One of the things I expected - and was excited for the most - is the Australian accent. We hear it on TV all the time, and it's probably one of the easiest imitated ones with catch phrases, but what I did not expect, is how different it actually is from my Canadian one. It was actually so different, that I spent at least 3 weeks obsessing over how different it is, and even to this day, when somebody says something that I think is funny, I try to imitate it in their accent; like "shopping trolley."
For the first week or so - I had absolutely no idea what any of my friends were saying. I could catch on once in a while, and I could communicate, but when they were talking to each other, I sometimes just did the "smile and nod" thing (which doesn't always work out).
Friend: So where in Canada are you from?
Me: *Smiles and nods*
Friend: right...
It seems like down here, they are a lot more lazy with their words. They drop the r's off of the end of words, and add them on other places - like the word No. This is much debated, because the Australians here tell me they don't do it, but every other foreigner agrees with me.
*In an interesting note - I just found out I do not have lecture today, so I'm just sitting in the lecture hall alone - this is an awesome place to get work done.
Anyways, I really hope to pick up an Australian accent, and I've gotten good at mimicking some of the phrases said by my friends, but to my disappointment, it seems that even if I pick up an accent - as soon as I'm exposed to my regular one, I'll revert back to it. I hope it's a lot like classical conditioning, and that when I'm re-exposed to Australian culture, it will jump right back - but I can at least hold on to the dialect like "shopping trolley".
I've included a handy Canadian - Australian list just so you can see what I'm dealing with
Gas Sation - Servo
Gas - Petrol
Mall - Shopping Centre
Shopping Cart - Shopping Trolley
Garbage - Rubbish Bin
LCBO - Bottle-O
How are you - How ya going?
Candy - Lollies
Popsicles - Icy Poles
Chocolate Milk - Mocha
Sup - G'day
Not to mention everything is pronounced different: Aluminum and Oregano.
Also, here's a picture of me with a joey.
