Walk This Way
Australians drive on the other side of the road. Subsequently, they walk on the other side of the street, stand on the other side of the escalator, and climb the other side of the stairs. You don't only have to worry about getting hit by cars, you have to worry about bumping into your fellow pedestrians. What a cruel world.
I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but there may be a perk to American consumerism. Yes, we may all be consumer whores, but it does give us a lot of choice. (i'm not saying that's a good thing, entirely...) We Americans like stuff. Lots of stuff. Stuff you'd think is useless until you realize you might be able to use it once or twice. Like little containers and specially formulated lotions. They don't have my favorite lotion here... which means... not only do they not have my very favorite brand that (i think.. or maybe i have been brainwashed to think) works the very best with my skin, but I don't have any excuses when I feel like being indecisive, which is what I love to be, as most people know. Less brands = less choice = less time to choose, but probably the same difference as they're probably all the same anyway. But it's all about the advertising, isn't it? Here, for example, there are really only two different types of cheese: tasty and extra tasty. Not kidding. If you're lucky, you can get "lite and tasty."
So where do I go when I want one of those little squeezy travel sized bottles so I can put some of my soap in it and take it with me to New Zealand? I don't know! In the US, you can go anywhere and feel overwhelmed the plethora of choices that may or may not have been "seen on TV." Useless little things like that (that we've somehow made use of in our lives) just don't run rampid here.
Amazingly, they have delicious gluten-free bread here that doesn't have to stay in the fridge. I'm not sure how they do it. It's better than anything back home. It's not crumbly, it can sit on the shelf for longer, and it's tasty! They have mastered the art of gluten free bread... and I shall miss it terribly when I leave. I saw some crumpets at the store yesterday. Did you know I had never seen a crumpet before? I thought crumpet was just a word used in nursery rhymes. Crumpet. Spongey little things. I suppose if I was really into bread, I could displace my indecisiveness for shampoos and lotions and become totally indecisive about bread. They have so many different kinds of breads to choose from... including crumpets, which I don't really feel like spending money on. They look like packaged pancakes, and I don't feel that that's okay.
Today some Australian woman who I had never met before told me, after I mentioned that I have been living here for a month, that I was "losing my American accent." I found two things wrong with this statement: 1) how would she know if I've lost anything? she literally just met me. maybe i've been talking this way (and i have) my whole life! and 2) the concept of an American accent being something that someone can "lose" is mind-boggling. Americans don't lose accents, they gain other, more exotic, and sometimes really fake sounding (Madonna, anyone?) accents.
That being said, and on that note, am I Australian and no one ever bothered to tell me? I have been told on multiple occasions that I somehow fit into Australian culture easier than most Americans. Why?! I don't know! I didn't mean to! My advisor here told me that I'm very in tune with the Australian personality because I don't like to flaunt my successes. I'm sorry, is modesty inclusive to Australia? Not that I'm complaining, I just think it's funny. I'm going to start keeping a tally of all the times I am told that I either look, sound, feel, or act Australian. Oh! And the biggest thing is that I say "no worries" all the time. LISTEN, AUSTRALIA... I've been saying "no worries" for YEARS!!! It's not about you! I say it because my dad has always used it.. and my dad uses it... probably because he picked it up from Australians he knew but that has nothing to do with me! Every time I say "no worries" people make this big thing about it. They'll say something like, "hey, you're catching on!" and I'll stand there having a momentary seizure because I didn't make a conscious effort to say it. So maybe I am inherently Australian, after all. It's just silly. Let me have my no worries! You can have it too, Australia. We can share, you know.
So I thought I'd let everyone know that I'm going to be leaving from the 7th to the 17th. I'm going on "spring break." A three day sailing adventure through the Whitsunday Islands, and then Irene and I are off to trek around the south island of New Zealand. I am excited. We are walking into New Zealand almost blind... I think we'll be renting a car and touring around wherever our hearts desire for five days. Distance between towns is minimal, and we've got this really great "new zealand on a shoestrong budget" book to guide us to little fun touristy things along the way, if we so choose. I'm just really excited. We might even do some extreme sportage. Who knows. We'll make the most of it, of that I have no doubt.
On that note. I'm off to bed.
I'm pretty infatuated with the song "Maybe Not" by Cat Power, which has absolutely nothing to do with Australia.
Peace.
I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but there may be a perk to American consumerism. Yes, we may all be consumer whores, but it does give us a lot of choice. (i'm not saying that's a good thing, entirely...) We Americans like stuff. Lots of stuff. Stuff you'd think is useless until you realize you might be able to use it once or twice. Like little containers and specially formulated lotions. They don't have my favorite lotion here... which means... not only do they not have my very favorite brand that (i think.. or maybe i have been brainwashed to think) works the very best with my skin, but I don't have any excuses when I feel like being indecisive, which is what I love to be, as most people know. Less brands = less choice = less time to choose, but probably the same difference as they're probably all the same anyway. But it's all about the advertising, isn't it? Here, for example, there are really only two different types of cheese: tasty and extra tasty. Not kidding. If you're lucky, you can get "lite and tasty."
So where do I go when I want one of those little squeezy travel sized bottles so I can put some of my soap in it and take it with me to New Zealand? I don't know! In the US, you can go anywhere and feel overwhelmed the plethora of choices that may or may not have been "seen on TV." Useless little things like that (that we've somehow made use of in our lives) just don't run rampid here.
Amazingly, they have delicious gluten-free bread here that doesn't have to stay in the fridge. I'm not sure how they do it. It's better than anything back home. It's not crumbly, it can sit on the shelf for longer, and it's tasty! They have mastered the art of gluten free bread... and I shall miss it terribly when I leave. I saw some crumpets at the store yesterday. Did you know I had never seen a crumpet before? I thought crumpet was just a word used in nursery rhymes. Crumpet. Spongey little things. I suppose if I was really into bread, I could displace my indecisiveness for shampoos and lotions and become totally indecisive about bread. They have so many different kinds of breads to choose from... including crumpets, which I don't really feel like spending money on. They look like packaged pancakes, and I don't feel that that's okay.
Today some Australian woman who I had never met before told me, after I mentioned that I have been living here for a month, that I was "losing my American accent." I found two things wrong with this statement: 1) how would she know if I've lost anything? she literally just met me. maybe i've been talking this way (and i have) my whole life! and 2) the concept of an American accent being something that someone can "lose" is mind-boggling. Americans don't lose accents, they gain other, more exotic, and sometimes really fake sounding (Madonna, anyone?) accents.
That being said, and on that note, am I Australian and no one ever bothered to tell me? I have been told on multiple occasions that I somehow fit into Australian culture easier than most Americans. Why?! I don't know! I didn't mean to! My advisor here told me that I'm very in tune with the Australian personality because I don't like to flaunt my successes. I'm sorry, is modesty inclusive to Australia? Not that I'm complaining, I just think it's funny. I'm going to start keeping a tally of all the times I am told that I either look, sound, feel, or act Australian. Oh! And the biggest thing is that I say "no worries" all the time. LISTEN, AUSTRALIA... I've been saying "no worries" for YEARS!!! It's not about you! I say it because my dad has always used it.. and my dad uses it... probably because he picked it up from Australians he knew but that has nothing to do with me! Every time I say "no worries" people make this big thing about it. They'll say something like, "hey, you're catching on!" and I'll stand there having a momentary seizure because I didn't make a conscious effort to say it. So maybe I am inherently Australian, after all. It's just silly. Let me have my no worries! You can have it too, Australia. We can share, you know.
So I thought I'd let everyone know that I'm going to be leaving from the 7th to the 17th. I'm going on "spring break." A three day sailing adventure through the Whitsunday Islands, and then Irene and I are off to trek around the south island of New Zealand. I am excited. We are walking into New Zealand almost blind... I think we'll be renting a car and touring around wherever our hearts desire for five days. Distance between towns is minimal, and we've got this really great "new zealand on a shoestrong budget" book to guide us to little fun touristy things along the way, if we so choose. I'm just really excited. We might even do some extreme sportage. Who knows. We'll make the most of it, of that I have no doubt.
On that note. I'm off to bed.
I'm pretty infatuated with the song "Maybe Not" by Cat Power, which has absolutely nothing to do with Australia.
Peace.
posted by C Killian at 11:41 PM
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