The Truth About Aussies

I was watching a movie the other day and there were ‘Aussies’ in it but I don’t know if they were acting as Aussies or if they were legit (they didn’t seem real). They really over exaggerated the accent and the slang and it made me wonder, does everyone in the world think Aussies act like that? So I started googling misconceptions about Australians and wow, I had a good laugh.

No, Kangaroos aren’t hopping down the main street

Though I’ll admit I have seen them bounding through a town before. That proves nothing, the town is in the middle of nowhere so, of course, there will be kangaroos and emus hanging about. Okay, so maybe this point has some truth to it but let me remind you we don’t ride kangaroos! How would someone even do that? They wouldn’t be able to carry the weight of a human.

Crocodile wrestling

Nope, we don’t love to wrestle with crocs. Steve Irwin, an Aussie icon might have and I’m sure some other people have given it a go, but the rest of Australia stay away from doing crazy stunts like that. Also, I’ve never seen a real-life wild crocodile, only at the aquarium. Thankfully, they’re found up north and I am far, far, far away from there.

Not all animals here are going to kill you

I mean sure, we quite a few poisonous critters over here but that isn’t anything to fear if you keep your distance or stay aware of where you’re treading. We Aussies have it easy compared to overseas, I’d be more scared of the things that will chase you down, like bears, coyotes, moose or bobcats, now that is scary. Thankfully we just have a few scary snakes and spiders.

We don’t all live in the outback

Okay, I’ll admit I come from a small town in the outback where it is hot, dry and boring over there. But now I live in Melbourne and no longer live in fear of huge spiders and brown snakes showing up at my front door. Instead, I live in fear of expensive rent and random people talking to me.

Koalas aren’t hanging from every gum tree

Unfortunately, this isn’t true and I haven’t ever seen a wild one. Though one time at the zoo I got to hold a koala. But what I have seen in the wild is wombats and I am terrified of them. No way would I want to be chased down by that thing.

It’s not always hot here

Thankfully Australia isn’t always a boiling hot dry desert. Right now it’s winter and Melbourne is pretty darn cold. Up in the northern, central and western areas, they have warmer weather there but it’s so far from here.

We don’t all talk like that

I always find it so bizarre that movies portray Aussies to talk like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QCgqQdmr0M

They really like to over dramatise the accent, even though it is a real thing, but remember we don’t all talk like that.

Now I’m not saying that the first accent isn’t a real thing, obviously, it is but we don’t all talk like that. There is also this video which shows three different accents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnioDeQNlxQ&t=5s

I’ve had people ask me if I was British, and I, myself have questioned if some people were British before I even knew that they were indeed Aussies. And we don’t all use slang that half the world can’t understand, maybe the older generation does but for us young Aussies we don’t use it so much. Or maybe I’m just out of the loop.

Vegemite is delicious!

In most Aussies pantries you can find a jar of Vegemite because it is yum. I’m not kidding, it really is delicious… when you do it right! Which brings me to my next point — I can see why people from other countries think it’s gross BECAUSE YOU’RE USING IT WRONG! You have to put butter first and then put the Vegemite. You can have it on a piece of toast, or a cracker and it is delicious, but never just have Vegemite on its own, c’mon, what is wrong with you? Not even us Aussies just eat straight Vegemite, though I had a salt craving once and did have a spoon full of it, but once again always have butter with it.