Tourist stunned by 'emotionally draining' Aussie habit
A British tourist visiting Australia for Christmas has shared a "wholesome" Aussie trait that she never encounters in her home city of London.
Singer Kat Penkin, who's visiting her parents down under, said she always forgets "how nice" Australians are, but the friendly habit can be "emotionally draining".
"Every single person that walks past goes 'good morning, how are you, good morning'," she said in a video on TikTok while out for a walk on Christmas Eve. "I live in London, so if you say 'good morning' you get a punch in the face," she added.
The singer was reportedly born in the UK and raised in Australia but moved back to pursue her singing career. Even still, the friendly habit came as a surprise for Ms Penkin who filmed herself during her walk. In the video, multiple Aussies greeted her with a friendly hello. Ms Penkin acknowledges passersby with a smile and a nod and says "good morning".
"It’s really wholesome but it’s also very emotionally draining," she said.
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Social media reacts to video
Ms Penkin's video has been viewed more than 535,000 times, with many not realising the habit was an "Australian thing".
"Today I learnt that this is an Australian thing. I lived my whole life thinking everyone did this," one person wrote in the comments. "Australian here. if I don't say hi to the [random people] I pass, I feel bad the rest of the day," another said.
Meanwhile, a third person wrote that during a trip to the US, they said 'morning' to others on the street but continued to get "confused looks". However, some said greeting every person you see can be a lot, even for Australians.
"It’s emotionally draining for some Australians too. I can’t," one viewer complained. "I’m Australian and yes sometimes it’s like, 'leave me alone',” said another.
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