Fie goes downunder

So I was walking home from work a couple of weeks ago, and the weather was really bad. It was raining down on us so hard and the wind was effing arctic.

As I am walking, I approach two men who are carrying a piano or something towards a door. One of them (30;isch years old) says to the other, while looking straight at me:
- "We don't care if it rains, we are such hard workers we just carry on!"
- "Good on ya I mate" I call out as I pass them, because he clearly wants a response from me, and round here everyone just talks to each other.
- "Yeah, I'd make a great husband", He replies and gives me the biggest smile ever.

I just laugh at him and carry on home, but it spurred my thoughts on, thoughts that were allready brewing about the way young people view relationships over here. It really is a big thing, very few people my age are single over here.
I have been driving Fran crazy on the subject during the last month. Analyzing why this is; why everyone needs to be involved with someone over here. And I still don't have a descent answer for myself or anyone else for that matter.
I will get back to you on that after further investigation.

Not only are 95% of the people I meet over here, my age, occupied emotionally, they allso love to talk about their partners in extraordinary ways. I have three "bosses" at work, one of them, A. is about five years older then me. A. is a lovely girl. But a few weeks ago, we really didn't know each other because she had been on holiday when I started at the restaurant and so on, and she says to a client of ours (a regular) when I am standing beside her;
- "This morning, I woke up with my boyfriend and I was so bored, guys never want to do stuff in the morning".
- "I know, the client replies, men are so terrible, my Steve won't do anything before eleven a clock in the morning"

As I am evesdroping this conversation, I begin to blush. Really blush. In Sweden, in a employee-customer relationship, no one would talk about when they "woke up with their partner this morning". I was in a serious relationship for nearly three years and I didn't even mention my partner until I really knew the person I was talking to, and I certainly wouldn't talk about him with a customer in a work- situation. They looove to talk about their partners over here. Another, guy this time, from work, insisted to tell me and everyone else at the bar about all the nicknames his girlfriend used to call him in their home. I thought I was going to pass out when he did that, "how embarassing" I thought, but everyone else seemed to take it with ease.

I am generalising a lot in what I am saying here, I do realise that, but it's still an interesting phenomenon. And it keeps reacurring.

                                                           Bye everyone, see you in a week!