Posted: 04/18/07

Bill from down under
Livin' it up

Bill O'Connor | contributing columnist
woconnor@smcvt.edu

The gaggle of American college girls I was traveling with were letting out blood-curdling screams each and every time our boat, headed into rough seas towards the Great Barrier Reef, became airborne.

No one else on board made a sound.

Not the crew. Not the 20 or so Australian tourists, the 10 Japanese tourists, the two Englishmen or the lone Irishman.

I was standing with the crew towards the back of the boat, apparently looking un-American enough for them not to notice my accent.

“They’ve got to be putting it on,” said one crewmember, nodding his head in the direction of the shrieking girls.

“I love it though," another said. "I love them; Americans know how to have fun… not like the bloody English.”

It seems that among the varying opinions held by Australians about Americans, one seems to be incredibly prevalent, at least in the younger population. Americans know how to have fun.

We’re loud, yes; but that loudness is all in good jest. We tend to get a little rowdy under the influence of alcohol, but we have a grand old time doing so, and usually no one gets hurt.

At a hostel in the Daintree Rainforest, after an eventful night at the hostel bar, an employee, who happened to be bartending the night before, called me over.

“Billy-boy,” he shouted. “How are you feeling this morning?”

After a brief discussion, he kindly informed me that any time there’s more than six to eight Americans staying at the hostel, the nights, and sometimes the days, tend to get a bit rambunctious. He made sure to point out that though, that he loved it and looked forward to visits from “us American tourists.” After all, along with the Irish, we know how to have a good time.

We Americans are apparently fairly good-humored as well. Our river guide, Fisherman Best (yes that really was his full name, he even showed us on his license) was constantly messing with us while rafting down the Tully. And we were having a hell of a time being messed with. Everyone was happy. He later explained that he doesn’t always get the chance to do that; for some reason Americans respond better to that brand of kidding around than most people of other nationalities (especially those of Asian heritage). Don’t even get Fisherman started on Asian tourists.

One of the bouncers at the Cairns Casino (and Grandma I have no idea what I was doing at a Casino, much less talking to the bouncers there), had nothing but good things to say about Americans.

He had visited the States a few years back and loved it, and he kept stressing how much more fun we have than Australians. He even said that after a lifetime of watching Rugby and soccer games in a country that intensely gets into it’s sports, the most fun he’s ever had at a sporting event was at an NBA game (which is interesting since he may be the first person to find an NBA game exciting since the mid-90s).

Daryll, one of the blackjack dealers (Grandma I was not playing blackjack, I was only watching as Daryll was repeatedly pulling aces out of his… I’ll stop), didn’t have enough positive things to say about Americans.

“No one shows any emotion here, win or lose, it’s boring,” he lamented.

Daryll said that he first began dealing in the States while he was spending a year abroad. More than anything else, he says he loved that people would express themselves openly in public, especially while sitting at the blackjack tables. It makes his job more fun, he says.

One of the pit bosses even came over to talk to Daryll, saying that he got just what he likes, five Americans sitting at his table. He told her that he was trying to rile us up, but it wasn’t working too well. Once those aces started coming though…

Daryll even made the determination that it may be time for him to head back to the States as we were sitting at the table.

While I was preparing to study abroad here in Oz, I heard stories about how much Australians party and how much fun they have. Now don’t get me wrong, they do have a lot of fun, especially (and oddly enough) without the addition of alcohol to the situation.

But when it comes right down to having a good time, as loud, obnoxious, stupid and self-centered that Americans may be, damn, we sure know how to have fun.