Well hello there

The one thing Clare and I have noticed in Oz more than anything else is how unbelievably friendly people are over here. From people at work, to those we meet or are introduced to right through to those working in shops and department stores. It’s great and I love it.

A month or so, Clare and I went to Blockbuster and behind the counter was the standard pre packaged Blockbuster employee – the spotty, grubby looking emo teenager. Now, in the UK, when you walked through the door in your local blockbuster, you’d be lucky if you even got a grunt of acknowledgement through their grease dripping hair. When we walked through the doors we expected no different from our Aussie experience than we would back home. We entered the building; the teen employee peered up from the counter, and then………smiled, yes smiled, and in the most sincere tone said “Hi, how are you guys doing today? If you need any help please feel free to give me a call”.

I, visibly shaken by this, had to take a step back. Clare grabbed my arm a little tighter unsure of what had just happened. I felt kind of numb and looked around quickly to make sure that we weren’t about to be jumped or mugged by two thugs hiding behind the horror section. I was about to whimper “please don’t hurt us” when Clare managed to pull it together and reply with “Thank you very much”. It felt like an age had past between his question and our eventual reply but Clare it seemed had respond in just enough time for it not to look too odd. We scuttled off, deep into the forest of DVD’s having survived. I took a deep breath, continually looking around to check for our safety. This was a very strange situation. The assistant had genuinely looked as if he had cared. This was something we were not used to. Always conscious that we may be part of an elaborate set up we swiftly made our choice and went nervously back to the assistant. He didn’t even throw the DVD in our general direction, he gave it to us…….and then proceeded to bid us farewell and to have a good afternoon.

This is not a one off event. The large majority of places we have been, the staff have been extremely friendly and helpful. I have though concluded that this now poses one, quite major problem. When we get back to the UK our guard maybe down used to the aussie way of life, only to be smacked in the face by a flying DVD we’ve just rented.