I've been standing here for hours
Nov. 3rd, 2006 02:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ithikaYou know, I really love Australia.
By saying this, I'm not really saying that Australia is better than anywhere else - if I had actually been to any other countries perhaps I would - (Guys, guys, everyone knows Tasmania doesn't count) although Australia is my favourite country, out of that blind kind of childish loyalty. Like when you're six years old and your friend is saying "My Mum/Dad is the greatest mum/dad in the whole world" and even though you've never met your friends parent, you feel compelled to say "No, my mum/dad is the greatest mum/dad in the whole world", because you know you're right. It's the same sort of thing, I think, saying that the country you're from is the best, or your favourite. It's interesting. Of all the countries' histories that I know anything about, I can categorically say that Australia's would be among my least favourite. Collonialism has so been done, you know, and not to sound racist but I really don't find the culture of Indigenous Australia all that compelling - purely because Nomadic culture doesn't captivate me in the way that empirical culture does. But I wouldn't actually say that, because obviously I have to love my country's history the best. That said though, I'm very fond of our recent history - although you could say that ALL of Australia's history (as "Australia", that is) is recent. I mean, 200 years of Federation makes it very recent, and I think the first recorded/confirmed European landing was in something like 1650ish. Which really, is totally not that long ago. That's after 4,000 years of Egypt, One Thousand five hundred ish years of Rome, Two thousand years of Greece, One thousand years of Catholicism, after Feudalism, after the Crusades (ha!) after *scans brain for architectural knowledge* Gothic, after Byzantine, after the Renaissance. It was during Baroque, but that's the latest architectural movement that I have studied/cared about. I suppose you could say that we started off on a good footing - we already had all this culture and european history established. Meh! Civil wars and movements make things interesting. I mean, the closest we came to a civil war is the Eureka Stockade - and that lasted for a day, between about 40 men, with 9 casualties and about 13 injuries. I suppose I should say that this is the best kind of war - minimal death and all that, but interesting history it does not make.
But I was just thinking, as I sat in my room and stared out my window, summer breeze wafting though (because all summer breeze does is waft), seeing the roses underneath my window reaching up, then in the distance our little blackboy (I refuse to call them grass trees, there's already something else called a grass tree anyway and blackboy is a much better name), it's spear all covered in it's flower reaching high up, and the broad reach of the old gum tree on the other side of the road, and in the background a clear blue sky. I mean, its just so damn picturesque, and I live in suburbia!
Does anyone know how blackboys actually grow? Am I right in thinking that in order for them to get taller, they have to actually be burnt? I'm just curious. Because we've had ours for about 6 years, we've never burnt it, and it's still 100% on the ground. Of course, I realise that these plants are around 300years old rather than 6 before they start to get nice and tall, but still... I wonder.
But anyway, this entry is just my little bout of patriotism. I'm very proud to be Australian. And while I'm angry that we didn't sign the Kiyoto (sp?) agreement, that's about all I'm unhappy about. Because that ridiculous "trench of magik watah from Perth to the Kimberlies" plan was never gone through with. And apparently we're friendly! Apparently everone loves Aussies. But yes. I think everyone should be proud of the country they're from/were raised in.
On that note, what determines whether you say you're an "whereyoulive-ian" or a "whereyourancestorscomefrom-ian"? Because if I were to introduce myself, I would say that I'm Australian, if it were to come up. However, most of my family comes from Ireland. Sometimes I would tell people "I'm Irish", most of the time if I'm making a joke about getting sunburnt, but I would 99% of the time say I'm Australian. Is this because I'm not really in touch with my Irish side culturally? For example, most Italian people I know say that they're Italian, or Italian-Australian. Why is that? Is that because Italian people seem to have very strong Italian cultural ties? Or is it because all the Italian people I know have come from Italy much more recently? (My family have been in Australia for... a long time) I'm just curious, it's something that hasn't occurred to me before.
Also! If dogs could talk, I can't see them without Australian accents. Except for Schnauzers (sp?) and Poodles.
And that is all!!
By saying this, I'm not really saying that Australia is better than anywhere else - if I had actually been to any other countries perhaps I would - (Guys, guys, everyone knows Tasmania doesn't count) although Australia is my favourite country, out of that blind kind of childish loyalty. Like when you're six years old and your friend is saying "My Mum/Dad is the greatest mum/dad in the whole world" and even though you've never met your friends parent, you feel compelled to say "No, my mum/dad is the greatest mum/dad in the whole world", because you know you're right. It's the same sort of thing, I think, saying that the country you're from is the best, or your favourite. It's interesting. Of all the countries' histories that I know anything about, I can categorically say that Australia's would be among my least favourite. Collonialism has so been done, you know, and not to sound racist but I really don't find the culture of Indigenous Australia all that compelling - purely because Nomadic culture doesn't captivate me in the way that empirical culture does. But I wouldn't actually say that, because obviously I have to love my country's history the best. That said though, I'm very fond of our recent history - although you could say that ALL of Australia's history (as "Australia", that is) is recent. I mean, 200 years of Federation makes it very recent, and I think the first recorded/confirmed European landing was in something like 1650ish. Which really, is totally not that long ago. That's after 4,000 years of Egypt, One Thousand five hundred ish years of Rome, Two thousand years of Greece, One thousand years of Catholicism, after Feudalism, after the Crusades (ha!) after *scans brain for architectural knowledge* Gothic, after Byzantine, after the Renaissance. It was during Baroque, but that's the latest architectural movement that I have studied/cared about. I suppose you could say that we started off on a good footing - we already had all this culture and european history established. Meh! Civil wars and movements make things interesting. I mean, the closest we came to a civil war is the Eureka Stockade - and that lasted for a day, between about 40 men, with 9 casualties and about 13 injuries. I suppose I should say that this is the best kind of war - minimal death and all that, but interesting history it does not make.
But I was just thinking, as I sat in my room and stared out my window, summer breeze wafting though (because all summer breeze does is waft), seeing the roses underneath my window reaching up, then in the distance our little blackboy (I refuse to call them grass trees, there's already something else called a grass tree anyway and blackboy is a much better name), it's spear all covered in it's flower reaching high up, and the broad reach of the old gum tree on the other side of the road, and in the background a clear blue sky. I mean, its just so damn picturesque, and I live in suburbia!
Does anyone know how blackboys actually grow? Am I right in thinking that in order for them to get taller, they have to actually be burnt? I'm just curious. Because we've had ours for about 6 years, we've never burnt it, and it's still 100% on the ground. Of course, I realise that these plants are around 300years old rather than 6 before they start to get nice and tall, but still... I wonder.
But anyway, this entry is just my little bout of patriotism. I'm very proud to be Australian. And while I'm angry that we didn't sign the Kiyoto (sp?) agreement, that's about all I'm unhappy about. Because that ridiculous "trench of magik watah from Perth to the Kimberlies" plan was never gone through with. And apparently we're friendly! Apparently everone loves Aussies. But yes. I think everyone should be proud of the country they're from/were raised in.
On that note, what determines whether you say you're an "whereyoulive-ian" or a "whereyourancestorscomefrom-ian"? Because if I were to introduce myself, I would say that I'm Australian, if it were to come up. However, most of my family comes from Ireland. Sometimes I would tell people "I'm Irish", most of the time if I'm making a joke about getting sunburnt, but I would 99% of the time say I'm Australian. Is this because I'm not really in touch with my Irish side culturally? For example, most Italian people I know say that they're Italian, or Italian-Australian. Why is that? Is that because Italian people seem to have very strong Italian cultural ties? Or is it because all the Italian people I know have come from Italy much more recently? (My family have been in Australia for... a long time) I'm just curious, it's something that hasn't occurred to me before.
Also! If dogs could talk, I can't see them without Australian accents. Except for Schnauzers (sp?) and Poodles.
And that is all!!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-05 01:07 am (UTC)they can range from the worryingly true (for instance "chinese people don't seem to have heard about the environment" which is true when they buy a can of tuna and ask for it double bagged) to the absurdly false (ie. "all wars were started by jews" and "all muslims are smelly terrorists")
I don't know what conclusion I come to here. But I actually learnt a lot about aboriginal culture from a japanese exchange student who visitted here who had an interest in Australian Aboriginal culture.
I also felt the same way about Australian literature until I studied it. You know I hadn't read any of KSP's work until this semester? And it's good...Well, her modernist era work was good anyway
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-06 05:16 am (UTC)That's an interesting point. I agree. How oculd you say "I'm not racist, but all wars were started by Jews, oh and all Muslims are smelly terrorists?" I suppose you could be ignorant or something. Or hillariously biased by the media. Haha!
I saw a book in Bunbury the other week called "Where's Bin Laden?" It was a "Where's Wally" style book. It amused me.
! Unlikely locations.
To be honest, I haven't read any of KSP's stuff either. I probably should, I suppose. But Judith Wright's work (with some exceptions) and also Tim Winton's (excepting cloudstreet) have kind of scared me away from Australian Literature. Also that awful "Border Line" I had to read in year 9. It was so awful. But I suppose most teen "O! Look! Morals!" stories are like that. Deadly, Una? was good though. I think. It has a movie, yes. Called.. something. else.
!