And here's the view from a filthy Asian immigrant
How do you cope with celebrating the winter solstice in the summer?
I think I would very much enjoy Christmas more if it was snowing and stuff, but that's just my romanticising the holiday, in the view reinforced by Euro-American cultural influence. Not that I really celebrate Christmas/winter solstice anyway.
Have you ever run away in terror from a koala?
Yes. They are very fast. Beware.
Have you ever had to chase a dingo away from a baby?
No, but I had to chase a dingo away from my esky full of beer. Long story.
Are spiders have health bar in Australia? seriously, are they really too big?
Spiders the size of your hand (excluding legs) are not uncommon once you go outside the main cities. But then again Australians are a very urbanised lot.
Have you ever noticed how many Australian men are fantastic story-tellers? I don't know anyone who can give an anecdote like an Aussie.
Neither do I. Personally I can't tell a story to save my life though; then again, not really an Aussie, either.
How many pairs of thongs do you own?
Zero.
Also, how many pairs of sandals?
One.
Do you frequently throw shrimp on the barbie?
As Cami said earlier, we say "prawn".
Isn't it weird that there are only four cities?
No...? There are actually five cities over 1,000,000 people, and various mid-sized cities. As I said, Australians are actually quite urbanised, with something like 80% of the population in urban areas. For a country with a small population our cities are big, because of the whole "most of the country is desert" thing.
How strong is Australian national identity?
For a country that spent most of its history until about forty years ago looking up to Britain and made up of immigrants from all over the world, Australian national identity is quite strong, and surprisingly inclusive (sometimes). Most people I guess now would probably identify as Australian before any other identity. On other levels though, as Cami said, it's diverse. It's like any other country; different people view national identity differently. But yes, an Australian national identity definitely exists and is quite robust.
How far west of Warsaw is Sydney?
Forty kilometers.
How often would you see something deadly in Australia? (How many times a day?)
A suburban shut-in like me? Maybe once a month?
Do you consider the island of New Guinea to be part of Australia (continent)?
I personally do and think Australia should reannex the place. Neither is a widely-held view among the general population.
Serious question: What is the general opinion of Julia Gillard over there? The one Aussie I know in person has an intense dislike of her (I tried to show him the clip of her talking about the end of the world but he refused to watch it because he hates her so much and the carbon tax). While he is crazy what is the general opinion of her?
She's not popular. Most of the people who still wants her as prime minister supports her because the alternative (Tony Abbott) is worse. I think Camikaze is even being a bit too generous.
How good is the economy in Australia?
Good, but only compared to the other First World economies, and with an asterisk. We only avoided a recession thanks to China's mineral demands, and that's slowing down somewhat now, which will be a problem. And the mineral-rich states (Western Australia) are doing much better than the more populated but mineral-poor states like New South Wales and Victoria, which used to be the manufacturing centers of the country. Nationally, unemployment is low, but again, the national average hides the disparity between states. Youth unemployment hovers at around 20-25%, but I guess that's better than most other First World countries. Income equality is better than most of the world; definitely much better than the United States. My main worry at the moment is, like Rugby, unaffordability of housing.
