A matter of perspective

[vanth]

Interesting that you consider yourselves North American............lol, no wonder the canadians get the shits so much.

I dont think anyone here considers you as North Americans.

You are Central Americans and thats the start and end of it.

Really? I definitely consider residents of U.S.A. to be North Americans, and Central America as exactly what Preacha posted. I thought most other people did as well?

 

[TheLoveBandit]

The concept of xmas has bugged me, not bad, but enough to worry about the Americans who are stupid. Point being, for you xmas is in the middle of summer - so our folklore of a bearded man in a warm suit flying a sleigh driven by reindeer would seem awfully out of place in your summer setting. Not that we'll let it stop us from collecting presents, mind you, but I wonder what stories you tell your children? Does he come in on a surfboard and a g-string?

School for us revolves around the summer - typical classes run Sep thru May, leaving the kids free to play all summer long. So....do you let your kids play all winter long, or shift your school calendar 6 months? Hell, that's presumptuous on my part, you may run school 12 months a year, or 6 But it raises the question of your planning for things.

Speaking of school, I'd imagine the high school sports are as cherished as ours. But would your AFL type HS (is it even called high school? primary and secondary school?) teams, would they be the 'most prestigious' of the athletes? I suppose sports like soccer and surf may be a considered decent sports for your teens, but do you put more emphasis on certain sports? Dumb question, but I'm too dumb right now not to leave the question in. Humour me.

I'm curious also about nationalism - not just for Aus, but for NZ or other countries in the region. Do you have certain holidays that have traditional celebration, and what are they? My anecdote on this one is that we have to explain to people every year that Cinco de Mayo is not just a drinking day, but an actual celebration for Mexico's independance (and since we're not Mexico, it IS just a drinking day, but whatever). A lot of Americans don't get it until you explain it is the Mexican 4th of July 8) This goes hand in hand with our younger countrymen asking people from other countries where they go for Thanksgiving But on nationalism - what would you list as the pride of your nation? An impressive national capital, natural occurrence of beauty (our Grand Canyon) or man made (Mr. Rushmore)? When I think of 'down under' I think of the Opera House and the Bridge (can't even name it) - but nothing else other than a large rock formation somewhere (I can't name either). Point being - what would you point out to a visitor as being significant of your culture, your nation?

 

[vanth]

Some people tell their kids that santa's sleigh is pulled by kangaroos, there's a song to that effect called "Six White Boomers". Also one traditionally leaves a beer out for santa. Or in my house a diet coke.

A bunch of places sell chocolate wallabies instead of chocolate rabbits at Easter because rabbits are a noxious pest here, and wallabies are an indigenous species.

We have Australia Day/Invasion Day, which is when white people turned up in Australia for (arguably) the first time. Its traditional to have a bbq or go out really hard

 

[B9]

or shift your school calendar 6 months?

I get the impression that this is the case. I was wondering about this just the other day as it happens, fascinating eh.

 

[MazDan]

We have Australia Day/Invasion Day, which is when white people turned up in Australia for (arguably) the first time. Its traditional to have a bbq or go out really hard

lol, hardly.

Its actually to commemorate the landing of the first fleet, however that was some 18 years after Captain Cook arrived.




Oh and Vanth.........happy to stand corrected as a technicality for where Central America is however I still stand by the concept that most Aussies consider the USA as Central America..........a quik pop quiz of my associates at work proved that althought 3 other peeps is hardly proof positive.........lol

Alright and I was careful how I asked the question..........lol

 

[Benefit]

Notice how MazDan completely fails to address the fact that he has no idea where Central and North America are.

j/k buddy!!

 

[MazDan]

The concept of xmas has bugged me, not bad, but enough to worry about the Americans who are stupid. Point being, for you xmas is in the middle of summer - so our folklore of a bearded man in a warm suit flying a sleigh driven by reindeer would seem awfully out of place in your summer setting. Not that we'll let it stop us from collecting presents, mind you, but I wonder what stories you tell your children? Does he come in on a surfboard and a g-string?

School for us revolves around the summer - typical classes run Sep thru May, leaving the kids free to play all summer long. So....do you let your kids play all winter long, or shift your school calendar 6 months? Hell, that's presumptuous on my part, you may run school 12 months a year, or 6 But it raises the question of your planning for things.

Speaking of school, I'd imagine the high school sports are as cherished as ours. But would your AFL type HS (is it even called high school? primary and secondary school?) teams, would they be the 'most prestigious' of the athletes? I suppose sports like soccer and surf may be a considered decent sports for your teens, but do you put more emphasis on certain sports? Dumb question, but I'm too dumb right now not to leave the question in. Humour me.

I'm curious also about nationalism - not just for Aus, but for NZ or other countries in the region. Do you have certain holidays that have traditional celebration, and what are they? My anecdote on this one is that we have to explain to people every year that Cinco de Mayo is not just a drinking day, but an actual celebration for Mexico's independance (and since we're not Mexico, it IS just a drinking day, but whatever). A lot of Americans don't get it until you explain it is the Mexican 4th of July 8) This goes hand in hand with our younger countrymen asking people from other countries where they go for Thanksgiving But on nationalism - what would you list as the pride of your nation? An impressive national capital, natural occurrence of beauty (our Grand Canyon) or man made (Mr. Rushmore)? When I think of 'down under' I think of the Opera House and the Bridge (can't even name it) - but nothing else other than a large rock formation somewhere (I can't name either). Point being - what would you point out to a visitor as being significant of your culture, your nation?

We allow our teachers to have about 6 weeks of holidays over summer so they can enjoy Christmas. That goes with the other 10 weeks or so we give them at other times during the year. As a consequence the children have to also stay home.



Regards Sport in school.
Here in Australia school is primarily for people to learn at. Sport is seen as a pastime for pretty much 99.99% of the population.

There are no sporting scholarships as you guys seem to have over there........well none that I am aware of.

There is a few sporting high schools which is the age of about 12 to 17 or so. These schools have a higher focus on sports and include elite programs for there students. To be accepted into those schools you must meet certain sporting standards in your chosen sport.

Soccer and probably cricket are seen as the most prestigious of sports to be an elite player in............mostly because of the financial rewards available. However league and AFL etc would also be considerred highly within there circles.

Pretty much all olympic sports can send there elite young players to the Australian Institute of Sport which is like a university of sport.

As a general rule though I am not aware of any sport snobbery, if your good at a sport then your gunna be accepted for that whether it be skateboarding or football.............provided your a guy.

From what I can tell sports over here is totally different to the way it is over there.................

I always amuses me that each and every four years Australia beats the living daylights out of you per capita in terms of medals won at the Olympics. Why is this??

 

[Samadhi]

The concept of xmas has bugged me, not bad, but enough to worry about the Americans who are stupid. Point being, for you xmas is in the middle of summer - so our folklore of a bearded man in a warm suit flying a sleigh driven by reindeer would seem awfully out of place in your summer setting. Not that we'll let it stop us from collecting presents, mind you, but I wonder what stories you tell your children? Does he come in on a surfboard and a g-string?

No, santa still visits, and in shopping centres he's dressed in all his garb (or the alco actor who's playing santa ). I think the idea of santa is universal, though, but from my observations over the years, children know santa isn't real from a younger age here. Also, i've seen Santa in boardshorts and a t-shirt. Like vanth said, we've tweaked alot of our traditions to suit our culture... as already posted, the Easter Bunny is sometimes replaced with a wallaby, or a bielby.

School for us revolves around the summer - typical classes run Sep thru May, leaving the kids free to play all summer long. So....do you let your kids play all winter long, or shift your school calendar 6 months? Hell, that's presumptuous on my part, you may run school 12 months a year, or 6 But it raises the question of your planning for things.

Our school year runs from February to December... our "summer vaction" starts from November - December (depending on what grade you're in). Children finish school and then have 6-8 weeks off (over the xmas period), which is summer. I've always thought it really odd that you guys finish you school years smack-bang in the middle of the actual year... but it's in line with your summer.

Speaking of school, I'd imagine the high school sports are as cherished as ours. But would your AFL type HS (is it even called high school? primary and secondary school?) teams, would they be the 'most prestigious' of the athletes? I suppose sports like soccer and surf may be a considered decent sports for your teens, but do you put more emphasis on certain sports? Dumb question, but I'm too dumb right now not to leave the question in. Humour me.

In my experience - no. I have the (possibly incorrect) impression that your football teams are the stars of the school. That's not the way it is here. All sports are held in a similar esteem. For instance, the school i attended was HUGE on girls hockey, and we had the best team in QLD. There were AFL teams, ruby leage teams, rugby union teams, swimming teams. I'm sure some schools placed more importance on some teams, but at my school, most of the sports were equally supported. Regarding our schools, in QLD, we now have prep (which has taken over from preschool), primary school (grades 1-7) and high school (grades 8-12). I think it's different in NSW though, i think their grade 7's are included in their high school system.

I'm curious also about nationalism - not just for Aus, but for NZ or other countries in the region. Do you have certain holidays that have traditional celebration, and what are they? My anecdote on this one is that we have to explain to people every year that Cinco de Mayo is not just a drinking day, but an actual celebration for Mexico's independance (and since we're not Mexico, it IS just a drinking day, but whatever). A lot of Americans don't get it until you explain it is the Mexican 4th of July 8) This goes hand in hand with our younger countrymen asking people from other countries where they go for Thanksgiving

We have Australia Day (January 26): On January 26, 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and became its first Governor. Alot of people, including Indigenous Australians, call it "Invasion Day", which it technically accurate. It's the noted day that the white man took possession of Ausralia. That's a public Holiday in all states and territories of Australia.

ANZAC day (April 25): This day marks the anniversary of the military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in WW1 became known as ANZACS. This is also a national public holiday, and it's marked by ANZAC soldier marches all over the city, and is begun with a dawn service. Here's some info on the dawn service:

The Dawn Service observed on ANZAC Day has its origins in an operational routine which is still observed by the Australian Army today. The half-light of dawn plays tricks with soldiers' eyes and from the earliest times the half-hour or so before dawn, with all its grey, misty shadows, became one of the most favoured times for an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were therefore woken up in the dark, before dawn, so that by the time the first dull grey light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert and manning their weapons. This was, and still is, known as "Stand-to". It was also repeated at sunset.

A lone soldier will play "The Last Post", which (and I don't know anyone who it doesn't have this effect on) give me goosebumps and chokes me up. Sadly, in Brisbane, only one "digger" (soldier) is still alive from WW1, the numbers of those soldiers has gotten smaller every year. Their wives and families will march in their place. It's also a day to remember the women of Australia who were left behind as their fathers, sons, brothers, and husbands went to war, and Australian women were the ones that shouldered the load of industry, etc while the men were at war.

We usually spend Australia day making ANZAC biscuits (yummy buscuits that the wives and mothers of soldiers sent to the diggers), playing 2-up, having a bbq (a traditional aussie past-time - you guys call them cook-outs) and lots of drinking. Here's the history of ANZAC biscuits: http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-food/anzac-biscuits.htm

It's not a public holiday, but Remberance/VeteransArmistice Day is also very important. On November 11, on the 11th minute of the 11th hour, the country stops for a minutes silence to remember all the soldiers in our history who have lost their lives in war.

Long Tan Day (Aug 18 ) is a day to remember our Vietnam Veterans, who unfortunately, who were essentially shunned by our country upon their return, and who are the least cared for by our government. It's not a public holiday

But on nationalism - what would you list as the pride of your nation? An impressive national capital, natural occurrence of beauty (our Grand Canyon) or man made (Mr. Rushmore)? When I think of 'down under' I think of the Opera House and the Bridge (can't even name it) - but nothing else other than a large rock formation somewhere (I can't name either). Point being - what would you point out to a visitor as being significant of your culture, your nation?

Hmmm, our national Landmarks (well, the most famous), are: Sydney Harbour Bridge and Ayers RockUluru. They are the two major stand-outs for international tourists, however, to me, Australia is all about the natural beauty: Our Great Barrier Reef, The Kimberleys, The Daintree Rainforest, Fraser Island, The 12 Apostles, our beaches, deserts, snow fields, the Never Never, Kakadu National Park, the "red centre"... when I think of those places... that's when i feel most patriotic, because this country is beautiful. I'd point out all of those things to a tourist, and if i had the means, i'd take any international friend to all of those places.

Interestingly, i know a fair bit about the places i'd love to visit in the USA as well, and i am the first to say that your country has so much beauty in its varied landscape. I want to visit the bayou country of Louisiana and explore the swamp lands, I want to drive through yellowstone national park, explore the mountains of Colorado, visit the white sand beaches of Florida, Visit Vermont in Autumn, travel thorugh Maine and upstate New York to visit the fishing communities, visit Alaska...and so much more! i'm no expert on your country, but i've educated myself enough to know that your country has alot of beauty. :D

 

[Infinite Jest]

^
[edit:arrow meant for Mazza; damn Samadhi getting up early and posting just before me to say exactly the same thing ]

Per capita's not a great argument, though - it always advantages smaller nations (NZ, even Fiji do pretty well on that basis). There just aren't enough medals for the big countries to win as many as the small ones (although let's face it, the Aussies do punch above their weight; and we should all envy the AIS - I've been there in a previous life when I worked as a sports librarian).

Holidays: I guess the Aussies have touched on it, but: school here runs from the end of January to early December. University starts last week of Feb or thereabouts, and final exams finish in early November. Then everyone goes home and works on the farm for three months. Well, actually they don't anymore, but the long summer holidays were originally designed to fit in with farmwork.

National days: NZ is interesting. We have Waitangi Day, which commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which made NZ a British colony. Hugely problematic (lots of (native) Maori tribes didn't sign the Treaty; the English and Maori versions are significantly different; there's an argument that the British/NZ governments didn't honour it). So (at the moment) it's not really a day of celebration, more a day of protest. There are efforts being made to turn that round, notably in Wellington where we realised it was also Bob Marley's birthday, and every year there's a big free festival with reggae/dub/funk bands and we dance in the sun. (I guess you guys have some Native protests over Thanksgiving? It's kinda like that, only we don't celebrate it as much, anyway). Except in London, where all the expats go out and get drunk.

The other big holiday, which is (strangely) becoming more important and more solemn as time goes by, is ANZAC Day, which remembers our war dead. The actual date is the anniversary of the Gallipoli invasion in World War One, where the Aussie/NZ Army Corps (ANZACs) played a prominent role (although the Kiwis didn't actually do much on that specific day; maybe we need our own one in June to remember Chunuk Bair). Anyhoo: it's all very solemn; dawn parades and so on.

Reed: You're talking about the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Ayers Rock/Uluru.

 

[B9]

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Built with steel produced in my home town! I think I've mentioned this before.

 

[massiveinminiature]

Perspective depends on where you are viewing from (close by or far away??) !!
(hee hee) %)

 

[Klue]

Speaking of school, I'd imagine the high school sports are as cherished as ours. But would your AFL type HS (is it even called high school? primary and secondary school?) teams, would they be the 'most prestigious' of the athletes? I suppose sports like soccer and surf may be a considered decent sports for your teens, but do you put more emphasis on certain sports? Dumb question, but I'm too dumb right now not to leave the question in. Humour me.

AFL and Rugby League are played throughout the country... But AFL is prodominantly a Victorian Sport, with the majority of teams coming from Vic. And the teams in the NRL (National Rugby League) are basically all Sydney (NSW) teams.

Both sports are played here (Northern NSW) but Rugby League is still the dominant sport.

:D

 

[Klue]

 

[eggman]

AFL and Rugby League are played throughout the country... But AFL is prodominantly a Victorian Sport, with the majority of teams coming from Vic. And the teams in the NRL (National Rugby League) are basically all Sydney (NSW) teams.

Both sports are played here (Northern NSW) but Rugby League is still the dominant sport.

:D

Australian Rules Football (AKA Aussie Rules and sometimes erroneously referred to as AFL, after its governing body) attracts more overall interest among Australians than any other football code, and is second in all sports only to Cricket.

It is the most popular code of football in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia and even outweighs Rugby League in certain regional areas of NSW and Queensland.

Aussie Rules Football is the most highly attended spectator sport in Australia and games organised by the AFL have third highest average attendance in the world.

Sorry to come off sounding like a total dick, but I get a bit amped about Aussie Rules sometimes

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

Schools here don't have footy teams in the same sense that US schools have footy teams.

I think for you guys, school football is a much huger thing. Kids here play amateur football for "local" clubs - location based, ie. your town, whereby they work their way up the "ranks" to professional AFL or Rugby. This process is not at any stage affiliated with the school system. It could be different in other states, not sure, but that's how it is in Victora.

We don't have scholarships based on sports either; there's not the whole "jock" culture and it's really not the big status-thing it is in the US. Which is odd really, when you think about how huge the sporting lifestyle is here.

 

[MazDan]

Australian Rules Football (AKA Aussie Rules and sometimes erroneously referred to as AFL, after its governing body) attracts more overall interest among Australians than any other football code, and is second in all sports only to Cricket.

It is the most popular code of football in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia and even outweighs Rugby League in certain regional areas of NSW and Queensland.

Aussie Rules Football is the most highly attended spectator sport in Australia and games organised by the AFL have third highest average attendance in the world.

Sorry to come off sounding like a total dick, but I get a bit amped about Aussie Rules sometimes

And yet strangely enough it is not the sport with the most participants..........that belongs to Soccer for men and netball for ladies.

And in terms of watching sport on television.........Soccer smashes all in Australia.........quite strange really.

 

[kytnism]

^ can women make a lucrative living from playing netball in the same way men can from AFL/rugby?

...kytnism...

 

[UnSquare]

On His Australiain Run!

Rolfy!!!!
:D

"Six White Boomers

, Snow White Boomers
Racing Santa Claus
Through The Blazing Sun!"

Yeah!

:D
UnS

 

[eggman]

Schools here don't have footy teams in the same sense that US schools have footy teams.

That is so very true.

I remember the first time I was invited to a high school footbal match in the states and when we where seated in the stadium I asked someone something to the effect of, 'its nice that they allow the high school to play in the big professional stadium'. They replied that no, This IS the high school stadium!

Honestly, this stadium put many of the NSW/QLD NRL club home grounds to shame

 

[eggman]

And yet strangely enough it is not the sport with the most participants..........that belongs to Soccer for men and netball for ladies.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but paaaar leeease

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report titled 'Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2005-06' indicates otherwise

Of all the sports and physical recreation undertaken in an organised capacity, the activity most commonly participated in by Australians 15 years and over, was aerobics/fitness (570,000). Netball (333,800) was the next most popular organised sport followed by tennis (250,400) and soccer (outdoor) (248,500).

Further to that....

More males participated in Australian Rules football (240,800) than females (27,900)

The sum of those participations obviously beng 268,700 as compared to Soccer (outdoor) which is 248,500. The Soccer people are all to eager to latch on to a skewed statistic. The figure commonly bandied about is a grouped statistic that included indoor soccer amongst outdoor soccer. The last time I checked, even the most awesome player at your Tuesday night comp at the local rec centre isnt going to get a run on with Sydney FC.

Additionally, there is a massive concentration amongst 5 - 12 year olds presumably because parents are worried about the increased possibility of increased injury, which ofcourse is just bullshit. Then you also need to take into account the effect on female participants. After the age of 12 (it may have changed after there was a claim filed in 2004, but im not 100% sure) females are prevented from participating in Aussie Rules and the organisation for female only Aussie Rules is very poorly managed and lacks funding.

And in terms of watching sport on television.........Soccer smashes all in Australia.........quite strange really.

Im going to assume that by 'smashed' you meant that more people watch soccer than any other. Unfortunately, soccer fails again in both mediums.

ABS reports that...

Australian Rules Football was the sport most attended by both males (1.5 million or 21 per cent) and females (1.0 million or 13.4 per cent) aged 18 years and over. The second most highly attended sport overall was horse racing, with 1.1 million males (14.8 per cent) and 802,600 females (11 per cent).

Next came motor sports and other so-called 'major matches' in rugby league, cricket, soccer, rugby union, and basketball.

As far as TV goes, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on 2nd September 2007 that Among the 50 most watched programs in Australia since 2001 (excluding Commonwealth Games and Olympics), 25 were sporting events. Six of the programs that drew more than 2.3 million viewers in the mainland capitals were AFL grand finals, three were Melbourne Cup races, three were rugby league grand finals, three were Rugby World Cup matches, two were World Cup soccer matches and two were cricket matches.