Life in Australia

Spent the Easter / Passover holiday in Byron Bay this year. Lived up in the hills with a beautiful Indonesian family (below) and partied to the sweet sounds of the East Coast Blues and Roots festival down in town. Even made it to the magnificent beaches and lighthouse... the most easterly point of Australia.

Tjintana Tjintana, Tjahaja, and Tjinta

So I suppose it all began when I met Tjintana at WOMAD last month. Snapped a few photos of her and we hit it off, partying late into the night. After some convincing and a media pass from another friend, Alison, I decided to head out to Byron and stay with Tjintana and her 2 daughters, Tjinta and Tjahaja. Yea, no kidding, I had to think for a second before spitting out their names each time! What a nice, welcoming family though, and they quickly took me in as their own. The view from the house was quite spectacular and the solitude was nice to retreat to after a long day at the festival. Although upon first arriving, I found one of the biggest spiders in the bathroom that I've ever seen ... followed by a host of cockroaches romping around the kitchen. Good ole' fashioned Australian country living! Even the water came from a tank in the backyard that gets filled by a pipe from water running off the roof of the house...

And the festival... very different from WOMAD in every way, but just as great! The acts were bigger names, the grounds were smaller, the amount of people was easily doubled, the security was far more intense, etc, etc... I saw and photographed some incredible acts that I've been waiting years to see including India.Arie, the Skatalites, Femi Kuti, ... and was introduced to some new names such as Daara J (meaning "school of life"), a hip-hop/dancehall act from Senegal (Africa) and a guitar duo from Mexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela. Even got turned on to others I've never been too fond of like David Gray. Being down in front of all these stages, shooting for the first three songs, really brought an incredible life to much of the music, David Gray being the prime example. The loud music, brilliant lights, and roaring crowd behind made it quite extraordinary. I made sure to take the time to listen and enjoy up front with the camera away from my eye for a few minutes of each act. One of my highlights was surely standing directly in front of the speaker (I know, I know, not good) for the Skatalites and closing my eyes, cropping a huge smile, and dancing my ass off. Chillin in front of Femi Kuti's speaker was just as incredible, but began to bring a ringing to my ears so it was time to move on...

The weather is famous for really sucking during the festival, but this year was supposedly one of the driest they've had in years. Although it did start raining Saturday night during the final act and proceeded to downpour through the waking hours. Someone said it was the hardest rain she's seen there in 13 years! We hung out in the VIP tent (where we ended most nights) until the sewage system began to send a pleasant odor throughout the tent, and then security kicked everyone out to the rain at around 2am. Time to head home to download cards and charge batteries anyway...

Yothu Yindi (Australia) Getting bored of the norm Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley (Jamaica)

The one downside to the festival was the security and monitoring of the media. To make a long story short, I felt like I was 7 years old in camp and needed to be walked around by a chaperone the whole time. Wasn't psyched about this fact but it wasn't until I started missing acts that I really let my feelings be known. And for those of you who know me, I have no problem with sharing! On Sunday I spoke with the head of the media staff and voiced my opinion. Monday I caused the media staff and security a bit more of a problem as they were forced to chase me down at one point after I blew through 2 security guards and a few staff. I was quite fired up, as they also became after my sweet move! A bit later though I was approached by two of the media staff who confessed that they found it to be quite funny, and there were surely no hard feelings... I've since kept in touch with one of them, again confirming that fact All in all, it ended well, and the head of the media asked me for my "professional opinion" of how the festival was run, and proceeded to invite me to return next year.

The people at the festival were so very nice, and similar to WOMAD, I scored up several contacts around the country, some of which I visited in Sydney just a few shorts weeks later. I wasn't planning on hitting Sydney, but I'm surely glad I went, it was a great trip!

It really seems as though so many Australians travel internationally so much more than Americans. I really enjoy hearing of everyone's experiences, places they've been, the method of travel, and how their trips are financed. Money is surely nice to have but it doesn't seem to stop many from following their dreams.

And now who would have thought that I could travel around the country without paying for the majority of my accommodation?! These festivals really are great for making friends! Even ran into a girl I know from Melbourne from a few weeks prior...

And on another note... I spoke to some random guy at the festival about how he hates Americans. I find (or at least use to find) these conversations fairly interesting as they are eye-openers. And he's surely not the first I've spoken to (or more like listened to) on this topic. It's really a shame. I mean I knew that America isn't on everyone's buddy list, but the Aussies? ... Tuesday I spoke to an 8 yr boy who asked me if I hate George Bush... out of the clear blue. He hates George Bush, he told me so. He hates Bush because his father does. Naturally. Then I hit the airport to head back to Adelaide. In the gift shop, browsing books, and came across the book on English finances, appropriately termed 'Ugly Americans'. Maybe someone can fill me in, I'm missing the connection.

And just in case you're wondering, and do not know... Americans are "ugly" because WE'RE loud, obnoxious, and ignorant. All of us... we're the same, didn't ya know?! Sure, the people I talk to assure me though... "oh, but not you, you're cool!" No shit, and how many other Americans do you know personally, or are we just all BUSH?!

I do think it's an honest shame that we carry such a bad name, but in the meanwhile, I wouldn't count on any massive changes in the near term, so I guess they're just gonna have to deal with us.

Last night I had corn & port (wine) for dinner. That's right, a can of corn and a glass of port. A well balanced meal I must say. Its even got a nice ring to it, 'Corn & Port'... sounds like a catchy Ween song title. If any of my ever-so-talented musician friends would like to use it, she's all yours.

Tuesday - 5/9/06 - 6:30pm

Today I had for the first time, a Tim Tam biscuit (aka cookie) with coffee. I've had Tim Tams before, and coffee before, but this time around I tried a co-worker's recommended style for eating them. Bite off a tiny bit on each side of the Tim Tam, then suck the coffee through the biscuit, and quickly eat the biscuit before it falls apart. Delicious!

Another food recommendation to you all... and this one's easier since all the ingredients are sold in the US. 2 pieces of bread (any kind really - I used wholegrain) toasted on a plate, covered in cheese (again, any kind - I used grated pizza cheese). Then heat up a can of baked beans (I used a new style of beans in sweet chili sauce which was very good), and put the beans over the cheese and bread, which will melt the cheese. Bon'appetit! It's cheap, quick, and easy and with a side of potatoes or something else, it can be a fairly complete dinner.

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Misc restaurant talk (written a while ago):

Australians are crazy about olives, they’re on everything. Don’t like this fact b/c I hate olives with a passion. I think I may hate olives more than any other (regular) food. They sneak them into sandwiches and pizzas and other dishes without having them listed on the menu. It’s really rather cruel.

There are a lot of cafés, esp near my apt. This means that probably more than half of the places I eat at, I have to sit down, figure out what I want to eat, note my table number, and then get up and go order. The cafés are cheap which is nice and the food is ok, but I like having someone come take my order. That’s it.

It doesn’t rain in Australia much. Therefore, there is a continual shortage of water. Because of this fact, many places serve water to customers in a glass that’s slightly larger than a shot-glass. To get this glass refilled, you must wait for a long time (see the next paragraph). Another local place won’t even serve you water after you’ve ordered and sat down. They ‘don’t have enough time to serve people water’ and because of the supply, I guess they make it more of a hassle for you to get it. Pretty cool.

And lastly for the wait-staffs. Flat out, no good. I honestly cannot say that I’ve been to one restaurant yet where I’ve actually been impressed with the wait-staff (figure I’ve been here for roughly 50 days now (this was written a while ago obviously - since I've found a few places) and I’ve eaten out almost every night). There have been a few times when they’ve been ok or bordering on good, but most times it’s downright bad service. After several discussions with people, it’s been decided that it’s the fact that there is no tipping here. This causes two results… 1) the wait-staff doesn’t need to keep you happy like in America so you give them a good tip and 2) they don’t need to be quick and rush you out to bring in more customers who can also tip. One night recently, I finished eating, asked for the check, and then waited over 20 minutes for it to arrive. By myself, with a book in hand but it was too dark outside by this time to even read it. When he brought it, he told me I could go up to the counter to pay… as if I couldn’t have done that 20 minutes prior. Sweet.

But while it sounds like a lot of bitching, the restaurants ARE quite good and I can't really complain.

Still waiting to hit the Apothecary, an 1800's pharmacy, now turned wine bar/restaurant... I'm excited for that one! The Adelaide Central Markets are pretty great too, more talk and photos on those shortly...