When American and Aussie English don't match

I may have spurred an HR issue today over a misunderstanding.

The woman I share my office with, who I’ve become good friends with, casually leaned over to me and asked, “do you have a rubber?”

I turned beat red – I didn’t know she was asking for an eraser!

God save the Queen

When Australia declared independence from England in 1901, they decided to name the British crown as the monarch of Australia. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either, but they tend to do things differently here sometimes. As a result, we have Monday off in honor of the Queen's birthday (despite the fact that her birthday is actually in April...).

I was originally planning to go somewhere for the long weekend, such as Darwin or Uluru, but my plans fell through, and as they did I was scheduled to go on a business trip to Hong Kong the day after the long weekend, so I decided against it. Instead I'm spending the weekend mixing a bit of work with the free jazz festival in Darling Harbour and a brief trip down to Coogee beach to visit my favorite brunch spot (not much of a trip, it's actually a 20 minute ride on the bus).

After brunch at Globe yesterday, we went to the Coogee Bay hotel to enjoy a glass of wine overlooking the beach. One of my absolute favorite things about Sydney so far is the fact that it's 60 degrees here in winter, so you can still do things like this. I don't miss the cold winter of New York at all.

Hobnobbing with Parliament

A large part of what Ogilvy PR does in Sydney is public affairs and lobbying work, so it wasn't a huge surprise yesterday when I was was told the company had bought a table at dinner for a former Premier of New South Wales (similar to our state governors... with a few exceptions). Several of our clients were coming and I was asked to attend the event, which I happily did.

What followed was an insight into Australian politics, which seemed as relaxed and informal as Australian culture. Several prominent members of the Federal Government were in attendance, such as Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, and local opposition leader Barry O'Farrell. I was surprised at how accessible the members of Parliament were. These are people featured on TV every day. No secret service, no political handlers, they just moved through the crowd on their own. I even got the chance to speak with Dr. Nelson personally when we passed one another on the way to the restroom.

Even more surprising was how down to earth they were. I was approached by a members of the state opposition saying, "are you Kevin? We hear you just moved here from New York." It seemed so far from U.S. politics.

After meeting these people, I feel as though I can start speeding without any worry... Ok, maybe not.

English to English dictionary

I've knew even before I arrived that the Aussies use a different dialect of English than we do in New York. Usually it's only a word here or there that differs, but this afternoon I received an e-mail with the following phrase in it:

"I'm flat chat this arvo. Can we do tomorrow morning?"

And with that, I actually had to Google an Australian to U.S. English dictionary. Thank God for the Internet.

(For those left wondering like I was, "flat chat" means "I'm crunching/crashing/moving quickly on something" and "arvo" is slang for afternoon).

I have a lot of unlearning to do

I just finished my first week of work, and while I'm with the same company I worked for in New York, because of the different location and culture, I'm learning that a lot of things are very much the same, but a lot of things are different. The biggest learning I'm taking away from this week is that I have a lot of learning to do - or rather, unlearning.

Working in PR in New York takes a very type-A personality. There is a strong focus on urgency, the pace is fast, and client service is paramount. While there is a focus on client service here, because of the culture, the approach (both by my agency and the clients) is a lot more laid back. A few times this week the different approach has resulted on my getting stressed over people's perceived approach and follow-up, when in reality, I was coming at things with an American mindset. I know that as I settle into life here I'll adjust to the approach, but it goes against the way I've been doing business for the past seven years, so it may take some time.

And while things are different, I'm also learning things are very much the same. My first assignment here was to develop a media training for one of our clients, something I've done many times for our clients in New York. I was given some samples of what our Sydney office has done in the past, and it contained the exact same tips and techniques we teach in New York. It was nice to see how similar things can be around the world -- especially when you work for a global company.

This weekend I begin my search for an apartment. I've narrowed the map down to three neighborhoods in downtown Sydney that I think I'd like to live in. This weekend I'm going to do my own walking tour and start looking at listings online.