From Down Under to Down South

Send us Fan Mail After eight years living in the United States, one thing still quietly fascinates me — not how polite Americans are, but what they’re polite about. From apologising for existing…  To holding doors from impossible distances…  To saying “sorry” before giving a compliment. These are moments that, back home in Australia, wouldn’t even register. This isn’t a criticism. It’s an observat...

Send us Fan Mail This Week in America: Spring Arriving Spring doesn’t arrive all at once in Tennessee. It shows up through small signals. A classroom full of curious first graders listening to an Australian story about wombats. Cars covered in yellow pollen. The distant hum of pressure washers across neighbourhoods. Parents suddenly organising summer camps months in advance. And then the evenings...

Send us Fan Mail After eight years of living in the United States, I’ve realised that some everyday American habits feel completely normal… until you step back and look at them from the outside. From root beer and sugary breakfasts, to tipping culture, giant sodas, and striking up conversations in supermarket lines — these are the small things Americans rarely think twice about, but that still cat...

Send us Fan Mail This week I received an email from Georgia’s school about attendance. Apparently she has reached five “unexcused absences”, which means I now need to have a meeting with the principal and the school counsellor. The interesting part is that I don’t even know what the five absences are yet — I have to wait for the state to send a letter outlining them. What struck me about the situa...

Send us Fan Mail Think American folklore is scary? From the Bunyip to the Min Min lights, the Australian bush carries stories that make Bigfoot feel almost… friendly. As an Aussie living in the United States, I hear a lot about the Mothman and the Jersey Devil. But today, I’m taking you back home — into the Dreamtime, the Outback, and the misty bush — to share five Australian legends that have uns...

Send us Fan Mail Living overseas long enough changes the way you hear things. Sometimes it’s obvious. Sometimes it’s just a single word that quietly reveals where you started. In this episode of This Week in America , I reflect on accents, tone, and the subtle ways culture settles into the way we speak. From catching myself saying “car park” instead of “parking lot”, to hearing the different voice...

Send us Fan Mail I’m an Aussie living in the United States… and lately, I’ve found myself quietly unsettled by the idea of moving home. Every time I see headlines about Australia’s housing crisis — and hear stories from people trying to rent or buy — I catch myself wondering: If I go back… what exactly am I going back to? The Australia I grew up in felt different. There was a sense that if you wor...

Send us Fan Mail When you move countries as an adult, you expect the obvious changes — new places, new systems, new routines. What you don’t always expect is how that decision echoes through your children’s lives years later. In this episode of This Week in America , I reflect on the quiet side of living overseas as a parent. From joking about bringing an inflatable kangaroo to my daughter’s dance...

Send us Fan Mail Some of the foods Americans once ate — and some you still technically can’t — surprised me more than I expected. As an Aussie living in the United States, I’ve learned that what’s considered “normal” on one side of the world can be completely off-limits on the other. In this episode, we look at six meats that are banned, restricted, or culturally taboo in the U.S. — from historic...

Send us Fan Mail This week I learned something about identity — not from a headline or an election, but from a hospital bill. After a British channel reacted to one of my older videos about healthcare costs in the United States, the tone in my comment section shifted. New voices arrived. Some supportive. Some defensive. Some intense. And it made me realise something important. In America, certain...

Send us Fan Mail There was a time when certain workplace behaviours barely raised an eyebrow. Smoking at your desk. Long “liquid” lunches. Calling the women in the office “the girls.” Bosses who ruled more like monarchs than managers. In both Australia and the United States, what was once considered normal in the workplace would likely end a career today. In this episode, I reflect on how work cul...

Send us Fan Mail This week I’ve been reflecting on dance competitions — not the steps or the scores, but the atmosphere around them. Georgia recently competed interstate again, dancing a lyrical solo and four group routines. She’s been on the floor since she was two years old. Eight years of repetition, studio mirrors, and slowly building something real. Watching her in a large American competitio...

Send us Fan Mail Moving from Australia to the United States changed the way I think about work — more than I expected. What feels ordinary in one country can feel confronting in another. In this episode, I reflect on the biggest workplace differences I’ve experienced as an Aussie living and working in America — from annual leave and sick pay to job security, office expectations, and the quiet assu...

Send us Fan Mail This week we drove to Atlanta for Georgia’s dance competition — which meant crossing a state line. In Australia, that used to feel like a major event. Flights. Planning. Real distance. In America, it can mean a couple of hours on an eight-lane highway. From enormous roads and midnight traffic to the ritual of stopping at Buc-ee’s (twice), this episode reflects on what “scale” feel...

Send us Fan Mail Boomer sayings really were a language of their own. Living between Australia and the United States, I’ve noticed something quietly funny: Boomers in both countries confused their kids — just in completely different dialects. From “broken record” and “flip your wig” to references like Fonzie or Ted Bullpitt, these phrases come from a world that feels both recent and strangely dista...

Send us Fan Mail This Week in America: Warmth & Steadiness This weekend, Brianna turned seven. Fifteen kids. Rain outside. Glinda from Wicked in the living room. And somewhere between glitter arguments and polite doorway goodbyes, I heard a sentence I’ve come to understand differently since moving to America: “We should do this again.” In this episode, I reflect on warmth versus follow-through...

Send us Fan Mail I once asked for water at KFC and walked away empty-handed. After years living in the United States, I’ve realised it wasn’t the service — it was my pronunciation. From “water” to “Melbourne” to “tuna,” there are dozens of everyday words Australians and Americans say differently — sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically — and those differences can cause more confusion than you’d...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode, I found myself thinking about three very small, very American moments: ice in drinks, unexpected cookies, and the quiet art of participation. Living in the US has a way of highlighting things I never noticed back home in Australia. Some differences are big. Others are subtle — but they linger. This week: Why ice still catches me off guard The cultural meani...

Send us Fan Mail Seven years into living in the United States, there are still a few everyday habits that stop me mid-sentence. Not because they’re wrong — just because they’re different. From enthusiastic small talk in grocery stores to supersized portions, workplace intensity, the phenomenon of Buc-ee’s, and the way Americans relate to pets and personal space… these are the cultural details that...

Send us Fan Mail After years living in the United States, there are still moments that quietly catch me off guard. Not because they’re wrong. Not because they’re outrageous.  Simply because they’re different from what I grew up with. In this episode, I reflect on fourteen everyday American habits and assumptions that once surprised me — and in some cases, still do. From portion sizes and social no...

Send us Fan Mail Americans don’t think all accents sound the same. They just haven’t had enough practice yet. As an Aussie living in the United States, I’ve lost count of how many times my accent has been guessed as British, Irish… or “Australian, but kind of British.” In this episode, I explore why that happens — and why it’s not as simple as people assume. We’ll look at: • Why unfamiliar accents...

Send us Fan Mail After years living in the United States, I still occasionally say something completely normal by Australian standards… and get a look in return. It turns out some everyday Aussie words sound harmless at home — but land very differently in America. In this episode, I share a handful of those vocabulary moments — the ones that led to raised eyebrows, awkward pauses, and the quiet re...

Send us Fan Mail Seven years into living in the United States, there are still certain foods that make me pause. Not because they’re wrong — but because they’re different from what I grew up with. From American cheese and sweet tea to chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, and the world of convenience-store snacks, these are the flavours and combinations that surprised me most as an Australian a...

Send us Fan Mail Every Australian has said something overseas that landed with a blank stare. Living in the United States, I’ve learned that what feels completely ordinary back home can sound mildly baffling elsewhere. In this episode, I share eight classic Australian sayings — the kind your parents, grandparents, or the bloke at the pub might toss out without explanation — and explore why they do...

Send us Fan Mail There are certain things Australians don’t explain — because we assume everyone just knows. Say hello when you walk into a small shop.  Bring something to a barbecue.  Don’t take yourself too seriously. After living in the United States, I’ve realised how many of these unwritten rules sit quietly beneath Australia’s laid-back surface. In this episode, I reflect on the invisible so...