I've been sitting on
this blog post for a while. Since I still haven't had a chance to write up our
trip to New Zealand I'm publishing this one so the blog doesn't seem so
unloved.
"Walmart."
Chris looked knowingly at Michelle, a fellow Australian, as he said it. I
waited for the insults to begin: corporate behemoth destroying small
businesses, paying slave wages, and selling cheap crap. Instead, he said with
conviction, "I love Walmart."
Nothing like Walmart
exists in Australia (though I've heard rumors the company is trying to open its
doors here). There are fairly large supermarkets, reasonably sized Targets and
Kmarts, and an equivalent of the Home Depot called Bunnings. But there's nothing
at the scale and low prices and business hours that Walmart offers. Need a pack
of neon yellow paper at 8:00pm on a Tuesday here in Australia? Well, you're
probably out of luck. In the U.S. we take for granted the ease with which we
can procure things. I won't try to argue whether the rampant consumerism is
good or bad, but to an Australian the options are amazing. Our friends talk
with passion of going to the States and stocking up on cheap stuff.
 |
| Somebody's excited! |
Chris then told us
about the day he purchased Pillsbury for the first time. Pillsbury -- famous
for their giggling doughboy mascot -- makes ready-to-bake pastries.
"Biscuits in a can!" he declared excitedly, reminiscing about his Pillsbury
acquisition from Walmart. "They're the most delicious thing! Adam, am I
overreacting?!" I told him he wasn't. He is correct -- they are delicious.
His excitement
continued. "Then we made burger buns from them! We made burger buns from
the Pillsbury biscuits. They're the most amazing thing! ...I'm sorry," he
tempered his excitement. "I am overreacting."
His American wife said
she came home once to find him trying to open a Pillsbury container -- the kind
with the aluminum top that you tear open -- with a can opener. Apparently, they
don't have tear-away packaging like that here.
The enthusiasm for American junk food posing as breakfast food was
shared; "His sister's favorite is Bisqik," she said.
Chris entertained us
with other stories of his first encounter with the U.S. "I once ordered
six Coors Lights at the hotel from room service, and because of my accent they
brought me six cole slaws."
Fortunately, Walmart
and instant pastries aren't the only draw to America. Virtually all the Aussies
we know want to visit the U.S. and if they've already visited then they want to
live and work there.
I once overheard an
exchange at work where a young woman told her colleague she was going to
America for vacation. "America! You're going to America?!" her
colleague responded jealously. We don't always get that kind of reaction.
In a world where
America is often maligned for throwing its weight around and exporting
McDonald's, it's nice to know we've still got friends. And I'm glad to say the
feeling is mutual. Everyone we know in the States wants to come to Australia.
I'm thinking the U.S. and Australia should start a massive exchange program.
