The Tall Poppy Syndrome

The tall poppy syndrome is an Aussie thing through and through. You see, it is where they decide a person is too big in the head and cut him down/put him in their place by telling him the truth. Aussies take pride in a lot of things, but they try not to brag about them. Their philosophy is that they would much rather get a sincere compliment then find out that they actually not as good as they thought they were. A very interesting philosophy.

I want to try to not put people in little boxes because there are always rule breakers to every culture, but here are some things I have noticed so far:
They seem to value a lot. They seem to value family still...I watched a yard ball game last night and the sport announcers were discussing how one of the contestants was missing his family and how it is hard for professional sportsmen to be with their family as much as they need to.
They are definitely proud of their sports. The Wallabies, their rugby team, has had no loses this season - a hot discussion point around here.

They are also happy about how cheap their health care is.
At the same time they know when they need improvement. The forgotten generation is quite a sad spot in their history. The people I have talked to are free to admit that.

Through it all, I have been humbled. I have been learning to be quiet and listen to people’s views with out coming to sudden conclusions...something that is surprisingly hard for me to do any more. I have also been learning when it is good to tell people the truth and know how to defend my side. It is a good balance to learn.

The picture is from a recent cruise around the bay I took. It was very cold and rainy that day. I hope to get a better picture soon!