🕸As some of you might know, I am British, from the small island connected to Scotland and Wales. Back in late 2008, my parents and I packed everything we owned into the back of a bright red moving-van and got on the first plane to Australia.
Dad blabbed on about the coming GFC (Grand Financial Crisis) and mum sobbed her eyes out about feeling so guilty for leaving her parents and brother.
I was fine. Sure it was a little scary, but as an unsuspecting near seven year-old, this was going to be the best and longest holiday ever! Little did I know about the torture I was about to face.
We got fully settled down in South Australia in early 2009 and I, the now proper seven year-old was loving school until, 'Why does your voice sound weird?' I had wracked my brain for the answer, did my voice sound funny? In my opinion, everyone in my class say 'Mum' as 'Mam', 'Lego' as 'Laygo' and 'Maroon' as 'Maron'. Now that was weird.
Later that year, it came up again, 'Why do you say stuff weird?' and once again, I thought long and hard to find an answer. Did I say things strange? Scone was definitely pronounced like that, not 'Scon' and 'yoghurt' was said yog-hurt not yo-gert
A last example came in late 2011, now a fully functioning nine years old, I was far more intellectual and world-wise. I was sat under the tin veranda in front of my classroom, listening to the rain thunder down and shivering like a wet dog. 'Shouldn't you be used to this weather, your English, right?' I almost wanted to facepalm. Really?
Well your Australian so shouldn't you be living in the outback in a grass skirt and mud hut, eating raw kangaroo? No.
Just because I was born in another country, lived there for six years and class myself as one of them does not mean that I am automatically climatized to cold weather! Just like you aren't automatically a natural kangaroo hunter.
So please, just don't, if something is weird about a foreign persons birth country, don't act like their from Mars or something, it's just a bit different. Even if they paint pebbles rainbow colours and have sex with them every full moon, don't make fun of them, just slowly back away and phone the police, 'cause yeah, that's weird. 🕸
- R🕸se
