Australia is, to many Americans, a place full of fascinating animals, the home of the unforgiving outback, and where everyone says “Good day, mate!”

And, to many’s disappointment, the classic American stereotype of a “down under” phrase, “Good day, mate,” is probably not something one will hear if you travel to Australia, according to Jack Woods, a 10th grader at Loyola College in Melbourne, Australia.

On Thursday, Sept. 19, members of the Lion journalism staff had the privilege of interviewing a small group of visiting Australian students and teachers. Here are some of the questions asked of them and their answers:

Q: Describe your school. How is it different than Bellarmine? Do you notice any similarities between Bellarmine and Loyola College (High School)?

A: Like Bellarmine students, they like their school. However their school does have unique features such as multiple large and beautiful gardens, and one thing they were impressed with at Bellarmine that Loyola didn’t have was a football field. However, the most distinct difference they saw in their school and Bellarmine was the schedule. At Loyola, they said, they have six periods, two lunches and a recess.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: LaKeisha Brazier says she wants to be a psychologist, Woods wants to be an engineer, and Anantika Puri wants to be an intelligence officer.

Q: What are the biggest differences in Australian and American culture?

A: The first thing they all said was that they were amazed that all the food in the U.S. was processed. Everywhere they saw food, they noticed that most of it, if not all of it, was processed which they said was not something that you see all the time in Australia.

Another thing that they found out was that in America, tipping the server is polite and the right thing to do. “Tipping is just not something we do in Australia,” said Woods.

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