Max's Travel Update: A lovely life...

Hello all! First let me apologize for not keeping you updated as frequently as I'd like. But a TON has been going on. Lets see. What to tell first? Let start off talking about Australia! This place is wonderful! The gorgeous natural habitats only reflect the gorgeous and wonderful people. Their saying "no worries" is more like a slogan than a lax response. Everyone lives here. I mean really LIVES. I think that Australians really do remember that you only live once, and go full-on every day, but don't work too hard. This work to live (instead of live to work) mindset is reflected in the store hours. MOST stores are open until 5 or 5:30. Malls close then, and some (not all) grocery stores stay open till 7:30. Banks are done (i mean lights out, locked door) by 4:30 each day. And then best part is... they start around 9 or 10 each morning!! So I believe we can generally say Aussies like to live, not work, and thus that is reflected in their relaxed culture. Plus, music and other arts are really celebrated and supported here, as I saw people dancing in the street the other day to the sweet sounds of a street musician. So cool!

OK. next part. FOOD.

Can I say that I have never been surrounded by so much ethnic food in my life? Argentina was quite a feast (a ton of bang for your buck), but Australia, well Australia has it all. When I walk home from school every afternoon my stomach is tempted with the savory smells of Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Greek, Deli, and Fusion restaurants. And its not only one restaurant of each kind… its more like 4 of each kind! So, grandma, when you worry weather I am getting my healthy selection of fruits and veggies… WORRY NO MORE! Plus my tongue gets to go on a rollercoaster each night! I love cooking here- I recently have been trying to imitate the wonderful Indian and Thai dishes I tasted in my area. (So far so good) I make a mean Chicken Vindaloo. Oh within the food-related sections… did I mention that they charge for condiments here?!!?! And if you know me, you know I’m all about the sauce baby. But recently I have been without my bbq, ranch, and even ketchup, as I am boycotting PAYING FOR CONDIMENTS. WHAT AND OUTRAGE!

So yea, Australia likes to get you with those kinds of restrictions. Another example is Internet. Here, they charge people by their usage, i.e. for 40 dollars a month I get 3 GB of Internet. Now I’m not the biggest downloader, and I’m not a youtube freak either…but come on! I can barely video-chat with my family with this low bandwith! So yea, they get you with Internet, phone and condiment usage- CUZ THEY KNOW WE NEED IT. I mean honestly. Who nowadays doesn’t use the Internet? And who can eat French fries without Ketchup?! I don’t want to live in a world without french-fries and ketchup. (minor tangent: ketchup is called tomato sauce here and pronounced with a think Aussie accent)

What else about this new place? One of the things I respect most about Australia is the fact that the oldest Indigenous humans in known history still practice their culture, in a reasonably preserved manor. It is fascinating to experience tradition that is 25,000 years old and still being continued today. But, Australia is a third world country, due to poverty and substance abuse issues, yet the whites still live in a Western world as if nothing was wrong. There is a lot of racism here, mostly toward the indigenous, which is WHACK because they were here before us!

Sorry to bring yall down, but I am currently learning about these social issues in my classes.

I love my courses. LOVE THEM.

they are challenging, high-level, no-longer-babying courses that analyze all

aspects of life. I am taking a biological psychology course that explains

the biological processes of everyday behavior and physiological actions. It

tries to explain that everything...

EVERYTHING is controlled by biological processes.

NOT TRUE.

I am also taking a Health Psychology course, which analyzes health behaviors

through psychological, social, and environmental factors.

This class is the complete opposite of my bio class as it suggests that

there are more factors involved than just biology when describing behavioral

situations. We are currently studying the mind-body connection, which is so

cool, as I continue to meditate, and be aware of what my body tells me. My

project is on pain management and hypnosis (or stress management and

meditation.... haven't chosen yet).

I'm taking a course called Cross Cultural History, which challenges the

accounts that make up our history by analyzing the contact zone.

i.e. who what when and where of the exchange between two or more cultures.

we are currently analyzing the colonization of the United States, and how

Indigenous Americas (Native Americans) were impacted (mostly by the death of

over 80% of the population due to the diseases the whities brought over).

This is a very interesting class because it encourages deep analyzation,

skepticism of our known history, and looking at a situation from multiple

perspectives. I love this kinda stuff.

My last class is called Group and Organizational Behavior. It is a business

class that analyzes groups and group behavior (to become more efficient),

which is great for me at this time, as I am trying to develop a team of

musicians. I say TEAM instead of BAND because (if we choose to) we will

consciously work towards success through music through a team lens... each

person giving their part to add to the group's success. Last night we

studied teams- did yall know we call the majority of groups teams because

(psychologically), the members will perform better because its a "team" not

just a "group." Interesting.

Hmm What else? Oh yea! I moved from my on campus accommodation to a better place. Ah the rollercoaster of life. I am finally settled in a wonderful apartment

in an area of Brisbane called West End. Think the drag in Austin meets

Greenwhich Village. TONS of cafe's, bars, funk shops and music venues, and i

can walk to anywhere i need to go. To get to class I walk to the Cultural

Center Bus Stop (15 minutes) and take a single bus to campus. I am so happy

to be in a better place.

West End has a small community feel, where you walk down the street waving

at people you see everyday, and street musicians (buskers) conjure up sounds

that make people dance in the street. Literally.

Attached are pictures of my place (not yet Fung-Shweyed). I have a living

room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, and my own little porch. I sit outside

every morning as the day (and I) awake and it is such a comfortable area to

play/write music, eat, converse, and host all my cool Ozzy friends! Last