Read
-
When School Starts to Feel Like HR (An Aussie Perspective)
Read more: When School Starts to Feel Like HR (An Aussie Perspective)This week, something happened that made me pause. Not because it was dramatic.And not because anyone had done anything wrong. It was just… one of those moments where two different systems quietly collided. The Email Earlier this week, I received an email from Georgia’s school. The subject line was about attendance. Apparently, she’s had five…
-
Is American Friendliness Real or Fake?
Read more: Is American Friendliness Real or Fake?What is Australian chicken salt? Learn why Australians put it on chips, hot food and takeaway meals — plus how to make your own at home.
-
This Week in America — The First Signs of Spring
Read more: This Week in America — The First Signs of SpringSpring doesn’t arrive all at once in Tennessee. It doesn’t flip like a switch. It shows up in small signals…little things you start noticing around you. And when you’ve lived somewhere long enough, you begin to recognise them. Every place has its own rhythm to the year.Spring in the American South definitely has one. And…
-
What America Gets Right, After Living Here for 8 Years
Read more: What America Gets Right, After Living Here for 8 YearsI’ve lived in America for eight years now.Long enough to stop reacting.Long enough to stop constantly comparing. And long enough to admit something Australians don’t always say out loud: America does some things extremely well. That might sound obvious. But if you’ve ever lived overseas, you’ll know it’s not always where your mind goes first.…
-
Dance Competitions in America: When the Show Becomes the Focus
Read more: Dance Competitions in America: When the Show Becomes the FocusThis week in America, I found myself thinking about something I didn’t expect to. Not the choreography.Not the scores. But the atmosphere around dance competitions. The Difference Between Dancing and Being Seen My daughter, Georgia, competed interstate again recently. She dances a lyrical solo and four group routines, and she’s been dancing since she was…
-
This Week in America: Warmth, Friendship & Cultural Differences (An Aussie Perspective)
Read more: This Week in America: Warmth, Friendship & Cultural Differences (An Aussie Perspective)There’s a sentence I’ve heard a lot since moving to the United States: “We should do this again.” On the surface, it means exactly what it sounds like.And yet… I don’t take it at face value anymore. Not because I think people are insincere.But because I’ve learned that warmth and investment aren’t always the same…
-
Why Americans Say “You’re Welcome” So Often
Read more: Why Americans Say “You’re Welcome” So OftenSome of the biggest cultural differences between Australia and the United States aren’t loud ones. They’re tiny. A phrase.A pause.A moment in conversation. One of those moments appears right after someone says “thank you.” Because what happens next is surprisingly different. The small phrase that closes the moment When I first started visiting the United…
-
This Week in America: Ice, Cookies & Participation
Read more: This Week in America: Ice, Cookies & ParticipationSome weeks pass quietly.Others seem to arrive with a bit more drama. This week in America was one of the dramatic ones. Not YouTube dramatic. Actually dramatic. An ice storm rolled through Tennessee. Schools closed. Power went out for thousands of people — some for more than a week. It even made the news back…
-
Things Americans Think Are Normal (That Still Confuse Me After 8 Years)
Read more: Things Americans Think Are Normal (That Still Confuse Me After 8 Years)Ever stop and think that something you do every single day — something that feels completely normal — might look completely bizarre to someone from the outside? After eight years of living in the United States, I can tell you: American life is full of habits like that. I live here.I love living here. But…
-
Why Americans Seem More Polite Than Australians
Read more: Why Americans Seem More Polite Than AustraliansAmericans often sound friendlier than Australians — especially to strangers. After living in the US for 8 years, here’s what I realised was actually happening underneath it.