American living in Australia lists the 'bizarre' things that confuse her about the country

[DavidsSling]

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Emily Keefe (pictured) moved from Boston to Melbourne, Australia, in 2018 to work as a school teacher when she experienced a culture shock

An American nutritionist has listed the bizarre Australian 'habits' she picked up while living in the country for 12 months.

Emily Keefe moved from Boston to Melbourne, Australia, in 2018 to work as a school teacher when she experienced a culture shock.

The 24-year-old, known as Healthy Emmie on YouTube, said she didn't realise the 'unique' habits of Australia until she moved back to the US.

'I spent a year of my life in Melbourne, I learned that I picked up a lot of Australian habits and I didn't realise until I came back to the States and I was making it fooled myself,' she said in her latest YouTube video.

'So today I'm going to share with you guys the Australian habits I picked up while I was in Australia.'

Toilet

Instead of referring to the 'restroom' or 'bathroom', Australians tend to excuse themselves for the 'toilet'.

'First and foremost is the use of the word "toilet". In Australia, instead of saying "bathroom", everybody says "toilet",' Emily said.

'Being a teacher, I would get asked every seven seconds "miss can I go toilet" and because the word "toilet" was just the word that was being used, it was the word that I started using.

'Then I came back... it's just awkward when you use the word "toilet" in the United States... I don't know it just feels weird coming out of your mouth.'

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The American nutritionist listed the bizarre Australian 'habits' she picked up while living here

Reckon

In Australia, the term 'reckon' is just a synonym for 'think' but is only used when asking for an opinion about something.

'The word "reckon", I love this word. This word is perfect. But where I'm from Boston like "reckon" - that's not a word but it's the perfect word,' Emily said.

'I was talking to my dad about Australian taxes and I was like "how much do you reckon I'll pay?" Before I said it, I was like I don't want to sound like "oh my god I use the word reckon now" - but it's the perfect word.'

Emily admitted she couldn't think of a better word to replace 'reckon'.

'You know what? I'm going for it, the word "reckon" is officially in my vocabulary. Thank You Australia for having such an incredible word,' she said.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The 24-year-old said she didn't realise the habits of Australia until she moved back to the US

Walking on the left side

Australians walk on the left-hand side of the footpath.

'Along with the driving on left side of the road in Australia, you also walk to the left of people,' Emily discovered.

'So if you're passing somebody in the United States, you would pass them and stay on their right - but in Australia, you would pass them the same way that you drive.

'So going on my runs, I'd be passing people all the time and I would always move to their left because that's what you do in Australia.

'It's amazing I didn't get concussions and broken noses from all the people that I've almost collided into when I came back to the United States because I was so used to running on the left side of people

'I came back to the United States and I had to start walking to the right of people.'

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited

Bad WiFi

Despite Australia inventing WiFi, the country has notoriously been known for its woeful internet speed in previous years.

'Australia I love you, I love you, I love you, this has nothing to do with you, it's not you, it's me and it's my dependency on good WiFi

'Because your WiFi I mean, Australia listen you're amazing, but the WiFi in Australia sucks, I'm sorry I love you Australia, you're you're incredible I'll say it till the cows come home, but the WiFi is a no-go.'

Pedestrian walking

At road crossings across Australia, pedestrians are used to hearing a familiar sound alert that rings when it is time to cross at a traffic light. In America, however, this sound does not exist.

Emily said when she lived in Melbourne, she learned that she could cross the roads safely every time she heard the 'crosswalk noise'.

'I got so used to hearing the sounds that when I went back to the US, I was pressing the crosswalk, I was just standing, looking around and I would miss my opportunity to cross because there's no crosswalk noise in the United States,' she said.

'When you hear the noise [in Melbourne] that's when you start to walk but when I came back to the United States and that was no more, I was not a crossing woman.'

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited After returning to the US, Emily said she kept going to wrong side of the driver's seat of the car

Driver's seat is on the right-hand

Driver's in Australia drive on the left side of the road so they are seated on the right side of the car.

'Over and over again I would walk to the wrong side of the car to get into the driver's seat in the United States because I was so used to the driver's seat being on the other side,' she said.

'I also will admit that when I first pulled out onto the road in the United States, let's just say I wasn't on the right side.

'But that took me a little while to start walking to the correct side of the car, I was so used to going to the left side of the car to get in to drive the car - but it's not how we do it in America.'

Tapping debit cards

Shoppers can simply 'tap' their debit or credit cards to pay for things instead of inserting it into the machine before following the steps to make purchases.

'In the United States, we don't tap, we're not as cool as you Australia,' Emily said.

'When I got to Australia I was like "oh I don't have that capability". But my card had the chip and there was the insert and so I was just like inserting my card like a crazy person which I discovered I was

'But then I realised "oh my goodness I can tap my card" so I started tapping my card everywhere... I was in the habit of tapping my card.

'Then I came back to the United States, I had to go back to the old-fashioned insert the chip type in your PIN like a peasant that I am.'

International phone calls

Mobile plans in Australia are relatively cheap, with great deals such as unlimited text messages and even international phone calls.

'I paid $60 a month for my plan in Australia and I had unlimited international calls, it was sick,' she said.

'Then when I came back to the United States, I don't have unlimited international calls... I actually don't have any international calls.

'I was making calls to Australia to sort out my speeding tickets and in the process of trying to sort out my speeding tickets, I racked up my phone bill with an extra $50 for the five minute phone calls that I was making to Australia because I forgot I didn't have the plan anymore.'

https://www.msn.com/en-au/travel/tr...redit-cards-to-pay/ar-AAGtkeO?ocid=spartanntp

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Emily Keefe (pictured) moved from Boston to Melbourne, Australia, in 2018 to work as a school teacher when she experienced a culture shock

An American nutritionist has listed the bizarre Australian 'habits' she picked up while living in the country for 12 months.

Emily Keefe moved from Boston to Melbourne, Australia, in 2018 to work as a school teacher when she experienced a culture shock.

The 24-year-old, known as Healthy Emmie on YouTube, said she didn't realise the 'unique' habits of Australia until she moved back to the US.

'I spent a year of my life in Melbourne, I learned that I picked up a lot of Australian habits and I didn't realise until I came back to the States and I was making it fooled myself,' she said in her latest YouTube video.

'So today I'm going to share with you guys the Australian habits I picked up while I was in Australia.'

Toilet

Instead of referring to the 'restroom' or 'bathroom', Australians tend to excuse themselves for the 'toilet'.

'First and foremost is the use of the word "toilet". In Australia, instead of saying "bathroom", everybody says "toilet",' Emily said.

'Being a teacher, I would get asked every seven seconds "miss can I go toilet" and because the word "toilet" was just the word that was being used, it was the word that I started using.

'Then I came back... it's just awkward when you use the word "toilet" in the United States... I don't know it just feels weird coming out of your mouth.'

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The American nutritionist listed the bizarre Australian 'habits' she picked up while living here

Reckon

In Australia, the term 'reckon' is just a synonym for 'think' but is only used when asking for an opinion about something.

'The word "reckon", I love this word. This word is perfect. But where I'm from Boston like "reckon" - that's not a word but it's the perfect word,' Emily said.

'I was talking to my dad about Australian taxes and I was like "how much do you reckon I'll pay?" Before I said it, I was like I don't want to sound like "oh my god I use the word reckon now" - but it's the perfect word.'

Emily admitted she couldn't think of a better word to replace 'reckon'.

'You know what? I'm going for it, the word "reckon" is officially in my vocabulary. Thank You Australia for having such an incredible word,' she said.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited The 24-year-old said she didn't realise the habits of Australia until she moved back to the US

Walking on the left side

Australians walk on the left-hand side of the footpath.

'Along with the driving on left side of the road in Australia, you also walk to the left of people,' Emily discovered.

'So if you're passing somebody in the United States, you would pass them and stay on their right - but in Australia, you would pass them the same way that you drive.

'So going on my runs, I'd be passing people all the time and I would always move to their left because that's what you do in Australia.

'It's amazing I didn't get concussions and broken noses from all the people that I've almost collided into when I came back to the United States because I was so used to running on the left side of people

'I came back to the United States and I had to start walking to the right of people.'

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited

Bad WiFi

Despite Australia inventing WiFi, the country has notoriously been known for its woeful internet speed in previous years.

'Australia I love you, I love you, I love you, this has nothing to do with you, it's not you, it's me and it's my dependency on good WiFi

'Because your WiFi I mean, Australia listen you're amazing, but the WiFi in Australia sucks, I'm sorry I love you Australia, you're you're incredible I'll say it till the cows come home, but the WiFi is a no-go.'

Pedestrian walking

At road crossings across Australia, pedestrians are used to hearing a familiar sound alert that rings when it is time to cross at a traffic light. In America, however, this sound does not exist.

Emily said when she lived in Melbourne, she learned that she could cross the roads safely every time she heard the 'crosswalk noise'.

'I got so used to hearing the sounds that when I went back to the US, I was pressing the crosswalk, I was just standing, looking around and I would miss my opportunity to cross because there's no crosswalk noise in the United States,' she said.

'When you hear the noise [in Melbourne] that's when you start to walk but when I came back to the United States and that was no more, I was not a crossing woman.'

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited After returning to the US, Emily said she kept going to wrong side of the driver's seat of the car

Driver's seat is on the right-hand

Driver's in Australia drive on the left side of the road so they are seated on the right side of the car.

'Over and over again I would walk to the wrong side of the car to get into the driver's seat in the United States because I was so used to the driver's seat being on the other side,' she said.

'I also will admit that when I first pulled out onto the road in the United States, let's just say I wasn't on the right side.

'But that took me a little while to start walking to the correct side of the car, I was so used to going to the left side of the car to get in to drive the car - but it's not how we do it in America.'

Tapping debit cards

Shoppers can simply 'tap' their debit or credit cards to pay for things instead of inserting it into the machine before following the steps to make purchases.

'In the United States, we don't tap, we're not as cool as you Australia,' Emily said.

'When I got to Australia I was like "oh I don't have that capability". But my card had the chip and there was the insert and so I was just like inserting my card like a crazy person which I discovered I was

'But then I realised "oh my goodness I can tap my card" so I started tapping my card everywhere... I was in the habit of tapping my card.

'Then I came back to the United States, I had to go back to the old-fashioned insert the chip type in your PIN like a peasant that I am.'

International phone calls

Mobile plans in Australia are relatively cheap, with great deals such as unlimited text messages and even international phone calls.

'I paid $60 a month for my plan in Australia and I had unlimited international calls, it was sick,' she said.

'Then when I came back to the United States, I don't have unlimited international calls... I actually don't have any international calls.

'I was making calls to Australia to sort out my speeding tickets and in the process of trying to sort out my speeding tickets, I racked up my phone bill with an extra $50 for the five minute phone calls that I was making to Australia because I forgot I didn't have the plan anymore.'

https://www.msn.com/en-au/travel/tr...redit-cards-to-pay/ar-AAGtkeO?ocid=spartanntp

As somebody from Boston I find a lot of this puzzling. While we don’t use “Reckon” much it does have a history. You can see it being used in cartoons.

Yes we say bathroom but we obviously know what toilet means.

You can use debit/credit cards in multiple ways at machines. You can slide them with the magnetic strip, use the EMV chip reader, or tap them if they have RFID, or better yet just use ApplePay.

Some crosswalks here make noise while others don’t. We have blind people laws so many crosswalks do. Some make a cuckoo clock type sound, some a banging noise, some a toy machine gun type sound, some talk, and some do nothing.

 

[DavidsSling]

As somebody from Boston I find a lot of this puzzling. While we don’t use “Reckon” much it does have a history. You can see it being used in cartoons.

Yes we say bathroom but we obviously know what toilet means.

You can use debit/credit cards in multiple ways at machines. You can slide them, use the chip reader, or tap them if they have RFID, or better yet just use ApplePay.

Some crosswalks here make noise while others don’t. We have blind people laws so many crosswalks do. Some make a cuckoo clock type sound, some a banging noise, some talk, and some do nothing.

Yeah, not sure what she is talking about.