Mountain Dew Energized Doritos: Only in Australia. You Don’t Want Them Anywhere Else.
By Tom Weiss
Every time I stroll through the soft drink aisle and see the brand names Coke and Pepsi lining the shelves on either side – even now, nearing the end of my fifth decade on the planet – I think about my parents. Coke, when I was a child (and still, to some degree, today) was an adult beverage. “You can’t have it,” I hear my mother’s voice echo in my head. “It has caffeine.”
Back then, I didn’t know what caffeine was. But, I knew I wanted it. So much of my youth was consumed by a longing to be older, to do what grown-ups did, to drink what they drank. And, as a result, I was primed to fall for the marketing strategy Mountain Dew employed in the 1980s.
Let’s Talk About What Can Kill You in Australia
By Tom Weiss
Kevin hates spiders.
At least he says he does. Normally I wouldn’t question a phobia like this, but on a regular basis I open my inbox in the morning to find he’s sent me pictures or videos like this.
If I hated spiders as much as Kevin says he does, I think I’d spend a little less time watching giant ones crawl across a woman’s face.
What’s it Like to Drive on the Other Side of the Road?
By Tom Weiss
Not long ago, Kevin asked me what the weirdest thing was about living in Australia.
”The brands at the supermarket are all different,” was my first thought. “But, driving is probably the weirdest thing. It took me a long time to get used to being on the other side of the road.”
”They drive on the wrong side of the road down there?”
”Yes, Kevin.”
”Why?”
What is a Democracy Sausage?
By Tom Weiss
The last time I spoke to my friend Kevin, all he wanted to talk about was the Australian election last week, which was surprising because normally the only news stories that interest him involve things like great white sharks attacking fishing boats.
Kevin told me the election was all over the news because the polls got it all wrong. It was a miracle and an incredible shock like Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. Kevin didn’t have a clue it was happening until it was all over, but now wouldn’t rest until he had the inside scoop.
“What the hell is happening down there?” He asked.
Where Is Australia on the Map?
Part 5 in an Ongoing Series on Australia, Its People, and Culture
By Tom Weiss
Kevin’s next question isn’t as silly as it might sound. Growing up in the Northern Hemisphere, he and I were conditioned by every map we ever saw to look for Australia at the bottom right of the world. He wondered if the opposite was true in Australia.
“We’re at the top of all our maps because they’re made here,” he said. “It’s the same reason North is at the top. The opposite should be true down there, right? Don’t maps in Australia have South at the top?”
I didn’t want to admit it, but he had me stumped. I hadn’t thought at all about the question.
What is Macca’s and Why Does Everyone Go There?
Part 4 in an Ongoing Series on Australia, Its People, and Culture
By Tom Weiss
Kevin called me on the phone a while back and the first thing I said when I answered was, “How ya going?”
I instantly regretted my choice of words.
“Where am I going?” He asked quizzically.
“No, I mean how are you?”
“I’m good. Why didn’t you just ask me that?”
I didn’t because I’ve been in Australia too long and nobody here says “How are you doing?” A few months ago I was on the wrong end of a long, one-sided conversation with another American expat who was exasperated that a young person working the checkout at ALDI had asked her “How are you doing?” instead of “How ya going?”
Which Way Do Australian Toilets Flush?
Part 3: Thank You Bart Simpson
By Tom Weiss
This, believe it or not, is the first thing my friend Kevin wants to know about Australia. He saw a Simpson’s episode once (Season 6, Episode 16. Kevin remembers next to nothing of his four years in college, but he does remember this.) where Bart calls Australia, collect, to find out which way the toilets flush.
Educating Kevin About Australia
Part 2 in an ongoing series about life and culture down under
By Tom Weiss
So I have this friend named Kevin. He lives somewhere in the US, and I’m reluctant to be any more specific because Kevin has questions – lots of questions – about Australia. In today’s politically-charged climate, if I were to identify Kevin as a resident of San Francisco (he’s not) you might imbue those questions […]
