Thursday, September 24, 2009

Some Misconceptions About Australia

You probably have encountered it, falling for some common belief only to find out later that it's actually totally untrue. This can be very embarrassing, not to mention disastrous. And for foreigners, this is especially a big problem when trying to get along with the locals.

Australia itself is not exempted from misconceptions. These range from the more humorous and comical, to those that are rather unpleasant. To avoid getting into trouble over them, you as a tourist or immigrant, should familiarize yourself with them. And so here are some of the things that you need to know to avoid them.

One of the more common, and rather embarrassing, misconception about the country is its wildlife. Since marsupials, the native mammals, are found only here, many foreigners easily gets confused with them. Take the case of the koala for example. Because of its teddy bear-like appearance, many foreigners call them koala bears. And to a large extent, they actually think that it is indeed a bear, which it is, of course not. Thus, foreigners are advised to not use the term when in Australia to avoid confusion.

Another popular misconception is that regarding whether there are crocodiles in the country. This though, is simply is a confusion in identifying the differences between the crocodile and the alligator, the latter is the one found in Australia.

The Australian environment can also lead to many foreigner misconceptions. Due to the rather idyllic environment, many tourist often think that the country is a bit backward and don't have any modern amenities. Truth is, Australia is as modern as any other country. This one is actually very common when pertaining to the outback, though this again is not really correct. Though there are many in the outback who live by farming, they are very much as modern as city dwellers.

Another popular misconception is about speaking English in the country. This usually come from  Westerners asking whether they can speak in English there. This arises due to the fact that the country has many people of different nationalities, speaking different languages. In fact, the official language of Australia is English. Take note though that the English used by Australians might sound different from the one the Americans and British people use, so needs getting used to them.

The Australian way of life can also be as source of misconception. One misconception is that Australians are too laid back , mainly due to their fun loving nature. The truth is, they are very much industrious. Another popular misconception is that Australians are loud and heavy drinker. In reality, though, not all Australians are noisy. Also, though many do drink, not all dink too much beer.

There are still many other misconceptions that you need know when going to Australia visa application. Once you get them all broken, you'll find out soon enough that the land is definitely a great place to live in.

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