15 By the way: Stress-free life lessons from the Australians If you take a peek at the front cover of this textbook, you will see an image of a laid-back Australian lying on a beach, calm and collected. But where does the Australians’ famously relaxed and casual attitude to life come from? And what can we learn from them? It may be partly due to the favourable climate with guaranteed sunshine for much of the year, but there is a range of other factors that contribute to the ‘Ozzies’ seemingly informal, carefree approach. An egalitarian spirit3 is perhaps the primary reason, meaning that Australians try to treat everyone equally and believe that we should all have the same rights and opportunities. This sense of ‘mateship’ – of everyone being equal – is rooted in Australia’s founding era in the late 1700s, when convict settlers were often cruelly treated and deprived of their basic human rights by authority figures. Because of this, an egalitarian spirit was worn as a badge of honour by many convict settlers. They may not have had power, education or wealth, but they had a shared belief in equality. This approach breaks down traditional notions of class and status. It has been said that people now move to Australia to get a fresh start and to get away from an intensely stratified class system4 in the UK and other parts of the world. The informal way Australians use language and abbreviations also contributes to the relaxed atmosphere. Words like ‘good day’ have become ‘g’day’, afternoon is ‘arvo’, journalist is ‘journo’ and barbecue is ‘barbie’. Everyone is a ‘mate’, and back in 1977, ex-Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee famously greeted Queen Elizabeth II on a royal visit with “G’day, how ya goin’?”. While the British might have been shocked and appalled by this, most Australians regarded it as normal. In recent years, Australians have also taken a big step when it comes to recognising mental health. They are advised to take ‘mental health days’ – a day off when you need to regroup and take some time for yourself. Mental illness affects one in five Australians per year, and they are being encouraged to be upfront about it. Finally, ‘She’ll be right’. This statement is the answer to everything for the Ozzies, whether your car has broken down or a favourite aunt has passed away. Some people feel that it sounds flippant or apathetic, but others argue it’s a sign of Australians’ positive outlook. Life happens, and bad things happen along with it. But no matter what, it’s important to lay the negative to rest and move forwards with a positive attitude. No matter what’s happened, She’ll be right. Find out some more abbreviated terms used in Australia, e.g. ‘rellies’ or ‘tinnies’. Make a list and see if your classmates can guess what they are. With a partner, discuss any other nations where the population is commonly seen as being especially relaxed (e.g. the Spanish with the ‘mañana’ approach to life) or strict and more disciplined. Do some research on one such country and see if you can find facts and opinions on this. How far do you think these stereotypes may be true? What are the dangers of classifying people in this way, even if the picture is a positive one? Present your findings to the class. 3 egalitarian spirit: Geist der Gleichbehandlung 4 stratified class system: gesellschaftliches Klassensystem (z. B. Unter-, Mittel- und Oberschicht) Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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