A Kansan in Nam

I've started a separate blog for my 3 months in Vietnam! 

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I'll be back on here when I return to Oz in mid-Feburary 2012!

Summery

I've been too busy reading and writing about labor as a keystone of the civilizing mission, environmental mediation, and NGOs in complex humanitarian emergencies to get around to writing about FUN stuff. And the semester isn't over yet, so I'm stuck with yet another quick update.

Here's the latest news from Down Under:

• It's summer here and I'm starting to dress more summery--I was just told that today. Skirts and dresses again.
  
• I recently discovered the Korean grocery store near my gym sells frozen edamame. This has seriously improved my life immensely.
• I only have 2 1/2 weeks of my second semester left! And there's still a lot of work to be done. I think my brain capacity is quickly filling up and I still have another semester to go. I'm wondering if I can buy extra memory, like you can on gmail.
• I'm going to Vietnam for my internship from November 13, 2011 until February 14, 2012! I'll be working with Roots of Peace in Vietnam, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to eradicating landmines worldwide and rehabilitating land and livelihoods through sustainable agriculture. I'm so excited! Xin chào!
  http://www.rootsofpeace.org/

That's it for now. G'day mates.

The Red Centre

Last overheard in Summer's brain:

-- "Can you believe she forgot to post her photos from the Red Centre on her blog?"

-- "No kidding! And to make matters worse, she was too lazy to post individual photos--she had the nerve to post a Facebook photo album link."

-- "I sure hope she's better at keeping up with her classes than she is with her blog."

Summer blushes and posts photos from the trip to Uluru and the Red Centre. And returns to her coursework.

Break from Civilization in Cairns

While my body and mind are back at uni, my blog is still begging to tell the story of our travel through Australia. But since my blog can't write itself, and I'm quite busy with reading about development and neoliberalism (again!), this entry about our trip to Cairns will be quite short. A bit like our trip.

First and foremost, Cairns is pronounced "cans." I can't tell you how many times Kat and I have been corrected for pronouncing the "r" and saying "carns." This might be because the "r" is clearly a letter that forms part of the word. It might also have something to do with the fact that we Kansans have a special relationship with the letter "r." Yeah, we pronounce it. How weird is that?

So our linguistically-challenged sisterly duo traveled up to Cairns directly from Melbourne (again, don't pronounce the "r") and promptly shed about 3 layers of clothing upon arriving in this sunny northern Queensland town. We stayed in a lovely little hostel, the Travellers Oasis, which we would highly recommend to anyone seeking a quiet, clean place with a kitchen and pool, in a good location. We only had three full days in Cairns, so we opted for day trips. This was a bit exhausting, but the best option on our limited time. (There's not much to do in Cairns at all, so you basically use it as a jumping off point for the natural wonders surrounding it).

Day 1: Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef!

The Outer Reef

Day 2: Tour of the Atherton Tablelands, seeing big trees, waterfalls, and PLATYPUSES IN THE WILD!

Monotremes! (BTW that's not my head in the photo--there was another ranga on the trip)

Day 3: Whirlwind tour up to Cape Tribulation (where Captain Cook was having some major issues and hence gave a lot of landmarks depressing names) through the Daintree Rainforest. The beautiful sights thankfully drowned out the annoying driver's rambling about all his problems and opinions. I got the feeling that he would have gladly abandoned our tour bus for a beer if it didn't involve him getting fired.

Crocodile warning sign at the Daintree River ferry crossing

We thought about feeding our annoying tour guide to those crocs...

For all the photos and commentary, check out my facebook photos (which should be available for anyone to view): Cairns Trip Photos

Marvelous Melbourne

Kat and I returned to Brissy (pronounced “bri-zee”) at the end of June after a lovely week in Sydney. I had to finish just one more (grrrrr) paper (done now, grade not yet known) and we had quite a bit of laundry to do. Plus we had to figure out where we were off to next. We knew we were going to Melbourne (pronounced “mel-ben”), and we wanted to also go to Cairns (pronounced “cans”). Usually I’m the one in our duo who does the travel planning, but writing about globalization for weeks on end had muddled my globe trotting skills. So Kat and I found a lovely travel agent at the chain travel agency, Flight Centre, and booked our trip from Brisbane to Melbourne to Cairns, then back to Brisbane (pronounced “bris-ben”). (The idea of visiting a travel agent to book a flight, at least for me, is totally foreign. In the US, I book all my flights online to get the cheapest deals. If there’s an equivalent online in Australia, I have yet to find it. But, in the end, it’s ok, as I prefer to book my flights with a human, rather than a computer).

While in Melbourne, Kat and I stayed with our AUW friend, Varuni, and her husband, Sunny, and brother-in-law, Ash. They were wonderful hosts, feeding us excellent food, showing us the sights, and letting us bask in the warmth of a centrally heated home. Varuni helped outfit us to better endure the cold, rainy, and gray Melbourne weather when we did venture out. Like Kansas, if you don’t like the weather in Melbourne, wait a bit and it will change. Or, as they say, “four seasons in one day!” I think we saw the sun for a total of 15 minutes in 6 days.

Sunny, Varuni, Kat and Me enjoying a cuppa

Loving this latte

However, what Melbourne lacks by way of sunshine it more than makes up for in culture and coffee. I was blown away by the museums, wine bars, cafes, and food food food. We met up with our friend Monique, whom we met in 2003 while traveling in Spain and Portugal, and feasted on some delicious Chinese fare at Lau’s Family Kitchen. Afterwards, Monique and I enjoyed a concert by Alex Gao (from Oh Mercy) and Dan Sultan at the National Theatre. Dan Sultan’s looks and sounds left me in a lightheaded state. Granted, a lot of that may have had to with the fact that we were sitting near the top of the theatre, where the heat rises and the very large man sitting next to me smelling of cat worsened as the night wore on. Nonetheless, the pleasures of sight and sound far outweighed olfactory discomfort.

Reunited with Ms. Melbourne!

Fabulous Flinders Station

and Federation Square

Funky graffiti alley

Speaking of sights and sounds, Kat and I happened to be in Melbourne over the school holidays. This meant loads of screaming children being hauled around by their parents to free museums. So why Kat and I chose to visit the Melbourne Museum—the coolest museum of them all with no entry fee for children—during this time is a mystery. I suppose we should have thought it through a bit more: school holidays + free museum + dinosaurs + insects + lots of stuffed animals = re-thinking of having children. I’m starting to consider adopting—a koala.

Plenty of stuffed animals to terrify many a child at the Melbourne Museum

My future as a mother

We were able to swiftly recover from the trauma thanks to Varuni and Sunny whisking us away to the Dandenong Range. A ride through the beautiful scenery—and a strong cappuccino and the best flourless chocolate raspberry cake ever—renewed our spirits and sanity.

Caffeine and cakes--all in a day's work

Mmmmmmmmm, marvelous Melbourne—I will be back! When it’s warmer, with my koala and my light box.

For a play-by-play of the trip, check out my photos HERE!

Next up on the Great Aussie (pronounced "Ahh-zee") Adventure: Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef, and PLATYPUSES IN THE WILD!

I heart Sydney!

I have had a few people ask if I've forgotten about my blog. No, I haven't started losing my memory...yet. I was just busy writing about International Relations theory--specifically, liberal internationalism as a U.S. foreign policy doctrine. (Not nearly as exciting as it sounds...)

When I finished that 6,000 word essay, I thought about writing a blog post. But, to be honest, I didn't really feel like writing at all. So I took a break. But now I'm back in the game.

Many of you know that Katrina arrived here a few weeks ago. She arrived in the midst of me working on said paper. She can attest to the state of my apartment--and my mind. Bless her. She entertained herself for the first week, and then we headed down to Sydney!

Oh, Sydney! I now have Aussie city envy. It's not that I don't love Brisbane--believe me, I do. But I can't help but realize now just why folks in Sydney smirk when I say "come visit me in Brisbane!" (I still have a soft spot for Brissy--I'm a sucker for the underdog). But I still can't help but realize that Sydney, in sum, has better sights, better food, and better looking men.

Our time in Sydney was one of reunions: Kat and I stayed with our friend Stephen, whom we met randomly 3 years ago while looking at mosaics in the middle of Sicily. We've stayed in touch with him and he was kind enough to let us take over, er, I mean stay at his house. Kat and I also met up with Georgia Guldan and Nicole Gruel, two folks that we lived and worked with in Bangladesh. It was an AUW Reunion Down Under!

The Sari Sisters with Georgia on Bondi Beach

and with Nicole in Manly

We also made new friends along the way...

At the Sydney Aquarium

and the Australian Museum

And saw the famous

Oprah...

er, Opera House

And ventured further afoot...

Royal National Park

The Three Sisters (missing one!) in

the Blue Mountains

Oh, and I mentioned the good food, right?

Korean

Thai

something beyond pub grub

and pies on the beach!

I heart Sydney!

Check out more photos HERE!

My new baby

I brought this beauty home a few weeks ago and we've been bonding.

We spend lots of time together, exploring Brisbane and taking in life.

She's quite a fan of long rides on the Brisbane river bank.

I think this might be love...

School of Hard Knocks

I am in the midst of writing an essay for Advanced International Studies (a.k.a. Political Theory) on Martin Wight's "The Three Traditions of International Theory." I have been staring at my computer screen for a few days now (with a bit of sleep, food, and a few bathroom breaks). I present here images of my exploit:

No, this is not the scene of a crime--this is my "desk." I am working in the living room because a) there is not enough space to spread out in my room and b) If I were in my room, I would be very close to the bed, and hence tempted to sleep.

And I know you are all wondering just what amazing thoughts have resulted from this paper trail. So I present to you here my take on Realism, Rationalism, and Revolutionism:

"In order to summarize the three traditions’ distinct views of human nature, I consider the people that might populate these political theories. Here I present three friends, each representing one of Wight’s traditions, expressing their views on mankind. The Realist believes that all men are self-interested bastards who compete with each other out of fear and for the sake of survival. The Rationalist concedes that, yes, men are bastards, but they are capable of behaving themselves because—for goodness sake, they aren’t beasts—they have reason. Meanwhile, irritated by what sounds like drivel from some book by John Gray, the Revolutionist asks, “Just what ‘man’ are we talking about?” While a man may be a bastard at some point, he is flexible and he can change.
Continuing with the analogy, the self-interested Realist sees love (the international system) as a battlefield ruled by anarchy. Men seek to be “the head of the household,” so an inevitable struggle for power and control ensues. For the reasoning Rationalist, however, love is a little crazy and anarchic, but overall is continuous with the virtuous state of nature. Relationships have the potential to lead to conflict, but norms, order, and justice guide behavior; cooperation creates a happy home. Finally, for the critical Revolutionist, there are general principles of humanity guiding love and there’s not much space for power struggles in a relationship, not when harmony and emancipation are a mutual goal."

Having shared this, I must now return to my mission. After I eat a few Tim-Tams.

Expanding My Horizons

If I had more time, I'd tell you about all the wonderful essays I've been writing on economic nationalism, liberalism, and clashes of civilization. While I'd like to tell you about how I'm stretching my brain after five years out in the "real world," this blog post focuses instead on me expanding my closet.

When I first arrived in Australia, the first thing that struck me as odd were the people. No, not the accents, but what they were wearing. I wondered how on earth the clothing that I had worn in the 80's had suddenly become fashionable down under. (Maybe this is a global trend; being from Manhattan, Kansas, however, I'm not exactly well-informed of the latest fashion). Baggy dresses, cut off short-shorts (with the inner pockets showing), and hideous sweaters (mind you, it's hot here). Of course, not everyone dresses like this here. There are others, men and women alike, who choose to wear skin-hugging clothing--spandex pants and dresses, skinny jeans, and tights. This last article troubled me the most. How on earth could someone wear tights in this heat and humidity?

Famous last words. I purchased some summer dresses at an op-shop (second-hand store) and realized they were a little short for me, Ms. Modest. What to do? Well, for some reason I had a pair of leggings that I had brought with me from the States. I had originally purchased the leggings years ago to wear under a pair of jeans in the winter. Who would have thought I'd end up wearing them in Australia during the summer?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Which is great because I don't have that much to say.

I've been so busy reading about embedded liberalism and realism that I can't remember if I'm a liberal and what is reality...

So, rather than waxing on poetically for this post like so many of the authors in my academic readings do, I will share some photos with you!

View of Brisbane from Mount Coot-tha. (It's not really a mountain. Well, it's more of a mountain than we have in Kansas).

Admiring the humidity, and the view, with my Rotary host counselor, Barb.

Rotary Peace Fellows, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars (incoming and outgoing), and Rotary host counselors at a Rotary Scholars Seminar a few weeks ago. Look--I have a few more freckles!

Down Home in Oz

Since uni commenced last Monday, I'm so thankful I picked a lovely setting in which to immerse myself in the all-consuming graduate student activity: reading.

I wanted to share photos with you of my new home in Oz! I share a 2 bedroom, ground floor flat with a 30-year-old male physiotherapist, the owner of the unit. There are 10 or so units in the entire building. I'm located about a kilometer from 2 major shopping centres and 2-3 kilometers from uni and there are a few bus lines that stop near my flat. I find my legs work just as well in getting me around when the punctuality and efficiency of Brisbane public transit leaves me fuming. I simply remind myself that back home there is no bus and there are 3 feet of snow on the ground and people have to walk to school uphill both ways...

Come on a tour of my flat!

Welcome!

The lovely kitchen in which I have been making spaghetti for dinner every night for a week. Need to do some grocery shopping...

My cozy bedroom

Closet where I store everything

Homage to Kansas: Wizard of Oz magnet, sunflower, and Rock-A-Belly coaster

The view from my desk

My bathroom, outfitted by yours truly

Living/reading room (dense readings on lounge/sofa)

Back patio where I take my brekkie and spend more time reading

Little yard area below the patio, occupied by large, scary spiders
and a foot-long lizard that sometimes hangs out with me up on the patio

"You can make friends with people by shaking their hands."

Hello friends,

Well, I assume you are my friends. Because at some point in our interactions, we have shaken hands, right?

This week is orientation week and I've been attending international student sessions. Many of these sessions are labeled "COMPULSORY" on the schedule. The thing is, you don't sign in and nobody's quizzing you later on about the information covered. I'm starting to wonder if "compulsory" in Australia means something very different than in the U.S. Like "compulsory if you can make it" and "no drama if you don't."

I attended a COMPULSORY international student welcome yesterday morning. I woke up very early (well, for me) in order to get to school by the 8:30 am start time. Arriving at the building, another fellow and I were engulfed in the swarms of people standing outside. Finally around 8:40 someone opened the auditorium and we flooded inside--air con! After finding seats, we waited. And waited. Around 9:00 someone announced "We'll be starting at 9:30." Seriously? I could have gotten some more sleep. Does this mean my 7 pm classes don't really start until 8 pm?

The session finally got underway and I felt like a little kid at an assembly. Lots of people were introduced and lots of talking ensued, most of which I did not understand. Yes, I speak English.

Here's what I learned at the session:
1) You can shake hands with people to make friends with them.
2) There are 669 Chinese students at University of Queensland and 369 U.S. students.
3) Mumbling Australians with faulty PA systems are generally not effective at communicating information to an auditorium full of international students.

Lest I sound like an ingrate, I did gather practical information from my "Safety Down Under" session today. Here we learned about all the stuff that can kill you in Australia--from drunken Aussies to spiders, snakes, jellyfish, and sharks. We were warned about the birds here that will swoop down and pull tufts of hair out of people's heads. The speaker suggested putting your "sunnies" (sunglasses) on the back of your head so the bird will think you are looking at them. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not. Still trying to get the hang of Australian humor. (On a side note, another fellow decided that my new Australian nickname should be "Sunnie." Great--I mean AWESOME! as they say here all the time). We were also taught that if we are in danger, we should SCREAM! Personally I find pepper spray to be much more effective, but apparently it is illegal here.

After the session I went to look at a double bed base and discovered these "when nature attacks" stories were chillingly commonplace. The person selling the bed told me that he was moving furniture last year in Brisbane and got bit by something, on his foot. Pretty soon his toe turned black and things went downhill from there. He almost lost his leg.

So the moral of the story is--if you see a spider, SCREAM!

Howdy from Down Under

Howdy mates!

I've been in Australia for almost a week now! I've been busy recovering from jet lag, trying not to drool on myself, and searching for an apartment--all at the same time. Multi-tasking.

Thus far I am loving the warm weather. Sorry, Kansas. I'm in shorts and a tank top as we speak. I feel somewhat malicious writing that...

While I'd like to offer a grand opening post, I'm afraid you'll have to deal with a bulleted list of observations. Look, I'm already developing laid back habits...oh well. No drama.

• The Australian accent has started sounding "normal" to me. This means I can actually understand what people are saying about 80% of the time. The rest of the time I'm baffled by completely unfamiliar terms and phrases like "ranga" (red-head, comes from orangutan), "no drama" (no worries), "boot" (car trunk), and "arvo" (afternoon). I'm constantly asking for translation. And I speak English.
  
• I've learned one basic rule of Aussie grammar: drop the ending and add "y." So breakfast is "brekky." Chicken parmigiana is "chicken parmy." Kindergarten is "kindy." This is not just spoken--this is actually written on signs. My spell checker is freaking out right now.
  
• Burger King is "Hungry Jack's" here. I had an Aussie burger from there the other day. It was basically a Whopper with beetroot (pickled beets) and a fried egg. Try this at your next barbie (barbecue)!
  
• There is white coffee, flat coffee, and all sorts of other crazy coffees I've never heard of in my java history. The other day I asked for an iced black coffee with no sugar and milk. The cashier looked baffled and a long discussion ensued regarding just what exactly I was going to drink. Thankfully a helpful Canadian worked there and was able to get it sorted. (See, that's another Aussie phrase...)
• I have become a shiny person. No, I'm not talking about my positive personality and happy outlook--I'm talking about the oil field formally known as my face. This is what happens when you are pale in a country with no ozone left.
  
• The ants here bite. They like fleshy bums. They do not like when fleshy bums sit on their ant trails. Their bites burn. Get the picture?
• I have managed to secure a room in a flat (apartment) that was not flooded, cockroach infested, moldy, or generally creepy. I also learned that one should not refer to someone as a "roommate," as that implies sharing a bed and/or bedroom. That explains why I got so many responses to my roommate queries...
• I have already been quizzed about Dorothy's status and her red shoes. My clever response is, "Oh, Dorothy whinges (complains) a lot. And Toto has fleas. I got tired of them and stole her red shoes. And I ended up here in the other Oz." (Those of you who saw my feet my last few nights in Manhattan know there is truth to the shoe story).
  
• I have not heard one person say "G'day mate!" in the course of a week. Before I left Kansas I was joking around with friend who had been in Australia, repeating the phrase with a jolly accent. They looked at me with a straight face and said, "Don't ever say that to an Australian. Ever." So, happily I have been spared the embarrassment.

So on that note, I'm going to wish you all g'day...er, cheers!

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