Watching the English

When Jennie and I moved from Brisbane to Sydney to study at Moore I experienced culture shock. It was a bit of a surprise for me, as I had thought that an Australian was an Australian, was an Australian. But Sydney people were different, and it took me months (arguably years) to begin to come to terms with the very different outlook, norms, conventions, and the like from those I grew up with in Brisbane. The process of adjustment was not enjoyable, less ‘viva the difference’, and more ‘all of you need to have your collective heads examined.’

This time around I was braced for the shift of gears. Hence, I haven’t been caught by surprise. However, it still doesn’t mean that it has been all that fun. The English relate very, very differently, and until I work out the method behind the madness it can be very offputting, despite the fact that I know it is going to happen. (Why do the English flinch when I say ‘hello’, smile, have eye contact, shake their hand and offer my name? That is just basic good manners back home, but here causes the reaction that I have traditionally associated with singing; loud, nasal, off-key singing.)

Michael Jensen to the rescue. Just at the point where I was beginning to hunker down into a defensive (and sullenly angry) detachment from these bizarre behaviours, he offers us his copy of Watching the English.

It is a book by an English sociologist on Englishness, examining aspects of English behaviour by looking at parts of life that are common to various societies (such as work, play, eating) and some that are quite specific to the English (talking about the weather, pubs), all with an eye to the distinctively English way of doing these things.

It is everything I need, and written in a clear, engaging and humorous prose. I think it should be mandatory reading for any Australian intending to spend time in England or with the English. I’d even recommend it for armchair travellers who like the idea of seeing the world from another culture’s perspective. By the end of the book, I had a fair feel for the kind of traits that made up the English as a group, and it was ringing true with my limited experience.

I still can’t honestly say that I appreciate any of the things the book identifies, at the moment what is most significant about the book is what it has confirmed about my own initial impressions: the author is quite up front that if 'the English' were an individual, they would be considered passive aggressive and adolescent in their approach to social interactions. That's not great news. Passive aggression is one of those things that I don't tolerate easily, and I didn't get teenagers even when I was one.

Nonetheless, my appreciation will probably grow (it did in Sydney). Some kind of understanding is (at least in my case) a prerequisite for engagement. And this book offers a kind of understanding that I would be unlikely to obtain on my own. It is simply fantastic, a beacon of light in a land of benign insanity. MDB