So many things about Australia reassure the American visitor.  The clothing looks similar - we all shop at the same stores.  Of course we share the English language and all saw the same films over the weekend.  So it’s easy-peasy settling in Down Under, right?

Maybe not.

This month The Australian Financial Review ran an article headlined, “The US is a deceptively foreign country” (3 October 2006).  Australia’s senior trade commissioner warned business people that America wasn’t as easy-to-understand as you might think.  He suggested you perfect your elevator pitch and leave your sense of humour at the airport.  Americans are all business.

What differences can the American expect in Australia?  Australians are proud of their country and all that we’ve achieved on the local and world stage.  But we’ll never chest-thump.  Patriotism is a nascent art down here.  There’s a thorny sense of humour that’s usually self-deprecating.  Please don’t take yourself too seriously, mate.  If you can’t have a chin-wag at the local then you’re too haughty for the hoi polloi.  (Chin wag = Talk; Local = Corner pub). 

We’re a country of migrants but we retain our primary cultural heritage to our country of origin.  Australia is our geographical and heart-felt home, but ask us and we’ll say we’re Italians or Croatians or Vietnamese.  The mythical connection with the bush is fading, as most live in the cities.  But at heart we identify with the rural battler trying hard to make a living on the farm.  Most of us can’t sing “I Still Call Australia Home” without a break in our voice. 

It’s hard to summarise the differences between Australia and America.  They exist and perhaps because you don’t expect them they hit you all the harder.  When you go to Japan or China or Malta you expect there to be differences.  Australia lulls you into a false sense of security before smacking you between the eyes with the culture gaps. 

This isn’t Dallas, mate.  The sooner you wise up to it the better.