Highlights
- 'Bring a plate' means you should bring food to the event.
- In Australia, avocado is part of a savoury dish, not dessert.
- 'How you doin', mate?' is not an invitation to tell your life story. A simple, 'Good and, yourself?' will suffice.
Suchie Jones moved to Australia in 1987 after marrying an Australian national introduced to her by a friend.
She admits feeling culture-shocked upon her arrival.
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'Bring a plate' at ipa bang mga kaugalian sa pagtitipon ng mga Australyano
SBS Filipino
24/12/202006:32
After being asked to 'bring a plate' by her friend to a gathering, she thought that she literally needed to bring an empty plate because the host needed some.
"I told my husband that we were invited to a lunch and asked him what he thought a nice plate would be to bring. I chose a nice wedge wood plate," she says, adding, "My friend picked me up and she nearly peed herself laughing when she saw the plate. She told me 'bring a plate' means the gathering is a potluck and you should bring food."
Here are other nuances in Australia some new arrivals are surprised by:
1. Malls close early, typically by 6pm. Only grocery stores are open until late.
2. Guests will typically bring alcohol to a celebration not necessarily as gifts for the celebrant, but to drink during.
3. If it's your birthday, you don't need to pay for everyone's meals. Everyone pays for their own.
4. Avocado is used as a savoury addition to bread, unlike in the Philippines where it's typically eaten with milk and sugar.
5. Gatherings in Australia don't necessarily have full-blown meals. Wine and finger food served are more typical.
6. Family-style servings of food is not common amongst Australians when they dine out.
7. Australians tend to have a more relaxed, carefree-way of dressing, such as no footwear or bikini tops during warm weather.
8. Australians tend to move homes a lot.
9. Gossip amongst neighbours isn't commonplace in Australia. It's not unusual to not know or interact with your neighbours.
10. Morning tea is not literally just tea. It's considered as breaktime at work.
11. Calling your boss by 'sir' or 'ma'am' is not standard practice. Typically, only first names are used to refer to even your superiors at work.
12. Toilets are not called 'comfort rooms' or 'CR'. You can simply go out of the classroom to go to the toilet without asking permission.
13. Boxing Day is not about the sport of boxing. It's the day after Christmas when there are a lot of sales around.
14. Christmas in Australia is typically quiet and people tend to sleep as they usually do versus Filipinos who stay up for Noche Buena and open presents.
15. You're not allowed to light your own fireworks. Instead, you can watch fireworks displays in the explanade or where it's controlled or announced as an event.
16. 'How you doin', mate?' is not an invitation to tell your life story. A simple, 'Good and, yourself?' will suffice.
17. At 18 years old, many Australians leave home and are independent.
