How do you explain Carolina basketball to someone who has no idea what a Tar Heel is?
I've tried to explain what basketball means to Chapel Hill a few times since arriving in Australia, but I always come up short.
In truth, I've never had to explain it before. I grew up with Chapel Hill — everyone I know has been watching the Tar Heels play since before they could walk. Even people who can’t point to North Carolina on a map can tell you who Michael Jordan is. I always assumed basketball was just something people know about. Like Beyoncé, or The Beatles.
But Australians have no idea.
It’s times like these when I start to register just how big the 9,000-mile distance between me and Chapel Hill really is. Australian culture is remarkably similar to ours, but the occasional differences can be glaring and home can feel pretty far.
My university gives out grades like “high distinction” and “satisfactory” instead of letters. I can’t reference Saturday Night Live sketches without first explaining what Saturday Night Live is. Country music is only played if you’re trying to be ironic. My dorm served spaghetti for breakfast this morning. Heck, it’s not even winter here. Brisbane is still smack dab in the middle of summer.
Sometimes, it seems like I’m a world away from North Carolina. (And, to be fair, I did geographically cross the globe.)
But there are a few things that make home feel a little closer.
Australians make friends the same way Americans do. They watch the same movies and listen to a lot of the same music. Their course registration is just as terrible. While there may be more Vegemite in Australia, Australians are just as obsessed with garlic bread as I am.
