From Down Under to Down South

Send us Fan Mail This week in America — a Kentucky weekend that started with a dance competition and quietly turned into something more. From Louisville traffic during Derby season to bourbon conversations at a hotel bar, a visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum, and a roadside stop at Buc-ee’s… this episode reflects on the small, unexpected moments that end up defining the trip. At the center of...

Send us Fan Mail After living in the United States for a number of years, there are still plenty of things that surprise me about daily life here. Some are confusing. Some take getting used to. But there are also things America does genuinely well — things that stand out once you’ve lived somewhere else. In this episode, I reflect on a few parts of American culture that have quietly impressed me s...

Send us Fan Mail What does everyday life in America actually feel like? In this episode, I share a week that started with representing Australia at a school international night in Tennessee… and unfolded into a series of small moments that say a lot about living in the United States as an Australian. From sausage rolls, Vegemite, and Tim Tams at an American school event… to watching kids grow up i...

Send us Fan Mail After living in America for eight years, there’s one small phrase I’ve come to appreciate more than I expected. “You’re welcome.” It’s such a simple response. But the way different cultures handle gratitude says a lot about rhythm, acknowledgement, and how we close small moments. In Australia, we tend to say “no worries.” It minimises the act. Keeps everything level. There’s humil...

Send us Fan Mail This week in America, I started noticing how everyday life works a little differently. Living in the United States as an Australian, it’s often the small things that stand out — like how many everyday tasks become services. From lawn care crews moving house to house, to businesses built around things most people don’t want to do, there’s a strong sense of opportunity in everyday l...

Send us Fan Mail Living overseas stretches you. It expands your perspective. It changes you. But it’s not free. In this episode, I reflect on what it really means to live between two countries — Australia and America — and how moving across the world shapes not just you, but your children as well. From magpie calls in Canberra to aircraft overhead in Tennessee… from supermarket aisles in Coles to...

Send us Fan Mail What feels “normal” when you live in another country… isn’t always what you expect. In this week’s episode of This Week in America , I found myself in two very different situations — standing beneath a Saturn V rocket that took people to the Moon… and sitting in a safe room at midnight during a tornado warning. And somehow… both felt like just another part of the week. That’s the...

Send us Fan Mail Why do American goodbyes feel so different to Australian ones? After years of living in the United States, there’s still one small social moment that catches me off guard — the way conversations end. In Australia, goodbyes tend to wind down slowly. There’s a rhythm to them. A soft warning. A gradual exit. In America, it can feel much more efficient. Direct. Sometimes abrupt. In th...

Send us Fan Mail This Week in America: Tornado Season The first time you hear a tornado siren in the American South… you don’t forget it. For many people living in Australia, tornadoes feel like something distant — dramatic footage from the news somewhere in the American Midwest. But living in Tennessee, you quickly learn that severe weather isn’t something that sits in the background of life. It’...

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...