A little bit of backstory, I’m 14 and living in Australia. My school has the option for the best players to go on a basketball tour around the USA. It should be taking place around December. I’m hoping to go on the tour and play against other American schools and there basketball teams. I’m excited for the opportunity but I want to know what people’s reaction towards Australians are, and maybe what differences in culture I can expect, along with any other things I should know. Thanks.
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Do you know where in the US you’ll be? It gets very cold in the winter in some spots, below 0°C in December. You might want to shop for winter clothing on arrival
That sounds like an absolute blast.
Like the other commenter said, depending on what regions you go to you may want a good jacket, gloves, a hat, and shoes that are at least a little waterproof.
Some areas of the US in December will be below 0°C and snowy.
Also be prepared for a lot of Christmas stuff everywhere.
My only other suggestion is that if you can go to some restaurants that are local rather than just the big chains. That may be a bit difficult if you are traveling with a team.
Is just hate it if you came and thought all our food was mediocre because you never branched out.
Final note is don’t be afraid of interacting with the other teams win or lose. Good sportsmanship is ingrained very hard in US teams especially youth teams.
If you have any opportunity at all to get food or hang out with opposing teams definitely take it. Americans will certainly find it interesting to play basketball against a foreign team and would probably be excited to meet you. I don’t know if you are traveling with parents but the parents of the opposing team would probably love to go out for food after games. Anyone with their kid on a basketball team here is usually a very friendly and community oriented person.
Also if you go to Indiana cross yourself and say a prayer for Larry Bird because if you are so blessed all your rebounds will be successful and driving the lane will feel effortless. You have truly entered the Valhalla of basketball.
People will probably be intensely interested in you and your culture, so be prepared to answer tons of questions.
You’ll probably find girls (or boys, if your a girl) will be flirty with you, Australians have a good rep here for being easy going with a cool accent.
Our candy isn’t nearly as good as yours, but you absolutely need to try reese’s.
And if your coming in December, dress appropriately for where your going. It gets very cold in a lot of areas that time of year.
Don’t watch the news about us much, and if you do take it with a shovel full of salt. You’ll be very safe here, and Trump isn’t going to reach out of a sewer and drag you down lol
You’re going to have a lot of fun!
That sounds like a cool opportunity. High school sports can be a lot of fun in the US. It sounds like a good way to experience the country.
A lot will depend on which state(s) you’re going to. Our weather can be extreme and can vary massively across the US, so make sure to look up the weather for every location you might go to. In December, weather in Texas could be mild, while there could be snow and ice in the Midwest or Northeast.
Americans in general are very friendly and relaxed, so expect people to smile or strike up small talk with you. Some people might mistake your accent for the UK, so just prepare for that (to American ears, the accents can sound similar). I’d also probably guess most American high school students have never met an Australian, so they’ll probably be really curious and ask you questions.
Americans don’t meet many Australians but have a strongly positive view of the place. Australians are stereotyped as fun, rugged, sporty and outdoorsy people. Your nationality will only ever be a positive when interacting with Americans. Just don’t expect Americans to have a lot of in-depth knowledge of Australia (most Americans won’t know who the prime minister is, for instance).
Culturally, I don’t think it’ll be *that* massive of an adjustment. You’re very unlikely to offend any Americans because of any Australian cultural habits. One cultural difference? Americans don’t have what Australians call “tall poppy syndrome.” Australian golfer Greg Norman once said that if an American buys a nice sports car, other Americans will say “nice car” while if an Australian did that other Australians would scratch it.
Eat an Outback Steakhouse while you’re here if you want to have a hilarious experience.
Expect it to be cold in most parts of the country in December. Have winter clothes. Expect to see snow.
Don’t worry too much and expect to have a lot of fun while you’re here.
My best friend in middle school was from Australia and she absolutely adored twinkies. So I would recommend trying out the weird baked goods you encounter in your travels as apparently they’re magical. LoL
Americans will love your accent and likely be very positive to you and your teammates.
Watch the swear words. I believe cunt is an acceptable swear down under but it totally is NOT up here!
Good luck – hope you make it!
Americans pretty much love Australians. You’re going to have so much fun. Pack warm clothes. And by that, I mean think South Island of New Zealand warm clothes.
Sorry if this seems negative, but it’s my impression that the US is more “woke” than Australia especially as regards people your age. Try to not make jokes that could be considered racist, homophobic, etc. Although this advice is based on contact I’ve had on line with Australians much older than yourself so sorry if it doesn’t apply.
Most people will probably think you are really cool. You won’t meet that many people who have ever been to Australia before, so they will probably find you super interesting.
This is a GREAT opportunity. During our club season one time we ran into an Aussie wrestling team at one of our tournaments. They were treated very well by the other wrestlers. Everyone there was connected due to the love of the sport.
Like has been mentioned, don’t be shy. Interact with the other basketball players. Talk to everyone you can. Also if you can bring a lot of extra jerseys. Trading jerseys is common here.
Enjoy and try to avoid fast food places.
1. Prepare to be showered with attention; if you’re a foreigner people will explicitly tell you their curiosities & take what you have to say in response very seriously; we crave outside perspectives. And on top of that you’re a guest. A lot of people find this a bit much if unprepared
2. The US tends to be a lot more direct with its speech. When living in Brisbane, even compared to California it felt like people were more reserved and less willing to say their feelings directly; either good or bad things would be implied and communicated more through tone of voice. As a negative what might be seen as banter in Australia could easily be taken as an insult here; people are more listening to the words than the tone, but as a positive that social landscape should be a bit easier to navigate without acclimating to it
3. We love Australians but know extremely little about them; there just hasn’t been a ton of cultural influence from Aus to the US or immigration in either direction. There will be ignorance and crocodile dundee references
Americans generally are excited to meet Australians. And most Americans like to hear Australian accents. People will probably ask you to say stuff just to hear you talk. And they will probably poke fun at how you say certain things. But this is not meant to offend, more like how good friends tease each other.
“Cunt” is *way* more offensive in the US than in Australian. Call someone a cunt & you’re likely to get punched in the face. But other than that, Australians are generally well-liked in the US.
OP, please be very careful crossing the street and remember to LOOK LEFT instead of looking right! We drive on the left.
When I visited Australia I almost got taken out by a ute at a pedestrian crossing because I looked the wrong way.