Tokyo

Ok. Picture this.

Grand Central Station at rush hour. People who have clearly spent an hour in front of the mirror making sure they look perfect (men and women). They-need-their-coffee-and-must-not-be-late for their very important, high paying office jobs.

Ok, now put that energy in Times Square, but make it noisier, more stimulating, more flashing lights.

Now picture an entire city full of that.

And make it the biggest city you can imagine in your mind.

Now multiply that city times 10.

That's Tokyo.

Alice Springs, Kings Canyon, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, the emotions connected to leaving Australia

The past 5 days in Alice/Uluru were intense and incredible, and if I try to write about it all, you would never want to sit and read it all. So I'm going to put in just a few journal exerpts that capture some of my red desert epiphanies. Check out the photos for the rest.

(First off, I don't think I mentioned yet that I did some very fun and successful busking (singing in the street) on Valentines Day in Adelaide. I made $35! And had a lot of happy couples and children smiling at me. (worth more than the money))

16 February
"All the white Australians I've spoken to have said, "stay away from Aboriginals in Alice, they'll mug you, don't go out alone, they're bad people." So how can they be so racist agains the culture they are selling, celebrating, proud of? It's a backwards racism perpetuated on both ends, kind of world out here. You only guess or hear about it from other Australians, but it's so real here."

But then I met an interesting guy who worked for the government and basically helps Aboriginal communities manage their money. He had a lot of interesting perspectives on Aboriginal culture. The teenagers in the street have a lot of aggression because of how their culture has been mistreated and disrespected by white culture, so when they see tourists and backpackers walking down the street, obviously with enough money in their lives to come out and do a tour like this, to sort of exploit sacred areas with their cameras and tour buses, why wouldn't they feel angry, and want to show who's boss? Like I said, it's backwards and perpetuated on both ends.

18 Feb
"I don't know if I have the right words to describe the sky. It was unreal. It was a complete dome- although I couldn't really tell with my glasses) the milky way...
the stars just made me feel tiny and a part of something huge and...
I just had an overwhelming feeling of I can't articulate it...this trip, the stars, the world, being in a wide open space, connection, being able to be a part of it, stupid things don't matter because we are all one and I just FELT it. We are all made of the same red dirt that we slept on. and we came from a star and heat up from a star just like all those stars we saw last night.
I don't know I'm not describing the spiritual epiphany or feeling I just had very well, but it was a feeling of openness in a desert and the stars but also something about the tour and these people. I think it's the fact that we all just had a sleepover in the dirt. No one is worried about looking good or impressing people, we're all covered in dirt and flies and sweat and sunscreen. We have to be a part of the earth to be on this tour."

19 February
"The flies are the keepers of this place. The rock energy is strong. The magic, the sun, which is a star
this rock is big and filled with color
i can't write about it, it's unwritable, only feelable"

Ok, and now I have to emotionally prepare myself to leave Australia, and enter the world of Asia, starting with Japan.

Ft. Broughton and the Yorke Peninsula

6 February- drive to Ft. Broughton

"Last night they had a BBQ party for me- I met all their friends and some people my age...There was also two young girls studying- a girl from France and a girl from Hong Kong- they were sweet and fun to be the "others" with at the party. All the "adults" were nice and fun anf Australian...tonight should be interesting, meeting more 50 year old Aussies, trying to have a context."

"Right now we're in the car, rolling Australian plains surround us."

"This house we're staying in, in Port Broughton, is haunted. I can feel it, Graham and Caroline felt it. But Caroline says it's a good spirit, a good energy. I think so. Just very present- there was an old woman living here. She watches over the house."

"I saw more stars tonight than I have ever seen before in my life. I saw the Southern Cross and the bloody Milky Way."

7 February- The Copper Triangle

"This Port Broughton is really quiet and cute. So sleepy, by the water, this big house with a magical organ I haven't stopped playing with, a zillion stars you can see at night, no tourists or city life, no one my age. It's the real deal Australia. I'm bonding more than ever with Caroline and Graham."

"This is a lovely existence although I can't help feeling a bit useless right now. I need to be creative."

11pm
"So our little tour of the Copper Triangle today, these little towns by the sea- Moonta, the beautiful and strange low tide beach that rushed its tide in with no warning...all lovely. Even our search- which ended up being in vain- more a cornish pasty. Tonight we had dinner with their friends; Graham "Beetles", and Ginette. We ate a true Aussie Pub- which is usually called a hotel...We checked out their caravan- which was so cute and 60's! I want to live in a little caravan like that! Beautiful sunset over the water casting so many colours and silhouettes."

8 February

"I couldn't sleep last night because I was afraid of the ghost. How silly is that?! I tried to write music to the few lyrics I wrote yesterday on the organ. It's ok."

"Being here feels so romantic. It feels so far away, so small, sleepy, real- not full of tourists. This is just the way it is here- not put on display. These turn of the century copper-mining sea-faring towns. It's REALLY HOT today. I feel like I'm really in Australia."

"I think the big old house would be a perfect place to do site-specific theatre- roaming from room to room and out in the garden. Shakespeare or some Edwardian or Chekov piece or otherwise. Especially with that organ. That would be so cool. Maybe we could do an event like that, with scenes from classic plays and music in different rooms of a house, all based on a theme or something. It would have to be a piece about sense of place or something..."

Adeliade

Ok, so I decided to change it up a bit. It's getting tiring to enter these long blog entries with all my journal entries. So I'm breaking the pattern- I'll put my journaling thoughts every once in a while.

So some plans have changed- my plans to stay and work at the farm in Alice Springs have fallen through. I've decided to stay with my Aunt in Adelaide a week longer. I will still be going up to Alice for a 3-day Ayers Rock tour, which should be good.

So I've been with my lovely Aunt and Uncle here in Hallet Cove, which is near Adelaide. (30 min train ride) They live by the beach on a cliff- I took a long walk yesterday and felt the spirit in the rocks on the beach. It was absolutely beautiful and magic. There was a little cafe on the beach where I sat with my journal for a while. This is a perfect Melanie Land- a long cliff hike, wandering along the rocks by the ocean, to reach my final destination- a coffee shop. I could get used to this.

The day before we went to a wildlife center with Kangaroos, Emus, Koalas, strange birds and reptiles. You could walk around with them in their natural habitat, feed them and such. It was in this beautiful mountain range. I also visited a buch of step cousins and their children I've never met. It's always nice to meet new members of the family!

Tonight my Aunt and Uncle have organized a BBQ party so that I can meet all their friends. It should be good fun. And this weekend we're going to Ft. Broughton for their friend's 50th birthday celebration.

I'm having a great time in Australia, and I am loving being able to sleep in a bed in my own room for more than 3 nights!

Hope you enjoy the photos...
Melanie