Jeff

I'm new.What is an OZ?????

r-travels

New Zealander?

Jen

Close: Australian. From the pronunciation of the first syllable.

Shellenberger

It's not Oswald State Prison?

Dorothy

Munchkins from down under

oy oy oy

Australians refer to their country as "Oz".
Shortened from "Aussie", which is what they call themselves.
With their accent, "Aussie" sounds a bit like "Ozzy".
Hence the "Oz" contraction.

Kiwi-boy

Try not to confuse Aussies (Ozzies) with people from New Zealand - we are kiwis (after the flightless bird of that name which is native to New Zealand). It is like calling Canadians American.

xxx

Kiwi-boy,
What do you mean? Aren't Canadians American?

Professor

My question is this--"Oz Traveller" is on every board with questions.But why does he/she append the question with ...."for Oz Traveller"?Wouldn't the information being requested apply to ANY traveller? I dont get the connection.I.E.,info on a Round-The-World trip unless specific details are supplied would be the same for an American as it would be for someone from Ireland??

junebug

Professor, I figured it was because Oz Traveller was alerting us to the fact that he's not a US citizen, and any advice given should take that into consideration. I'd be more explicit and explain things more for someone who was a foreigner as opposed to giving directions or recommendations etc. to someone from say, Chicago.

xxx

Actually, the real reason people say they are from OZ or any other country other that US, is that nobody will bash them. If you pretend you are from Ireland and ask about a hotel, nobody will tell you to do a search, or call you names. Well, I should exclude Canadians, because they get bashed as much as US citizens. We seem to have a soft spot for any other country.