tigertail in new york

Anytime you travel to or live in a new place, you're almost definitely going to encounter cultural difference. Sometimes these are really large differences, and sometimes they are minor, but amusing.

However the big mistake that people make when going to another country where they speak the same language is thinking that everything is going to be the same. Maybe this is only true for english-speaking people - I'm not sure how many Bolivians think they're going to go to Spain and be able to order mate tea and chew cocoa leaves.

In any case Australians make a big deal of how Americans don't realise they are coming to a different country with a different culture when they come to Australia, and not just an outlying outpost of the good ol' US of A (despite the fact our tv is full of US shows, our movie theatres packed with Hollywood blockbusters and you can find dozens of white suburban homeboys dressing and speaking like they shop on 145th st and roll in the hood.)

When we go to the US, we think we're pretty savvy at knowing what the differences are from Australian culture. We know that we can't call Sprite 'lemonade', that taps are called 'faucets', that flatmates shall now be known as 'roommates' and that what we call mobiles are 'cell phones'.

But no-one talks about pop cultural difference. You know all those little things that everyone knows because they form part of the culture, and are a reference to a specific shared cultural experience.

In Australia someone can refer to themselves jokingly as a 'skip', and most people will know it refers to them being of white, anglo-saxon decent (from Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo.. oh it's to difficult to explain - check out the video below). Or I can ask someone what they did on Invasion Day, and they'll know I'm talking about Australia Day (being the day Captain Cook rocked up to Australian shores and claimed the land on behalf of England, declaring it terra nullius or 'there's nothing here' ignoring 40,000 years of Aboriginal culture).

There's also the dozens of tv shows that people reference back home that no-one would 'get' here like The (Australian) Late Show, Monkey, tv ads and so on and so on. Funnily enough, I really didn't think there'd be all that many things like that I wouldn't get here - I mean the world's a lot smaller now, and American culture is all-invasive - surely I'd know most of the references? I've seen the hit tv shows when they screened back in Oz - I'd know the references...

Well gradually I've been discovering that isn't actually the case - so shame on me for making assumptions, especially when that's something that really bugs me when other people do it to me. Especially when it involves Steve Irwin or Fosters..

Here are some of the references I'd missed:

Referring to dating:
"You ate the food, you drank the wine"
this refers to a date from an online dating website that went horribly wrong - unbelievable - but you need to read about it here. Make sure you listen to the audio samples too - seriously worth it.

A Special Xmas Present
"Step 1: Cut a hole in the box
Step 2: Put your junk in that box
Step 3: Let her open the box"
this refers to a Saturday Night Live sketch with Justin Timberlake
If you're easily offended, or have no sense of humour, just don't click on the link (mind you, can't think of anyone I know reading this who would fit into that category!)

The Chronicles of Narnia
another Saturday Night Live (snl) sketch, which in itself is a big pop culture reference..

There have been lots of others, but these are the ones that immediately spring to mind. Of course America is a big place - even NY is a big place, and not all cultural references translate even across the island of Manhattan or across different cultural groups here. The other day I was talking to someone about people who busk on the subway, and she mentioned kids who danced and then asked for donations. For once I knew what she was talking about! "Oh, like those kids who are doing the Chicken Noodle Soup dance?" She looked very puzzled - maybe the Chicken Noodle Soup dance didn't made it that far out of Harlem..


And now we bring you Skippy:


and just because I can - from one of my fave Australian tv shows:


I wish they had some of the more classic sketches here, but guess I'll have to wait till someone uploads them

Posted by Ness at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

Apparently I don't belong uptown at all, but rather in Brooklyn..

which is where I thought I'd be living when I moved here, so guess some things are meant to be! I'll prob move to the BK eventually, but for now Harlem is where it's at.

You Belong in Brooklyn

Down to earth and hard working, you're a true New Yorker. And although you may be turning into a yuppie, you never forget your roots.

Posted by Ness at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

It snowed last night - quite heavily for the first time. I think I actually prefer it when it snows, because it's really beautiful, and the temperature gets a little warmer. Before the snow, the wind is icy and cold and can pierce every single layer of clothing you have and get into your bones.

The other night it went down to 9 degrees with the wind chill factor. Wind was blowing at 25-30 mph. Hmmm translation - that's minus 13 degrees celsius with 40km/hour winds. I went out. I'd met a new friend at a function to do with my old job that was happening here in NYC. She's Australian, but she lives in Scotland, where I used to live, and we just clicked. So we went out to have some drinks and a bit of a dance in the freezing cold.

The problem is that outside it's freezing, so you wear thermal silks, several layers, a big coat filled with goose down, gloves, scarf, hat... and then you go into a bar or restaurant or club, and it's all warm and toasty. Thankfully most places have coat check, but at the last place we went to, not only was there no coat check, but it was so warm and we wanted to dance, so i actually had to strip off down to a little funky top standing next to the dance floor.. I don't know what people thought when it looked like I was down to the last layer and then took that off too to reveal a shirt to dance in, but we soon had a whole bunch of guys coming over to talk with us.

Posted by Ness at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

My girl Jen was in town - mainly for work, but we got to hang out a bit too - which was excellent - sooo good to spend time with people who know you. One of the things we did was go to Moma, which I love. I love taking photos of the sculpture there.

Visited some old favourites, but found a new sculpture that I loved - I love the sense of movement in the work - made me think of all the people outside walking into the wind - some of them scurrying by, but this sculpture is boldly striding through the crowd..

Posted by Ness at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, I was going to write a post about many exciting things, but it's going to have to wait... because I want to talk about my apartment for a minute.

I like my apartment, and I like my neighbourhood. My room's kind of small, but I have 2 great roommates, 2 cats and it's not too expensive. But there are a few problems - things don't get fixed quickly and easily if something breaks or leaks. Our buzzer hasn't worked the entire time I've been here, and there was a while there when we didn't have heat or hot water.

Consequently, when we rang to complain about the heat and hot water, they adjusted it so that the next few days it was over 80 degrees (more than 26 degrees c) in my apartment, and at night with my bedroom door closed my room felt like it got up to 90. It was as if somewhere someone went "you want heat? I'll give you heat.."

But now it's settled down a little, which is good. Only problem is, our radiators have been leaking, causing an overflow of water in my roommates room, and a vague smell of mould in my closet which is on the other side of the wall. And the ceiling has been dripping from a repair done by a guy who plastered over some mould and painted it.

So a guy came to fix the radiator this morning - good. We showed him the dripping ceiling, and he went upstairs to our neighbours to see where it was coming from. Then he came back, and knocked a big hole in the ceiling, and left again to go upstairs.... and he never came back!

At first we thought he'd been caught up doing something, but after an hour we started calling different people to see where he was. We called the dispatch company ("Oh, we're trying to get a hold of him - we'll call you back") and finally after another hour, I called our management company and left a message for the same woman all the other complaints have gone to.

She actually called me back and told me that he was leaving it like that to see where the leak was coming from. She then said that a guy would be back to fix the other radiator this afternoon. I told her I'd be there till 4:30. It's 5 now, and no-one has returned.

The best bit about it all is that the guy just walked out, not saying where he was going or that he wouldn't be coming back, and left plaster and debris all over the kitchen - on the counter, on the stove, on top of the cupboard, and all over the floor. It looked like a building site.

So I cleaned it all up, cos I really couldn't face everything being covered in plaster, dirt, and rusty smelly water from the leak. Problem is I'd already cleaned it all up yesterday cos I was sick of the kitchen being a mess..

I just wonder how long it'll take to fix it all up... I'm not holding my breath...


* after a song from a fave Spike Lee joint Mo Better Blues

Posted by Ness at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, I think i fixed my blog template, so it should be back to its snazzy self.. at least it is right now, and I'm praying when I log back in tomorrow and actually write a real blog post, that my foray into deciphering css and working out where to put bits in the html coding has not been in vain.

Posted by Ness at 1:11 AM | Permalink | Comments

Apparently no-one listens to Australians in New York

Posted by Ness at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

Don't know if it made the news back in Ostraya, but last week a guy had a seizure on the train platform and fell down into the path of an oncoming train. A guy standing nearby saw it happen, dove on top of him as he lay between the tracks and pushed him down so that he was saved.

Pretty amazing story, eh?? And it all happened at my subway stop - the one I use every day..

You can read about it here and here

Posted by Ness at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

So I spent my first NYE in New York since I moved here. I've done it once before - I was 17, my family and I did the whole Times Square thing.. except as my bro and I had never seen the New York Times Square extravaganza, we had no idea what the hell the whole ball thing was or why we were supposed to be looking for it.

This was different. My brother has lived here for several years, and he has a whole bunch of different friends. We went on a party bus that took us around to a whole bunch of different parties. I had a great time - the bus was excellent and not at all cheesy; the parties were fun, and the people I was hanging out with were great. Got to know a few people I'd met before a bit better, and met some new people. Ended up in a place in Brooklyn after the sun came up, and got home around 10:30am! One of the best NYE's ever, I'd have to say.

The other night I went to a party in the BK (aka Brooklyn) for the birthday of one of the guys who I'd met several times before and had been on the bus. He's been here for a long time, originally from the UK, and a lot of the people who came to his party were people I'd met before - or met NYE. It's very different meeting people in a much more sober context than the first time you met them... luckily nothing too embarrassing had happened, and seeing them all was a good thing.

So I now have a bunch of new people from various contexts that I'm getting to know. Some of them make an effort, but some of them are what is known as "flaky", which is a kind of new concept for me, but I'm hoping not to be too put off by it. This year I've decided not to stress so much about things like people being flaky - I'm just going to keep doing my thing, and I'm going to meet lots of people and make some really good friends. Most of the people I've met so far have been guys - well I'm working in a very male-dominated industry. But I really miss hanging out with my girls. Looking to make friends with a bunch of strong, intelligent, independent fun and feisty women to hang out with.. and guys too of course! so if you have friends like this in NYC, holla at ya girl ;^)

Posted by Ness at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

So December was very slow work-wise.. so slow that I began to wonder if it was ever going to pick up again, or whether I was going to have to start applying for office jobs..

However I managed to pick myself up from the gloom and achieve a few things, as well as meet some people, do some networking and social acitivity, and try not to spend too much of my non-existent money. However Xmas is a big-spending time of year, and try as I might rent and bills just didn't go away.

I spent Xmas in Florida (see previous update below) and then came back to NY to find my apartment had no heat or hot water for two days. We called all the numbers and eventually it came back on, but it was cold and I couldn't actually shower, which was awful. When I told a friend of mine that it took two days to fix it, he said, "well, what do you expect? You live in the hood." This from a man who lives in a warehouse in a so-called dodgy part of Brooklyn, and who grew up in the Bronx in the 70's.

The whole building was out, so none of us were happy, although it did give people something to say to each other in the hallway of the building. I've become friends with one of my upstairs neighbours. I was sleeping on an air matress when I first got here, and then saw an ad downstairs near the mailboxes for a bed for sale. I went and checked it out, and met the people who live upstairs - the guy who was selling the bed of course moved out, but his room mate and I got on really well and have hung out a few times. I'm also making friends with some of the people I work with, and with a few through other people I've met along the way.

One of these was a guy I met at a party. He's an actor, and he was in a play that was part of a series of short plays based on the themes of nudity, blasphemy and violence. Kind of like Short & Sweet in Newtown for those of you back home. So I went along to see the plays, and it didn't even occur to me until I was almost at the theatre that he might actually be naked...

Sure enough - first play, there he is, completely stark naked with angel wings, playing the archangel Gabriel. Of course, I'm not someone who's bothered by nudity, but it was one of those moments where I forget people I meet here don't know that I used to work in the arts, and that at one point almost everyone in my department had seen the Manager naked from his days as a performer with the Sydney Push.

Posted by Ness at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, I have received gentle reminders that it's been a while since I updated my blog..

Xmas I spent in Tallahassee with Rach's family. It was really great to have such wonderful hospitality, and just to feel at home. We had a big tree, lots of food, an engagement party for Rach's brother Michael and his fiancee Alison, trivial pursuit, shopping - it was a lot of fun.

Did miss my Newcastle Xmas crew - spent time texting them and asking them to drink my favourite champagne and eat prawns for me - they had 3kg!! (translation - shrimp - 6.5 pounds). Also missed my traditional December / January beach-goings with my friends back in Coogee and Bondi - but the weather has been kind of funny back home, so perhaps I wouldn't have been spending as many long summer days at the beach as I dream about.

Tallahassee is northern Florida, so not like going to Miami, but still warmer, which was great.. I told everyone I was going to go for a swim - because I've been missing salt water on my skin like you wouldn't believe.

First day was overcast, but the temperature was 70 degrees (that's about 20 celcius for those of use who think zero for freezing rather than 32 is a smart idea). However boxing day was only 50 degrees (10 degrees c) so there was no way in hell I was going in the water. I have swum in Sydney in July, but it was an unexpectedly warm beautiful day and the water was bearable. I was incredibly disappointed not to be able to swim, but at least I got to go to the beach - see the sand and the water. And one of the best things was that there was no-one else around - parking lot was empty, beach stretched for miles in either direction facing the gulf of Mexico without anyone in sight... I brought a whole bunch of shells home with me to bring some of the sea inside. We ate oysters by the beach and I had some incredibly strong cocktail called a hurricane, so lucky I wasn't driving!

Boxing Day - that's Dec 26 for those of you who don't get an extra holiday to wrap up gifts or food or give to charity or whatever the day is for... just realised that some of my American readers might not know it. Which means of course that they don't know about the very special way you can celebrate your birthday - birthday eve (the night before); birthday (ummm - obvious); and boxing birthday (the day after). This is a recognised Australian way of celebrating your birthday and making it last for 3 whole days... so you get to celebrate by drinking lots of fosters and riding kangaroos...

okay, I made that last bit up, but considering how many words, phrases and ideas really are different here, maybe I should start a glossary or something. Might help people whenever I forget and mention that I'm going to use a torch (US: large flaming stick - often seen on tv shows like survivor) instead of a flashlight..

Posted by Ness at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments