Transcript of AE 1007 - Do Aussies Drink Beer at Breakfast?

I'm drinking first thing in the morning and before work.

If you're a fucking fair dinkum, fucking full grown Aussie, this is what you'd have for breakfast.

That is 100% true in Australia, as well. Being completely naked in a sauna, mixed men and women. Yeah, that's weird. You're not going to see that in Australia, you won't see people naked together anywhere, but obviously in the privacy of their own homes or at maybe a nudist beach.

Did you want to get naked?

But I don't think that you would have places where you can go to a sauna and there would be both naked men and women. There may be, maybe for really elderly people.

Elderly people? What the fuck, Pete?!

I just don't feel like that's a thing here. I have a feeling you would be in your own, there's the men's naked one, there's the women's naked one and never the two shall meet. Probably already said before, since there are thousands of comments, but bagged milk. Bagged milk?

Now, why would you want that?

Trying to work out whether that would be Europe or America?

It's the damn Canadians.

Milk in a bag. That's weird.

Yeah, milk in a bag is too far, but wine in a bag, that's on the money.

I have seen places like Indonesia, I think I saw people buying coke in a plastic bag with ice in it, and I thought that was a bit weird. If you were to go to the shops here and you found milk in a bag, I think you'd be like, I'll skip that.

Try it out. No, I'm good.

I think you'd be like, where's the jug of milk? What, the jug of milk? The plastic carton of milk. I don't know if this would horrify Americans, as I've never heard it discussed, but where I live in Europe, Luxembourg, voting is mandatory, and you can get fined for not voting in an election. That is 100% true in Australia, as well.

Here you have to vote, if you don't without a good reason you get hit with a fine. $20 Australian dollars.

In Australia, it's mandatory. You need to vote. Everyone votes above the age of 18, so suck it up. Americans will freak out at that day. My freedoms, my freedoms are being violated.

Well, I don't expect an Australian to understand freedom.

Fourteen. Charging for water at a restaurant. Yeah, that's fucked up if it's tap water.

Oh, oh, no. I got the wrong one. I got the wrong one. Those are the Egyptian import waters. Oh... This water is a $100 apiece. What?!

If it's water out of a bottle, so it's like fizzy water, right. I don't know, what's that-? Mineral water or soda water, then I can understand it being charged for. And quite often we would do that when I was a waiter at a restaurant, you'd be like, did you want sparkling water? You don't even give them the option of normal water, you wait for them to ask for it, and it's sneaky-as.

And you just bring the sparkling water out there, the mineral water in a bottle and give it to them and then just put it on their bill. You don't even tell them. So, I mean, you know, you assume they know, but I remember that being something that we would do all the time and, you know, you see the bill and you're like, I guess I did get the sparkling water.

If I just got a cup of water, they've come over with a jug and just poured it out and then said, yeah, that's a dollar. I'd probably get up and walk out.

Honey, that's a deal breaker for me.

Fifteen. Not tipping your server in a restaurant. That sounds like this person's European. Because, yeah, that's a huge thing in America.

Where's my tip?

But a big part of the reason that's so big in America is because they don't have high minimum wages. So, someone working at a cafe, or a restaurant may only be getting paid a few dollars an hour, which would see you as the employer go to jail in Australia.

Or pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, like in the case of 7-Eleven.

The minimum wage here would be in the 20s of dollars. In Australia, at least, you don't need to tip waiters because they get paid well. But in America, you understand that waiters are making most of their wage from tips, so you are expected to tip.

No, tip!

It's just interesting cultural differences. I always loved it, working in a restaurant when we had Americans come in, because generally they would tip you very well. But they didn't need to. Not being circumcised. I have a feeling this would be another American thing, maybe most Americans are circumcised. I don't know if that would be American or European. I think circumcision is going out the window. It's becoming less and less common.

Actually, a lot of couples are choosing not to circumcise these days.

I remember going to high school and, you know, going to swimming classes and never even getting changed, and there were a few kids that were circumcised. But there were quite a few who weren't, and it was never a weird thing, you never got made fun of. There was never, ew you've got a foreskin, you freak and weirdo. But as well there was never any, ooh, you don't have a foreskin, you freaking weirdo. So, interesting.

The casual drinking culture. Not so much how low the drinking age is, but how comfortable some people are drinking first thing in the morning and before work. I think we have that here in Australia.

Get on the beers. That's your civic duty. That's what's most important, and that's what must be done.

You've definitely got people who are probably problem drinkers, right. Alcoholics or borderline alcoholics, who drink in the mornings or before work. But that'll be like rolling out of bed and having a coke.

What's wrong with that?

It just seems weird. For me, at least, if you're going to drink alcohol, it's typically lunchtime or later. And for lunch, it's going to be because you've gone out to a restaurant with friends or family and you're celebrating something.

Want some wine?

In the evening it's pretty normal to have a beer or a glass of wine but rolling out of bed and pouring yourself a glass of wine or whisky or something is frickin' weird. And the mailman doesn't leave packages unattended on your porch, he either gives you it on the doorstep or you go and get it from the post office. Much less infuriating than getting it stolen or thrown across your yard by a mailman.

I think this person's probably European because I think in America it's very common for them to just leave packages unattended at your porch. We sort of have both here in Australia, and it depends who's delivering them. Quite often you have the option if it's a private courier company for them to either leave it unattended at your house if you're not there or they can drop it off at the local post office and you can go pick it up.

But we would be like, oh, that's such a pain in the arse, I have to go to the post office. Just leave it on the front doorstep. We probably have packages that get stolen in some places, but I feel like it's something that's uncommon. I never see this on the news here in Australia. The postee will definitely leave stuff on the doorstep, too.

If you're getting regular mail through the normal post, he's going to leave it either inside the mailbox or on your doorstep. The amount of people who still smoke, especially smoking in restaurants, nothing like sitting in a beautiful cafe and having someone at the table next to you light up just as your food arrives.

Ew, gross.

Also putting tobacco in weed.

Why would you do that?

Interesting. Interesting. So, I'm trying to think which country this would be or which continent? I have a feeling they're probably talking about Europeans. I remember getting this culture shock when I went to France and we were going to a high school for a week or so, and I remember there was a space at high school for children to smoke at, and I was just like, (head exploding) That would never happen in Australia.

The school would be shut down by the authorities if it was allowing children to smoke at school. But in French culture, it was just much less of a big deal. They just don't care, right. The same with drinking. Interestingly, the children in France don't really binge drink because it's just not a big deal. Loads of people smoked in Australia, we got the laws that came through saying you couldn't smoke inside anymore.

What are you doing? Oh!

So, there may be smoking areas at venues like restaurants or cafes where you can smoke, but generally it's outside the actual place, like in front of the store, or they may have a balcony somewhere outside that you could do it. If you were to ever do that inside it's just illegal, you can't do it indoors. Another thing with weed, so they're talking about the drug marijuana or Cannabis.

Mixing it with tobacco is very common in Australia, too. I've smoked weed before, but I would never smoke it with tobacco because I'm much more worried about the tobacco than I am the cannabis.

That is so weak.

But people did it all the time. Children are allowed to taste a tiny sip of wine or beer, young teenagers can have the bottom of a glass, and 16-year-olds can often drink a full glass. Yeah, see again, that sounds like Europe to me. That sounds like France. Here in Australia, I remember getting a sip of beer when I was a few years old. I was probably four or five years old, and my dad was drinking a VB. I remember the brand.

You know, don't sue me, VB.

Vic Bitter.

And I remember saying, you know, what's that? Can I try some? Tried it and was just like, (dies). So, I think he gave it to me, not because he was like, yay, my kids are drinking. He was more like, yeah, try it once and you're not going to want this. Yeah, it would be very weird to allow children under the age of 18, even to have the leftover part of a glass or a beer or something.

You're such a prude.

Though, I think, you know, the kids are probably just going to go and sneak it anyway. After 16 or so, it may be more common to give them a glass of wine or something if they really wanted it.

I want some wine.

But again, that was not something I was ever given. I never had the option of, hey, you're 16. Did you want a beer?

So, whilst editing this video and looking for clips to add in to give it a bit of spice, I stumbled across this pearl. So, maybe there are some Australians who love a beer breakfast.

If you're a fucking fair dinkum, fucking full grown Aussie, this is what you'd have for breakfast you fucking dog. A fucking VB long neck at twenty to eight in the fucking morning. Get that up ya.

Thanks for joining me, guys. I hope you enjoyed this video. Check out this one if you want to learn about culture shock in Australia and I'll see you next time. Bye.

Want some wine? Sure.