EWL
You did very well my friend, all your points are valid, keep it up. As for Maui and the other baggers - lay off. Put yourself in his shoes.
AnQrKa said earlier Australia is a bogan country. Spot on - I'm afraid sometimes one has to leave our beautiful country to realise the full extent of it. As an expat in HK, I can tell you the first couple of years are very difficult, there is the culture shock of things being done differently and there is the intense missing of home. But almost every man to a tee, including myself, readily admits that the more one returns to Oz the less one likes it. Why - the people.
Two years ago my wife and I took our two kids ten pin bowling in Oz. A local high school was having a break up day there. About 50 or 60 15 and 16 year olds. Their behaviour - disgusting. Swearing, groping chicks, even spitting inside. Just don't see that in HKG. Went to Brisbane last December - went to a local park, full of bogans with rats tails, tatts, swearing, spitting, smoking, drinking, abusing people. Great day out for my kids.
Yep its bogan alright. Bogan does not mean, poor, lower socio economic. It would more corrctly be defined as "freakin ars#hole who gives a sh!t about no-one."
Right - now who will be the first obvious moron to come back with "well if you don't like it don't come back." I love Oz, it is my home, just don't like a HUUUUUGE percentage of the people.
Trev