American expat stunned by earnest Aussie trait: 'Thought it was a joke'
A young woman living in Sydney has expressed her surprise at how "vulnerable and affectionate" Aussies are with each other.
Moving from Wisconsin in the United States, Brit has gone viral on TikTok for her observations about Australians.
In one of her videos she described initially thinking that Australians using the term 'D and M' (deep and meaningful conversation) was "a joke".
"I thought it was the cutest thing ever," she said.
Brit also admired that Australians were "so physically affectionate" with each other in another video.
"I forget this every time I come back — they all want to cuddle and hug and touch each other," she told her followers.
The American woman was especially surprised at how affectionate Australian men were with each other in any setting, claiming it could lead to "lawsuits" in the US.
"My boyfriend was going to work the other day and he was sunburnt on his chest and back," she recalled.
"And he was like 'oh man the boys are going to hug me and push me around and stuff'.
"Can you imagine in America if a bunch of dudes were touching each other at work?"
People respond to woman's videos on TikTok
The responses to Brit's assessment of Aussie culture were mixed but mostly positive.
"It’s because we’re the best country in the world," one person replied, to which she replied "true".
"It’s all to do with mateship and that you appreciate your mates," said another.
"It's an adaptation of an old ritual where we used to pat each other down to check for spiders," a third jokingly said.
Though not everyone was convinced.
"I didn’t know this was an Aussie thing," one person said.
"Really? I'm an Aussie and I rarely see male affection," another commented.
"Not sure where in Australia you have been hanging out," said a third person.
"Maybe it’s you lol" suggested someone, as Brit did mention that she "hardly even (hugs her) friends and family".
"I wonder if I just grew up in a particular family that doesn’t touch each other much and friends also."
However she did confess in a TikTok caption that she does "love a cuddle now, but only on Aussie soil".
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