Hi there,

I love this question, probably because I currently live in Australia and it's my favorite country :) I'm also coaching a number of Chinese candidates in Australia - trust me, you are not alone with this struggle!

First of all, you can say “ta” instead of thanks :)

Second, I would agree that being overly apologetic here can become annoying, so to speak. Try to avoid apologizing too much!

Ultimately, Australian culture is highly rooted in sarcasm, humour, directness, but also lightness. It's an incredibly difficult culture for an Asian immigrant to fully integrate into, especially since the humour is so different.

That said, there is immense respect here for rule following (see Novak Djokavic as exhibit A), integrity, honesty, and “the commons” which is something East Asians have in spades (who tend to integrate well here).

In terms of meetings, I wouldn't worry too much. You shouldn't sit there smiling, of course, but don't feel like you can't smile/laugh when a joke has been made!

By the way, CultureAtlas is a fantastic resource for understanding any culture - take a look!