So I have just returned from a 6 month contract on a ship that was home ported in beautiful Sydney, Australia. It was my first experience down under and I absolutely loved it. I have always thought that Canadians and Australians have a lot in common and I was not proven wrong. Aussies are basically relaxed Canadians with accents. After 5.5 months spent with Aussies I am completely convinced that Aussies are our spirit animal...well, you know what I mean.
Some of the things that our two beautiful nations have in common:
Well traveled and worldly
We love to travel, we go places and we know a bit about world history and geography. We love to learn about other cultures and we often study abroad and/or travel for the sake of traveling (and I don't mean the resort all inclusive travel). We go and get lost in the world and we find ourselves while we are at it. We make strangers our friends and we talk to anyone and everyone. We go on adventures and we take the path less travelled. We are not afraid of exploring and we don't listen to what the media has to say about other nations, we go and experience it for ourselves. We travel with open minds and let our travels educate us about people, languages, cultures and society. Is it really then such a surprise there's so many Canucks in Oz and so many Aussies in Canada?
We love doughnuts
It's no secret that Canucks love their Tim Horton's Doughnuts! In fact after 6 months away from Canada the first place that I went to was Tim Horton's which was right across the street from the Vancouver port. I bragged to all my friends about them and then of course had to bring a massive supply of it back on the ship to feed said friends.
Aussies love their doughnuts too! Normally we don't sell them on the ship but during the time that we are Down Under we have all sorts of varieties, colors, sprinkled, non sprinkled and glazed and whatnot all available for our guests and they sell like hotcakes!
We love coffee
We love our coffee! Now mind you us Canadians prefer our basic Timmies's Double Double (or most Canadians do as I get called out on being too 'Americanized' as I opt for a Starbuck's latte or espresso). Now Aussies take coffee to another level! We actually have to bring in special barista trainers when we cross to Australia to make sure that our own Baristas are on par with Aussie expectations. Now don't ask me what a flat white or a long black is cause Aussies come with their own coffee lingo. I had the Barista explain it all to me and it went in one ear out the other and I just opted for ordering my regular brew in American terms. But one thing I did learn, Aussies are early risers and if I don't get to the coffee shop by 8.45am, forget about getting a cup of coffee. The line will by down the 'street' and the next time I can even think about approaching is after lunch.
Big Arse Countries, Small Population & Clean Cities
We are massive in size, Canada just under 10 million square kilometers and Australia just a bit over 7.5 square kilometers. But our populations? Not so big. Canada with just 35 million peeps (3.92 peeps per square kilometer) and Australia with just 24.5 million peeps (also 3.92 peeps per square kilometer) making us some of the least densely populated developed countries in the world (228th and 236th respectively out of 246 countries). But our cities are spick and span clean and tidy. You won't find litter in the street and it's rare to find illegal graffiti anywhere. Citizens do their part in keeping their cities clean and if you dare as much as litter, you will either get a hefty fine from the Popo or another citizen will break you off a piece of their mind and shame you into cleaning up after yourself.
Chilled out and relaxed
We are chilled out peeps, we take it easy, we say 'No worries' a hell of a lot. We don't complain unless it's really needed and then we are even sorry for it. I had one colleague from the Guest Services desk tell me that he loves working in Australia because seldom there are ever any line ups at their desk. Once he got yelled at by a guest but the lady came back and apologized after!
We love pubs. It was the most packed place on the ship. We love our pubs, pints and a good rock band. Normally I don't spend too much time in guest areas but this season I did and the pub was one of my favourite places. Aussies like to strike up conversations with us but in a non invasive way. They would ask my name, ask what I do and then invite me for a game of shuffle board and we carried on like old mates. I wasn't asked regarding my life on the ship, my salary or my family or personal life.
Now I think Aussies take relaxed to another level; Extreme Relaxed. The thong (not of the the g- string variety but of the flip flop variety) is basically the only shoe of choice. What puzzles me if how these thongs are not always utilized. People walk around barefoot all the time! Not only on the ship but also in downtown Sydney! This I am still trying to understand. One of my colleagues spotted a guest running on the treadmill barefoot (huge safety hazard) and advised the gentleman that shoes are required. Said gentleman apologized, got off the treadmill, put his thongs on and kept running. Ummmm....not exactly what we had in mind. Nevertheless we had to change our signs at the gym from 'Closed Footwear Required' to something more along the lines of 'Backless shoes are not permitted'. Come to think of it, I have two Canuck friends that backpacked in Australia for an extensive amount of time and neither one of them really wants to wear shoes anymore. Hmmmm....
Fitness and Health oriented
We are both nations that are concerned with well being. It was dang near impossible to go to the gym in the morning as it was packed! I don't know about you but I rarely work out when I am on vacation but Aussies certainly do.
With that being said, also both of our nations highly enjoy adult beverages. In other words, we like to drink. So we are health conscious but we like to keep things in balance by drinking everything we can get our hands on. Canadians party hard but Aussies party even harder! All in all, we are social people and we like to have fun. But the amount of times I got called by security in the middle of the night....dear sweet baby Jesus.
These are some of the similarities I have found between our two great nations.
And well of course there are some things that I had no idea about (and some I had trouble making sense of):
Tim Tams and Vegemite
But Vegemite? I just don't get it. I tried it cause i'll try anything once but meh. I was not feeling it. They say it's an acquired taste and I believe it. To me it was kind of salty and kind of bleh. Probably won't be eating it again.
Trivia and Cards
Oh my Buddha......y'all love your Trivia and card games. Every time I went past the coffee shop the trivia was PACKED. Defo it was the most popular activity on the ship. People were sitting everywhere they could including the stairs. I have never seen this. The card room that is usually empty on the American runs, was packed each and every day. I kind of like that the Aussies get into this old school type of fun and they bring the whole fam into it.
Music
I had a conversation with my DJ friend about how we miss Latin Music (that you would hear a lot of on American ships) and defo you don't hear a lot of it Down Under. Now Aussies love their 80s and 90s and really I can't blame them. They love their Guns n' Roses, Bon Jovi and AC/DC (which they pronouce Acadaca). They certainly love their rock n' rolll.
Shoes (or lack thereof)
Still don’t get it…..why no shoes?
The language
I am still getting used to it. The only time I could watch Aussie comedians onboard was with an Aussie ‘translator’. I had a couple of friends come cruise with me and we would go together. I remember leaning over to my friend and saying "Ummmm Deb, what's a Bogan?". There was a time a guest was asking me for a 'Bee' and after several failed attempts at clarifying what he was asking for I just had to admit that I didn't understand him. He then made a drinking motion and it became clear to me he was asking for a beer. Another time we were in Mare, New Caledonia and I wasn't clever enough to pre pay for our transportation. I was with some Aussie friends and a random Aussie said 'I don't think we are going to get anywhere unless one of these guys let us hop on a Ute'. Ute? What the bloody hell is a Ute? I turned to the road and looked for some hairy Yak like animal. Do you know what a Ute is? A utility vehicle! We call that a pick up truck.
Now that's just the tip of the ice berg. Thong, Ute, Bogan....for the love of.....what the hell is a chippie? Sparkie? Maccas? And here I thought we were speaking the same language.
Nevertheless, I cherish my experience in Australia and can not wait to get back. There's just something so amazing and breathtaking about this country and it's people. People are warm and open and welcoming and they make you feel like you were at home. There's something so deeply spiritual about the place and its people. When guests ask me how it's possible that the crew are so happy and do their jobs so well, I always tell them it's because of the Aussie guests and how amazing they are as a nation and as individuals.
When we left Sydney for the crossing to Vancouver, I was genuinely sad. My closest friends and I headed to the open deck to watch our last sail away from the most scenic and gorgeous port in the world. We stood on the open deck, took our last photos and watched the sun set over Sydney. We backed out of the port with the bridge at our stern, passed the Sydney Opera House and the botanical gardens. As the wind blew through our hair we said our Goodbyes to Australia with tears in our eyes. After eleven years at sea, it was the first time that a place had such an impact on me that leaving it would cause such emotion.
Australia, I will be back. See you soon!
Let me take you on a visual journey of my Australian experience....
My house docked in her homeport of Sydney (and yes all ships are female)
The view out of my port hole every 10 days. Epic!
Get a hold of these amazing sunsets...
You can't go to Australia and not hang out with some kangaroos. Now after spending some time with these adorable creatures I just couldn't bring myself to actually eating them (although I vowed that I would).
I have to tell you that sailing the Pacific is not easy. The waters are rough all the time. The worst days were the first day sailing out of Sydney and the last sea day sailing back into Sydney. Now normally I don't get sea sick but I do get headaches and sleepy with ship movement. Each cruise there were days that rendered my useless as an employee. Right before we had the crossing we had weather so bad that the swells were 8m high and water was splashing as high as Deck 8. I actually did get seasick that one time and I could not get over it. Wheeled chairs were flying all over our offices and we sustained damage all over the ship. We had to close off all the open decks due to the high winds and waves. The next day we sailed late into Sydney and departed late as well. I wouldn't want to relive that experience but we got to see Sydney at night and it was absolutely stunning and worth all the pain of treacherous waters.
Our reward for horrible seas and seasickness: Sydney at night
Christmas was rather interesting in Sydney. Over the years I have gotten used to having Christmas without snow but I have always been able to find Christmas decorations regardless whether it was Florida, St. Maarten or Mexico. I was really surprised that aside from one massive Christmas tree in the middle of some square and a crate Santa, Sydney really did not look like it was ready for the holidays. Aside from that I had a really tough time finding Christmas decorations. I found some at a redonculously expensive store (cause most things are redonk expensive in Sydney). Eventually I just got Christmas deco at a Japanese $2.80 store (not a dollar store but at $2.80 store).
We did have a blast making our annual Christmas card. I make a point of being the first one to have it each year and to send it fleet wide. This time we wanted to make it really original and Aussie so we conned our two ship besties into dressing up and we shot our Christmas card with they Sydney Opera House in the background.
Pano shot obsessed! But with all this marvelousness around me, how can I resist?
This day at the Botanical Gardens I remember particularly cause I got charred! They tell you to watch out for the sun in Australia. Did I listen? No. So what happened? I got charred! Between the botanical gardens and the sail away I was burnt enough to fry an egg on me. I was beaming red and had to all my Doc friend for emergency Aloe. Australian Sun 1: Nat 0
Can't get enough of the Sydney Opera House and Manly, love it! Pam and I were wondering if there are some Aussie families that want to perhaps adopt some crew members for a couple of months a year so we get to live there.
We had a few cruises that went to Tasmania and we called at Port Arthur and Hobart. Hobart has the most amazing art gallery in the world; The Mona. I am not really the art gallery type but this place was just unreal. I would love to go back there a million more times. They place blew my mind!
We had an very awesome and unique opportunity to do an overnight in Hobart. We don't really have opportunities to go out at night so an overnight is always welcome. We went pub hopping and night time exploring and let me tell you, Hobart was never the same haha. We all ended up at a night club and I think the locals are still recovering from the tornado that we brought in.
Port Arthur
Hobart
Our last day call at Sydney I spent with friends at Bondi Beach and sightseeing nearby. We had a beautiful and emotional final sail away.
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