Re: Australians: how do you survive out there???
Australian wildlife can make an impression tho.
I went to Aus for quite a while back in 2000-2001. So I came off a 27-hour flight and arrived about 8 AM AEST time, and somehow made it to where I would be staying and fell promptly asleep. I woke about sundown and staggered out on the balcony with a fresh orange juice only to nearly drop it because there were THE. BIGGEST. BATS. I'D. EVER. SEEN. RIGHT. THERE. Aaaaaaaaa! "Oh yeah. Flying foxes. Don't frighten them -- they're kinda delicate."
Yeah, sure, OK. It was shortly thereafter that I took my breakfast croissant out on the same balcony and had a half-dozen bell magpies alight immediately around me and eye off that croissant. You could tell they thought they could take me, and I backed back into the flat and close the door. Not long after that, I ran into my first huntsman spider which also made a suitable impression.
So, a bit later when I found a bunch of ants all over a bit of parmesan cheese I'd dropped in the kitchen, and I was bending down to pick it up, the resident Aussie shouted, "NO! Don't! They're poison!"
I had to stop and think twice about that. He thought it was hilarious.