It's Australia Day here in, well, Australia, so it seems apt to post a list of things I love about this country and - yes, I'm a lefty with an agenda - ten things I hate about this country.
Top Ten things I love about Australia in no particular order. (Don't let the numbers fool you.)
1. The beach
2. The footy
3. The humour
4. The film industry - ha! Just kidding!
5. No - 4. The backpacking mentality.
5. The weather - OK, that's a Melbourne thing, but still. It counts.
6. The idea that 12 hours on a plane is no big deal
7. The food.
8. The wine. (Wait - that should be number 1.)
9. The convict heritage.
10. The Indigenous culture.
Ten things I hate about Australia
1. Our increasing level of intolerance
2. The bogan population.
3. The humour. (It works both ways.)
4. The film industry - ha! Just kidding!
4. This is 4. The idea that 12 hours on a plane is no big deal.
5. The fact that our flag has been stolen by nationalistic lunatics
6. The fact that our flag was originally stolen from the English.
7. Our anglophile tendencies
8. The polarisation of the political debate. (There was a time I would have put this first, then I realised how little influence politics really has.)
9. Australian newspeak which has transplanted the word "refugee" with "illegal immigrant" or its evil twin, "queue jumpers".
10. That I could find 10 things I hate about Australia.
When I was travelling, I pulled into a motel somewhere on the Sunshine Coast early evening - had been out the night before and driving all day, so all I wanted was to find some pizza, watch a bit of crap telly and pass out. But when the reception lady heard I was on my own, she ordered me to the pub across the road where her brother was. I realised I had no hope of getting out of it, so dutifully went across the road where I was greeted with the words "Are you the Pommie girl who's got no mates?" (Err, I do have mates as it happens, just like travelling solo!) Had one of the most fun, random nights ever... that's what I love about Australia!
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ReplyDeleteVery cool story. I'd like to think that this sort of thing still happens a lot - as it used to. I know in my flat sharing days at various times we rescued a "homeless" backpacker or two, whether they'd been locked out of their hostel, got caught after hours, or had simply run out of Australian dollars. Actually, when I think about it, our couch was often reserved for virtual strangers from different countries.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I'd forgotten about that. It was (cough) a few years ago. Thanks for the reminder.
Nic