Since being here in Sydney, I have been picking up on some of the differences in the way Australians talk and Americans talk. Let me just say, there are many differences in what they call something and what we call something. There have been many times already where I have said something, and all my Australian friends have looked at me like I am crazy, and then I have had to explain what I really meant. Let me give you an example:
The other night, two of my Australian friends were in my room and we were talking. I brought up how I went to the grocery store and found that there is no such thing as jelly, just jam. I explained to them that I did not understand the difference because it looks the same. This is when I brought up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I said how much I love them. My two friends looked at me like I was crazy and had a disgusted look on their face. Jelly in America is what Australians call jello, and jam in Australia is what we call jelly. So when I said how much I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, they thought I eat peanut butter and jello on bread. This is when it really hit me. My Australian friends asked me what peanut butter and jelly (or jam as they would call it) sandwiches were. WHAT?! Isn't it what every child got in their lunch boxes growing up? Isn't it what parents would pack in the car because the sandwiches did not need to be refrigerated? Isn't it on almost every kids menu in restaurants across the America? My mouth dropped and I did not believe that growing up these people never ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I then asked them what they ate instead, because there had to be something that was similar to the amazing sandwich every American enjoys for lunch. Both of them said that everyone in Australia eats Vegemite, which supposedly is healthy for you, but really high in sodium. The way you make a Vegemite sandwich is get a piece of bread, spread a thick layer of butter on the bread, and then put a thin layer of Vegemite on top. Well, there goes the healthiness, right?
Since I was in such shock, I immediately whipped out my peanut butter, jam, and bread, and made them a sandwich. My friend Ziggy did not like it at all, but my friend Clair thought it tasted like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I was a little confused since there was no chocolate anywhere near or on the sandwich. In return, one of these days when I am feeling up to trying something that is supposed to be healthy, but sounds disgusting, they said they will make me a Vegemite sandwich.
Even the simplest things that each person in every country has growing up and survives on, others may have no clue what it even is. Now I know to never ask for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in Australia, and that Vegemite is claimed to be a healthy meal, even with the load of butter smeared on top.
Heaps of Love,
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