Australia vs Canada

Australia vs Canada

This is going to be a comparison post in which I give points to one side or the other, and see which country comes out on top. I will also be looking at the differences in teaching and education between the two countries. I will be giving points out of 10 because I like things to be out of 10 (I like easy math(s)).

First Disclaimer: These are all my personal opinions, so you are allowed to disagree with any or all of my points. (Your opinion is just not as good as mine!)
Second Disclaimer: Despite me having visited some other states in Australia I've only lived in South Australia (Adelaide area) so there are likely to be differences between states. On the Canada side, I've only really lived in Alberta and BC so my western Canadian bias will likely show. However, South Australia vs Alberta is not as fun of a title, so I'm going big.
Third Disclaimer: I probably got some things wrong about Australia or Canada. Sorry!
Fourth Disclaimer: This is meant to be a light-hearted post, so if you can't take jokes stop reading now.

Weather
The weather in Australia is just better than in Canada. "Well that's not fair!" Canada has nice summers and people go outside then. People also like snow and it looks pretty! Yes, Canada can have nice weather and we go outside sometimes, and we have mountains that you can go skiing on. But most people in Canada just drive from their house to the mall or to the indoor areas where we can walk safely through heated buildings or to arenas where we freeze our butts watching hockey.

In Australia it is like Canadian summer most of the time. You can walk about in shorts and flip flops (thongs) most of the year. Patio season is all year round. Even if it gets a little chilly they put heaters just above or beside the tables so you can stay outside if you want. People are constantly playing sports outdoors here. Most people stay fit because you can do so much more outside all of the time.

Australian winters are fairly short and they get a bit rainy. The worst part is that you have to chop wood and stay by the fire because they haven't figured out things like insulation or furnaces. It also gets ridiculously hot in the summer and you have to wear sunscreen and a hat all of the time.

Australia- 9/10
Canada- 5/10

Landscape
Where I am in Adelaide, I can drive to the ocean and be on countless beaches within 30 minutes drive, be up in the Hills which are lush and green and full of flowers, drive to several wine regions or go to the outback where it is ridiculously hot and full of red to purple dirt and scrub bushes. If I go outside of South Australia, I can visit lush rainforests, see sights like the Great Ocean Road, and pristine white or gold beaches with clear blue water.

If I compare that to what I can do in Calgary, I can drive to the foothills and mountains which are beautiful and much larger than any mountain in Australia. I can drive to the Columbia ice fields and the flat prairies that go on forever. I can go to the badlands and see dinosaur fossils. Outside of Alberta, I can see some of the best wine regions in Canada in BC, some giant trees and beaches on Vancouver Island, The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence valley of Eastern Canada and the Atlantic Ocean and incredible beaches off of the maritimes.

They are both incredibly beautiful countries in their own way

Australia 10/10
Canada 10/10

Food and Drink

There is some great produce in Australia, it is fresh off the tree or the bush so it should be. It's a lot like living in the Okanagan area of BC. There are also a lot of wines that have a lot of different flavours that I have never experienced before. Sometimes the wines here taste like pineapple!

The experience of eating food in Australia is much more social. People often get together with family and friends and they go out to dinner very regularly. Restaurants are almost all designed for kids and have a kids menu and sometimes even a kids play area. Even wineries and pubs keep families in mind and have a playground or colouring area for kids.

When you are looking at meat in Australia you'll come across beef, pork, and chicken, but also a lot of lamb. There are a lot of sheep here so lamb is much more common on the shelf. I would say that Alberta beef is much better than the beef here, and the burgers here are not my favourite. Australians also like to put weird things on their burgers like eggs and beets. This is gross Australia!

You would think that being close to the ocean that seafood would be really cheap, but I think it is even more expensive than in land-locked Alberta. The salmon here though is the best I have ever had.

Australians have several staples you will find everywhere:
Coffee (best in the world)
Sausages
Wood fired pizza
Salt and pepper squid
Chicken schnitzel
Curries
Lamb/ Beef Steaks
Prawns
Fresh Pasta
Fish and Chips

As long as you like all of those things you will love Australian food.

Canadians tend to do the following foods better: beef, corn, potatoes, hot dogs (they put sausages on bread here), spices (some of the spices here taste wrong), cereal (Uncle Toby tastes a bit like cardboard). Also anything that you think should be sweet, is not in Australia. I think that Canadians just put sugar on everything. This is probably healthier, but takes a bit to get used to.

I'm going to give Australia the edge here because of the fresh local food that you can get, but Canada is close as some Australian grocery food can taste a bit bland.

Australia 9/10
Canada  8/10

Cost of Living

Some things in Australia are amazing, but paying $1.70 for petrol is not one of them. Petrol is gas for us Canadians and Americans. Food tends to be about the same, except for some items that are way more expensive in Australia. Usually anything that isn't made in Australia is more expensive. Luckily the Canadian dollar has gone up and I have a bit more spending power in Australia.

Australia 7/10
Canada 9/10

Dangerous Animals
Australians think I am crazy for living in a place with bears. Personally I'd be more worried about the cougars, but yeah bears are something you should be aware of when going to the mountains in Alberta and BC. There are polar bears in the far north, but nobody goes there. Australia, on the other hand, has deadly everything, everywhere. I am afraid to walk on long grass here. I assume snakes are everywhere and deadly spiders are in my laundry. There are Great White shark warnings at the beach. Jellyfish are ready to sting you in the ocean. The ants here will sting you!

Nope, nope nope!

Australia 6/10
Canada 7/10


Teaching and Education
Teaching in Australia is very much the same as Canada with some notable differences, which I have covered in previous blog posts here and here. Canadian teachers have better benefits, but are paid about the same as Australian teachers. I'm guessing that Australians pay less tax than we do, but I don't know for sure. Teacher's unions in Canada also mandatory whereas in Australia they are optional.

Australians talk way more about collecting data and improving educational outcomes. They are very concerned about how they place in global rankings, and talk about ways to improve. We do this a bit in Canada and we have debates around things like discovery math and phonics vs whole reading. We also talk about how we might not be doing well compared to other years, but Canadian education usually compares itself to previous years rather than what ranking it has globally (Which we usually do quite well on).

In my school division in Canada, we have begun doing more things like posting grades online via apps and standardizing running records, but we have started to get rid of some standardized tests like our Grade 3 PAT tests. Australia takes standardization to a whole other level by having a whole booklet of testing that should be done through the year like alphabet automaticity, spelling tests, mad minute type math tests and state and national tests including PAT tests and NAPLAN tests that are completed regularly. We also have Professional Learning Committees (PLCs) that meet regularly to discuss how to improve data sets.

In Australia as a teacher you get large chunks of NIT time (Non-instructional) time from 45 to 90 minutes at a time to plan or attend meetings with your colleagues. In Alberta at least as an elementary teacher, you get three, 35 minute periods a week of prep.

In Canada we have to write report cards 3 times in 10 months vs Australia that writes reports 2 times in 12 months.

I'm going to give Canada the edge here because of the funding that goes towards teacher's professional development in Canada. Teachers in Australia, barring some exceptions are expected to fund their own PD.

Australia 8/10
Canada 9/10

Total:

Australia 49 points!
Canada 48 points!

Very close, but good on ya Australia!