If you think of Australia, you're bound to imagine a few stereotypes of what life here is like: sun and sand might feature, and you will perhaps imagine we're a laidback nation of permanently relaxed people. Over the last year, the topic of what people think about Australia has come up with quite a few guests so I decided to compile an episode about these ideas.

I chat first with Michael Jensen who spent half a year here on student exchange in the 1980s, and recently returned for another months-long stint: what had changed? Quite a lot, as you can imagine, and we had an interesting chat.

Alex Zeringer, a German student now based in Ireland, came to Australia on a much more recent student program just last year, and I asked him about his impressions of my home town of Perth.

Our reputation often precedes us, and Julia Kaplan told me her ideas about Australia and its people although she hasn't yet been here - but she's met enough Aussies abroad on her travels to get a good idea.

Finally, I speak with Jules Park, who moved here from South Korea, and tells me some of her initial cultural shocks, including the tale of pink hair!

Links:
Brent and Michael are Going Places - https://www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.com/
Alex Zeringer on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/
Julie Kaplan - https://www.juliekaplan.com/
Jules Park - Amazing Sydney Life on Instagram or TikTok - https://www.instagram.com/amazingsydneylife/  or https://www.tiktok.com/@amazingsydneylife
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/325

If you think of Australia, you're bound to imagine a few stereotypes of what life here is like: sun and sand might feature, and you will perhaps imagine we're a laidback nation of permanently relaxed people. Over the last year, the topic of what people think about Australia has come up with quite a few guests so I decided to compile an episode about these ideas.
I chat first with Michael Jensen who spent half a year here on student exchange in the 1980s, and recently returned for another months-long stint: what had changed? Quite a lot, as you can imagine, and we had an interesting chat.
Alex Zeringer, a German student now based in Ireland, came to Australia on a much more recent student program just last year, and I asked him about his impressions of my home town of Perth.
Our reputation often precedes us, and Julia Kaplan told me her ideas about Australia and its people although she hasn't yet been here - but she's met enough Aussies abroad on her travels to get a good idea.
Finally, I speak with Jules Park, who moved here from South Korea, and tells me some of her initial cultural shocks, including the tale of pink hair!
Links:
<ul>
<li>Brent and Michael are Going Places - <a href="https://www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.com/">https://www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.com/</a> </li>
<li>Alex Zeringer on LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/</a> </li>
<li>Julie Kaplan - <a href="https://www.juliekaplan.com/">https://www.juliekaplan.com/</a> </li>
<li>Jules Park - Amazing Sydney Life on Instagram or TikTok - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazingsydneylife/">https://www.instagram.com/amazingsydneylife/</a>  or <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@amazingsydneylife">https://www.tiktok.com/@amazingsydneylife</a> </li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a> </li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/325">https://notaballerina.com/325</a></li>
</ul>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

Advertisement