Hi Britain,
Good news! It has been raining for three days now, and shows no sign of stopping. I know you might not think this is a reason for celebrating but fires are being dampened, dams are re-filling and green is coming back in parks and gardens.
Another thing that it has done is make me feel less homesick. It has reminded me of what it is like back home for most of the year, cold, rainy and, worst of all, grey. Here it is a change, a novelty (for now, lets see what winter brings) but the thought of it being the norm is really quite depressing.
So, I'll enjoy it for now as an excuse to sleep in, stay indoors and watch crap TV. But for two-thirds of the year? No thanks!
I hope your days are currently filled with sunshine.
Love,
JC
5th March 2009
Dear Britain,
I thought I would write to you today about culture. What, I hear you thinking, someone in Australia wants to talk to ME about culture? This is what I thought, and what I'm sure many Brits think. Britain surely has the upper hand on culture and history and Australia is such a new country that this hasn't really developed yet.
How wrong we all are! Australia has possibly the longest continuous culture in the world. The latest estimates say that the culture has been here for 50,000 years. Just stop and think about that for a moment, try and get some perspective on it. Christ was born only 2000 years ago. How long has our culture been how it is today? Maybe 200 years? Less? And yet we look down on Australian culture?
Ok, lets face it, it's only recently that Australians have started to recognise or be proud of this culture. For so many years there were attempts to erase it completely. And the outside world are often only aware of it in such a twee way, people half naked and painted dancing around to didgeridoo music. But this is a culture that is so entrenched with history, story, religion, tradition and ritual that an outsider would need to study for years to even begin to get a grasp on it. Even then the culture changes so much across the country that even a life time studying would not suffice.
In my short time here I have learnt a little about this culture, for example on our trip to Uluru, and I have already got such a deep respect for it. The belief on working with the land, of respect for land and each other is something we could all learn a lot from. I only hope it is a culture that can find a way to continue and co-exist so in another 50,000 years it is still here.
I will come back to this subject as it is something I have so much to say about. Think about this next time you want to look down on Aussies!
Take care,
JC
I thought I would write to you today about culture. What, I hear you thinking, someone in Australia wants to talk to ME about culture? This is what I thought, and what I'm sure many Brits think. Britain surely has the upper hand on culture and history and Australia is such a new country that this hasn't really developed yet.
How wrong we all are! Australia has possibly the longest continuous culture in the world. The latest estimates say that the culture has been here for 50,000 years. Just stop and think about that for a moment, try and get some perspective on it. Christ was born only 2000 years ago. How long has our culture been how it is today? Maybe 200 years? Less? And yet we look down on Australian culture?
Ok, lets face it, it's only recently that Australians have started to recognise or be proud of this culture. For so many years there were attempts to erase it completely. And the outside world are often only aware of it in such a twee way, people half naked and painted dancing around to didgeridoo music. But this is a culture that is so entrenched with history, story, religion, tradition and ritual that an outsider would need to study for years to even begin to get a grasp on it. Even then the culture changes so much across the country that even a life time studying would not suffice.
In my short time here I have learnt a little about this culture, for example on our trip to Uluru, and I have already got such a deep respect for it. The belief on working with the land, of respect for land and each other is something we could all learn a lot from. I only hope it is a culture that can find a way to continue and co-exist so in another 50,000 years it is still here.
I will come back to this subject as it is something I have so much to say about. Think about this next time you want to look down on Aussies!
Take care,
JC
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