If you are like how I was two years ago, a first time traveler with booked flights to some exotic destinations overseas-and have no idea what to expect from local party animals-fear not, the results are quite resoundingly positive.
The number one preconceived notion some first-time travelers have is that the cute guy, or sexy girl, is going to have problems understanding you and your “mates” and “fair dinkums”. My quintessential Australian accent, so normal to me and all other Australians, seemed to be so fascinating to the locals I was talking to-whether they were from the US, England or Spain. I had them so intrigued by every word, I had to say, that I could’ve been reciting a page from The Communist Manifesto and still it wouldn’t have seemed to bother them. Put yourselves in their shoes: you’re out on the town and you strike up a conversation with somebody from France. Because they sound so foreign, you’re immediately going to be enticed to maintain a dialogue your new found friend slash potential one night stand. You don’t need to have a degree in chemistry to realise this.
Being Australian, you’re going to run into locals who have never been down under. And from personal experience, you’re going to get ridiculously stereotypical questions like, “So, do you have a kangaroo hopping around, in your backyard?” or “Do you have barbeques everyday, with shrimp?” Despite how annoying these questions can be, it can be your cue to show your sense of humor, which can further the conversation and make your new friend more responsive to you. If you are, however, a temperamentally proud Australian-or have had one too many to drink-this could lead to a catastrophic end to your hopes, and your night altogether. So suck it up and use it to your advantage-even if it is a naive personal you are talking to.
On the downside, with being Australian you could run into locals with some firm impression of you, and us as a people. As a bloke, you could run into a girl who had a bad experience with an Australian who said he doubled for Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee, and thus your chances are out the window from the get-go. Or, as a girl, you could run into a bloke who got his heart broken by a certain Australian pop star and he may be very reluctant to give you the time of day. But rest assured-these all all extreme worse case scenarios.
Where ever you go, most locals, overseas, are keen to speak to an Australian and hear your story. Most of the time, all it takes is a, “G’day, mate” and you’re in. The language of attraction is universal, and as long as you do what you normally do here-be yourself, wait for him to approach-you should be all right, mate.
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