Piotr Kaczmarek

Australia vs Poland > what to and what not

 

Australia is NOT a generally hot country, though summers are hot and may even last up to a week with the temperature ranging between 30°C and 45°C, some days are really nice and radiate a lot of positive energy making people want to get out and be active. Australia has a temperate climate with very wet winters and the lowest temperature getting to 5°C at night. During the day it doesn’t get colder than 10°C, but due to the different pressure and climate range it does get cold. Melbourne experiences frost every year as well as hail. It only snows in the Snowy Mountains and Mt. Kosciusko. As in most countries, wind makes it colder and people also have to wear jackets but not like in Poland where people wear really thick jackets, or fur coats, although the odd person or two do wear fur coats to look good. These people have to look out for Green Peace people who are against animal cruelty and the use of animals for clothing…

 

Australians are somewhat different to Europeans, in that they behave and dress differently. Australian fashion is mainly concentrated around the hot summer, during which people wear the most revealing clothing. For men, walking through the city or on the beach is considered as paradise as the sun is hot and so are the women. Women also enjoy summer as it’s the time to enjoy the sun and the men.

Attitude wise, Australians are extremely carefree, and the odd couple that are very rude, arrogant, or racist. Though most people stereotype Australians as people who sit under a Coolabah tree or in front of the tele and drink a cold VB, they are not far off. Australians do like to relax outside in the shade drinking their own brew, but others prefer the coolness of their own home.

It’s quite difficult to say that Australians are lazy or are this or that, as each and every person on the face of this planet has a different personality, but the conclusion comes to the fact that Australians aren’t as hard working or as intelligent as Europeans.

 

I guess you would say that Australians value money most, before family, but I could say that this would only refer to half of the Australian population. Reason being that the older generation know that your family is all that matters whereas the younger generation are under the impression that without money you’re nothing > everything revolves around money; money makes the world go round.

 

The education system is more or less half of what it is in Poland, except for the final two years of college, which in Poland are the years before and including Matura. These two years are exceptionally difficult, but then again, not as difficult as the two final years in Poland. The first year is called SACE stage 1(South Australian Certificate of Education), this is the lead-in stage to the final year, students only have seven lessons, the subjects chosen during stage 1 enable students to continue their education in a specified subject during SACE stage 2. During stage 2 each subject is placed into three categories; PES (Publicly Examined Subject), PAS (Publicly Assessed Subject), SAS (School Assessed Subject), the most important being PES and PAS as they count towards the TER (Tertiary Entrance Rank). The TER is needed to allocate the students score and what courses he/she may enrol into in university or TAFE (Tertiary education lower than university).

 

Teachers and students have a somewhat different relationship in Australia than in Poland. Which, I personally found a highlight in Poland, because teachers are much more willing to help in Poland and they explain everything in such a professional manner that it’s difficult to understand why people want to leave Poland after they finish university. In Australia teachers do what they have to do and once they have done their daily 8 hours they go home and stuff everything else (obviously they have to prepare for the next day but I’m not talking about that!), but not all teachers are like this stereotypical image I have. Some teachers are like those in Poland, where they are open to all sorts of questions and people. They are ready to help in whatever way they are able to do so.

 

Students, during their twelve years of preparation for university, mainly do assignments, tests, posters, oral presentations etc. to pass each year, except for the last year. During their last year they must put their foot down, and study their guts out. But on their way to year twelve, there are various opportunities available to better their status as students. For example every year level except the final 3 years (10, 11, 12), has 4 or more S.R.C. (Student Representative Council) representatives, depending on the size of the school. Their job is to discuss various issues, such as organizing sports days, different activities for different age groups/classes and the likes => mainly to keep the pupils of the school active and friendly (which never work anyway ;P). There are various clubs to join and receive certificates for, e.g. after completing 1 year of after school computing you receive a certificate which shows what you have accomplished, it is also signed by the principle as well as the head of the I.T. (Information Technology) department. There are loads of extra things that students can do at school and after school on school grounds.

 

Work in Australia is difficult to get without a decent education and the proper experience, that is if you are looking for a well paid job, because if you are looking for a casual job in a restaurant, you shouldn’t have a problem so long as you can use English fluently, or for those who don’t have good English, a factory job such as Kmart or Bi-Lo would suit you. It also helps to have insiders to make job searching easier, in such instances people are employed within a  week or so.

The good thing about the pay is that it is weekly unlike the monthly pay which some may find difficult to get used once in the rhythm of a weekly payout.

 

Australia has a few public holidays, and quite a few traditions similarly to Poland. In January, Adelaide has a sky show which is organised by a well known radio station called S.A.f.m. It consists of 30 to 60 minutes of non-stop fireworks, music, booze and women. The city is blocked off for the whole evening and people just fill the parks of Adelaide to watch the sky scraping display of pyrotechnics light up Adelaide’s night sky. Australia celebrates Mothers and Fathers days, as well as Valentines Day but not Children’s day. They celebrate the Queen’s birthday, which is a public holiday. There is also a Boxing Day and Melbourne Cup Day where people spend the day cob squatting at the cricket (Boxing Day) or the horse track (Melbourne Cup Day). Easter and Christmas are the same; New Year’s Day is also a public holiday. There are a couple of others, such as Labour Day, Halloween, and Thanks giving (which not everyone celebrates).

 

There are all sorts of religions in Australia from Hinduism and Buddhist’s, to Anglicans and Catholics; Religion comes in ‘many shapes and sizes’. Different people believe in different things and Australia also has a wide multicultural society so therefore it would be difficult for it to only have a few religions…

 

Piotr Kaczmarek

NKJO, s. ang. Ic