Picture this: it's the time of the year when the days are in the 60s and the nights are in the low 40s. You decide to go out for dinner after dark; the temps are in the high 50s. About half the restaurant's tables are inside and the other half are on the sidewalk.
Do you want a table inside or outside? If you're an Aussie, it could as easily be one as the other!
Honestly, I am continually amazed by the Aussie devotion to eating outside even when it's much chillier than the average American would ever choose for outside dining. Sure, they have those tall propane heater thingies but I've seen more than one Aussie fully done up in coat, gloves, scarf, and hat choosing the outside table.
The guy who was Jeff's predecessor on this contract (another American from the DC suburbs) mumbled darkly about being tired of eating outside when he left. I thought he was just being grumpy. Now I understand.
I finally asked the women in my meditation group about this. They, somewhat sheepishly, admitted that Australians are a little obsessed with "fresh air". They loathe being in a room without access to a window they can open. One woman admitted that when she visits her daughter in London she can only stand to leave the windows closed on the coldest of days and even then it's a struggle.
I think this may be part of why they have been reluctant to adopt some of the energy-saving construction methods that are standard in the US -- double-paned windows, insulation, etc. While these sorts of things (and the a/c and heating systems they support) are useful they also lead to "closed" buildings.
The truth is that many of us in the US rarely interact with air that isn't treated in some way (heated or cooled, humidified or de-humidified) and we go from one closed environment to another -- our sealed houses to our sealed cars to our sealed offices.
That would drive your average Aussie nuts. Sure, they have to deal with bugs, flies, etc. more than we do but they accept that these are a normal part of life. And theirs are more likely to be lethal than ours!
So if you've got Aussies coming over for dinner, you might want to open a window or two. :)
Oh, I much prefer an open window and fans to air conditioning if the weather is even close to allowing it. This year especially so, as it seems my sinuses have decided that they absolutely hate a/c.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the winter, I invariably have one of the windows in my bedroom at least cracked a little bit.
I must be part Aussie- I definitely prefer outside to inside seating, and I can't remember the last time I had all the windows closed. It's safer, too-can't die of the SCARY CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING if you're always getting fresh air circulating. (there have been a TON of commercials about that here in CA lately.)
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