Since living in Newcastle, Australia for the last three months I have not experienced nearly as much cultural confrontation as I thought I would. However, I have come to notice the cultural differences are indeed there but being able to live and experience everyday life here has allowed me to notice them opposed to a simple visit. This is going to sound like a random “cultural confrontation” (at least I think it will), but in retrospect it is a relatively large aspect of social life. The trickiest thing I have found here is understanding the workings of a specific restaurant, bar, or café. (Sounds random right?). At home we are accustomed to being welcomed and sat down at a table by a host or hostess where then we proceed to read the menu and eventually tell our order to the server that comes by. Or on the other hand we walk into casual fast-food places like Chipotle or Panera and know to order at the front and then sit ourselves. Pretty standard stuff, and it is just like that here as well. However, you never really know which places you sit down and receive full service (which is typical in the states) or if you sit, then get up to order. It has almost become a comedic guessing game when I go out with my friends, do we look silly for sitting for 10 minutes when we should’ve gotten up to order for ourselves or will we look pushy if it is full service but are not use to the delayed aid? Wanting to obviously fit in with the cultural norms, one thing I have worked out is to just either really observe what is going on before assuming or just kindly asking, because everyone is always very friendly. Anyway, the food here is amazing everywhere and the coffee is the best in the world, so wherever you go you definitely won’t be disappointed, just have to ask before sitting!
