最近，在新工作中，我有幸参与到学校的开学周。它让我的记忆再次鲜活，终于可以和大家聊一聊这个热门话题啦。

6年前，作为一名国际学生的我漂洋过海来到澳大利亚南澳首府阿德莱德，这是我有生之年到达的第一座国外城市。这也让我能够轻易捕捉到一些有趣的中澳差异，可以说是惊喜连连吧。那么究竟有哪些差异呢？让我们现在就一起来揭开神秘面纱吧。

Recently I have the chance to participate in the orientation at my workplace, which refreshed my memory and helped me to write about this topic.

I came to Adelaide as an international student 6 years ago, and this is the first foreign city I’ve ever been to. That’s why I have SHARP senses to pick up some differences fairly easily. I’d like to use the word fascinating rather than challenging to describe my first month in Adelaide. So, what are these differences? Let’s lift the veil :)

食物

1.简单

俗话说，民以食为天。所以，作为中国人，我们会花很多时间去准备和烹饪食物。而这边，人们吃的则相对简单很多。

早餐，四种最常见的是：

- 早餐麦片（麦片加牛奶）

Food

1. Simple

In China, we say, food is the first necessity of a man. Therefore, Chinese people spend much time on preparing and cooking food, while here people live much more simply.

For breakfast, 3 most popular choices are:

- Cereal

早餐麦片

- 面包抹上花生酱或Vegimite酱，又称澳洲臭豆腐酱

Vegemite是澳大利亚的国民食物，由酿酒业的副产品酵母，盐，麦芽和蔬菜提取物制成。所以还是很鼓励大家尝试一下这一异域味道。小贴士，不要因为它黑就把它当做巧克力酱了哈。只要一点点就好哦，因为它很咸。

- Bread with peanut butter or vegemite

Vegemite is an Australian spread, which is made from leftover brewer’s yeast, salt, malt and vegetable extract. It’s worth trying, but just a tiny bit, because it has a very strong salty flavor.

澳洲臭豆腐酱 （左），花生酱（右）

- 木斯里（Museli）

由坚果，未煮的麦片和水果组成。在前一天晚上加入酸奶然后放入冰箱。这边的酸奶很浓稠，所以当地人说吃酸奶，而不是喝。

- Yogurt with muesli

Yogurt here is much thicker than the one in China, so people EAT yogurt instead of drinking it.

木斯里

- Coffee only

- 咖啡

咖啡

前三者的一个共同点是它们的准备时间：仅需1分钟。尝试新事物的过程让我迅速爱上了Bega花生酱，尤其是它的松脆款。我甚至可以直接纯吃。疯狂如我：）

我们中国的早餐呢？那花样可是要复杂的多。包子，饺子，粥，面条，煎饼等等。所以在我来阿德最初的几个月里，超级想念家乡的早餐！

One thing in common among these first three is the preparation time: 1 minute. I fell in love with peanut butter through exploration, and I can even eat the crunchy one on its own! Crazy me ：）

Whereas, in China, our breakfast is much more diverse and complicated. Steamed buns, dumplings, porridge, noodles, savory pancakes and so much more. Thus I really missed my Chinese breakfast in my first few months here.

到了午餐，三明治则成为主角。中间夹了什么呢？最常见的是培根/火腿，生菜，番茄和/或奶酪。晚餐时刻来临，这可是一天中唯一的一顿主餐啊。然而，尽管如此，它通常也只有一道菜而已。

中国又是什么情况呢？午餐和晚餐同样丰盛，午餐甚至更重要。对于一家三口，通常是三到四个菜。这就是为什么当我的第一个当地朋友来我家做客时，我把她惊艳到了，因为我准备了四个菜！

For lunch, a sandwich becomes the main character. What are the fillings? The most common one is bacon/ham, lettuce, tomato and/or cheese. Finally, dinner’s turn, it is the only main meal for a day. However, despite that, it contains one dish only.

What about China? Lunch and dinner are of equal importance. For a family of three, usually three to four dishes. That’s why when my first local friend came to my place for dinner, she was so impressed by the number of dishes I had prepared, four!

2. 肉和沙拉

澳洲的人均食肉量要远远大于中国，这一点从超市内肉类售卖盒上就可以明显看到。在这里，我想很自豪地说，居住这边长达六年的我还依然坚持着中国的饮食习惯，多吃蔬菜少吃肉（研究表明这更健康）。

同时，我注意到沙拉在这儿很受欢迎。一开始接触我并不喜欢它。觉得它的味道太清淡。但过了一段时间后，我发现自己竟慢慢心水它，原因主要有三个。首先，看到人们居然把石榴甚至鲜花都放入沙拉中让我眼界大开。于是乎我也开始模仿，发挥自己无穷的创造力，添加任何我喜欢的东西到沙拉中，让它变得多彩，健康而美味。其次，它很容易准备，是懒人的福音。而且，我开始品味到来自食物本身最原始而新鲜的味道。为大自然的魅力点赞！：）

2. Meat and salad

Australians eat more meat than Chinese people. You can find a much bigger package of meat in a supermarket. I have to say, I am proud that I still stick to my Chinese diet rule - more veggies and less meat (a healthier option according to research) after 6 years.

I have noticed salad is very popular here. In the beginning, I disliked it, because the taste to me was so plain. But after a while, I began to like it, for 3 main reasons. First, seeing people putting pomegranate and even flowers to their salad really blew my mind. I started to imitate, using my own creativity to add anything I like to my salad and make it colorful, healthy and yummy. Second, it’s so easy to prepare. Also, I started to enjoy the original and fresh flavor coming from ingredients. Cheers to the beauty brought by our dear nature ：）

3.澳洲的代表菜肴是？

阿德拥有非常新鲜的农产品和来自世界各地灿烂多元的餐厅，但我还是很好奇地想探寻澳洲当地的美食代表。然而，在听到这个问题后，大多数人的反应竟然是，停顿片刻，用力思考，最后勉强答道，

“嗯，我们好像没有诶。烧烤或肉饼算吗？”:)

肉饼

3. Australia’s own cuisine?

Adelaide has very fresh produce and multicultural restaurants from all over the world, but I was very curious to find out about its own cuisine too. However, to my surprise, after hearing this question, most people's reactions were, paused for a second, thought really hard, and replied eventually,

“Hmm, it seems like we don’t really have one. Perhaps BBQ or meat pies if these count?” :) 

倩视角：我喜欢这种简单。我们的时间有限，所以我更愿意把它花在我认为更有价值的事上。例如，当一个好友来做客，我会想花更多的时间与她交谈而不是准备各种大餐。好消息是，当地人喜欢责任分担。所以当你被邀请参加一个家庭派对时，主人通常会请你带一道菜来和大家分享。（所以记得来澳之前掌握几个拿手菜哈）。多棒的主意！这样一来，主人不会为聚会前要准备太多吃的而过于疲惫。同时也增加了当天食物的多样性。当然，每个人都有自己的选择，知道自己的重心就好。

Comments: I prefer this type of simplicity. Our time is limited, so I would prefer spending more time on the things which have better value to me. For example, when a friend comes over, I would rather spend more time talking to her than preparing for too many dishes. The good news is locals like to share responsibilities. It's very common that when you are invited to a party, the host will require you to bring a dish to share. What a cool idea! In this way, a host won’t get too exhausted by preparing a lot of dishes for this gathering. It also adds diversity to the food too. But all in all, it’s your call. Identify your priority and act accordingly.

喝

直接喝自来水？

是的，这在澳洲很正常。水很干净，而且人们都喜欢喝冷水。在中国，这几乎是不可能的。阿德的餐厅提供的水有时甚至会，透心凉。即使在冬天，一些当地人也喜欢将自来水放入冰箱。我到现在还是不习惯喝凉水，所以我会随身携带我的，珍贵，保温杯。因此，我经常会被问到杯子里是否有什么特别的宝物。当告知他们这是温水后，许多当地人的面色就会顿时显得疑云重重，非常惊讶。

所以，也就有了以下的科普知识课堂：我们喝热水主要是遵循了中医养生之道。中医推崇饮用温/热水，因为冷食需要身体的能源供给。此外，由于温/热水更接近我们的体温，所以更有助于我们的消化。我们的胃“喜”暖。这也就是为什么在中国，每当你感冒时，医生或身边的人总会建议你要多喝热水。

倩视角：最初我还有点小尴尬，因为它让我觉得自己好像是一个另类。但后来我开始慢慢喜欢向他人解释这种不同。你难道不觉得这是与陌生人互动的一个完美借口吗？此外，我反倒觉得我们应该庆祝这种差异性，因为它让我们变得特别，澳洲也因为有了我们，而充满了有趣的元素。

Drink

Drink water straight from the tap?

Yes, this is true in Australia. The tap water is clean and people like to drink cold water, while in China, it’s nearly impossible. Here when you dine out, the water served can even be chilled. They tend to put tap water in the fridge, even in winter. I am still not used to drinking it like that, so I always carry my valuable thermos around. Therefore, I’ve been asked a lot about whether there’s any precious liquid inside. After knowing it is WARM water, many locals became so surprised with a suspicious face.

Then, I have to explain: we normally drink hot water, following Chinese medicine. It’s better to have warm/hot water for our body, as consumption of cold food required energy resources of the body. Also, as it is close to our body temperature, it helps our digestion. Our stomach “likes” warmth. That’s why in China, whenever you get cold, you will be advised to drink as much hot water as possible.

Comments: Initially I felt a bit embarrassed, because it gave me the feeling that I am different from the majority of people here. But then I started to enjoy explaining this to them. What a perfect excuse to interact with strangers, right? ：）I am always a big supporter for face to face communication in this day and age. Furthermore, I think we should celebrate these differences, because these make us special and help to bring fun and interesting elements to this big world.

直饮水

接下来呢？

下个月在我的第二篇中，我将谈到住在阿德的不同，比如交通，城市的特点以及一些小贴士。敬请期待。欢迎各种反馈：）

What's next?

Next month in my chapter 2, I am going to discuss the difference relating to living, such as transport, the city’s vibe and some reminders. Stay tuned and welcome to all your feedback ：）