an aussie in austria

When friends from home visit they invariably bring Aussie food with them – I’ve got a great stash of the important things – Tim Tams, BBQ Shapes, Cadbury chocolate, the list goes on! And to start with, when I got a new batch of deliveries I would I proudly present it to my Austrian friends or work colleagues with a flourish… but their subsequent delight wasn’t always what I was hoping for.

And then recently my cousin (New Zealand born but living in Croatia) dropped by for the weekend so I pulled out a pack of BBQ shapes – it was time they were eaten anyway.

Well… those things were gone before I could turn my back! Finally, I thought, someone who appreciates my Australian delicacies. I had always thought that bringing out Aussie food when Aussies (ok he’s from New Zealand but it counts) were around was a waste.

And then I had an ‘aha’ moment.

Because it doesn’t matter that I think Tim Tams are the best chocolate biscuits in the world, and Savoy’s kick ass over any kind of random cracker I can find here, Austrians are not always with me 100%. They think some of my food is weird, full of strange things, and while it usually tastes ok, to them it’s probably not better than their favourite chocolate biscuits or sweet lollies they remember growing up. They’ll taste it, politely smile, and happily go back to their Mozartskugeln.

And I get it. Because when you go to other countries there are usually a couple of awesome things you want to take back with you, but they’re just gimmicks. It’s what you’re used to and what you grew up with that holds the real draw card long-term.

So that’s it! From now on I’m hoarding all my Aussie snacks to myself. And I’ll bring them out when the Aussies visit – because it’s not a waste, not when they share the same joy as me!