Social rituals

Let’s talk today about social rituals in Australia. I’ve been here for almost three months and was able to travel a lot. Thanks to that, I’ve discovered a new aspect about the culture of Australia.

· National celebrations

Australia day is the National celebration. It is celebrated every year on the 26th of January. The meaning of this special day has changed over time. It first was a celebration for emancipated convicts. In fact, they honored the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales by the captain Arthur Philip. Today it dedicates that Australia reflects the nation’s diverse people.

This day is very important for Australian, they like to celebrate it with music, fireworks and joy.

· Cultural habits

They have many different cultural habits that are sometimes very different from France. First, Australian are really chill and indulgent people. They are informal and that is a huge different with the French culture. For example, students call their teachers by their first names. Also, they use a lot « mate » and it can be said to anybody, even someone you don’t know. They are really nice with many things but are very serious about cars and pedestrians. Compared to France, pedestrians are not a priority. You should respect the laws and not cross the road with the red light on ! ( something we are used to do in France). You can even pay a fine because of it.

Australia is famous for its amazing nature and I am not disappointed. I have seen soo many different animals since I am here ( espescially on the east cost) and some of them I never wanted to see. I have seen sharks, snakes, many spiders, kangaroos, koalas, crocodiles … but now I’m not scared anymore. Many of them can be dangerous and people are aware of it. Also, we can meet some of them on the road while we are driving.

An other thing that is important in the Australian culture is sport. Many people practice sport, it is usual to see people runinng in parks or on the beach. They also have many important sports events.

Also, Alcohol is very expensive here because taxes are added. You can’t buy it in supermarket and have to find a store that sell it. BYO (bring your own) is very common, meaning people bring their own drinks to parties. It is more affordable than going out.

And last but not least the Australian food has an important part in their culture. My lovely roommates brang me one day to a huge mall and made me taste all Australian culinary specilities. I have also been able to travel around Australia and get the chance to try Australian food and even sometimes from local people. Being someone that loves eating and trying new food makes me more than happy to discover new food.

First, they have barbecues everywhere. You can cook your own meat in a park on a Sunday afternoon with all of your friends and for free !

Tim tam

This is one of the things I prefer eating here ! It’s a chocolate biscuit that comes with many different flavours. Tim tams are not healthy at all but really good ! They also are my price reference so I can know if a supermarket is expensive or not compares to their price.

Vegimate

Everyone knows it ! To be honest I didn’t really want to try it because it has a horrible smell and I know it had a weird taste. But I had the opportunity to try it during my trip to Tasmania and it’s not THAT bad ! I understood that you have to eat the proper way, meaning on a toast with a lot of butter !

Meat pie

It is really good. You have different taste and we can find them everywhere with an affordable price. I advise you to eat it at a cafe rather that a supermarket, it is way better.

Wine

Adelaide is the wine capital of Australia and is famous for its incredible wine (and that makes me really happy) . South Australia has many wineries and I was even able to taste wine in one of them !

Kangaroo

I know it seems weird especially when I took a selfie with a cute kangaroo weeks ago. But I had to try it since everyone likes and eats it here. I had the chance to eat it while making a barbecue with friends and honestly it tastes like beef. It is not easy to be cooked, it has to be cooked during a long time.

· Events

- Sport events : As said before sport is important in Australia. They have many events during the year. One of them is Tennis Australian open that everyone in the world like to watch and support their favorite tennis players. It is one of the four Grand slam tennis event, one of them, Roland Garos, takes place in Paris. In 2020, open Australia will be from the 20th of January to the 2nd of February.

As a country that loves surf they have many surfing competition. It is no cliché to say that many Aussies practice surfing regularely. I even tried and loved it ! The major sporting events are Margaret River Pro in Western Australia, Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Victoria.

- Adelaïde Fringe festivals is the world's second-largest annual arts festival. It lasts 31 days durig February and March and you can discover there thousands of artists from Australia and around the Wolrd. I arrived in February, so I was able to go to the festival ceveral nights. It was really nice ! It’s free but you have to pay if you want to see certains shows.

Australia is a low culture, meaning is not that different from France. It really helped me to integrate into the culture. However, it has its own culture and I have discovered really kind people, animals that I thought I would never see and amazing landscapes.