When Weird Becomes Normal

Things can be a bit different here in Australia compared to the United States. Look no further than the way we measure distances, volumes and temperature. In the States (if you were unaware) we use miles, inches, gallons, pints, and degrees Fahrenheit. How strange? Especially figuring the rest of the world, including Oz, use the metric system –centimeters, meters, kilometers, and degrees Celsius! More so, Americans choose to drive on the left side of the car yet on the right side of the road; whereas, my Australian compatriots do the polar opposite, driving on the right side of the car on the left side of the road. You might expect this to be confusing or complicated but, actually, that is not the case.

Sure, at first these things seemed foreign to me; rightfully so, I am in a country on the other side of the globe that has sided with the majority of the world when it comes to units of measurement. But over time I have adapted and evolved. The funny thing that now I am used to it; weird has not only become normal, it has become all I relate to. I am cold when it is 17 °C and I am hot when it is 30 °C: I live for 23 °C. What is that in “American units?” you might ask? Well, my answer would be I don’t know what it is for you because those “foreign” measurements and units mean something to me because I live them. The same holds true with driving. I drove a few friends back from a festival we went to yesterday and not once had to think about “oh, no, oh, no, everything is different –STAY LEFT!” because it is not different, it is the norm.

Let’s hope that this “cultural enlightenment” doesn’t result in a traffic/pedestrian catastrophe upon my return to the States or in Jakarta.