A young American woman who lived in Australia for a year shares the “strangest” things she’s noticed about life Down Under.
Tate Duanewho is originally from California and now lives in Melbourne, said she was surprised by how her opinion of Australians has changed over the past 12 months.
The 23-year-old expat has adapted her vocabulary and tastes and taken part in different cultural traditions she never knew existed – like bush doofs.
‘I recently found a list of ‘takeaways’ that I wrote down after living in Melbourne for a week. I want to see how they have changed,” she said in a video.
Tate shared her thoughts on Australian heights, winter, Asian food and music festivals.
“At first I thought everyone was really tall, but I don’t necessarily think that’s true anymore,” she said. “I’m 6 feet tall and I’m taller than all my friends and the majority of the boys.”
Tate was confused as to why everyone was so friendly.
“Everyone in Australia is so nice and loves to chat,” she said. “I’ve made so many friends just by standing on the corners of coffee shops.”
She also had reservations about the weather, originally claiming that ‘the Australian cold isn’t really cold’.
“I stand to be corrected: the cold in Melbourne is freezing,” she said. “Compared to the United States, it’s not snowing or anything, but I wasn’t prepared for it.”
Tate was surprised to find the abundance of Asian food easily available, even in coffee shops.
“I think it’s similar to Mexican food anywhere in California, but I love all the Asian food here.”
In a similar vein, most Americans call spaghetti “noodles,” something reserved for Asian cuisine in Australia.
“I’ve been careful not to mention pasta noodles,” she said.
Moving Down Under has also brought with it a new set of experiences – such as her first Australian music festival at Beyond The Valley.
Tate Duane, who is originally from California and now lives in Melbourne, said she was surprised by how her opinion of Australians has changed in the past 12 months
Many were amused by Tate’s video and shared their thoughts.
“I felt really bad the first time I heard an American call pasta ‘noodles,'” one person said.
“Our houses freeze in the winter because they are generally designed to stay cool in the summer!” another added.
“Melbourne and Tassie getting that icy Antarctic wind,” wrote a third.