I have so many stories to tell, pictures to edit, and culture to spread. Its getting harder and harder to update everyone with my happenings here in Australia, but have no fear for those new found addicts I will continue pumping out stories, cultural insights and pictures to fill your needs.
Personal Growth
It is cliche I will admit it, but this experience has been just as much about personal growth for me, as well as experiencing australia. I have done the party thing, I have seen quite a bit so far, and I have definitely met heaps of great people. But there is a whole other side to the story. I have had an immense amount of personal time, which I have grown to look forward to. At home most of my time was spent at class, working feverishly on a certain waterski video or doing something else in the fast paced American life. From my experiences in Haiti last summer I knew that life in the U.S. is like a greyhound on speed, but what I didn’t realize was that it wasn’t Haiti that was running necessarily slow. I thought the pace of life was more just an effect of a 3rd world country. But in reality the differences in lifestyles was not an effect of Haiti but an effect of the U.S. Because even here in Australia, which is a large country, in complete democratic control, life runs at quite a different pace. I am living in a large city, much the size of Denver, Houston, or Miami, and I am not struggling to stay afloat in the roaring rapid pace of life.
I have had plenty of time to myself, out from under the constant gaze of the television, and other mindless distractions found at home. I have re-found the excitement of reading, I have already killed 2 books since I’ve been here, and I’m working on number 3 and 4. I have spent plenty of time exploring different aspects of the city, the Queen Street Mall, the Botanical Gardens, the South Bank Lagoon, and the countless green spaces around campus. Most days I head downtown I have some sort of agenda, somewhere to go, something I need to do. But Thursday I just decided to wander, allow myself to float in the wind if you will. I ended up stopping in to a travel agency to pick up some infomation about some travel I am planning, checking out the Casino I have been curious about ( I didn’t gamble ) I then ended up purchasing a book in a used bookstore, and found myself a nice shady cafe to sit down and try some authentic australian dining. It was one of the coolest things I have done here yet, just me my book, an amazing Steak sandwich and a pint of XXXX bitter.
As I sat there I finally realized what my parents had always been telling me about food. It is an experience you can take your time, enjoy it. And then it hit me, “OH man, I OLD!” But it was great to just sit there after wandering around the city all afternoon, and just take everything in. I picked up on things I had not seen or noticed before. I watched the little pigeons, and chickadees hop around and play with each other at my feet. I listened to all the individual sounds you can hear in the city, the constant shuffling of feet, the chattering of business men and women walking past, the clicking and ringing coming from the gaming arcade across the street, the ever present droan of automobiles running around, and the silence, the quiet pocket of silence I found myself in, as I sat and watched life all around me.
I have really started to enjoy the City Life the possibilities are endless… you can do anything you want, or as I have come to find out, nothing at all.