Aussies, accents, and aboriginals

Australians are an interesting people. First off, their accents are pretty distinct and kind of hard to understand... initially. I found myself going, 'sorry, what did you say?' many times a day when I first got here, and I had to deal with annoyed glares from customers who had to repeat their order a hundred times because I couldn't, for the life of me, comprehend what was coming out of their mouths. After almost two months here, it's gotten a little better, although I still experience the occasional what-on-earth-did-that-person-just-say moment.

I don't think I would ever be able to imitate the Australian accent, though. It's much harder than the American one, and less often heard, too. I mean, most movies and TV shows in pop culture are American, so the entire world is accustomed to hearing the American accent. Not so much other accents. So right now the only word I can say in an Australian accent is 'yeah,' or should I say, 'yeh.'

Aside from several rather rude customers, I'd say that Australians are, in general, friendly people. Their culture is pretty warm; you get people greeting you with a pleasant 'hi, how are you?' whenever you step into most places, and most people are hospitable and easy to approach.

Also, although there are tons of Asians here from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, etc, they don't seem to mix around with Caucasians or people from other races. In fact, it's pretty segregated here. My brothers admit to not having any friends of other races, and they don't seem to mind it. Even the church we all go to is 99.9% Asian.

I just feel like it negates the point of living in a different country. Why migrate all the way to Australia if you're just going to hang out with Singaporeans, eat Singaporean food, and go to a Singaporean-ish church? Isn't that basically the same as living in Singapore, except for the seasonal changes and the different environment? If I were to migrate here, which I don't foresee in the distant future, I would try out other churches and mix around with all kinds of people. It just makes life more interesting that way. And you learn so much more about other people's culture and lifestyle. I think culture is the most fascinating thing in the world. It really is what makes us different and unique and it shapes us directly or indirectly to who we are.

One culture I don't really understand is the Aboriginal culture. I've served numerous customers who are Aboriginals, and they're pretty intimidating, because they're not very friendly, they're kind of rowdy and loud, and they're a little demanding. Of course, this is a generalization, but most of them whom I've come across are like that. I wonder why. Also, I realized that in many countries, the natives tend to be dark-skinned, like the Native Americans in North America, the Aboriginals in Australia, the Malays in Singapore, etc. But then the lighter-skinned people often come along and seize the power... and the rest is history.

These are just my humble observations.