10 things about Australia you’d never know without moving here

I’ve only been in Australia a week, but I’m soaking up information like a sponge. One of my favorite parts about moving to a new country is that things I’ve accepted as normal all my life are very suddenly not. Here’s, much in the same vein as a similar list I did for Ireland and for America, is a list of ten things that have caught me by surprise in my first week in Oz.

Fashionable Melbournians on their fashionable south bank. These plumes of flame errupt every hour after 9pm for five minutes.

1 – When Aussies move apartments, they move their large appliances, too. I helped my friend move into her new flat and wheeled a big ol’ washing machine in through the hallway. It’s typical here in Oz for appliances to stay with the owner (even renters), including refrigerators, washers and dryers — although driers are hardly needed with the blistering heat and near-constant sunshine.

2 – Aussies are fashionable. Not since I was in France have I felt so underdressed. Last Monday, I took the train into Melbourne’s CBD, ducked into a bathroom, looked in a mirror and thought, “This won’t work.” One shop and $70 later, I was hopefully looking a little more fashionable to start the job hunt.

3 – They refer to their downtown as “CBD” (central business district) — a term I was only familiar with from my urban studies class prior to coming to Oz.

4 – Things are expensive. I’m currently sitting in a bar using wifi in mid-afternoon, drinking a $7.50 Corona. To get here I needed to buy an $11.90 day pass for Melbourne’s extensive tram and train network.

5 – They take their coffee oh-so-seriously. I suppose it should be refreshing having been in Germany and Czech Republic, the land of instant coffee, but I’m trying to claim that I have experience as a barista. I thought I had that experience, but many job postings advise applicants, “Must be able to make a rosetta and heart in the latte for consideration.” Sheesh.

6 – Melbourne is massive. It’s only double the size of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, but unlike the Twin Cities, the suburbs are not just a place you go to settle down and have a family. Suburbs an hour from the CBD can still have a hip, youthful vibe about them. This can make a commute from one fashionable area of town to another over an hour, longer if you rely on public transit.

7 – They will catch you for not having the correct metro ticket. Until yesterday, I was staying in Clayton, just one stop out of the cheaper Zone 1 area. There were no turnstiles, however, so I had been just buying a Zone 1 ticket at half the price, since my Zone 2 travel time accounted for five minutes of my nearly hour-long journey. Sure enough though, I was cornered at the gate by a transport enforcement officer and had to play my “Oh I’m just an American tourist I didn’t realize…” card in order to avoid at $180 fine. Luckily, the officer was feeling generous.

8 – There are no entry-level jobs. In the service industry, everyone wants to know if you have experience. No one will interview you for a job, they’ll just ask you to work for free in a “trial” then assess how you did afterward.

9 – People actually eat kangaroo. Australians love to explain, in a self-mocking tone, that they’re the only country that eats their national emblem (a kangaroo and an emu). I had my first ‘Roo Burger the other night. It was chewy, but good. Mmm, marsupial.

10 – K-Fed is a big deal down here. He’s got his own show and everything.