Culture to culture

Australians are bigots. At least when it comes to Americans. Nothing frustrates me more when certain people I know complain about American's as if they were all 'George Bush' etc. How they tie everything back to Hollywood and America's responsibility for world deconstruction. I don't like generalisations: which means I have to take back the first line of this blog. Oh I'm sure I make them all the time. I cannot wipe myself from the blame I do it myself. Cultures don't understand eachother. Emily dumped a book in my lap tonight (borrowed from Emma). 'God Chicks' by Holly Wagner. I gave it a random flicking. 'Too Hollywood'. Overuse of the word Destiny and Awesome. Chicks. I hate that phrase. So not for me. Simple. I don't read it. Phillip Ashley and his fiance sent a webpage link thing to us tonight. The Ashely's are SITAG people. American's yes. It is quite amusing, so vastly different from what most Aussies would do. It's not what I would do. Okay so there - someone I know would say, "Thats so typically American". Not to bag the Ashey's, they are great people. I didn't get to know Phillip very well (more so his sister Susan) as they left the Solomons before us. Uncle James has the best fudge recipe in the world. Extremely hospitable. Karen is from the deep south. Hey this is the way they do things. Contrast one American family with another. My future inlaws... well not mine exactly. Sister's potential. They wouldn't dream of doing something like that. John would die of shame (that and Laura wouldn't let him). I don't really know where this blog is actually going. The Carters. Have I talked about them before? Surely. John Carter. One day (we all hope) will get enough money together to come over and marry Laura. Meanwhile. I was thinking about this tonight not sure why. John's a mountain climbing kind of guy. Quiet. Insanely sensible. A thinker. No fuss. Wouldn't even tell someone it was his birthday if he could get away with no celebration. I know him enough, but I've heard enough from Laura to know this kind of stuff. I know Kristen and Josh far better. Hrm, is this relevant to anything before. I guess I'll tie up a loose end by saying. American families contrast sharply just like Australian or any other nationality families do. Their family is practically our family. :P Now just to make things legal. Josh added me to his msn the other night. Haven't caught him online yet, but that's what time differences will do to you. That'll be interesting. Kristen's a few years younger than me. Hanna and Joseph younger still. Bob and Dad are like best mates (and colleages, oh that's right, Dad's back now). Mum and Amy are good friends. Hanna and Hannah are like 'this'. Kristen, Em, Josh and I are/were all fairly close. Joseph :) well he just fits in somehow. and Laura and John. Well! I don't need to say anything. The people I want to see... Lunchtime today, I got a craving to go see the ocean. So I went. I had to walk really fast to make it there and back and only got about 5 minutes down there. I needed to find the space, I needed to see somewhere with a clear horizon. Talked to God a bit, and just um let myself live the moment. I walked to the water's edge and stood on there. The beach was almost empty. A couple were walking further down, aside from that, it was just me in this expanse. I've always seen the sea as this place that isn't really tied to any country. 20 minutes later I was back behind a desk.