AUSTRALIA - ADELAIDE

Arriving at the halfway point of my stay in the city of Adelaide in Australia, there are many points about life here that I would like to reflect on. I could probably write several books about the vast differences between Australian and European daily life, however I will focus on one aspect that is truly the foundation to understanding “the land down under”: attitude.

If you are wondering why I am not comparing Australia to a specific countrys but rather to a continent, it is because  of its size, Australia is practically a continent (and because some people here get confused about the different countries and like to fuse them together). Its size is quite noticeable when you are in the position of being an exchange student wanting to travel around. Melbourne, the closest big city to Adelaide is a 14 hour drive away. In this time, you can cross a significant amount of countries in Europe. For reference, Australia is roughly 48.383 times bigger than Liechtenstein. Sorry, I digress.

It is sometimes said that people living in western countries can be cold and unwelcoming. This slight, perceived emotional detachment may even, internationally speaking, give the European culture its edge. People are friendly in rather subtle ways so there isn’t always a clear sense of community. It is not uncommon for visitors to be overwhelmed by Europe’s vast cultural differences (although Liechtenstein is an exception, due to its size and it’s close ties to Austria, Switzerland and other German-speaking nations). My intention is not to say that Europe is a bad place, as it has its own charms and a natural beauty that I am really starting to miss here.

My time in Adelaide thus far, has proven this statement beyond fact. People are just very laid back here. You notice it on the streets, when people aren’t necessarily ignoring each other just to get to their destination but will engage and interact. It seems to me that it is quite difficult to develop a social anxiety here.

As an example, I was at Cole’s (a supermarket chain here) buying some cereal when a middle aged man started talking to me, simply because we both liked the same type of cereal. Before I knew it, he started talking about his daughter’s birthday party the following weekend and telling me about the argument he had with his wife in the morning over how she likes her eggs cooked. After this experience I thought to myself; why doesn’t this happen in Europe? After all, we’re all sharing this world and should talk to each other more.

Perhaps this open attitude is a result of the climate. As most people know, Australia is a very warm country. Although South Australia (the state where Adelaide is located) is one of the more temperate regions, temperatures in South Australia can still reach over 40 °C on some days in the summer. Maybe this climate leads to less stress and an overall positive attitude due to the high levels of Vitamin D.

Or perhaps the extreme geographic isolation has created a sense of community i.a. “We’re super far away from everything, but at least we’re super far away from everything together”. Either way, this general attitude creates a pleasant atmosphere, and really helped me to settle into my new surrounding, by making me feel accepted. I have by now already picked up some of these Australian mannerisms and find myself starting conversations with strangers a lot more frequently than before.

Another situation where the laid-back attitude of the people in Adelaide came to light was in regard to punctuality. On my first day at the University of South Australia, I was told that although class officially started at 10:00 am, most people would start arriving at 10:10. Although this lenience doesn’t apply to deadlines, it is still something that I had never experienced before. Being German, I have been conditioned since birth to never arrive a minute too late or even too early (I think punctuality is a point of pride for us Germans).

Overall, I think my time here so far has definitely given me some new insights about the Australian culture and some of it appears to have already rubbed off on me. I eagerly look forward to what the coming months have to offer and to learn more from the Australian friends I have already made here.