One thing that I have found to be very different are invitations. In the US someone may invite you to join them in an activity that they are planning to do, for example they might say “Do you want to go to the store with Carl and I?” However, while studying over here in Australia I have learned that invitations are much different. Here someone may just simply tell you that they are going to the store. The difference is that to many Australians this is a casual way of inviting you to join them. I will admit it took some getting used to when I first arrived in Australia. I was always confused why people would tell me where they were going and then looking at me as if they were waiting for a reply. After noticing this for the first week or so I asked a couple of my new Australian friends to explain. The way they put it is that there are varying levels of invitation. The most casual and common level is to just tell someone what they are doing. When this occurs you simply just ask if you can join in as well. 9.5/10 times they say of course. Usually the only reason why they may so no is because there is no more space available. But even then they will try to find some way that you can still join. The rest of the levels are very similar to what we have in the United States but their most common way of inviting someone to join them was most definitely something that took some time to adjust to! This difference in invitation has however given me some insight into just how welcoming, inclusive, and friendly people are in Australia.
