Penultimate Ponderings

The overeducated urge to summarize my experience is too great to ignore. But I'll put pictures up after this.

To answer, again, the often asked question, Has this experience been everything that you were hoping for?, Why does everyone ask me that? No one says, Are you having a good time? Yes, I've had a good time. Let's talk about

A U S T R A L I A

A lot of things that you can get in Melbourne, or in Australia, you can get other places, and perhaps, even better. Here are some things that you can't get elsewhere, or can't get better:

Sense of humor. Australians have a fantastically offbeat and sarcastic sense of humor. I highly recommend three Australian movies, two of which you may have seen, that seem to sum up the Australian sense of things: Chopper, Harvie Krumpet and Malcolm.

I was also told that Australians expect Americans to not understand their sarcasm and have had bad experiences with Americans not getting jokes in the past. Here's one story: My friend, a violinist, was at an American summer music camp. An American girl was about to perform in front of the group and was really nervous. My friend said, "Don't worry. The worst that can happen is that you do horribly and completely embarrass yourself in front of everyone." She gasped, then cried, and later my friend was told by others that it was an inappropriate comment.

Animals. I guess being an island makes an evolutionary difference. Australian animals are unique in the true sense of the word. Tasmanian Devils, the Duck-Billed Platypus, the whole marsupial gang, and many other animals that are obscenely large and seem to come from The Land That Time Forgot. I don't know, it's tough to explain, but even with all the pics of kangaroos and koalas I was totally unprepared for how they really look.

Australian Rules Football. It's a cross between American football, soccer and rugby, but more of a schoolyard game than a game bogged down with rules and regulations. In other words, the basics are easy to understand and the fans STAY ENGAGED THE WHOLE TIME. I've never seen this. I mean, you can't get a whole NFL stadium to cheer for every first down. The Aussies would cheer for everything, and this was an early season game. I was impressed and had a great time.

Aborigines. I haven't talked much about aborigines because I know so little, but I have thought a fair amount on the plight of Aborigines vs the plight of native peoples in the Western Hemisphere. I first typed up this big long section discussing my opinions of such matters, but I think I'll save the proselytizing for anyone who's interested later.

Instead, here are few facts/observations:

1. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Aborigines have been in Australia, untouched, for at least 40,000 years and some estimate closer to 70,000 years.


2. At the VCA, there is a department called the, "Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development" which exists not only to promote the arts of the indigenous groups, but also to give support and a place for indigenous students attending the VCA.


3. There are no Aboriginal casinos.


4. There's a new holiday in Australia called, "I'm sorry day" or "Apology Day" or something. It's a weak-ass, meaningless holiday to tell the Aboriginal peoples 'I'm sorry' from us white folks. But it's something.


5. Modern Aboriginal art is amazing: fascinating, angry, inspiring, vibrant and hopeful.


6. Boomerangs and didgeridoos are even more awesome in action. Actually, they totally surpass expectations.


7. I've seen a lot of homeless and/or drunken Aborigines.


8. To lump all Aboriginal peoples into one group is probably as insulting as Apology Day.

Lastly, here are a few luxuries that I got in Australia that I could probably get somewhere else, but got here:

near anonymity

time

sleep

university access

persimmons