We’re leaving Manila tomorrow but more significantly, we’re leaving Asia. My first trip to this always exhilarating (and sometimes overwhelming) continent has left me with a changed perspective on the world. And while I know this is the case, I’m still processing the details of just what an impact this trip has made on me.
And now it’s back to the west, if you consider Australia being part of the west. We fly to Sydney via Singapore tomorrow evening. Growing up with Crocodile Dundee and Men at Work, I have a quite ordinary group of stereotypes associated with Australia. It’s such a precise stereotype that I can sum it up in one sentence: The men are goofy crocodile wranglers who sit on lawn chairs in the outback where they drink beer, throw shrimp on the “barbee”, and complain about the kangaroos while their wives loudly scream something about a dingo running off the kids who she last saw snacking on Vegemite sandwiches. All that and they have a vocabulary that’s English and foreign at the same time. In the news today, the country seems to be at the height of its popularity when they have another wild, uncontrollable bush fire or when their conservative government yet again bares its hard-line attitude towards brown immigrants. (I say that because the government is also famous for ignoring the hoards of pasty English tourists that make their way there every month with working visas and then tend to forget about the visa deadline once their year is up.)
Overall, it doesn’t sound like I’m that interested in Australia. And it’s true. To be honest, we wanted to go to New Zealand instead but were not able to change our ticket. Therefore, I’m heading to Australia in hopes of bursting some of those stereotypes I’m bringing with me. I’d also love to talk to a few Aussies and find out what they think of Canada and Canadians. Before it’s all said and done I’ll probably be wishing I had another month to spend exploring the huge country/continent. If that’s true, you might find us shacked up in the outback with some Vegemite and dingoes of our own.
tothesea,
k~*