Pen pals in Australia

In Australia the school year starts straight after the long summer holidays. Pupils go back in late January or early February, finish in December, and spend Christmas in the middle of the summer break. The year is split into four terms with short holidays between them, and the exact dates differ from state to state. If you live in the northern hemisphere, your pen pal's "back to school" letter will arrive in your winter, and their end-of-year excitement will land just as your autumn term is getting serious.

Seasons the other way round

Summer runs from December to February and winter from June to August, which turns some familiar scenes inside out. Christmas lunch may be a barbecue, seafood or a picnic at the beach, and talk of a "white Christmas" is mostly borrowed from cards and films. But "Australia is hot" is only part of the story. The tropical north has a wet season and a dry season instead of four seasons; southern cities such as Melbourne and Hobart can be cold and grey in winter; and there is reliable snow in the alpine areas of the south-east.

Distance shapes daily life too. The country is roughly the size of the contiguous United States, with several time zones, and daylight saving applies in some states but not others. Most people live in cities and towns near the coast, rather than in the outback that features in so many films. A pen pal in suburban Sydney, one on a farm in Western Australia and one in Darwin will each describe a different country. Australians drive on the left.

More languages than you might expect

English is the language of everyday life, and Australian English has its own vocabulary and shortenings that pen pals often enjoy explaining. Many households also speak another language at home, with Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Punjabi among the common ones, so your pen pal may be bilingual. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are part of the picture as well: the 2021 census recorded more than 160 Indigenous languages spoken at home, though many are spoken by small communities and some are being actively revived.

For a learner of English, an Australian pen pal is a good way to meet the informal language you rarely find in textbooks. Ask them to explain a phrase rather than guess at it.

Fixed points in the year

• Australia Day, 26 January, is a public holiday. Many people celebrate with barbecues and citizenship ceremonies, while for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and others it is a day of mourning, and there is ongoing public discussion about the date. A pen pal's view of it is worth hearing rather than assuming.
• Anzac Day, 25 April, commemorates Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in war. Dawn services are held across the country.
• Christmas and the summer holidays, when many families head to the coast or go camping.

Questions to open with

1. What does your school or work year look like, and which term are you in now?
2. What did you eat for Christmas lunch last year?
3. What is the weather doing where you live this month?
4. Does your family speak any language other than English at home?

International post between Australia and much of the world covers long distances, so many pen pals keep the regular conversation online and save postcards for birthdays and holidays. If you are not sure how to begin, our guide to writing your first letter walks through it step by step.