“I’m keen on it, mate!” – My personal encounters with Aussie slang

As an Asian-American, my origins are ambiguous to those who don’t know me. More than once, I’ve been asked by my Aussie classmates:

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It’s odd to think of myself as the one with the accent, because to me, everyone else has an accent! With the colorful Aussie slang to match.

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Sydney probably isn’t the best place to go if you want to hear that classic Crocodile Hunter accent. Sorry to disappoint: nobody says “crikey” around here. In fact…

Though the accent is understandable, I have encountered some Australian words that I’ve never heard before. For instance, Australians really like to shorten everything.

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Or, the same words will have different meanings here…

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…and different pronunciations.

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When an Australian is interested in doing something, they’ll often say…

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When someone does something good, they’ll get a flurry of:

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If I put on a sweater, I’ll be told:

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Australians aren’t tired, they’re

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And of course, there’s the occasional word that I’ve never heard before in my life.

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The list goes on and on. The Australians really do have their own brand of English! Even if they don’t use all the slang I expected them to:

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Still, it always brightens my day when I hear someone say:

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I think I’m even picking up on some of the terminology!

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I’m going to return to Boston with an impeccable Australian accent, I swear!

To bee or not to bee

Wow, have I been busy! Classes are in full swing around here. In fact, I’ve already reached the midpoint of the semester. Every day has been nonstop!

Even my weekends are packed. Though, this usually is my fault. I want to enjoy Australia while I can, you know? So I’ve been trying to visit wherever I can: Canberra, the Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach…

Last weekend, however, was taken by something entirely out of my control: a mandatory, overnight excursion for one of my classes.

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I’ve never heard of a field trip being mandatory before, especially for a university-level biology course.

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My professor for this particular course is a bit of an unusual one. For one, he’s traveled all over the world for his research. Secondly, he is one of those rare professors who can actually give interesting lectures. Thirdly, he actually cares for his students. And finally, he is deeply, passionately in love with bees.

Yes.

Bees.

On this trip, we would be going two hours out of Sydney to a little university-owned research station. The area is quite mountainous, with lots of hiking trails and forests. And we’d be going there– of course– to catch bees. Wild bees and domesticated bees, to be exact– after the trip, we’re supposed to analyze the DNA of the bees and compare the two populations.

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We were also scheduled to give presentations on controversial biology topics that weekend. The presentations that would be worth 10% of our grade.

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So I hopped on the train from Central out to Woy Woy, a coastal town north of Sydney. The ride took around two hours, and is supposed to be one of the most beautiful train rides you can get from the city.

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It’s probably a good thing I took a nap, though. My class set off as soon as we arrived.

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The bee colony lived higher up on the mountain, so we had to walk for quite a while…

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…but the view made it worthwhile.

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And off we went to catch bees!

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Well, now you have to poot the bee!

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I admit, I didn’t think I would be able to catch a bee. But my lab partner and I caught three!

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Because the research station lacked a proper lab, we had to get the bees back to Sydney for analysis. Thus, we dipped them in liquid nitrogen to freeze them and preserve their DNA.

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That was all only for the wild bees, of course. The lab station had its own colonies of domestic bees. My professor took care of the bee collection from those– the chances of getting stung from them was very high.

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Except my prof is so used to bee stings that he can’t be bothered with protective gear! Like a badass.

He brought over some of the honeycombs for us to observe.

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Though the risk is worth it for the honey alone.

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And we returned to the house for dinner, where we were stalked by hungry Australian magpies and brush turkeys.

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When I held an apple in front of this turkey, it literally jumped to peck the food out of my hand. Like a dog!

It was a pretty cool day! My class enjoyed dinner, bonded with each other, and sat around the campfire that night. Our professor even broke out a few beers with some of the students, since 18 is the legal age in Australia and Aussies are chill like that. Everyone chatted and had a good time.

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Well. It was a nice trip nonetheless.

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And I didn’t even get stung.

Koala bears or physics lecture? I think we all know what I chose.

Every time I told my friends that I was going to Australia, they would say:

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Or if they were feeling particularly creative,

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After all, they’re Australia’s national icons, right? Yet a month had gone by and I had not yet seen a kangaroo or a koala. Thankfully, I had booked a trip to the Sydney Wild Life Zoo, where some international kids and I would be eating breakfast among the koalas.

Therefore, a friend and I woke up at the crack of dawn and hopped a bus to Darling Harbour. Neither of us had slept much the night before, so we were pretty tired when we entered the zoo.

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There were koalas! THERE WERE KOALAS! OH MY GOODNESS, THERE WERE TWO KOALAS JUST SITTING THERE STRAIGHT CHILLIN’.

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One of the zookeepers graciously gave us a tour of the zoo. The zoo is quite small, mind you– it’s located in downtown Sydney, after all– but there was enough to keep me awake.

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One dangerous snake!

Two dangerous snakes!

Two dangerous snakes!

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Three dangerous snakes!

Australian wild life is no joke! Check out this crocodile, Rex:

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Seriously, this guy is not to be trifled with.

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Yowza. Heck, even this fine bird…

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…is hazardous!

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Oh, Australia. It’s okay, though. This country has plenty of adorableness to make up for it!

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Tasmanian Devil!

Wallaby!

Wallaby!

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Kookaburra!

Kangaroo!

Kangaroo!

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Wombat!

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At the end of our tour, we reached a rooftop cafe surrounded by trees and koalas. Here, we ate our breakfast with these guys staring at us the whole time:

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Koalas actually sleep for 20 hours a day! We got lucky and arrived right when the koalas were being fed, so we were able to see them while they were awake.

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Though, after eating, they went right back to sleep.

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It was really a lovely experience. We had a nice breakfast, got to see the koalas (but not pet them– having tourists handle koalas is outlawed in New South Wales, apparently) and even got our photo taken with one. Around 9, I decided to head out. I had a 10AM lecture that I wanted to catch. I grabbed my friend.

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We headed back towards the entrance, taking our time looking at all the animals again.

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We reached the entrance.

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So we went through the zoo for a third time.

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After a little bit of wandering, we managed to find the exit, which was located at the end of a long series of pathways.

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And we got to the exit…

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Back we went through the zoo for a fourth time.

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And, for the fourth time, we went past the crocodile…

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The kangaroos…

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The various lizards and reptiles…

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…and through the nocturnal exhibit, down the series of hallways, through the gift shop, and finally, the exit.

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So maybe I missed my physics lecture. But hey, just this once– I think it’s totally worth it.

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For sure.

It’s winter? Time to wear shorts and t-shirts.

My mom was very concerned when I declared that I wanted to go to Australia. She actually tried to talk me out of going this semester. Not because she didn’t support me studying abroad, but because of the time I chose to go.

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Indeed, it is winter here down under. I wasn’t too worried, though. After all, what could be worse than winter in Boston?

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And all my worries vanished when I Googled the average temperatures for Sydney in July.

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Indeed, the website was serious. When I exited the Sydney airport, carrying all my luggage, I was met by a surprise:

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Though Australian weather isn’t as perfect as rumored. The temperature does drop rapidly as soon as the sun sets. The weather can fluctuate throughout the day. So, basically, I feel right at home.

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To top it off, this winter has been unseasonably warm. For the past week, I’ve been enjoying temperatures in the mid-70’s. (That’s around 23 degrees Celsius, for all you non-US people.) Not all of Australia is like this, though. Last weekend, I traveled to Canberra, Australia’s capital. Canberra is inland about 3 hours southwest of Sydney, and known to be a bit chillier.

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And was it colder? You bet it was! Why, the daytime reached a horrifying temperature of 66 degrees!

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I often express my amazement to native Australians, who usually try to prove to me that Australia’s not as nice as I think.

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So pack me up, baby. I’m moving to Australia!

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Contrary to popular belief, Australia is not full of surfer bronze gods.

Whenever I told my fellow Americans that I was going to Australia, they always reacted in two ways. The first reaction was about the guys:

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The other was about Australia’s fine fauna:

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You know your friends are good ones when they post this shizzle on your Facebook.

You know your friends are good friends when they post this shizzle on your Facebook.

Now that I’m in Australia, I can see these stereotypes for myself. Or not. Because honestly…

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And what of the poisonous animals? Perhaps it’s because I’ve been in the city, but I haven’t seen anything scary so far. Though I have taken a shine to all the unusual birds around Sydney.

The Australian White Ibis, or as I like to call it, the Garbage Bird. As exotic as they look, they're actually a pest.

The Australian White Ibis, or as I like to call it, the Garbage Bird. As exotic as they look, they’re actually a pest.

I'm tempted to make a Finding Nemo reference.

I’m tempted to make a Finding Nemo reference.

An Australian Magpie!

An Australian Magpie!

Though as I pass judgement on Australia, people have passed judgement on me. I’m an American, you see, and I’m living in a residential college for international students. I find it highly entertaining to hear other countries’ stereotypes about the USA.

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Granted, it’s partly our fault that we have such a great rep.

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As I’ve tried to explain my country, I’ve run into some roadblocks. America is a big place. My understanding of the US is probably totally different from someone who lives, in, say, Texas, or California, or Kansas. I can only give biased opinions.

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Well, I do my best.

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I’m a born ambassador, that’s for sure.

Dear Sydney: Is there anyone in your city who is ACTUALLY looking for tenants?

Since I’ve been accepted to the University of Sydney, I’ve been looking for a place to stay. Using the university dorms are decidedly expensive (typically they’re 8,000+ a semester, not to mention that you have to pay a fee to apply AND interview to get in AND you might be rejected) so I’ve been browsing other sites for leads.

And am I getting leads? I sure am! For the past few weeks I’ve been rolling in e-mails like this one:

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Dear scammers: I am on to you.

Sincerely,

Me

So in 4 months I might be able to hug a koala bear. On the other hand, I could also be bitten by a deadly spider and die.

Back when I was in elementary school, I had big dreams.

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Today, I still have big dreams.

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Ok, well.

There’s more to it than that.

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Hmm.

I’m not helping my case.

Alright, fine. I’ve wanted to go on a long-term study abroad program for a while. When I went to Germany and Japan I felt as though it wasn’t long enough. It was like I had only started to get comfortable, know the culture, and make friends when I suddenly had to return to the USA.

On the classic exchange student graph

I had only really ever reached here:

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I never had culture shock, just culture surprises. I wasn’t around long enough to get homesick. And this might sound strange, but… I feel like I missed out on those. I want to learn how to adapt. I want to take the challenge of being in a new place and a new culture. I want to go through the shock, the depression, and the uncomfortable adjustment.

And, I want to beat it. And have a smashing good time.

But that’s just me.

I’m cheating a little. Australia’s an English-speaking country, which already makes the adjustment 10 times easier. I couldn’t help it, though– as I researched programs through Northeastern, Australia seemed to be one of the only nations actually offering biology courses to international students.

So, last October, I declared to my parents that I was going to apply to the University of Sydney. (I was actually hoping to go that fall, but I postponed it when my German host sister decided to visit America.) I went to my study abroad office. I called my academic advisor. I checked the USydney website. And I submitted my application.

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And I waited.

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Finally, a couple weeks ago, I opened up my e-mail at work…

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I was accepted! University of Sydney accepted me for their “winter” semester (our summer time) running from July to November! Whoa geez. I guess I’m going to Australia!

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I still have things to do before it can actually happen, though. I have to find my own housing in a city on the other side of the world. I need to apply for my absurdly priced $600 visa. I have to book that $1,000 one-way ticket to Sydney. Did I mention that Sydney’s one of the most expensive cities in the world?

But, yeah. I thought I’d just let you know.

Coming soon in Vy’s life: Platypi, potoroos, and poisonous things!