Backpackers you meet in Australia : Part 1

 This one is unmissable.  There's a German tendency to pack up a meticulously prepared backpack and head to Australia (either alone or with one friend), straight out of high school before embarking on further study.  They do a lot of farm work, "do the East Coast", stay exactly as long in each destination as their original itinerary allotted.  They do not get drunk and leave their wallet in another city (guilty).  When they leave Australia, they go to New Zealand where they will couchsurf and hitch-hike, and Have Experiences.

Very young, like the Germans, except with the seriousness and hyper-vigilance completely missing.  These are the kids in your hostel who are having threesomes in the dorm, or taking meth out of sheer curiosity.  No matter how much money they are making, each paycheck has gone by the end of the week and they couldn't tell you what they spent it on.  Sex, drugs, alcohol, this is Australia!  There are no consequences here!  Fuck it, let's just jump off a bridge into a river of unknown depth!  Wasters are loose cannons, but so charming and effervescent that you can't help but develop an affection for them.

Easily dismissed as being "bros" - a phenomenon I thought uniquely American that's turned out to be very international - there's more of a backstory to these guys.  They've usually just come out of a long-term relationship, or quit a serious job, and now they just want to let loose.  Beer pong is a favourite pastime (or goon pong if money's low), and a uniform of snapbacks & singlets is mandatory.  Having been in serious relationships before, they're more likely to couple off than the wasters (who can't remember who they've slept with anyway), but don't get attached - they just want to have fun and will get restless after a while.  Hey, this is Australia bruh!  Let's get fucked!

Unfortunately I have to claim membership to this group.  We didn't come here to travel, you guys - a job, or a relationship, or just desire to live in a different city brought us to Australia, and suddenly we've found ourselves knocking one year Down Under.  We came with suitcases and no winter clothes, and months along the line have acquired so much stuff you'd think we were here to stay.  We joke about the Germans and other stereotypical backpackers, but are secretly envious of how much they've seen of this country while we've been working 40+ hours a week.