How much is a dollar worth to YOU? Its a lesson we all learn and learn again as we grow up gaining a better understanding how much work it takes to get a few bucks in your pocket. Travelling has helped me to understand this lesson a little better. Last night we took an evening sleeper bus from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay that made several stops along the way for passenger pickup and meals. We stopped in the small town of Mackay that, like most small towns in Australia, is home to a large number of Aborigines. We got out and had a bite to eat waiting for the bus to make its way further down the road. While I sat there I noticed several backpackers who were passengers on the bus get out and talk about how broke they are and have no money. They looked pretty good though for being so broke. Their clothes didn't have any stains or holes that I could see and it looked as if they all had just seen the barber before getting on the bus. Normally I would get in there and moan away about how expensive things are while travelling when it occured to me that just behind them was a family of Aborigines trying to get on the bus. There was no doubt about it. These people were broke! I couldn't help but feel sheepish that I was thinking about how much money I was spending when I realized these people probably didn't even have any money to spend or complain about. Their situation was amplified by the hard time they were getting by the bus driver about getting on the bus. Apparently they had a ticket but were given some wrong information about the time to show up for boarding. The driver went out of his way to see that they didn't get on the bus and when they did, got the very back corner seat on the bus. I didn't know that happened anymore. The bus was almost empty and all of us "other" travelers were near the front where it was cooler and had a TV. After all, the driver changed my seat when we started from Airlie without any problems. Prejudice at work I guess.

The Aboriginal situation here in Australia is very delicate. Racism in America is finding it more difficult to survive onward generations, even in the South, as it is more socially unacceptable to be exclusive of blacks. This is strengthened by a growing African American middle class that supports themselves and their families with White collar jobs. Here in Australia I find that racism towards Aborigines is still very strong and the opinion of that section of the population is still very low. We've spoken to several different Australians about the Aborigines and somehow we're always given the impression that they're swindlers and lazy bums. This might be true. I have seen most Aborigines in these small towns just sitting around. Then again, I wonder what kind of opportunities they are given as whole in Australian society. After all, the atrocities against them rival those we commited against the Native Americas and slaves. The difference to me is that there are more societal attempts at rectifying past wrongs in the US than here but I don't know all the details. Social attitudes towards a people normally means more than "affirmative action" or some other program to make them "equal".

What really blows my mind about all of this is how money works around the world. Lets say 1 hour of work in the US is worth about 1 hour 15 mins here in Australia. A Big Mac meal that costs us $6 Aus costs us $4 US. This same $4 US is 3 days wages in parts of Asia, sometimes a weeks wages or MORE! Can you imagine that working 1 hour in the US is like slave labor for a week in other places in the world?! It makes me more willing to give my change to the needy and a little more perspective on why peoples in other countries might hate us. I'd hate anyone who worked only the time it takes me to eat breakfast while I farmed rice for a week. And then back to the Aborigines. The Aussies (not all of them) seem to have a low opinion of Aborigines but make millions of dollars off their culture every year. Ever hear of the boomerang? Its an Aborigine creation. And the didgeridoo. Not to mentioon that their culture has existed for almost 40,000 years. They are some of the oldest peoples on Earth!

So, how did they end up so low?

-Josh