Marine Corps veteran who moved to a cattle ranch in Australia to cope with ‘depression’ after losing so many ‘friends’ reveals the very deep cultural differences between two countries – and the baffling SLANG words he doesn’t understand
A big change can do wonders for the soul. And one Marine Corps veteran has discovered that moving to a new country can be life-changing — and really expand your vocabulary.
Presten Boydstun, 22, found himself increasingly depressed while serving in the Marines and struggling with the deaths of several friends.
Presten, who had served four years in the Marine Corps in San Diego, needed to make a change in his life and decided to take the plunge and buy a one-way ticket to Australia to work on a cattle ranch instead.
“I had a hard time when some of my friends passed away,” Presten explained to Insider.
Presten Boydstun, 22, was in the Marine Corps in San Diego, but found himself increasingly depressed in his role and struggling with the deaths of several friends
Presten (pictured) honorably left the Marine Crops in July and arrived in Western Australia on 1 September
“It became a bit sad and went down the path of depression, which was quite difficult for me.”
According to the publication, a family friend of Presten’s operated a cattle ranch in rural Western Australia and offered him a job on the farm – which he eagerly accepted.
Presten, who honorably retired from the Marine Corps in July, arrived in Western Australia on September 1.
Immediately upon arrival, he went straight to work on the site, which was located a few hours outside Perth, the capital of Western Australia.
Presten, who is in Australia on a one-year holiday visa, now works with cattle on the cattle ranch and documents his idyllic lifestyle and adventures with his border collie mix, Jess, on TikTok to his 286,000 followers.
Although he loves his job and life in the country town, Presten has noticed some major cultural differences between Australia and the United States. He admits that understanding the jargon used was an eye-opening experience.
“I’ve written down some statements that I’ve heard so far or that have been brought to my attention by Australian people,” he explained in one clip with 2.3 million views.
He then took out a notebook, in which he had written down the new words he had learned since arriving Down Under.
Presten now works with livestock on the farm and documents his idyllic lifestyle and adventures with his border collie mix, Jess, on TikTok for his 286,000 followers
Although he loves his job and life in the country town, Presten has noticed some major cultural differences between Australia and the United States
The Marine turned farmer admitted that understanding the jargon used was an eye-opening experience
“I bet there’s a lot more to learn, but enjoy,” he captioned the clip.
Some of the new words in his extensive list were ‘oi’ – for hello, or getting someone’s attention, ‘na-ja’ is yes, ‘na’ is no, and ‘Eskies’ – the collective term for coolers.
Other words he mentioned were ‘avo’ (avocado), ‘arvo’ (afternoon) and ‘ute’ (short for utility truck – known in the US as a pick-up truck).
Presten added that ‘dodgy’ meant a bit rough or vague, ‘bottle-o’ was a liquor store, ‘lappy’ was a laptop, ‘fanging’ was speeding or fast, a ‘hoon’ was someone who drove recklessly , if you ‘ If you are ‘dazed’ you are tired, ‘lollies’ is candy, ‘dart or cigarette’ is cigarette and ‘television’ is television.
He also added some other sayings to the list, such as “ken oed,” which means “heck yeah,” and “we’re not here to [f***] spinning’ is ‘we’re not here to mess around’, ‘far away’ which was crazy, ‘downright’ is busy.
Despite the different language, Presten is loving his new life and learning some new slang.
Thousands of people commented on Australian slang words on Presten’s TikTok
“Really cool,” he said enthusiastically. “I absolutely love it here.”
TikTok users – mostly Australians – loved the list, with thousands of them commenting on posts.
“As an Australian, I honestly didn’t realize how many ‘sayings’ we have until you point them out in such a huge list,” one person laughed.
‘This is the best list of our Aussie sayings ever put together!!’ shouted a second.
‘Fellow American in Aus. You still need about fifty of those notebooks… Even after nine years, I still hear something new at least once a week,” joked another expat.
As well as learning some new words, Presten said he also had to adapt to driving on the opposite side of the road and some Australian dishes, such as Vegemite.
He’s documented himself drinking Milo and attempting a Tim Tam slam, which involves biting the end of the iconic chocolate chip cookie and drinking a (usually) hot drink through it.
Presten even adopted Vegemite, which, despite being quite divisive, he learned to love.
“It’s weird at first, but then it changes your life,” he joked.