Elated, Jaded, Reevaluated

 They said it would happen, but we never believed them. They said it happens to everyone, but we knew it would never happen to us. And then all of a sudden, out of absolutely nowhere, it hit us: The second phase of culture shock.

When you first get to a foreign country, absolutely everything is wonderful. The novelty of the accents and terminology, the exotic food, the excitement of a new city and sights, and the anxious rush from experiencing the unknown. Everything seems so much better than everything you’re used to. And then one day, you wake up and suddenly, those things you once found so interesting and exciting really. Piss. You. Off. The accents you once found charming suddenly make your blood boil. I thought I was going to lose it if I heard one more person add an R to then end of “so, no, oh, America, Sarah, etc.” I suddenly unreasonably hated such small, petty things, and found myself craving good old American culture. We were all pretty taken back by our abrupt animosity towards the things we once found so novel, and discussing it with each other would only get us all fired up and on a role about the differences.

We all felt this way pretty strongly until we left for the weekend to go to the Great Ocean Road. To be honest, I was deeply bothered by the fact that I was suddenly so homesick and so over being in Australia at the moment. I was expecting it to be constant highs and thrills. I didn’t stop to think at how unrealistic that ways. But all of the anger, and irritation and general want for our old ways vanished the moment I walked up a path away from the Great Ocean Road, around a corner to be standing on a cliff overlooking one of the Twelve Apostles. At the risk of sounding cliché I will say that it felt like somebody punched me in the gut. I was stopped in pure admiration. I have never seen anything quite like these tall rock formations sticking out of the rough ocean from the years and years of erosion.

For hours we drove along the long, winding, isolated road, the ocean so close alongside of us the entire way. There is something about being in and near the water that puts me completely 
at ease. We spent the day surfing next to one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world, Bells beach, and not a single one of us could stop ourselves from turning to each other and admitting casually that it was the best day of our life.

That night we all sat around outside in the crisp early fall evening and barbequed, drank cheap wine, and talked about ourselves and our lives and became as what we now refer to as our family. There was this odd, heavy, self-reflecting and deep thinking vibe that lingered over everyone the entire trip that no one could shake. It wasn’t in a bad way, but more in a self-searching, revelation sort of way. The next day we saw the London Bridge rock formation, wild koalas in trees on the side of the Great Ocean Road, the unbelievably serene rainforest, and the gorges which all seemed to get progressively more beautiful. We swam in the ocean between the gorges and climbed up into their natural caves and experienced such unbelievable sights and adventures together.

 

This weekend was hands down one of the most amazing, memorable weekends of my life. I walked away with a clear mind, feeling lighter, with the excitement of living in Australia back in full strength. Our group was stronger, closer and more supportive of each other than ever. This weekend put us all at ease and was the perfect weekend with absolute impeccable timing. It was crucial that we had such a wonderful weekend to shake us of our unreasonable irritation.

I guess you could say we are now in phase three of culture shock: realization and acceptance of our new lives, and I couldn’t be happier about it.  

Greening Up Their Act

My friends and I often joke about how we have traveled just about as far as possible from home just to find ourselves in a culture very similar to our own. Besides some new learned vocabulary and some disputes over proper pronunciations and terminologies, there is virtually no language barrier. Not to mention the abundance of American music, entertainment and brands. European influences can obviously be seen in some ways of life and architecture, but when walking around Melbourne I frequently find myself feeling as though I am just in a US city I’ve never been to before.

There is one area, I have found, that Australia differs from the US so greatly and that is in overall environmental consciousness. Melbourne is the cleanest city I’ve ever been in with the least amount of trashcans. In the US we are told not to refill water bottles because it causes cancer. In Australia there are water bottle refilling stations virtually anywhere in public you venture. Every electrical outlet has a switch above it so you can easily turn off the outlet whenever you’re not using the appliance. Every single time I leave my dormitory room all the hall lights and bathroom lights are turned off. In the bathroom stalls themselves the individual stall light does not turn on until you lock the door. In every shower there is a timer and four-minute showers are strongly requested. Every bathroom you are in has two flushing options: full or half the water amount for solid and liquid waste. And I dare you to even try to find a bathroom that offers paper towels. Not only does everyone bring their own canvas bags to stores and supermarkets, but also, if the customers choose not to, more often than not they will be charged around twenty cents for every plastic bag they are given for their merchandise. Good luck finding plastic utensils, cups or paper plates while you’re at the supermarket, too. Any free meal served on campus everyone shows up with their own plates and silverware from their rooms.

Perhaps factors such as much of Australia suffering from a terrible drought a couple years ago where there was a strong fear of Australia’s water supply actually running out, but every where you go there are little signs informing you how much water you’re wasting by leaving the tap running or how much water they’re saving with the different flushing options. I have found myself turning the water off when I’m brushing my teeth or washing my face when I would’ve left the tap running in the past. I have cut my shower time down to ten minutes (yes, embarrassingly enough, this is huge progress). I make sure to turn off the switches on the electrical outlets in my room and turn off my lights when I don’t need them. I do miss paper towels, but I find Australia’s huge effort to reduce their carbon footprint more than admirable and am shocked that the US seems light-years behind and almost ignorant in our laughable attempts at being “green.” After living in Australia a month I’m ashamed by how wasteful I’ve been in the past and am appalled that the easy environmental changes the US could be making aren’t even considered. Making small progress is too easy, can begin individually, and it’s about time the US steps up and greens up our act like Australia.

How Sydney Does Mardi Gras

 

The city was a blur of rainbow flags and neon colors. Feathers, glitter and men dressed as outrageously glamorous women dominated the streets. It was Mardi Gras in Sydney and our group of international students arrived just in time for the celebration. Mardi Gras is traditionally the biggest gay rights festival in all of Australia and the sidewalks and streets were filled like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. We jumped right in and flocked to Sydney’s market to piece together our obnoxiously festive costumes. We decked ourselves out in bright colors, feathered tops, sequins, tacky Australian apparel, face paint, glitter and fancy masks. All of the restaurants brought stands out into the streets to sell food, people waved rainbow flags, dogs walked around sporting colorful beads and supporters held up signs of peace and progress. We all snapped pictures with men walking in heels better than I can and became naturals in the Mardi Gras setting.

Our tour guides warned us to not leave each other or to walk back through the park to get back to our hostel because it is not uncommon for anti-gay right protestors to wait in the park for someone to wander through alone and to attack them. This we all found deeply disturbing and depressing that something so backwards could still occur in this decade. There were police officers at every corner, however, and we luckily did not hear of any reported hate crimes that occurred that night. All we witnessed was love and support.

The parade kicked off with women zooming down the streets on loud motorcycles following annual tradition. People staked out their front row seats hours prior so the view was unfortunately best seen only from someone’s shoulders or from the windows of the second floor of a bar. The parade proceeded on with fabulous performances and costumes that sent a message of peace and equal rights. It was a truly happy celebration as music, food, dancing and singing overtook the city, however, the most notable appearance of all was the overwhelming sense of support and pride by everyone in the parade and in attendance.