A Canberra Tourist

Since I am accustom to the travelling life, of new impressions and learning through experience, I make attempts to replicate it at times in this town. We have compiled a list of destinations we wish to visit. Last week a group of us made an outing to the High Court, which was completely different to anything I had expected. I assume my expectations had been created by movies, which goes to show how unfortunately influential the media can be. The room was big and almost empty, eerily quite, with softly spoken voices of the lawyers and judges, using judicial terminology which we struggled to understand. Afterwards we went ‘embassy spotting’, cruising along the grand tree lined streets of the diplomatic district in my Volvo, rating the embassy on their architectural styles. The American embassy was the biggest and most heavily guarded, the Finnish was rather modern and German in the colours of it flag. On Friday I visited the Old Parliament House, with a $1 entry and free guided tour. How politics has changed since the 70’s when New Parliament house was built. Security has become highest priority and the media, which once mingled with the politicians on a daily basis, now seem only to receive what and when the governments wishes them to. The media is now simply another medium through which to pursue and publicise policies. There is a room in which the 1975 crisis of the Whitlam dismissal is displayed, with a 70’s television showing clips from the event. I love that 70’s fashion. In other way I still seem to replicate my travel lifestyle. My washing doesn’t get done until I have nothing clean left, although now that’s a week or so, rather than a few days. Although that could just as likely be attributed to laziness. I go days without studying, and then do nothing but study for days. I buy postcards that don’t get written on for weeks, and sent for weeks after that. I happily answer questions about English grammar to friends on msn, as we reminisce of past adventure and dream of future ones. Lunch is still my first meal of the day, and I drink German beer when it can be found.

Greener Pastures

We all well know the expression “the grass is always greener on the other side”. But, I prepose, what if the grass actually is greener on the other side. Think for a minute. Haven’t we all had the experience of wishing we were doing something or looking forward to something so much, that when it happens, or we do it, it is a wonderful as we imagined, or even more so. It’s something society seems to leads us believe; “follow your dreams” However society’s messages are always contradictory. It simultaneously and contradictorily leads us to believe formal education is the best way to succeed in this world. But such success is very specific. It is the success of a western capitalist educated person. The perpetuators of the same society through whose systems they work. I am not an anarchist or revolutionary, but I simply find it difficult to grasp the concept or find the ability to work through such a system. One in which I am increasing losing respect. There have always been those in society who believed the systems which dominated their worlds were not adequate. Some simply criticised what existed, while others advocated progress in a specific direction, some from within the system, others from the outside. At times, dramatic changes were gradual, at others more rapid, but they always occurred. Take a few examples from Europe; the concept of individual freedom, the formation of states, the establishment of democratic systems, the understanding that the sun was the centre of the universe, that matter is made from particles. At such times these new ideas and beliefs were to many unimaginable and unconceivable, yet now we take such things as given truths or accepted ways of life. However the victors write and create history. We only believe such things to be truths because those ideals were dominant, and therefore survived. It is possible to dream of such that does not yet exist. I did not intend for this to become so philosophical. It just started as a bitching. I guess my education is subtly influencing me somehow. Look what happens when I have to study the power John Howard wields, or, more related, the scientific revolution and enlightenment, when I seem to enjoy studying things without arguments and interpretation. Luckily language and grammar fits into that category. But for someone who doesn’t believe in ultimate truths, the thought of changing to a maths/science degree quickly dissipated. haha In other news, for those of you readers in Melbourne, I’ll be coming down the 16th. So hope to see you then!! If you wish to see me with hair for the last time in a while, it will have to Friday. That’s right, me and Cathy are shaving for cancer!! If you’d like to sponsor me, let me know! For everyone else hello from Aussieland!!