In my quest to give way to the world, I’m all about growth and introspection.
I just returned from a wonderfully relaxing trip to the Gold Coast in southern Queensland. Among other things I: saw the sunrise from the most eastern point in Australia, caught glimpses of wild wallabies while hiking along giant gorges, relaxed (like it was my job) on beautiful beaches, explained that despite my complexion I can get sunburn, discussed the complexities of US race relations (in particular the “N word”), and introduced a very excited Danish friend to beef jerky. I’d say it was an excellent trip overall, rife with natural beauty, really great friends, and cultural exchange (pictures below).
On the note of cultural exchange; Sydney and, in particular, the courses I’m enrolled in, have encouraged a long overdue paradigm shift in my life. Courses devoted to sustainable development and conservation biology always start by reminding you of the awful things we’re (people) doing to the environment. And there is always a particular focus on US society. So it gets real, really real. I recently learned that most Americans use twice as much water per day (around 400 liters) as people in Northern Europe. As such, I’ve started timing my showers. Similarly, no house in Australia built in the last few decades has an “insinkerator,” or garbage disposal. EVERY house I’ve lived in in the US has one (I won’t be using them when I get back as it’s a completely unnecessary large energy user). In Australia, the plugs have switches on them. You can turn off a plug! How do we not have this in the States?? In the same vein, about 95% of the toilets I’ve used in this country have two buttons for flushing (one for #1 and the other for #2). It saves a ton of water and I really don’t understand how we haven’t adopted this.
I recently calculated my ecological footprint here: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/.
It lets you know how many planets we’d need if everyone lived the way I do. Quite frankly, it’s depressing, and I’m one of the greenest people I know! So now I think before using a paper towel, almost never leave my laptop on standby, and I’m trying not to buy packaged produce. I walk every chance I get, I never buy water bottles, and I aim for 1/3 to ½ of my meals to be vegetarian. They’re little things, but, hey, you gotta start somewhere.
The last thing I’ve recently discovered is that my mother raised a lover of the arts. I’ve been in Sydney for less than three months, and I’ve seen six shows at the Opera House. From Savion Glover to Aboriginal Dance Theater to string quartets and rock bands, I live at the Opera House. This weekend, in fact, I’m taking advantage of free (!) live music, dance classes, and outdoor screenings of Happy Feet and Footloose as part of their spring dance performances. It’s been so nice to have affordable (I’ve paid less than AUD $45 for most of the shows), world class performance art at my fingertips!
So, in summary, I’m becoming a much greener, ambassador for my culture, who loves the arts; this is growth people.
Surfers Paradise. I miss it (I spent 8 hours inside doing work today)
Me being pensive, with giant valleys behind me
Most easterly point on the Aussie mainland, a perfect place to see the sunrise
Waterfall over a gorge
I also do science: an Australian fish (from Sydney Harbor) which, like most other Australian animals, can seriously injure you. We were doing catch and release to determine biodiversity in the area.
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