There may be many things unique to Australia that would be a culture shock to any international visitor, but apparently we can add our partying culture to that list.
Or, more specifically, the magic of ‘kick ons’.
And though locals may have eased into the rhythm of kick on culture, one Canadian tourist pointed out how foreign the concept is on TikTok, recounting his wild, seemingly endless Mardi Gras weekend.
“I am shocked that I am still alive because you guys, my mates, did not warn me about Mardi Gras,” content creator Chris Zhou said in the video. “This is not just a regular party.”
Compared to what Chris considers a “pretty wild night” by Canadian standards is only a portion of an Australian night out, given out penchant for kicking on (and on and on …).
“You know back at home when you have a party it would start at maybe like 11pm and ends at like 5am and that’s considered a pretty wild night? But here? Here, no, no, no, no.
“You have a preparty at someone’s place, and then you have a day party that starts at two or 3pm and then it ends at 10pm,” he said.
Chris thought a 10pm finish would mean he could “go home and sleep early”.
“No, no, no. You’ve got a night party after that, that starts from 10pm to like 5am and then there’s an after-party at someone’s place that ends at like 9am,” he continued.
“And then what? Brunch. When the f**k do these people sleep?!”
And while his flustered video drew some sympathy from commenters, plenty more approached it as a brutal learning experience for the Canadian man.
“After-party? Mate, you experienced Kick Ons” one TikTok user commented, which another described as a “VERY important translation.”
“That’s getting ready drinks, pre’s, the actual party, the after-party, kick ons, brunch. that’s how it goes. you’re welcome!” wrote another.
The video also made its way to Twitter, where one man said he loved “international tourists not realising how … wild Sydney Mardi Gras is.”
“When the f**k do we sleep? After the recovery party,” tweeted another.
Some said Chris’ description sounded like “a normal weekend” in Sydney or, many more said, in Melbourne.
“I was waiting for things to get wild but that seems pretty tame, literally just a normal weekend.”
“It’s because our (Sydney) clubs close fairly early now, so we’ve brought back the pre-drinks and house parties,” one user commented on the original TikTok video.
Chris said he had another week in Sydney because he thought he would be able to stagger Sydney WorldPride 2023 with our annual Mardi Gras celebrations, not realising they were rolling into the same mega LGBTQI+ extravaganza.
“When I saw it was WorldPride in Sydney I was like oh why don’t we come a week earlier to check out Mardi Gras we well? But … I did not know that Mardi Gras and Pride are the same exact thing,” he said.
“And apparently all the Australians outside of Sydney knew about this because they’re all running away from the city now, they’re all going home … but my friends and I are stuck here for one more weekend for WorldPride and I don’t know if I have that much Pride left in me.”
He dramatically rubbed his face and exclaimed that “after this trip I don’t know if I’m gonna be gay”.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna have any more gay juices left!”
You live and learn Chris, but now you’re basically one of us! Welcome to Australia.