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Day 25 (LaTrobe University) - Bendigo, Victoria Australia
Things that Irritate Me:
I can't say all "Australians" do these things because I'm primarily interacting with college first years - 17-19 year-olds, in the state of Victoria. Here are some items that irritate me: students here use the words "gay" and "retarded" in derogatory means. It's hard because at Central one may correct someone else who uses those words, but here I'm the foreigner and I don't want to push my "I'm an American and everything I say is right" views. The n-word has been used pretty loosely too. When I heard that one I was like whoa, hold on a sec. Now I think people say it just to make me mad, but it's strange to hear a word being used that would not be used back home - EVER. I attempted to explain how it's derogatory and not accepted, but the common response is that it doesn't offend anyone here. Really? Interesting…Something that doesn't really make me upset but is getting annoying is when I meet someone new and one of the first things they say is, "No, we don't ride kangaroos here." I've never heard or had that idea/stereotype, nor does anyone I know. So I'm being stereotyped for something that I don't even know exists. I also hear, "That's why America is so fat." whenever I talk about food or food portions in the US, but I just looked it up and Australia has a higher obesity rate than the US - by 1%.
Things I Miss:
University traditions, fight songs, alma maters, having school spirit - none of that stuff exists here.
When someone sneezes no one responds with, "Bless you!" I feel like in the US if someone sneezes you'll get at least 8 "bless yous!" Here I'm usually the only one to say "bless you" if someone sneezes, and a majority of the time I don't even get a thank-you.
Food Tried:
Hedgehog = Looks like a piece of fudge, but has "biscuit" pieces in it (plain cookie pieces) with sprinkles on top. Pretty good. Yesterday for desert they served pancakes, and today for desert they served doughnuts. Tomorrow I'm hoping for French toast, just kidding.Doughnuts are served for desert or as pastries, like small cakes, not for breakfast like we might sometimes eat them.
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