AUSTRALIA

Before I went to Australia with my family, I thought that the way of life there would not be very unfamiliar to me. I had the opinion that life in Australia would be similar to life here in Austria. When we arrived there, I realized very quickly that life was quite similar for us, but still a few things were different. While staying a bit longer in Adelaide, we also realized that the mentality of the people was quite different from our own mentality. There everything seemed to be very simple and uncomplicated, while in my country life can be very complicated and bureaucratic. In Austria I have often heard the term ‘Australische Gelassenheit’, which means ‘Australian serenity’. This describes exactly what I have experienced and what I am trying to bring to Austria.
The first little difference we noticed, which made food shopping very easy and stress-free, was that the food was packed directly into your bag. Sad enough that only a few people brought a reusable shopping bag and instead everything was packed in plastic bags. I will miss that little difference because it made shopping really stress-free. Another very small difference that I personally experienced in Australia was that people had to wave for the bus, otherwise the bus would not stop for you. It happened many times that the bus just passed me until a friendly bus driver explained that I have to wave if I want to take a ride. In fact, this is very practical, and busses just stop when it is needed.
During a long stay in Adelaide we gained new experiences through events that took place in the city, the university and my son's school. I learned that people in Australia are much more relaxed than in Austria. The special thing about many events there, especially those that are open to children and take place during the day, is that there is no alcohol serving. It is also not allowed to bring and consume alcohol during these events. This small rule makes a good contribution to the serenity at most events.
One event that was very fascinating for us was the Christmas Pageant in the city center of Adelaide. This event, which represents the start of the Christmas season, is held in the form of a parade and takes place every year. It can be compared with the carnival in our region. We went there early in the morning and were a bit afraid of not seeing anything of the parade because when we finally found a parking lot the event was about to start. When we stepped out of the garage, we were really surprised of finding a really relaxed situation without any pushing and pulling. We easily found our way through the crowd and stayed at a quite good spot where we could watch the parade. This was also because the people in the first row sat on blankets, the second row was for people who brought their camping chairs and in the last row there were people standing to watch the parade. Some people even brought their camping tables and nearly everyone brought something to eat and drink. All in all, it was a great, enjoyable event, nobody was disadvantaged, and everyone was part of the Christmas Pageant.
Another great event took place at my son's school. It was the final event of the year and took place just before the summer holidays started. The situation was very similar to the situation at the Christmas Pageant. People brought either blankets or camping chairs with them, on which they sat with a view of the stage where the children presented what they had prepared. The atmosphere was very relaxing, and everyone was happy for one another.
During my stay in Adelaide and of course during our journey through Australia I really familiarized with the people and their mentality. Everything is very simple and uncomplicated, while here in Austria everyone is jealous of each other and people make life more complicated. I tried to integrate at least a bit of the Australian serenity into my life in Austria. Although the environment in Austria is not perfect and does not accept that serenity, I think it can be part of my life and the life of my family.
Viviane Göbel