Generalizing from n = 2

We have only gotten to know 2 families really well in Australia, and since they are both helpX hosts there is a strong selection bias at work. Nonetheless, I will boldly make some general observations...

Australia is a land of individuals. All of the adults we've met so far have not been shy to share their personal and often peculiar philosophies and observations with us. (Which we love, of course). In the US, each person has their own ideas as well, but they more often seem cut from the same set of molds. They're usually more polished and better expressed than the sometimes puzzling explanations and ideas I've heard from our friends here; but they're also comparatively detached and more generic. The Australians we know here are really thinking and doing their own thing. (Though, again, remember the selection bias). The second family told us at dinner yesterday that they thought Americans go to great lengths not to openly disagree. Compared to Australians, this seems right. The Australians have been very forthright about expressing their alternative ideas, which is something else I like.

Gender. It struck us that both families had very strong and specific assumptions about gender. They always assumed without asking that, of course, I would be the one to do any physical task and Jen would be the one to do tasks related to cleaning, cooking, or child-care. (Actually, I was always the one to watch the kids while Jen preferred to move the wood pile). When I would make comments about my interest in cooking, they weren't really followed-up on, while Jen's similar comments were positively encouraged in conversation. We found this kind of subtle re-enforcement of gender norms kind of strange. And, of course, that view of the world they clearly took to be self evident isn't really the world Jen and I live in at home. I think very few of the generalizations about the genders apply to our group of friends and acquaintances.

Pecking Order. Both families' views of human interaction have prominent pecking-order components to them (and these are sometimes mixed up with gender). The wife of the first family told us that she had noticed her husband's increased interest in going to the gym, and said that it was (she thought) so that he could remain the "alpha male" (as she said) as his four sons got older, larger, and stronger. This also seemed a strange idea to us as I associate authority with acting authoritative--not with one's physical prowess.

I find it hard to set about really describing either family. First, because it's difficult for me to describe such wonderfully unusual people, but also because any description I gave would be so incomplete. Both families continued to surprise me after I thought I had them somewhat figured out. Suffice it to say we've been having a very interesting time.