I’ve actually been quite surprised that I haven’t experienced as much culture shock as I was expecting to while living in another country. Australia and America are alike in a lot of ways; I think that Australia also being a primarily English speaking country eased the transition quite a bit. Lately however, I am starting to get a tiny bit homesick, and there are a few petty things that I keep finding myself particularly frustrated with. It might sound silly, but the thing that bothers me most frequently is the lack of flavor in food here! Salt and pepper seems to be the extent of seasoning in most places, especially the food on campus. A couple of Americans and I have started bringing our own seasonings with us to the dining hall. It’s nearly impossible to find anything spicy here; for example, when the dining hall serves curry for dinner, it always has an added message next to the menu stating “Not Spicy!”, and I always have a little laugh about it. Even in the grocery store, it’s almost impossible to find any type of jalapeño/spicy pepper, spicy salsa, or even spicy seasoning. I bought the spiciest cajun seasoning I could find, and to my disappointment, it was almost sweet tasting! The supermarkets are the other thing that I keep finding myself frustrated with. I miss the options an average American supermarket offers dearly. It has really made me appreciate how much access and variety we have in America. For example, American Target or Walmart have aisles and aisles of hair care and skin care options, making it easy and affordable to find a product that really works for you and suits your specific needs. Australia’s average supermarket typically has a single aisle of all hygiene, beauty, and health products clumped together. Maybe if you’re lucky the pharmacy will have a small aisle dedicated to haircare and another for skincare(assuming it’s fully stocked to begin with). Amazon isn’t much of a thing, and given that Australia is an island nation, shipping here is outrageous. To get a bottle of the $11 face wash I use back home here, the product itself costs nearly $40, and shipping for a 5 ounce package costs $17. Not to mention it can take over a month for some international shipments to arrive. Outside of supermarket shopping, I was initially excited to explore Australian clothing brands, but to my dismay, at least half of the t-shirts here are plastered with names of various American cities. I always have to chuckle to myself when I see someone stylishly sporting a “Daytona Beach” crop top, just because I don’t think many Floridians necessarily find Daytona to be THE hot and trendy beach to visit in Florida. I know how materialistic these frustrations are, but it honestly makes me smile– because it reminds me of the thing that I love the most about Australia: how easy going life feels here. It’s hard to believe that after 3 months of living in another country, my biggest qualms are over flavors(or lack thereof) and having to settle on hygiene products!
