My Island Home: Moving to Catalina Island

I’ve had three, approaching 4 sleepless days. I am exhausted. However I need to write. So much has happened in the last few days that I feel it vital I share it before life goes on and these moments become merely my own incredible memories. I ended up my stay in Merlin’s Perch on a high. The two new wwoofers who arrived as I left were incredible and I felt a really strong, deep bond with them. I also enjoyed spending time with Lloyd alone and getting to know him more too. I feel like Merlin’s Perch is my home away from home and Lloyd became part of my ‘international family’. You know, those people you come across in life that make an impact on you in some way or another. I was also very fortunate to spend a lot of really meaningful time with Diogenes in the last week as well. Love & gratitude are flowing. I cried for an hour or so to myself in bed after we separated for yet another long-distant stint. My tears were completely one of raw love and deep gratitude though. They also represented the gratitude I felt not just for Di, but for everyone in my life and family and all the experiences I’ve had up until that moment. My time at Merlin’s Perch came to an end, knowing full well that I’ll be back one day soon.

My amazing friend and old housemate Mia drove me down to LA, cruising Hwy 1 to SoCal (Southern California) has a completely different vibe… I like it! Palm trees, people about everywhere on the streets, the summery vibe (despite being the middle of winter) is innate here. I stayed on a Tall Ship in Long Beach over night and caught the 6am ferry over the island in the morning. We were greeted with huggingly warm sun and a pod of dolphins. Fox Landing is the base where I will be living and it is only accessible by boat. It didn’t take us long to get our dive gear on and hit the ice… I mean water. Same thing here. It was freeeezing. We snorkeled and oriented ourselves around the bay. After, we enjoyed a three hour hike around the canyon. Later, we sat on the roof of the instructor accommodation and told stories and learnt about constellations. Aside from the WOW-factor of how amazing this place is, and how incredible everything we have done is, the people, the set-up and the program are pretty damn good too. We exchanged many laughs, ate delicious healthy food (a nori soup for example!), sang along to the guitar and just got to know each other. I am lying in bed, desperate to close my eyes and finally sink into my pillow. But my excitement was too great and I just had to quickly write something about my first day on the island. I am just STOKED to be here.

* * *

This morning we woke up at sunrise and swam/drove a boat along with over 100 dolphins who were so inquisitive and played around the bow of the boat. We then went on an incredible 3 hour kayak. The water was so clear you could see 30ft below; it had the texture of silk. And we got paid for it… This is the life! 

Wwoofing: Big Sur I

Wwoofing. World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Wwoofers exchange their labour for a bed and some food every day around the World, simultaneously learning, growing and sharing.  A week into my journey wwoofing I feel the need to write. Write. Write. Write. Draw. Create. I am in a haven for expression, peace and community. As I write, three wwoofers, my boyfriend and our host are sitting around the fire place. Conversation, music, guitar, art fill the room as we sit in a rain cloud that creates a bubble of magnificent natural beauty and peace around the farm. The breathtaking view of the ocean over the rolling hills is hidden by fog and we are about to prepare another community dinner as the sun goes to rest for the day. Night approaches. I arrived exactly a week ago and climbed up into my loft; the walls lined with books. Lloyd, the wwoofing host, built his house gathering eclectic mixes of art, textures, literature and stories to match.

We awake at whatever time we awake (the earlier the better because we can fit more adventures into our day) and set off to work, retiring before lunch some days and working until sunset on others. In any case, the days are relaxed and filled with new adventures. We have undertaken activities ranging from pruning, transplanting, setting up irrigation, erosion control, seeding, other farm visits, public organic agriculture lectures, farm maintenance, community networking, and more.  Each wwoofing experience is different and people visit different farms for different reasons. Some venture and journey looking for farms to gain practical experience to start their own life living off the land. Others use wwoofing as a medium to travel using the wwoofing sites as stopovers on bike tours and the like. And me? I am wwoofing to be out in nature, away from it all, and enjoy some time of peace with likeminded wayfaring strangers. Merlin’s Perch is exactly the right place for that. Today Karen, Laura and I worked on the hillside helping establish an orchard. The view was breath-taking; a cloud swept in with the breeze off the ocean and we worked in a foggy dome. The land was green and fertile and the thick air created a rainbow in the valley of the mountains as the sun lowered in the sky. We got our hands dirty, talked nonsense whilst simultaneously having those iconic deep and meaningful conversations, stopped for a breather and grazed on some homemade bread every now and then. What a life.

Aside from the work and nature aspect, wwoofing is a refuge where many ground themselves emotionally and/or spiritually. The relationships you build with not just your host but your fellow wwoofers are incredible. Laura (20) and Karen (24) are mirrors for me, despite the diversity of our upbringings. We share similar dreams, hopes and ambitions but intend to manifest them differently. Our challenges (be it career, relationships, family or something else entirely) are similar and we find strength in knowing that we are together in our respective journeys. Given there have been roughly 4 wwoofers (including myself) here at a time, the house has been social and busy. There have also been a lot of dishes! We gather our creativity at meal times to prepare delicious feasts from fresh ingredients. We have made stuffed capsicums, tabouleh, tatziki, fresh salads, soups, smoothies, fresh fruit, homemade pastas and risottos, different kinds of fresh breads, all with delicious ingredients from fresh lemons to coriander and from kale to goats cheese. The best part about it is coming together to create and consequently be greatly rewarded by our communal efforts with a scrumptious assortment of fresh food.

After living in what I have now realized to be a bubble, the Berkeley Bubble, I am learning about different aspects of American culture. The wwoofers come from wide and far and have been even wider and farther in their travels. It is truly wonderful to learn and hear about their views, beliefs and values. Karen, in particular, comes from Virginia, raised out in the ‘mid west’ and probably has her head screwed on better than most other people I’ve ever met. Even political discussions differ from the same discussions I had with my fellow Berkeley/San Francisco companions. It makes me realize how much I want to visit the South and the East to learn more about the good ole’ US of A.

Having little internet access and no phone reception is also incredibly comforting and grounding. I feel much more peaceful and intend to go for some local hikes, bike treks and do some more painting and drawing over the next week. In addition to the farm work, we are also constantly meeting people, going to farmers markets, going around town running errands and I have made some incredible contacts and people working in/ running inspiring non-profit organizations. I don’t know what it is about this region that inspires me so much, but I know for certain my first week wwoofing has been an amazing positive learning curve. I can’t wait for week two. 

Check out the full photo album here.

Reflections of a Traveloholic: Saying Goodbye & Taking the Next Step (Again!)

I just climbed my way onto the Amtrak train, with my arms full of miscellaneous bags containing raw food, books, a yoga mat, photos, some clothes and hiking boots… heading south. While I waited for the train to arrive I laid in the sun on a bench reminiscing the last four months since my arrival in the United States. I am an Aussie, taking on the World; it is a powerful thought. I remember the sensation of bringing home my Ikea bed in a taxi and assembling my baron room into what would later become my home, my escape, my place. Last night, I dreamt my last dreams in that bed and said au revior to my life in Berkeley . My housemates became family, my colleagues became friends and I feel an incredible sense of gratitude for all the people that have impacted my life over the last few months. Saying goodbye felt trivial as it is impossible to comprehend that I won’t be coming back to Euclid Avenue any time soon. I found my place, and now I am packing up and leaving again. For what, though?

A career move and another life experience is the short answer. But when will all my travels become enough travelling? Saying goodbye time after time is hard, especially when meaningful relationships are formed with people and place. My farewell celebrations over the last week reminded me of my last week/month in Australia. The question travelers with sentimental bones often ask themselves is, is all this travelling and are all these new experiences worth being away from those you love and always having to say goodbye? Well, of course it depends on who you are, where you’re from and what you value. Knowledge, career, learning, experience, new friendships, culture, new food and environments are among a few of the benefits of traveling. The opportunities I will experience in the coming months will be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and there is a thrill of excitement, anticipation and freedom is packing up and going where the wind takes you. In some ways, I am closer with my family now because I make an effort to write to them, keep in contact and share more with them rather than take them for granted. Or at least I feel closer to them in heart and spirit. I know that I have definitely learnt to love more.

Currently, I am sitting on an the train, on my way down to Salinas from Berkeley. It’s 3pm; my favourite time of day. The sun glares a perfect warmth across everything it touches, and creates a soft shadow over everything it does not. I’m wrapped up in a blanket feeling cosy and relaxed but still very aware of the icey chill I face when I will get off the train. This is my first winter in the Northern Hemisphere and despite living in one of the warmer parts of the country I always seem to forget just how cold it gets. The temperature has been warming up lately though and I am incredibly excited for the joy that summer brings.

I’m feeling an overwhelming sense of groundedness and awareness as I sit here with a gentle smile staring out the window, waiting for ‘what next’. There are what looks to be floodplains out to my right with the winter sun reflecting over the water and the famous Monterey peninsula mountains out to my left in shadow. The towns and industrial civilizations I am passing are quaint and still. They remind me of rural Australia, and feel nostalgic for home. It is in this perfect moment of quietness that sparked the urge to reflect and write the way I used to at the beginning of my journey; my journey on a one way ticket. When I was ‘travelling’, before I settled in Berkeley, I always had time by myself on trains, planes, buses to just sit, as I am now, and contemplate as I journeyed from one new experience to the other. I guess day to day life consumed me and it’s been a long time since I have not only contemplated and reflected, but had time to.

So here I am again, on the road, ready to tackle yet a new challenge, experience and life lesson and I couldn’t be more at peace about it. 

Australia Day & Farewell Celebrations

The 26^th of January, Australia Day, marks the day I am leaving my life in Berkeley. What, where, why? You ask. Well, it’s time. I was offered a job in SoCal (the local term for Southern California) on Catalina Island working as a Science Teacher whilst simultaneously scuba diving, kayaking, hiking, boating every day. Anyone who knows how much of a water baby I am will understand why this is a dream position for me; it combines my love for the ocean and outdoors with science and education. “Catch a man a fish; you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; you feed him for a lifetime”. Educating our youth about the environment and science is fundamental in creating sustainable futures, and this position will not only give me invaluable experience professionally in the education field, but did you read what I just wrote? Scuba diving every day! The weather is getting warmer, and summer is fast approaching. It is just an opportunity I’d be mad to turn down.

Prior to my move to the island on the 10^th of February, I am going to be working on an organic farm for a few weeks in exchange for food & accommodation with a man called Llyod, whose story I have yet to learn. I will elaborate more once I arrive on the farm in Big Sur and can give you more insight.

In the meantime, I had to go through that awful process of saying goodbye. As I mentioned, my departure coincided with Australia Day, so what better a reason to throw a party? Further, a week or two before I left we had another Australian move into the house, Nick Nelson. His story and mine are uncannily similar. For starters, we both have Brazilian partners who we met in Australia at the same time, were long distance for the same time, moved to the US with and their birthdays are a day apart. We also both studied in Canberra and have similar social circles in Newcastle/Sydney and now we are living in the same house in Berkeley. The list of unfathomable connections goes on and needless to say I made a great friend in him who I will somehow hold dear forever despite our short-lived friendship. So Nick and I stocked up the Fosters (yes, that awful American beer they claim to be Australian except it isn’t even sold in Australia), snaggers (cheap sausages, ketchup and white bread), goon (boxed wine) and played the Triple J Hottest 100 (alongside some John Williamson, ‘I still call Australia home’, and various other Australian tributes). Everyone came in thongs (flipflops) and boardies or footy shorts. We started the party with a sunset BBQ, and as the night got rowdier the dancefloor took place. Needless to say, the Aussies were the last ones standing (no one can handle goon like a true blue, dinky die).  It was a fantastic way to farewell my friends and wake up the next day with that feeling, ‘yes, I laughed a lot last night’.

On my last night at Euclid Manor all the housemates that could make it went out to Indian food and we ate until we exploded and somehow rolled back home to bed and crashed out early.

On a side note, earlier in the week Nick and I went to see ‘The Way Back’, a film director but Australian director Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society). There was a Q&A with Peter after the film, and a small reception with champagne and au d’ouvres where we got to meet Peter after as well. It was really lovely, and in some ways I wished I had harnessed the cultural scene a little more in San Francisco whilst I was there. I guess I will just have to come back. 

A Very VEGAS New Year

“So what will we do for New Years Eve?” was the question floating around as December was coming to an end. Last year I was celebrating in my favourite place in the whole world, the Margaret River region of Western Australia, with my nearest and dearest. It was a celebratory moment of finishing university, coming back home, and preparing for the next step. Well, now I have taken the next step what else was there left for me to do but PARTY?! New York was originally on the cards, but when Vegas came onto the table (excuse the pun) we immediately thought: Road Trip! So Diogenes and his two housemates Tiago and Mario and one of my housemates Summer packed up and travelled east to the state of Nevada; aka the land of legal prostitution and gambling and regrets.

We left prior to sunset on New Years Eve for the sweet 7 hour drive to a little random city in the middle of the desert, Las Vegas. The drive went really quickly as we covered all those taboo conversation topics like sex, religion and politics, played celebrity heads, I-spy, and all those other road trip favourites. We passed the snowy Sierra Nevadas which were glorious in their appeal on our way there, and the desert landscape was stunning surreal. Just like in the movies. We got lost on our way into Vegas, but somehow managed to take a short-cut. We arrived at our hotel The Sahara (yes, the cheapest last minute pick on Expedia – at least it was on The Strip!) to be greeted with an hour-long line out the door for check-in and an overwhelming amount of coin slots, cigarette smoke and flashing lights and sounds. The hotel, despite its aged facilities conveniently had a shop (filled with 80s/90s fashion – no thanks) where I scored myself a much-needed purse which happened to be the only not-completely-hideous item in the whole store. Actually, I really like it. We celebrated in our room, laughing, drinking, and enjoying each other’s company until mid-evening when we hopped on the monorail and head down to the oh-so-glorious Bellagio. On the way, we all managed to get lost and somehow all manage to all find each other in a bathroom line in a completely random hotel called the Flamingo. We never asked how or why, and then ventured down to the Bellagio to watch the water fountains and fireworks at the countdown. Much love was in the air and we had an amazing, grateful, blessed, freezing start to the New Year. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, it was -2C. We spent the rest of the night playing at the Bellagio and ended up with a late night Subway feast (the only place we ate the entire time).

The Grand Canyon was on the original agenda but, given the traffic and snow and our later than expected stumble out of bed, we decided to just enjoy our day in Vegas and see the sites. We started down at the opposite end of the Strip and slowly perused various hotels and shops. Some highlights being the New York, New York Rollercoaster; possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced, Hard Rock Café and just the general nonsense that is Vegas.

As night fell we wound up at a Hotel called The Venetian. We fell in love. The Venetian had rivers flowing throughout with Italian-trained men giving Gondala rides and singing beautiful Italian throughout. But wait! Here comes my favourite part. The Sky! The Venetian had this incredible sky that when you walked you felt like the clouds were moving. Despite the darkness and freezing weather outside, every moment in this hotel felt like you were enjoying a glorious summer moment, just before dusk, in Venice. The boys watched a band and played some games in the Casino and the girls induldged at the ‘Oxygen Bar’. In hindsight, paying for oxygen doesn’t make any sense, however we did receive a massage, some herbal teas, electrotherapy and my blood did feel a little more oxygenated (great for a hangover!).

Then came the highlight of my trip! A surprise call from Australia from my Dad. “Where are you right now?”, “I’m at the Venetian”, “Oh, the Blue Man Group is playing at the Venetian, there is a 10pm show, I really want you to see them, they’re amazing. I want to buy you some tickets”… THANKS DAD! The shows in Vegas are almost the sole reason it’s worth going to Vegas and unfortunately we were on a budget that didn’t quite have room for the $150 a pop it costs to see a show. So when my Dad bought Diogenes and I surprise tickets to see one of the better shows in Vegas I was blown away. It was awesome! I have tried describing it to so many people but there just aren’t words to do it justice hence I've embedded a YouTube video for you to see for yourself. Nevertheless, in summary, it was a mind-blowing, interactive rock show with three blue men who always eat cereal.

After the show Diogenes and I went on a date by ourselves and ate gelato by the rivers in the Venetian. We finally arrived home (after a quick detour to Subway) in the early hours of the morning in preparation for our big drive home. There was a traffic jam for 300miles (not kilometers, miles!) and then there was snow, heavy rain and ice all over the road, so our journey took… well, lest just say a really long time. The boys did not go to sleep before starting work in the morning and after a weekend in Vegas, I can only imagine how hard they struggled. On the plus side, I got to see falling snow for the first time in my life. Happy New Year! 

New Years Resolutions

So here comes the time of year where you not only reflect on all you have achieved but you start preparing your goals for the New Year ahead. I just completed my eastern-horoscope 7-year cycle of change. This year is going to be a grounding year for me and I hope that by 11/11/11 (my birthday) I feel like I’m no longer transitioning, but I am on a very solid path. So what am I going to do to achieve this groundedness?

1. Get healthy. Too long I’ve been dreaming about running 10km or swimming 2km with ease, looking–I mean–feeling HOT in a bikini, enjoying the benefits of eating a Raw Food lifestyle; not ingesting chemicals into my body every day be it through cosmetics, food or drinks. Enjoying being natural & connected to nature. All round physical and mental health
   
2. Give more love. I absolutely love my family and friends and boyfriend, but sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in one’s ‘self’ and think that whatever you’re doing, feeling or thinking is more important than giving love to those whom you… well, love! That includes myself. Self-love is the most important, but giving love creates peace, harmony and brings in more love!
   
3.  Get that Job/Masters. By the end of the year I want to be in a job or Masters that fulfils me long-term (both personally and professionally) and that I will be committed to for a while. Certainty, stability and advancement in my career is my goal. It’s not just about getting experience any more; it’s about using my experience and abilities to succeed. This is the year for that to be put in place.

My New Years Resolution(s) came in three because life is holistic and this is the year I truly feel things are going to start falling into place for me in all aspects of my life. What are your New Years resolutions?

My First White Christmas (Lake Tahoe)

If you know me well, you will know that the mid 1950s is my favourite era, particularly when it comes to music and film. The first thing I did when I realized I would be spending my first Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere was start humming “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…”. Now you all know what I’m talking about, Bing Crosby’s beautiful voice charming out the best-selling single of all time (yes, that’s right folks – 50million copies and counting!). I love the mountains, I love snow and I have literally been dreaming about a white Christmas since I was a kid. So it seemed perfect that given Diogenes and I were away from family and that most of our friends had gone back to their respective families for the holidays, that we go up to the mountains and enjoy a White Christmas.

We travelled up with the married couple, Dave and Liz, who live in the studio in my house and all stayed in a quaint hotel on Tahoe Beach. We dined at a waterfront 5-star restaurant on Christmas Eve with the best seat in the house. We had a 3-course meal and ample wine to go with it. The meal was beautiful, relaxing and whilst it didn’t compare to the fresh lobsters, oysters and grilled whole fish I would normally eat on Christmas Eve, it was the perfect way to share the special meal. On actual Christmas day we travelled around Lake Tahoe, playing in the snow, exploring the view points and visiting ski resorts. Due to my injury we couldn’t ski, toboggan or do anything super fun and there were high winds so the gondolas were also closed. Nevertheless, it was just simply divine and a beautiful way to spend Christmas. The weather was perfect and we watched the sunset over the lake and mountains. I am still blown away at how beautiful it all was.

After Christmas Diogenes and I travelled down to Santa Cruz and spent some time on the beach eating prawns and scallops along the famous wharf. We reminisced time with our respective families and at home and hence enjoyed a quasi-Southern Hemisphere Christmas lunch on the beach eating seafood in memory of good times. If there is one thing for certain, Diogenes and I certainly know how to live the good life! I sent out hand-made cards to all of my family and tried to get in touch with everyone I love dearly. I felt spoilt with cards and presents flying in from Australia, Germany, Norway and Vietnam and decorated my room with flowers Diogenes gave me (Poinsettias and Winter Rose - two Christmas classics), candy canes, tinsel and other Christmas items. I really missed my friends, family and 'home' but being away from home almost made me get into the Christmas spirit more to make up for what we normally take for granted!

Click for full Facebook Album. 

Ski Accident

OK, word is out. I am bed-bound. Diogenes, Mario (Di's housemate and colleague) and I ventured up to the snow for the first time this season. The boys had never skied before and by the end of the day were rocking it! They both picked it up incredibly quickly. I was a very proud mother duck. However, I was not so fortunate in my tales. It was a combination of many factors: ill-fitted skis, ice on the slopes, black diamond slope, lack of practice/warm-up, skis that did not release, that caused me to have my worst injury on record. I don't remember how it happened, but all I remember are the thoughts going through my mind, in slow-motion, as I fell down the mountain, twisted up in my skis. I was lifted down on the back of a snow-mobile as I couldn't use my left leg. It was both fun, yet embarrassing. Luckily, I was saved by Grace, and merely tore a muscle and did some soft tissue damage in my quad. I feel my recent yoga efforts saved me from any ligament damage or broken bones. I am on crutches and making a slow but progressive recovery. I am getting movement back in my leg, and slowly retraining the muscles to walk (and I am hoping by the end of the week to walk up stairs - I hope I am not being too ambitious). I am in high-spirits and using my time to catch up my blog, read, practice some languages, and hopefully start/finish writing a journal article I've been begging for time to write for months now. Below are some happy snaps of our short-lived time up the mountain.

Social Commentary

It’s been a while since I’ve written, but I am enjoying a rainy, cold Sunday afternoon to finally update my blog. Today I did my first long-distance trip by myself, driving on the right-hand side of the road. I drove along California’s infamously huge and busy highways (6-8 lanes one way!) in peak hour traffic… in the dark… in the rain… Yes, dear friends and family, it’s official, I can drive on the right side of the road! It has been just over 2 months since touchdown in the US. But it feels like 6. It has been an uphill battle finding my feet here. That is not to say that I have not been happy, quite the contrary; I often look out the window of BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit – the local underground train system) on my way to work and feel so appreciative of not only my life & loved ones but for the opportunity I’ve been given to be here in San Francisco. I changed jobs as the working conditions at my old job weren’t compatible with me, and what a difference it has made! Finally I am getting some money in (still significantly less than the minimum wage in Australia, but at least more than the minimum wage here), which is a blessing I cannot explain. Today I indulged and bought myself some waterproof shoes, as my old ones started to get holes in the bottom causing me to walk around with wet feet all day, and I went grocery shopping and bought RED meat. Wild, I know. I can feel my iron levels sky-rocketing already. The next ‘luxury’ items I have my eyes set on are ski clothes/warm weather gear. It has been -22C up in the nearby mountains lately, with metres and metres of snow, so I am itching to get my ski boots on, and, of course, feel my toes again soon.

I have come to realize that the US both intrigues me and scares me at the same time. It’s difficult to write my honest thoughts for fear of being crass; being ‘PC’ is more than important here. No more Summer Heights High humour for me; at least not in writing, my accent still entitles me some free passes in conversation. The other day I bought a slice of pizza whilst waiting for the bus, and one of the hundreds of homeless men that exist throughout the Bay area came up to me and asked if he could sit down at my table. Without hesitation, I said ‘of course’. It was 6pm at night, dark & cold and he had just woken up for the day. He talked proudly about the blanket he had back at ‘home’, a garage in a block of apartments, and boasted about how warm it kept him. He told me his story, and it honestly seemed a little far reached—he was in the secret service around 9/11 and was an anti-Zionist, or something along those lines. But who knows, this IS Berkeley. Homelessness is a lifestyle choice for many whom you see lingering along Telegraph Ave and there are layers upon layers of Berkeleyans. The most entertaining layer is the upper-middle class Toyoto Prius drivers. There are hundreds of them here. You can’t walk to yoga without at least seeing 30-40+. Speaking of yoga, the yoga scene here is amazing. I go to a Yoga Centre called Yoga To The People, and it is Power Vinyassa Flow. It is athletic, yet thorough. The best part about it is that it is community run, so you only have to make a donation to go.

I am now working in downtown San Francisco and commute every morning from the East Bay. I absolutely adore San Francisco. The other night my friends and I went out in the Castro. If you don’t know what that is, reference Harvey Milk. Every day I talk to people from all walks of life about political, environment and social issues. The Bay area (San Francisco and surrounds) is a unique demographic in the United States. People are considered progressive and/or radical socialists here, depending on who you speak to; in other words people believe in pro-choice, gay rights & climate change. I don’t see what’s so radical about that, but with the rise of The Tea Party and capitalist conservatism the norm I guess it is all relative. More than half the country doesn’t have access to health due to complete privatisation and the health system  being ‘left up to the free market to allocate resources most efficiently’; another notion which astounds me. Everyone seems to harp on about economics here, but they seem to neglect to realise that most of the economic theories they rely on cannot function in a world that has one of those annoying, dynamic, ‘can’t be defined in a perfect system’ variables, aka humans. Health, education, equality and the environment – you know, just a few of those fundamental things that make societies work – seem to be put on the back-burner here. I’m still yet to realise for what, though. Big oil? Corporate interests? I feel I need to go and live in Texas or the mid-west or anywhere less progressive than here to even start to try and understand the mentality of the general population. With the collapse of the economy here, the collapse of the social systems, and the collapse of all that Americans hold dear and true; the American Dream, I still do not understand why this countries opts to go backward in the direction that is causing it’s collapse and realise it’s time to let go of their old ways. I know people from abroad of the US have talked for a long time about the rise of China and that ‘all great Empires must fall’, indicating the transition away from a US-centric world, but you can actually feel it happening here, day by day. It’s not some news story. There is a big shift ahead.

I see this girl every day. She has pet rats.

She sits outside the train station begging for change. 

Well, without getting much direr, I felt it important to communicate an outsider’s view from an insider’s perspective of what is happening in the US, politically and socially, at the moment. Every day I crave to go back to Norway and even Australia (which is at large a generally politically conservative county) for the simple ‘opportunities’ I once took for granted; the easy life. However, I am learning a lot here and feel blessed for this experience, all the while knowing I can go home and escape when things get ‘too hard’. Unfortunately, there are a few hundred million others who don’t have that luxury.