Hello, my third blog is about a lifestyle in Australia. I live in my university’s dormitory with four Aussie girls. They have different backgrounds, but they have all lived in Australia for a long time. I’ll write about four topics.
Car
First of all, many Australian people have their car. The same thing happens in my roommates, too. One is learning to get her drivers license, but others have their cars, and one said, “I haven’t use public transportation for more than two years. I can drive everywhere.” It was surprising to me, because I’m used to taking subways and trains every day to go to school in Tokyo, also my family don’t have any cars. Therefore, when I went to the city on foot (it was six klicks away) on a rainy day, all of my Aussie friends told me it was crazy. In this city, we don’t have any buses on Sunday, also on weekdays we don’t have so many buses, so for me, it was normal.
University tuition
Next, my roommates paid their university tuition by themselves. They work so hard to pay it, and some have two or three jobs. On the other hand, mine was paid by my parents, so I have to appreciate my parents so much. One of my roommates has been living by herself since she was a high school student. In comparison, I still live with my parents while in university, I also rely on them, so I’m not such an independent person, now, and I really look up to her.
Water
Furthermore, Aussie prople think a lot about water. For instance, I see so many “save water” stickers everywhere, and there are no bathtubs in my dormitory. Of course, I think much of water in Japan, but not as the same level as here. In addition, the way of doing dishes is different from a Japanese style. In Japan, we do the dishes as soon as possible after we eat, and we put dish detergent on our sponges, and rub, and rinse. On the contrary, in Australia, they fill a sink with water and a mixture of detergent and put dishes in it. Then, they rub in the water, and dry them without rinsing. Also, they pile up their dishes for one to three days and wash them. This shows us the importance level of water.
Made in Australia
Finally, I can see “Made in Australia”, “cruelty free”, or “100% vegan” signs on most products, and the signs are highlighted. I found them in shampoos, some of processed foods, detergents, and so on. I asked my roommates the reasons, and she said, “Lately, Australian firms lose business overseas especially China, so lots of people have moved to supporting our firms. Therefore, they check where the products come from, and who made them.” In Japan, all the products around us, except vegetables and rice, are imported, and I don’t think about where it’s from so much. The most important thing for me was “price”. However, I started to think about where products were from, now.
Those four things were different from Japanese style, so I was surprised. Thank you for reading this blog. See you next time!!
Comments