2 Texans Down Under

As I said yesterday, Aussies are paying close attention to Presidential election primaries and to fluctuations in the US economy.

The sharp drop in the share market that began here last month is attributed to fears of a recession growing out of policies shaped in Washington, D.C. The great majority of the well-informed here can hardly wait for a “regime change” in America and they expect the US to be on a saner course by this time next year.

But for hope of safety in rough economic seas, folks here are looking elsewhere, toward China.The supply of iron, alumina, coal, and other raw materials to China as its vast population moves up from poverty is buoying Australian prosperity now and is counted on to continue to do so.

The old economic health analogy, therefore, is applied to that country, not the US. An article in “The Australian” newspaper this week, headlined “China’s bubble quivers,” said, “If China catches a winter cold, Australia sneezes.”

Trade between these two countries topped $50 billion in the last financial year, the article by China correspondent Rowan Callick said, and nearly half of that amount came from the sale of resources from Australian mines.

“This dictates,” Callick wrote, the need to pay as much attention “to pronouncements from Zhongnanhai, the Chinese leaders’ citadel next to the Forbidden City, as from the Federal Reserve in Washington.”The importance of these pronouncements is heightened by the fact that Read the rest of this entry »

Surely nowhere outside the United States are the current election primaries — now evidently down to Obama vs Clinton and McCain vs Romney — being watched more intently than here in Australia.

Having just gone through their own election season and brought to power fresh leadership, the Labor Party and Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, Australians seem more attuned to politics than might otherwise be the case.

Neighbors and friends here have quizzed us about unique aspects of the American election system, just as we quizzed them about candidate selection, preference voting, and other matters here that seemed odd to us, last year.

At least as much attention in Australia, though, is being paid these days to the US economy. Is recession setting in or not? If it does, will the rest of the world economy slide downward with it? What effect will be felt here, half a world away but as near as each trader’s Internet connection?

The papers and TV news casts are full of speculation and commentary, especially now that some high-flying Australian companies have been brought low in recent days and weeks by bad loans and stock purchases made with borrowed money.

Yesterday’s “Australian” carried a story about a man who put $600,000 of his own money, most of his life savings, into a company called Gold Coast MFS. Shares in MFS were trading at around $5 in December, Read the rest of this entry »

The connection between my two countries — Australia and the United States — is amazingly strong and shows up often, both in the press and in private conversations.

For example, Barack Obama’s primary win in Iowa and Hillary Clinton’s win in New Hampshire got almost as much attention in “The Australian” newspaper this week as Kevin Rudd’s election as Aussie Prime Minister received a few weeks ago.

Both these two US election events were front page leaders here, accompanied by big photos. Inside the papers, there were long analytical articles, editorials, and letters to the editors. I’m certain we get better newspaper coverage of this Presidential contest from Aussie papers than we’d get from the smaller and thinner “Dallas Morning-News,” which is what we read while we were in Texas.

Being just back from a holiday trip, Kristi and I have been in conversations with fellow Brisbane residents about similarities and differences. Today at our gym I confirmed for someone who hasn’t traveled to the US that, yes, restaurant meals there do tend to be, by Aussie standards, huge.

And in today’s paper there’s a report out of Washington, D.C., about a new book asserting that obesity is now Read the rest of this entry »

Kristi and I put some relatives and friends in potentially uncomfortable positions this past holiday by giving each of them a paperback copy of my just-published book and small glass bottle with a yellow top, a jar of Vegemite.

With the givers present, recipients tend to be under pressure to express some degree of appreciation for what they’ve been given, lest feelings be hurt. In an ideal world, as the wrapping paper falls away, the recipient expresses unrestrained joy, marked by laughter and perhaps even tears. In the real world, “Oh, how nice” usually suffices.

My book, Moving to Australia: Two Texans Down Under, didn’t present much of a problem to those with whom we exchange Christmas gifts since one could admire the cover and put it aside for later reading (or consignment to a shelf or recycle bin) in the absence of the givers.

The little jar of “concentrated yeast extract,” though, seemed to require immediate opening, sniffing, and sampling.

I told people that even though I am now a Vegemite fan, I didn’t like this thick paste to which Australians are often addicted when I first tried it. I agree with a columnist for “The Weekend Australian Magazine,” who wrote for the January 5-6 issue that there is “something outlandish about it, from its faintly pharmaceutical jar to its trademark toxic-wastefulness of texture, color and aroma.”

But I also agree with Susan Maushart, a New Yorker who is now an Australian citizen, that Vegemite “has a way of sneaking up on a migrant.” It snuck up on me. Now I love it as a thin layer on buttered toast.

We suggested that way of sampling Vegemite when the gift-openings were over. One couple’s reaction was to politely give the little bottle back to us with only a small divot disturbing the smooth, brown surface of Kraft’s most famous Aussie product.

Some reactions were along the lines of “People eat this?” and there were no spontaneous outbursts of joy. Out of about 10 samplings, though, Read the rest of this entry »

I think I’ve just been saved from a life of crime.

Maybe I would have or maybe I wouldn’t have, but I was considering smuggling Vegemite into the United States when my wife and I fly there next month. I was already dreading going through Customs in San Francisco.

The need for authentic Aussie Christmas gifts was behind my wild and reckless plans. The last time we went home, we took small samples of Tim Tams, an iconic Australian cookie … woops, I mean biscuit. I didn’t want to Tim Tam twice, so I eyed the Vegemite display in our local Coles supermarket.

I’ve discovered a real taste for the brown, salty, yeast-based spread that so many down under folks view as a brekkie (breakfast) staple and snack food. It took me two years to give it a fair go, but now I agree that, on buttered toast, it’s really good.

About a year ago, we read lots of stories about a ban on Vegemite in the US because of its foliate content. Aussies and New Zealanders (Kiwis) were having their life-supporting jars taken away by Customs agents, we read, and there was a lot of gnashing of teeth among expatriates living in America.

Fearing condiment confiscation or worse if I proceeded with my scheme, I sent a message to a Yahoo Group for expats, ozinamerica, to inquire about Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve found it helpful, as US transplants to Australia, to read about the struggles and successes of Aussies in America. Our two cultures have much in common, but the differences are powerfully real, too.

Dealing with “the new” can be tough when “home” is half way around the globe regardless of which direction you’ve traveled to get to a new place. That newness is also, of course, a big part of the excitement of being an immigrant or a visitor.

Seeing how Aussies cope in the US is not like looking in the mirror, exactly, but it does add a useful perspective.

Two web sites I’ve found helpful and entertaining are www.matesupover.com and a Yahoo Group site, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ozinamerica/.

In upcoming blogs, I’ll be reflecting on how the experiences of some Aussie expats compare with our own ups and downs down under. — Bob