The week so far

I’ve been a bit out of touch with my blogging the last few weeks. Even behind on my reading a bit :( Mainly because I’ve been spending a lot of time doing some freelance work. So you know in between work and well, more work after work I haven’t had much time to write for myself. But it’s cool, I love my freelance work :)

Anyway, so this week hasn’t been the best. Mainly because of ex-Cyclone Oswald deciding to pay Queensland a visit. We had incessant rain on Australia Day but it was still no warning for what was to come. Then on Sunday the weather started getting a little crazier and by night time it was full blown out of its mind. The wind was nothing like I’ve ever seen, felt or heard before. Things were rattling and falling off shelves. The skylight in my bathroom fell through and smashed on the ground and everything put together, I was so on edge.

Storms normally don’t scare me but this one was different. I didn’t sleep well at all that night. At about 7am on Monday, J got out of bed worrying that the wooden fence in our backyard may have gotten blown away but although battered, it was still hanging on. But then we looked over to the other side which is part brick, part fence and the entire brick wall had fallen over!

The sight on Monday morning :(

 It was the biggest shock and the weather on Monday was so bad it didn’t do anything to ease our worries. The only consolation was that it was public holiday and we didn’t have to leave the house in that weather. On top of the things-falling-apart drama, we also lost power late Sunday night. This meant our phones were also barely charged. Not that it mattered because we barely had any signal anyway. It was quite surreal feeling being so cut off with no news, no phones, no social media.

We spent about half an hour in the pouring rain on Monday night putting up a piece of tarp to cover up the space left by the now missing wall. Luckily (and thanks to the hard working peeps at Energex) we got electricity back at about 8:30pm and were able to have a hot shower. But sleep was still elusive.

My suburb and the next suburb up from me got very badly battered over this last weekend. My local beach is looking very beatdown and forlorn. Gold Coast beaches in general look sad and dirty, very dirty. As do the roads, because of all the debris lying around.

Wait, it doesn’t there though. On Tuesday evening, we could feel something was wrong with J’s car. Another problem we didn’t need. Got that fixed on Wednesday and it was closely followed by more bad news. A tile has blown off the roof and there is now a leak as a result.

You have got to be kidding me.

It’s Thursday and while the weather is still PMSing between hot and humid and raining cats and dogs, nothing else has gone wrong. Yet.  As for us, we are ok. Physically of course we were unharmed but mentally we are both just so exhausted.

There are people in so many other parts of Queensland such as Bundaberg and even Brisbane who were affected much worse than J and me and my heart really goes out to them. I feel so sad thinking about all the people whose homes have been destroyed and for some of them they have barely recovered from the 2011 floods and it’s hitting them again.

From heatwaves to cyclones. I’m not sure what Mother Nature has in store for Australia next?

The 'M' Word

I read this article on multiculturalism and it pretty much sums up the Australian view on the pros of cons of living in a multicultural society right now. There isn’t a black and white to this issue unfortunately – there are various shades of grey.

While I haven't been in Australia for very long, I have been here long enough to agree with this comment the writer makes "...people’s understanding of multiculturalism has evolved over the past few decades and, in some circles, it has become a bit of a dirty word, often blamed for all that is wrong with our country."

Immigration and multiculturalism are unfortunately becoming causes of worry – sometimes out of ignorance; sometimes as a mere human reaction to protect what is familiar.

Australia IS multicultural. There is no denying that and trying to deny its cultural diversity is silly and ignorant. However, making this cultural diversity non-divisive and a national strong point is an issue that the country needs to deal with better.

“Multicultural” Australia needs to be an all-inclusive term because at present,”multiculturalism” seems to connote everything that is not Anglo-Saxon Australian.  It’s not Anglo Saxons vs. the rest of the Australian population. It’s the entire population that is multicultural and Australia’s challenge is making this multiculturalism work in everyone’s favour – not just immigrants, not just citizens, not just refugees – but for every Australian.

*This post is part of the NaBloPoMo challenge for July 2011.

Media Watch - me style

Once again a blog challenge has beaten me and I'm giving up on #30daysofme. To be honest, I'd rather not complete it haha ;-) Anyway, the reason I took up the challenge was to get me to write again. I know I've said this a million times before, but writing for work really takes the joy out of writing sometimes. I'm too mentally exhausted to critique anything or feel passionately enough for any issue - which is quite sad, I must admit. *end whinge* But I read this article and it annoyed me a fair bit…well, enough to make me want to write about it.

‘Adopted girl banned from entering Australia because she's classified an immigration threat’

Makes you want to click on it, doesn’t it? Do It! But come back…I have more to say.

Day 05: #30daysofme

The Task: A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

 

This is a picture of Wategos beach at Byron Bay from my last trip in April. TO say I love Byron would be an understatement. Yes yes I know, it's become very yuppie, has way too many tourists, is overpriced... and all that. But Byron's inherent hippie-ness appeals to my inner flower child.

This post is part of the #30daysofme blog challenge I'm doing with some friends.

Day 02 - #30daysofme

The Task: The meaning behind your Blog name

LegallyAlien - hmm, pretty self explanatory, no?

Well, like many other things in my life, my blog name was inspired by song lyrics. The song here is 'Englishman in New York’ by Sting.

"I'm an alien
I am a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York"

Wikipedia explains the meaning of Legal Alien pretty well.

I am a legal alien – in Australia and in India too. I guess moving to another country made me realise that “home” (i.e. India) will always be home because that is where I grew up but at the same time, it will never be the same home again. Does that make sense?

In the same way, while Australia isn’t the “home” I grew up in, after 3.5 years here, despite its alien-ness, it will always be home to me.

I have two homes and no home

I realise that for the rest of my life, I will always be slightly “alien” wherever I go and I like that. I guess as an immigrant, being a bit of permanent misfit comes with the territory. So being “Legally Alien” is now a permanent part of my identity and hence, the blog name.

Three years ago

... on the 27th of February I arrived in Australia. As cliche as it sounds.. wow, I have grown up so much in these last three years and for various reasons:

1. I have never lived away from home before my move to Australia.
2. I have never had a real job until I moved to Australia.
3. V and I started living together 3 years ago and only now do I know how much that has helped our relationship grow.
4. For the first time in my life, I had to worry about responsibilities such as bills, groceries, cooking for myself, cleaning up the house etc.
5. I've met hundreds of new people from different walks of life, different cultures, different backgrounds and meeting these people in itself has been an experience.
6.V & I bought our first car AND had our first serious accident.
7. I have learned that being assertive is not a bad thing and even though it takes me a while to mentally prepare myself.. I am much better than what I used to be.
8. I am no longer afraid to voice my opinion
9. I now drink wine. ;-)
10. I'm 25 now.. that's a hell of a lot older than 22 ;)

There are probably many more reasons but these are the only ones that come to mind. I miss India for the fact that it is home, it's where I grew up... for the familiarity. But I love Australia and I'm so glad we moved here... this is home to me now.

5 Reasons Why I Love The Gold Coast

Time and again I have said I am a big city girl and am happy living in big cities but today is one of those days I'm happy living on the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast does not qualify as a big city. It is definitely not a small town but it's yet to fall into the big city bracket. It's one of those places that used to be a small town so recently that people remember it; but now is one of most tourist friendly cities in Australia.

When I tell people who don't know much about Australia that I'm on the Gold Coast, they don't know what I'm talking about. Saying I'm next to Brisbane usually doesn't help either because for most non-Australians, Australia is Sydney and Melbourne. But if you are planning a trip to Australia, it is likely your travel agent will suggest you visit GC (Gold Coast).. especially if you're travelling with the family. It's not that there is anything spectacular here... sure there are lots of tourist attractions, but aren't they everywhere?

But what GC has is something I've never seen/felt anywhere else. The city is on a 24/7 holiday mode and although there are plenty of locals and there is definitely a normal life here, most of the time it feels like the Gold Coast was created for the tourists. In fact, that is an argument that often arises here - that the Council does more to attract tourists rather than care for the locals. Anyway, so if you're looking for a fun holiday, I can see why Australians and international visitors choose to come to GC. There is just something in the air around here that automatically puts you in holiday mode and it cleverly disguises the mundande boring aspects of life that are still plain to see in most other cities...and sometimes I hate that but today I love GC and these are the top 5 reasons why:


The Beach
I'm in Australia and I love the beach. Cliche I know but oh well, what can I say...I love the fact that I live in a beach town. (I think this is also one of the reasons for GC's 24/7 holiday mode). I may or may not move to another city at some point but if I move to some place like Brisbane, I think I will really miss the beach. No matter where you go on the Gold Coast, you're never too far from a beach and you can smell the salt in the air almost everywhere in town. I like that. I used to be terrified of water as a kid but now the ocean has a calming effect on me. Now that it's starting to get a little warm, I hope I'm going to end up going more often!

The People
Yet another cliche but bear with me. I haven't had the chance to travel much in Australia but my trips to Brisbane and some other big cities in India have led me to believe that people are in too much of a rush to be nice. I am not stereotyping.. I'm just speaking from my experiences. I believe in some years when the Coast also becomes one of those busy bustling cities, people might become as cranky but because the general lifestyle here is so laidback, I guess people have less reason to be cranky at the moment and that is nice. And I know this applies to almost every city in Australia but I'll still say it, I love the multicultural population of the Coast. I have met people from so many different parts of the world and learned so much by just living here.

Traffic & Parking!!
I cringe every time I have to go to Brisbane because I'm so spoiled down here. Traffic is definitely not bad and parking is easy to find and also easy on the pocket. I understand now why people in Brisbane (and other similar cities) don't drive much in the city. Parking is such a pain!

The Weather
I love Queensland weather.... I'm a tropical girl and I like the sub-tropical weather here. Not too hot and not too cold. Just right!

The Food
Again, I'm sure other places in Austalia have more claim on this than GC but what the hell. I love GC for the variety of food available here. I know we don't have too many fine dining places except the several five star hotels but that doesn't bother me. Food is all about the taste and just walking around GC has opened up so many types of cuisine to me and I love that.

I will always love big cities and might even move to one again soon but that can't change the fact that I love living on the Gold Coast. It's the only other place I've lived in long enough to call home! :)

rant rant: food & travels

There's something funny I have noticed about Indians abroad (actually there's more than one thing but we'll just stick to this one for today!)

The Gold Coast attracts lots and lots and lots of Indian tourists every year and I've noticed that these tourists either go to the standard McDonalds/KFC or they just go to an Indian restaurant. Now, if I were on holiday in a different country, I would like to try a bit of the local fare. I am a bit more adventurous with food than many people but I know a lot of people aren't and that's fine. I am not saying that you should jump in and try mussels if you really don't like seafood but come on, KFC is KFC the world over so at least one day out of your 14 day holiday, wouldn't you like to try something that you've never had before?

Eating only Indian food abroad is a bit silly I think. I mean, if you've come to Australia you can actually get so many different kinds of food so why not try some of that? I mean, how about just a plain (non-Indianised) version of Chinese food even? Or how about some Italian without the Garam Masala? I know many Indians will not have a steak and to each their own, but how about even enjoying the Aussie barbecue experience and setting up a barbie on the beach or even at a park? Its not something we do in India.

Travelling to me is all about learning about the country you're visting and it's culture. Food is a very, very important part of a country's culture and in Australia's case, for lack of any authentic Australian cuisine, its just the multicultural nature of the cuisine available here.

Travelling is not just about visiting theme parks, shopping and doing the touristy things. If you're lucky enough to be able to travel, you should make the most of it by absorbing the uniqueness of each country and once again, the food is such an important part of this. Travelling is supposed to open up your mind and show you how others live in a different part of the world. If an Indian tourist told me they simply tried Vegemite (a shoe polish type looking spread which Aussies love!) I would applaud them for trying.

Why must these tourists play it so safe all the time and stick to Indian restaurants where they hope to treat the waitstaff like trash, just the way they do back in India? Maybe thats why. They like the familiarity...but then WHY go on holiday?

How do I know Indians love to eat only Indian food when they come here? Well, a close friend owns an Indian restaurant, another works at one and I worked at an Italian restaurant on a street that is packed with other restaurants and can count the number of Indians I served or spotted as there was no Indian restaurant in the vicinity.

To the Indian media

What happened in Melbourne and Sydney is sad but branding a whole country racist on that basis is stupid and ignorant. The average Indian has never been to Australia and does not understand how multicultural it is so I blame the media for sensationalising the issue and blowing things out of proportion. Every Indian now suddenly has a Rang De Basanti type patriotic flame burning within them without even having a proper perspective on the issue.

Racism technically doesn’t exist in India simply because the majority of our population belongs to the same race. Saying that racism doesn’t exist because Indians are better is adopting a holier-than-thou attitude Indians have no right to. Indians discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, religion, color and wealth; so to say we are not capable of racism is a blind refusal to look at reality. Simply take a look at Bollywood movies that always have something to say about the “goras”. Yes, that is racist too so it’s time we stop pointing the finger and take a look at ourselves too and yes I think history will prove, Indians are just as capable of violence over such issues.

Race and ethnicity are common topics in a country like Australia which is made of an immigrant culture. Yes some people are racist but on the whole the 20 million people of Australia live fairly peacefully and the last time I checked, there were more riots and attacks in India as a result of some sort of discrimination.

The majority of Indian students abroad are clannish and move in packs. Yes it is natural to be more comfortable with people from your own country but making friends from a different culture is the best way to start acclimatising to a new culture. Australians don’t marginalise Indians. Indians choose to stay marginalised because of their refusal to adapt to the Australian culture. “When in Rome do as the Romans do” is obviously not something most Indians have heard of. Had they heard of it, they would quickly learn that the Australian culture is often about cracking a joke on each other. If Indians put their excessive sensitivity aside and take a healthy dose of a sense of humour once in a while, they would understand that the thousands of races in Australia are often a topic for jokes too and a joke about an Australian is appreciated just as much. This is not intended to be racist and usually isn’t.

No I am not saying we must always say the White Man is right and give in to racism. I am simply saying Indians need to adapt to the culture and understand how things work in Australia before crying foul and blame an entire nation for being racist.  If the average Australian has a wrong perception about Indians, the average Indian does not know much about an Australian either. So I think we’ve achieved a balance there. Expatriate Indians cannot expect Australians to adapt to them, they must adapt to Australia. Expecting to create a mini India wherever they go is ridiculous. If you dislike Australia so much, I don’t mean to be rude, but stay at home. Really.

As a journalist, I have always been taught that every story must represent the whole picture but the Indian media has obviously forgotten its journalistic integrity somewhere along the way. Amazingly, all the reports talk about Indians who have “suffered” in Australia. How about interviewing Indians who have done really well in this country thanks to opportunities they probably would have never received in India in the first place? How about explaining Australia’s multicultural identity? How about interviewing Indian students who actually enjoy studying here? There are plenty of each, I assure you.

Indians are not being targetted the way the Indian media would have the country believe, but may be after the burning of the Australian flag and posters of Kevin Rudd, we will be and again, I will blame the Indian media for it.

I know I will be accused of losing my Indianness because I now live in Australia. I don’t care because I don’t need to justify myself. But I do need to make a point on behalf of the thousands of Indians who are very happy in Australia. While the Indian media refuses to look at an issue objectively as journalists should, I thankfully still have my objectivity in place.

P.S. This article in the SMH makes a similar point. Thanks for sharing, Psych Babbler.