My hat's off to you, ma'am. You've seen the world in a state I could only imagine, despite all my efforts to understand and appreciate. I fear the day society forgets how fragile civilization can be.
I spent my childhood between countries: America and Australia. Basically, I was born in Queensland, Australia - moved to Hawaii - moved to California - moved back to Australia - moved back to California. The most I've spent in either country is 10 years, which is right now. I don't really have a place to consider my original home. I have no original culture to refer to, just a mash-up of the things I've observed and experienced. I didn't have a problem adapting, but I never truly fit in, either.
I have very nationally and ethnically diverse relatives and very close family friends of diverse origins... A Czech grandmother, Egyptian cousin, American aunty, Filipino uncle -- Indian, Chinese, Hawai'ian, Japanese, Maori, etc. -- rich, poor, medium class...
I've grown to know many different lifestyles because of this.
I stayed in several locations in Australia. Lightening Ridge. One of my grandmothers lived in a fairly remote, rural area. We lived with her for a while. The nearest neighbor was about a 10-minute walk away. The nearest town was about a 30-minute drive away. The community was fairly close. Everyone knew eachother. I loved the atmosphere. Every morning, you could hear nothing but nature; the birds. The air was cool and fresh, with a slight taste of eucalyptus. Almost everyone had a dog, so the dogs would roam around or hang out at people's houses. This one particular dog took to liking me, so she would wait outside our house and follow me around everywhere she could... my little guardian. It was perfectly fine to wander around freely during the day, as long as you were careful about snakes -- and large bodies of water.
The town was known for its Opals, so my family and I would do some amateur opal collecting during our stay. We didn't find the 40 lb. monster we were hoping for, but we filled a few jars with pretty little ones, just for memories.
I saw a film about OPAL collecting, the chap wanted to hide the knowledge of the place where they were.
Most evenings, the neighbors would gather at our place for some BBQ and beer. They were hardy folk, but friendly. This one man would catch the large, bearded lizards creeping about his property. He brought some to show me before he went out to release them.
sounds really fascinating to me jaydelart.
I lived in a USMC base in Hawai'i. K-Bay. My stepfather was a U.S. Marine, at the time. Our entire suburban neighborhood was made up of military families. It's safe to say the area was neat, and the people were
generally very polite. I was a child model back then, so we would often drive to the big cities so I could wear fancy clothes and a big smile, say corny jokes, and take some pictures. It was a fun place to live.
Ah so you were a child model-- I hope you were allowed to keep some of your earnings. what a contrast to your Australian experience!!...
Though, they did have a centipede and fire ant problem in the area I was living, when I was there. I had pet rabbits... until a centipede found its way into their cage. And those dangerous critters weren't small... almost a foot long, from what I can remember. As a kid, you also had to make sure you didn't roll around on the ground, because once you had rolled over a fire ant colony, you'd be painfully informed. Of course, accidentally stepping on one was hard to avoid sometimes, also.
I've lived in California for a little over half my life. Richmond. We had African-American relatives whom we stayed with for a while. The American mainland is considerably different from Hawai'i. It was here that I became familiar with the less innocent aspects of life: Of course, there's a lot of good things to be said about California, but, in terms of contrast in my experiences, this is a notable detail. It's a little more worrying strolling down the streets here. I'm familiar with a lot of good people, but also a lot of bad. I've heard gunshots outside my window, seen crime scenes with the bodies still laying on the floor, witnessed drugs being bought and sold... lol. It's not as bad as it sounds, trust me. I'm primarily referring to a certain area of America which is uniquely known for its crime; the less glamorous spots of California. And it is definitely possible to come here and not experience it.
I was fairly well known at my school when I came here. I still had my Australian accent. Interesting enough, I also found that I was somewhat more athletic than most of the kids at my school. When I was in Australia, we would run
a lot... and I was usually the slowest. However, moving to CA, I could outrun almost everybody.
Oh, and is it strange to walk around with no shoes? lol You obviously were very fit.
... Anyway, sorry for writing a book. I'm home, sick, so there's not much I can do.
I left out a lot of details but tried to include as much as I could. The world is a beautiful place. I would like to believe I've seen some great things... some people here have traveled more than me, and I could only imagine what they've experienced.
I definitely wouldn't want to live life not seeing what it was like in another country.
People are people; the sky is the sky; the ocean is the ocean... No. You can learn a lot by just visiting and observing. It can also help you better appreciate where you came from.