you really look into it, it’s also easy to see why other countries might interpret this position as being weak.
A’s surf, C’s ski – because A’s have the best beaches in the world and C’s have the best mountains.
It’s fairly warm in Australia year round, whereas Canada has four genuine seasons.
A’s are amazed by the fact that many C’s can go ice skating in their backyards during winter (there is only about four ice rinks in all of greater Sydney, which is why hockey is not as big in Australia).
Very few A’s have any knowledge of snow unless they’re from a small area on the ACT (Australian Capital Territory)/Victorian border.
Both A’s and C’s operate under the Westminster system of government and we have both voted Liberal in recent elections.
Despite the fact that A’s Liberal Prime Minister John Howard supports George Bush, he was re-elected by a record margin in the recent election. There were two major reasons for this: one, every year he’s been Prime Minister, Australia has recorded significant economic growth; two, the opposition leader had no idea.
Opposition (Labor) leader Mark Latham did things like call Mr. Howard an "ass licker".
A’s are overly proud about how good they are at sports. My own theory on this is that we’re still a very young country and we’re isolated geographically so our way of proving ourselves is in the sporting arena. It’s like when a juvenile does things to try and prove themselves to their peers.
C’s rarely boast about anything – except hockey.
C’s and A’s admire the same kinds of people.
David Suzuki is in Australia so often that a lot of A’s think he’s Australian until they hear him talk. Dick Pound is a highly respected Olympic official that’s quoted constantly in Australian papers. Alexander Graham Bell gave the world telephones; without him we wouldn’t be able to talk to our families. And everyone loves AC/DC – a band from Sydney.
A’s and C’s are both "gay friendly" countries but Canada is more politically gay friendly.
A’s arrive in Whistler looking tanned and healthy.
Most A’s leave with many happy memories, several broken bones and wider bums.
C’s arrive in Whistler… and can keep coming back because they don’t have to worry about working visas.
(On a visa note the author would like to bid a fond farewell to Mick Cahir from Canadian Snowmobiles. Mick’s one of about 2000 "good blokes" the author has had to say goodbye to after moving to Whistler. Mick performed in a pantomime, recently became a gay icon, even though he’s as straight as a cricket bat, and was a valued member of Canadian Snowmobiles team…but the boogey man caught up with him last week. Good luck elsewhere Mick - the ladies will miss you.)
