Down under

Last week I had a unique opportunity to spend a week and a half on the other side of the world in Sydney, Australia. It was an exceptional experience in talking with local Aussies and seeing the sites of the city, especially the Sydney harbour, which is quite gorgeous.

There were quite a lot of touristy things I did and captured with my camera. You can check out my photos here. Also, instead of listing the places that I visited. You can check out my itinerary here.

The most interesting part of my trip is identifying the unique parts of Aussie life as compared to my life in Toronto, Canada. Below are my observations:

Aussie slang

• 'You have done well' is good job
• 'G Day mate' is hello
• 'No worries' is thank you
• The word bloke is used to refer to a guy and shelia is used for a girl

Restaraunt etiquette

• I tried ordering a medium coffee with cream and sugar and could not be understood. Aussies do not put cream in their coffee, instead they put milk and they call it a flat white.
• Restaurants are not pushy to have you leave once you are done eating. In-fact, most places you have to go to the cashier and pay.
• No need to tip servers, since they are generally paid well enough to make a decent living.

Misc

• The Australian currency system does not consist of pennies and listed prices already include the sales tax. The amount in cents is always a multiple of 5.
• The Matrix movie was filmed in Sydney.

Random

• David Suzuki was on my flight to Sydney. He is doing a book tour across Australia.
• I was surprised to hear that students from the Philippines and India in Australia had heard of the University of Waterloo and their strong reputation for Computer Science and Engineering.