Australia Literature and Language

Answer 1:

People who live in the Australian 'bush', i.e. in the country regions of the nation, may have once been considered by city people as their mental inferiors.

Hence, 'Bush week' (when country people supposedly come to town) is postulated as the reason for unexplainable, weird or silly happenings.

Answer 2:

'Bush week' refers to a simple prank or game designed to trick others, or it may be a derogatory reference when someone demands or expects too much. A common saying is, "What do you think this is: bush week?" This is said in response to the aforementioned expectation.

A more academic route would be to study linguistics and become a college professor.

You could also become a language teacher or maybe an au pair in a different country.

Please note the distinction between interpreters and translators. Interpreters translate orally, translators in writing. The former is better for people who can work well under pressure, are NOT perfectionists, are confident and are able to keep going. It also requires excellent powers of concentration.

Most of the demand for (written) translation is in technical subjects and law.

Make sure that you have at least 2-3 foreign languages, including one that isn't widely learned - say something like Bulgarian or Polish or Modern Greek. For translating you also need very good written English. (You just can't afford to be the sort of person who is confused about the meanings of 'allusion', 'illusion' and 'delusion'. :)

Incidentally, a degree in linguistics won't help you to 'use languages': it's the study of language in general, often at a very high level of abstraction.