After a couple days of traveling through Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, I realized that something was missing in my life. It was something that I take for granted, don’t always appreciate when it’s around, and often expect, but am let down…it was courtesy and friendliness, helpfulness. I truly think that the one exception I observed was a person not ignoring me, but a man that was actually quite deaf, and once I realized that, then “voila”, he joined the troup of the affable.
It started with basics – I heard “please” and “thank you” and “excuse me” from young and old; that in itself would have been satisfying. This show of good manners, was followed by a genuine “welcome” when we walked into shops. The store keeper was not on the phone, talking or texting and they were actually glad to see us. When we had questions, they were knowledgeable about their products, as if they really read the instruction manual or talked directly with the craftspeople. We asked for directions and recommendations, and I briefly complained to my traveling partner, that the man helping us was overly helpful after he walked us to the corner, pointed at a shop sign and told us to ask for “Bob” when we got there. I had to stop myself when I heard my own comments; “overly helpful” was immediately scratched from my vocabulary and replaced by gratefulness. Of course, we asked for “Bob” who was delighted his mate had sent us his way, and proceeded to hear stories about both men. There were some circumstances when the stories were more interesting than the wares being sold!
Haglund driver at the Antartica Exhibit
One evening we arrived to a group of dockside stores near a commercial area to realize they had closed for the evening. We walked to the main avenue, but could not flag down a cab. So, I found the building that looked the brightest with someone in the lobby and entered the headquarters of the AFL – the Australia Football League. WOW – this was fun. We were surrounded by memorabilia, posters and mementos of famous players and teams – completely unknown to two Yanks – my niece and I. The receptionist allowed us to look around before we asked to use her phone to call a cab. But first, she wanted to know our story and why were we there and where were we going, “Oh no, I don’t think that’s a proper neighborhood for two women to dine,” she said. She asked us to wait 5 minutes and she would give us a ride to a different Sydney neighborhood with many restaurant options one of which would be suitable to the two of us. Well, by now, you realize that we had a wonderful Greek meal in a lovely neighborhood after being chauffeured there by our personal AFL representative.
For over two weeks in Australia (OZ) and New Zealand (NZ), we were treated to humor, friendliness and courtesy that I have not experienced so consistently for such a long period of time. For this alone, I hope to return and will recommend these countries to others. Oh, by the way, the Sydney Harbor views, museums in Melbourne, and the Lord of the Rings tour in NZ were also outstanding.
Written by Jane Mudgett for Chic Galleria magazine.
Jane Mudgett, balances her daily financial planning and investment management, with being a curious world traveler. Jane also fosters her altruistic nature by being actively involved with community non-profits. Her philosophy is: “It’s better to have ten new experiences than one experience ten times.”
