where women glow and men plunder
I keep thinking that for all the crap the rest of the (western) world likes to give the US for being the biggest polluters and consumers and going on our silly military adventures, they sure do spend a lot of time trying to be just like US. We don’t come across it much, and when we do, it’s pretty subtle (a snide remark here, a backhanded insult there), but for whatever reason, since we’ve been in AUS, I keep thinking that if you people think you’re so much better than the US, that if you think Iraq was such a terrible idea (and it was) and you think the US’s political and economic weapons are wielded unfairly (and they are), then why the hell don’t you do something about it besides pissing and moaning? Oh, the US sucks, the US thinks they’re the center of the world, the US this, the US that. I just want to tell these people to face facts. If Europe and AUS had a real problem, excuse me, if the European and Aussie governments (cause that’s who it is, both in AUS, Europe and the US, not the people, whoever they are) had a real problem with US policies, they’d do something about it. The fact is, the western world (‘s governments) is (are) too busy making money off the US to really care about any of the evil stuff we (they) do. So take the holier than thou attitude and shove it, ok? I don’t like any of that crap either.
The other thing that irritates me about, well, AUS and NZ anyway (since we haven’t really been anywhere else), is that despite the fact that we’re what, 15,000 miles away, the radio still has the exact same crappy classic rock we have in the states. I mean, seriously. Do we really need to hear the same stupid Fleetwood Mac song for the one hundred billionth time? No. We don’t.
Guatemala didn’t have any of that crap. Instead, they had Shakira singing something in Spanish, or traditional Guatemalan music or (my personal favourite) US pop songs remade in Spanish by someone noone’s ever heard of. I think there’s two people, a man and a woman, and they sing about 10 new songs a day and they go on the radio the day after. The music industry is powerful, but they don’t own Guatemala. Yet.
Still, I owe the music industry and that ubiquitous classic rock a special thanks for a supremely surreal moment, a moment I think Adam will particularly appreciate: yesterday, while we were eating our dinner, I Come From the Land Down Under started playing on the radio. I stood up, took my hat off, and stared uncomfortably at the Australian flag for almost a full verse before I realized that it wasn’t the Australian national anthem. Who knew? Luckily, the kitchen was busy, so no one noticed me being strange and I sat back down, thanking the creator I wasn’t locked in a steel box somewhere, losing my mind.
But enough, eh? Enough of that. Australia, or rather, Sydney, is a beautiful place and we’re both having a wonderful time here. It’s nice to just relax, sit on the beach, wander through aquariums and zoos and museums, ride the bus/train/ferry, and read without worrying about missing some fantastic and amazingly beautiful sight somewhere in Australia, like we did in NZ. Of course we’re missing something fantastic, we’re missing everything. It really takes the pressure off.
If you do happen to find yourself in Sydney, and you’re looking for a used book store, I’d recommend Desire Books (it’s not like it sounds) in Manly (again, not like it sounds). The owner is an ardent book lover and, unlike most secondhand bookstores we’ve wandered through thus far, she kept her shop organized, even alphabetized. It actually made it possible to find what you were looking for, which is something that is almost unheard of in the used book industry (at least in my experience). If you’re ever in Sydney, I’d say it’s worth the ferry ride.
Actually, the ferry ride is worth it on its own. At something like $5 one way, it’s by far the cheapest harbor cruise. The ferry goes past the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge (only they spell it Harbour, weirdos) and gives you some of the best views of downtown you could ask for. It’s as good as the $30 harbor cruises they offer and much cheaper. It’s also included on our bus/ferry/rail passes we bought our first day here, which makes those (the green passes) an incredible value, much better than the Sydney Pass, which is $100 more expensive for, as far as I can tell, nothing.
Well, on and on and you’ve got to stop sometime. That sometime is now.
Tags: Australia, Sydney, Travel
awrichner
Hey Aaron and Anna:
Its been great following your trip – its been nice to ‘get’ away from my office (cube even!) at lunch to exotic places and read about the stuff you guys have been doing.
After reading this entry about hearing the same crap music 15,000 miles away from the US and doing embarrassing things, it reminded me of a similar instance when I was staying in a little town outside of Berlin.
I had to go into work early one Saturday morning and was in the breakfast room at the hotel (breakfast is always included with the hotel!) I was early enough that it was just me and this nice Indian family: dad, mom, two little kids. Other than an occasional direction by the parents, not much was being said, so the ‘musak’ being piped in was easily heard, and in fact, since the breakfast room was also the dining area the evening before, the volume was set for a much noisier room.
Nice chamber music to start the day right? Soothing instrumental versions of old favorites? Nope. Needless to say, it was the wedding reception classic: YMCA by the Village People! – bouncing off the walls and insisting all in ear shot (which must have included the first floor of this small hotel) to get up and shake it. I thought how great it would have been to stand up right there in front of my Indian friends and start shaping the letters as the lead singer cop ripped out the chorus.
Opportunity lost though, because I didn’t. I figured the rest of the world hates America enough, and its bad enough they have to put up with our crap music.
Moral of the story: Its a small world – I bet the kids would have got up and danced with me. Dang!
Keep writing – we’re waiting on every new entry!
thats an awesome story, we’ll try to remember to seize those opportunities when they arise!