We here in Australia call it "the lucky country". We have fantastic weather, health care for all, some of the best beaches in the world, and some of the best talent there is on the planet. But, you already knew all of that. Here are some things you didn't know...

Our unique language.
The Aussie vernacular is rich in slang. Here are some common Aussie-isms:

Drongo: "You are such a drongo!" (Drongo = idiot, moron, twit)
Tucker: "Get your laughing gear around that tucker!" (Laughing gear = mouth, tucker = food)
Fair shake of the bottle: "Hey, fair shake of the bottle there love!" (be fair in your judgement)
Bogan: similar to redneck, but lives in low income housing, not trailers.

Our weather.
It snows! Yes- real, white, cold snow. We have several ski resorts in two states and our season lasts from June to September every year. We also have very hot summers. It can reach 40 degrees Celsius (about 110F) and stay that way for a week. Now you know why we love our beaches so much! We have Christmas in summer (and it's still Dec 25) so we usually have a seafood lunch.

Our wildlife.
You've heard we have kangaroos, but here's a secret: they don't really live in our backyards and bring us beer. They are seen in suburbia from time to time (depending where you live) and they will munch on your front lawn. Koalas are NOT bears! They are marsupials (along with kangaroos). We have the only two known monotremes: The echidna and the platypus.

Our food.
Traditionally, Aussie food consists of a meat pie with tomato sauce (no ketchup here!), a juicy hamburger (sandwich) with beetroot and a cold beer. We cook these (except the beer) on a BBQ whilst the ladies make a fresh salad and swim in the pool. Here's something else you didn't know: we also have a wide variety of American brands. McDonalds, KFC, Dominos, Krispy Kreme and Nike, just to name a few. Costco has recently arrived, Hersheys are starting to take over our shelves but we have no Sears or The Gap.

Holidays.
We don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Australia was founded as a penal colony: England sent their convicts over. There were no pilgrims, hence, no Thanksgiving. Halloween is starting to pick up here. We've had Halloween parties, but until recently there was no Trick Or Treat. We do celebrate Australia Day on January 26. It's the day the First Fleet arrived in Sydney, back in 1788. We also celebrate the Queen's birthday as we are still part of the Commonwealth. Another big day is ANZAC Day. It stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. ANZAC Day is April 25, the day our troops landed in Gallipoli, Turkey at the start of World War I.

Politics.
We have a Prime Minister, as Queen Elizabeth II is our head of state. A Prime Minister can have as many terms as he's elected for, we have no set election day (the date is chosen by the PM) but it's always on a Saturday. The two major political parties are Labor and Liberal.

Our Country.
Even though the mainland of Australia is as big as the continental USA, our population is concentrated along the coastal areas. The middle of Australia is desert and completely inappropriate for any commercial or residential use. Our capital city is Canberra, our biggest city is Sydney. We have 6 states and two territories, plus assorted small islands around the mainland.

I hope you've enjoyed this tour of Australia. Come visit us- we love to see you!

Renee Bugden is an expert author on many subjects, including women's health, spirituality, following your dreams and the latest books and movies. She writes with 10 years of experience across many fields such as health, retail and spirituality. She makes no apologies for being Australian.

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