(some) last words

this is the last post about oz- not that it'll never come up again, but this will be the last dedicated one.
i intentionally waited for a little distance and time to consider before posting about this because i wanted to make sure it wasn't a false assumption, and as with everything else i've said about oz, full disclosure reminds the reader that i've only been there once, for 3weeks. but i was paying attention, and this is what i observed.
in many ways, australia is very progressive- they were the first to use (very attractive) currency that can wash with your jeans and come back out as pretty and perfect as when it went into that pocket. their brothels are legal, and as such, workers in the sex industry have real benefits, like they should, and can and do get regular medical checkups, and can conduct their business safely. they provide reusable shopping bags (bright green because they're environmentally friendly) to cut back plastic-bag-usage, and just about everybody uses them. they have toilets with 2 flush options* so that if all you've done is pee, you don't waste water getting rid of it. everywhere we went was remarkably clean (in spite of my frustration with the lack of public garbage cans everytime i needed one, leaving me walking around carrying crap i was done with, searching street corners instead of appreciating architecture)- i have no idea how they maintain that, but remarkably clean, nonetheless.
so considering all that, plus the other cool stuff i've forgotten because i'm too focussed on the point just ahead, it weirded me out that there was a lack of national identity or culture there. having been born and raised in trinidad+tobago, the most southerly isle(s) of the caribbean, land of the scarlet ibis, home of calypso, steelband and limbo (place that quote), and most of all, carnival (coming soon to a blog near you)- a tiny country that still has its own clothing aesthetic, the best local food, a pervasive national lifestyle and/or attitude (i'm not getting into the questionable virtues of these things right now because that's not the point here), recogniseable culture, and a host of things unmistakeably "trini"- then coming to the usa, which (as little as i may enjoy it) also has a global identity, encompassing (for now) the traditional 'american dream', apple pie, baseball and hotdogs (no accounting for taste, but we 'foreigners' are gradually bringing some good food to this cuisine-forsaken country), jazz, hiphop culture, and the more recent domineering republican empire and polarised people within, australia's lack was very apparent to me.
now, there are the aboriginal tribes in australia, and if you make it to the outback, there's a local identity, culture and history, complete with food, artistic style and music (and instruments) but that's not mainstream, and considering how marginalised aboriginal people are by aussie government and society, this could hardly qualify as a national identity/culture- although it's what should, since the aborigines were there 1st. but aborigines are currently camped outside aussie parliament under a tent called the "aborigine embassy" because they're trying to get one established. that's how marginalised they are: they feel they need an embassy for some sort of representation and recognition in their own country- and as previously mentioned, in oz you're pretty much white, asian or aboriginal, and there's little ethnic mixing (by my standards), although i did see about 30 black people in my 3weeks there.
when i travel, i try to catch local television programming and local music and eat local food, so i that i can get a feel for real life. what i found in oz (referencing mainstream, not aboriginal) is that there's virtually no local tv except for a few soaps and sports highlights, the local music scene is mostly styled after rock (pre-2000's) and thus doesn't feel indigenous, and there's 'modern australian' cuisine, which is expensively-plated gourmet that incorporates local ingredients (kangaroo, emu, etc- delicious, but high-end, and thus doesn't feel like you're eating what aussies eat) but no plain aussie-specific food, except for stuff like the 'sausage sizzle', which isn't so different from any hotdog/sausage-esque roadside food in any other country. although, i must mention the wonderful aussie dessert called pavlova (it was apparently 1st made for her- for the non-dancers, anna pavlova was a ballerina) which seems as standard as chocolate cake, and is a delight.
the flora+fauna is noticeably australian since kangaroos, wallabees, koalas, platypii (which i adore! and yes, i recognise that's prob'ly not how they would pluralise themselves, but i like pi) are unique species and eucalyptus screams australia, but might not be enough for a full national identity. besides, that stuff immediately mentally associated with oz, like kangaroos, boomerangs and didjeridoos should be more associated with the aboriginal population, which, as i said, is hardly mainstream, and after spending some time @ the aboriginal cultural centre, i now know that those aren't even the right words to be associating- 'didjeridoo' is from gaelic(?), meaning 'black man playing a pipe' because that's what white men saw when they got to oz- each aboriginal tribe has its own language, and none of them call that instrument a didjeridoo (we learned it as a 'yaddarkey'- phonetic spelling). and 'kangaroo' means something like 'i don't understand what you're saying' because that was the aboriginal response when the white man asked what they called that animal, for his cataloguing purposes- so even things that seem "essentially australian" aren't necessarily, since australia-at-large doesn't consider its aboriginal people.
so i felt like i could clearly see an aboriginal culture and identity, even though there are many different tribes, but not an australian culture and identity, except for the fact that aussie society seems to really enjoy rock music in general and 80's music specifically**, and sports and drinking (preferably together) but the latter also applies to most other countries, including trinbago and the usa...
on a less important note, this makes it hard for a person like to me bring back aussie stuff for loved ones- i don't do chachki (not even trying to spell that) so i try to bring back edibles and other useable/wearable items. on this trip, apart from kangaroo jerky and various eucalyptus body-products, i had no idea what to get. i was hoping to pick up something fun and/or beautiful to wear for my mom and the gremlin, but there's no apparent aussie-specific aesthetic (the only pervasive look i saw was strip-club-barbie-doll-stylee, and other than that, fashion held a middle ground between the usa and europe, and no, zed, ug boots are no longer aussie-owned) and i couldn't bring back a koala (besides, i hear if they don't get their green, they get pissy), and as previously stated, little figurines of animals are not an option...
i just had to get that observation off my chest because it really bothered me. i love experiencing new cultures, and i had a very good time in oz, but didn't feel like i was in a country i'd never been to before. of course, i admit some of that's due to the fact that oz is in style right now, so there's pictures+info everywhere you look, plus my mom+sis went there when we were younger (dance scolarship for the gremlin) and i saw their pictures, then grims' parents went and i saw their pictures, so by the time we got there, stuff like the famous sydney opera house just looked exactly like every picture and postcard i've ever seen of it, and held no thrall beheld up close, for real. oh well.
we still enjoyed the hell out of our trip, and plan to go back for the outback and great barrier reef and various milo products, so if i'm completely wrong about australia lacking a national culture/identity, please lemme know what to look for when i get back there.
walk good.

didn't wanna stray too far from the point mid-post, but must add:
*a word about toilet flushing in oz- we were so looking forward to watching the water swirl the opposite direction in the bowl, but the water-saving flush just sucks the water straight back, sans swirl. lame. also, flushing options are very cool, but you have to select by pushing a button on top of the tank, which is uncool in public restrooms where most of us chicks would prefer to flush with a shod foot, avoiding touching the toilet itself in any way (hence, the hovering). and somebody suggested filling the sink to watch water swirl oppositely, but since nearly flooding the dacosta's house bathing barbies in the sink when i was small, i pretend sinks don't even have plugs...
**80's music case-in-point: we actually heard rock on by danny romalotti (not even a real rockstar, but a soap opera one from the young and the restless who was nevertheless somehow allowed to put out a real album) on the radio in a taxi. we heard 80's music everywhere we went, regardless of city, age of driver, or hipness of eatery, so the 80's must fill the radio and playback sources. mercilessly.

ps: we did get beautiful aboriginal paintings, though...