The Wanderer

The following is an article from a magazine published in Australia called The Monthly. It features articles on Polictics, Society and Culture. The Wanderer by Robyn Davidson [August, 2008] is about life as a traveller, always on the move, living in different countries.

Some of it resonated with me and I found it to a great article on the topic and wish to share.

The Wanderer
Robyn Davidson

"'So what of this notion of exile?'
'No,' he says, 'exile is too pretty a word. Can you reframe that?'
'Homelessness?'
'No, that's wrong - because I have a home.'

'Metaphorically speaking, I meant.'
'No. It's very simple. It's not exile; it's more to do with not being absolutely connected to where I am."
So said the ever-precise VS Naipaul.

You feel most foreign when you no longer belong where you did. You left home assuming the possibility of return. But soon enough home sinks out of sight, dissolves into mists, and you find that you do not belong anywhere. You have lost the centre with which to compare elsewhere.
Everywhere is elsewhere.

The life of a traveller has countless assets, but the liabilities require more attention. A traveller - a citizen of the world - is supposed to be enticed forward by the unknown. More often she is pushed from behind by circumstance. Apart from the psychological dislocations, there are physical strengths required for making oneself at home anywhere. The packing, unpacking, shifting, forgetting, list-making, leaving behind, buying, borrowing, rearranging, washing, making-do, heaving, lifting, collapsing; the socket and phone-line frustration; your important papers and books somewhere else and no piano and no one to help you. You live like a comet - bits of yourself trailing behind, refusing to catch up. You burn yourself out.

You are something like a plate-spinner in a circus act. You set a plate spinning on its pole, grin and bow; then the second, then the third. You are all confidence and élan. Now the fourth, fifth and sixth plates; the seventh. The first plate wobbles. Another crashes to the ground. You hurtle from plate to wobbling plate, the epitome of human futility. Often, sedentary people envy you, because they cannot imagine how exhausting it is to keep the plates spinning. They imagine that peripatetic lives are full of excitements denied to themselves, free of the burdens that they must shoulder. They are right, but only half right. They forget that fitting in just about anywhere must also mean that you belong nowhere in particular. The envy can express itself positively, as romantic longing, or negatively, as resentment. In both cases, the wanderer becomes a repository for the wishes of the sedentary, and is discouraged from authenticity.

You return to a place, to the people you know there. While you have been shifting from country to country, they have barely moved. You will, therefore, be able to guess the tenor of their lives more easily than they can guess yours. They will assume that your life, like theirs, has not undergone fractures and resettings. You will have to adjust to their world; they will not be aware that you are doing so. You will find that all the other parts of you have no place here, and you must put them away somewhere, like costumes. This can be literal. The clothes you wear in one place look silly in another. You must pack not just for different climates, but for different versions of yourself, for different audiences.

You must insert yourself into a conversation which locals hold to be universally relevant but which you know is a mere eddy in the great current of talk. Buried in this conversation will be a local ideology: an accepted grammar of shared beliefs, reinforced over time, like calcium laid down in a bone. You will know that there are conversations going on in the world that have equal moral validity to this one, yet are incommensurable with it. One of the assets of such a life is that you do a great deal more listening than talking. You learn a lot. But if you cannot share what you know, you are a ghost hovering outside the closed circuit of the living.

Wherever you go, it's the same. By having come, you have begun to store up the pains of going away. Each goodbye is a foretaste of the final goodbye. The wanderer must be able to withstand these particular forms of alienation and loneliness - and at the same time be able to tolerate the feeling of being a multiplicity that could at any moment unravel. The sedentary, on the other hand, have a better chance at confidence in the self, because its solidity is seldom challenged. If the spinning plates are those bits of you that belong in, have been formed by, different places, peoples and situations - if they are, to use an ugly phrase, fragments of an identity - who will you be if they crash?

Our lives have less to do with volition than with accident and habit, though this truth is obscured by our need to believe we are running the show, that we have a self of our own making. A Frenchman will think that being a Frenchman is the most natural thing in the world, and that everything not-Frenchman is a variant of the norm. It will be hard for him to think of himself as an accidental Frenchman. He would fight and die for his Frenchness, even though, had his mother hopped on a boat the day before he was born, he would end up fighting and dying for Englishness.

So what is a self? And can we do without it? Could we aspire to being more like gerunds than nouns? It would certainly pull a rug out from under our chronic narcissism. An increasing number of cognitive scientists, certain postmodernist thinkers and the Buddha seem to concur here. There is no fixed, intrinsic entity called a self, they say: it's a necessary illusion. A sense of self is an emergent property of complex components, modules, in the brain. The genius of the Buddha was to face the truth, and to steer between nihilism (nothing exists at all) and ignorance (belief that the illusion is solid).

I live in London, I live in India; I used to live in New York and Alice Springs and various other places. Recently I moved back to Sydney, after 30 years away. I know different sets of people in these different places. Their difference exists not just in the horixontal (the same stratum or type, just living in different continents), but in the vertical. Occasionally an individual or group from one of my terrains will straggle across a border into another, but this is rare, and usually unsuccessful. The fragments are, to a high degree, discrete. In order to glue them into some kind of coherent shape, I have had to sacrifice grace to speed, and depth to spread.

Just a few days ago I was in Sydney, speaking another language, immersed in another atmosphere. Now Australia is behind me, but close enough that I can put myself back there: the smell of morning coffee and dishwashing liquid; the nervousness in my belly of feeling India approaching, like some big disturbance out at sea - the waves reaching me there on the shore. In my kitchen, on the last day. Then this place: remembered, forgotten, now present and real again. I used to call it home. It is now a neutral location requiring no commitment. I am in transit, my life suspended.

Yet there is consolation in the vocation of the guest. Being a guest and rootless can be difficult, but we're all guests of life. It's good to be a guest, and to try to leave the place a little better than you found it.

How fast things change

I have been thinking about the past and the present lately and how fast technology has advanced in the past 10 years. The following items are now considered part of every day living – Cell/smart phones, Digital camera’s, MP3 player’s, DVD media and players, Broadband and Wireless internet, Laptops, USB Flash memory sticks, portable hard drives, Hard drive (Tivo) and DVD recording, LCD computer monitors and Televisions.

If you were to look at the 10 year period between 1988 and 1998 there was great change but not as much as the past 10 years. Yes there was the internet in the mid 90’s and cell phones were becoming more available but we were still using the same technology.

In 1998 technology like MP3 and DVD were still relatively new things. Now both are part of everyday lives. MP3 is now advertised as being available in cars, cell phones and of course the ubiquitous iPod. DVD has replaced VHS as the medium of choice for viewing movies and TV show.

MP3 was the first major technology to have an impact of physical media. Instead of a CD you had files that could be listed on a PC and small portable players. Slowly that is also being adapted for movies and TV via services like iTunes and other download services. But this is mainly for people who want to view content on the go on their portable iPods or media players.

Cell or mobile phones are so cheap that everyone in a family has one. Not only does it make phone calls but text messages, games, music (MP3) and radio. Add to the mix the smart phone for email, web browsing, GPS, contacts, calendar/appointments, viewing or creating documents such as word and spreadsheet.

In 1998 there was the Web and fast broadband connections of 512 and 1MB were just starting to take off. Now standard broadband ranges from 1.5-5MB in speed and really fast broadband anywhere from 8mb – 24mb.

With the reduction in cost of laptops and wireless technology getting cheaper and easier to use, wireless access has taken off and can now be accessed in Library’s, Bars/Pubs, coffee shops and your home.

With all this data we need to move and store it. USB Flash memory sticks have replaced the floppy drive with sizes ranging from 128MB to 16GB. In addition we now have other media cards such as SD, Compact Flash and Memory Stick that are used to store our pictures from our digital camera’s. Now we can take thousands of pictures and choose the best to print at your local electronics store or chemist with digital printing booth that accept a variety of media types.

CRT or cathode ray tube TV’s are now longer sold by the big TV manufactures. Instead they sell LCD’s TV’s ranging in size from 20 to 60 inches. Sporting terms like - High Definition, 1080P, HDMI and 30000:1 Contrast ratio. The same for computer monitors, it's all LCD, slimline and light weight.

Hard drive and DVDs are starting to replace VHS for recording TV shows in the mainstream. I got my first one in 2003 and love the fact you don’t have to look for tapes to record to.

10 years ago I did not own an MP3 player, Digital camera, mobile, USB memory stick, a portable hard drive, laptop with wireless connection, LCD TV, a DVD player, hard drive/DVD recorder. Now I wouldn’t know what do without the above.

I wonder what’s in store for me and the rest of the world in 2018. The 2 things I am really looking forward to are more Hybrid and Electric cars and more content in high definition, hopefully Blu-ray!

At last Olympic gold for Canada

For the past week of the Olympics I have been watching Australian swimmers win gold, silver and bronze medals. It’s been great a week for the Aussies. It’s also been fun watching the swimming live with other work colleagues who gather around the TV to cheer on Aussie favourites like Stephanie Rice, Lisbeth “Libby” Trickett, Leisel Jones and other swimmers.

But as late as Friday of last week Canada had not won any Olympic medals. Then a surge on Saturday saw 3 medals (Gold, Silver and Bronze) won within an hour of each other.

I final got to see a Canadian team win a gold medal live. It was in the men’s 8 rowing 2000 meter race. The Canadian team took the lead and kept it all the way to the finish. The reason I saw it was because Australia had a team that was lead by its flag bearer James Tomkin, who was in his 6th Olympics. But unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be for the Aussies they finished 6th.

As expected the Aussies are doing exceptionally well at these Olympics and are currently in 4th place on the tally board with 33 medals won.

I have watched more summer Olympics here in Oz than I have in all my life. It’s also more conducive as the colder weather and only a 2 hour time difference makes it easier to watch, than in summer time in the northern hemisphere.

Australia’s time to shine

The summer Olympics

Back in May the Olympic qualifier trials for Australian swimmers was aired during prime time television in the evening. I watched a bit of it and saw the excitement in the crowds and I also enjoyed seeing the swimmers break personal or world records. Australia is a power country when it comes to swimming and they are heavily favoured to be medal contenders in all the top swimming competitions.

In the lead up to the games, Channel 7 the main broadcaster for Olympics’ programming in Australia have been airing programs highlighting athletes in various fields of sport. Creating awareness of the competitors, as well as a desire to watch the Olympics on channel 7.

Australia is a sporting mad country, with a population of just over 20 million; it ranks in the top 5 of medal winners for summer Olympics. In the 2004 Athens summer games, Australia was 4th behind the USA, China and Russia with 49 medals won. In comparison Canada with a population of over 33 million people won just 12 medals. But when you look at where Australia placed in comparison to the other countries populations it is quite impressive. The combined population of the 3 countries ahead of Australia is over 1.8 billion people, so 4th is a very very good standing.

Why is Australia so good ?

During my time here I would say the reason for this is the culture. From a young age children and teens are encouraged to take sports such as swimming, rowing, cricket, footy and plethora of other sports and physical activity. This leads to parents and families cheering on their loved ones at stadiums and complexes.

The second reason and the reason there are so many Olympic winners is the Australian Institute of Sport or AIS. Whose mandate is to develop athletes into elite athletes’ through the use of world-class training facilities, coaches and support services. The AIS has 35 programs for 26 sports. A 65 hectare site is located in Canberra, where there are world class facilities. The AIS also has regional facilities located across the country supporting different sports such as field hockey in Perth and Tennis in Melbourne and coaches based in all the capitals of Australia. Currently there are over 700 athletes trained by the AIS.

Interestingly it was the 1976 Montreal summer Olympics and Australia’s medal haul of 5 medals that was the driving force for the AIS. But it took until January 26, 1981 (Australia Day) for the AIS to be opened.

Over the course of the past 27 years, the AIS have proved that it can create an elite class of athletes. In the 1984 Los Angeles games Australia won 24 medals (14th place) while Canada won 44 medals (6th place). How the times have changed since then.

Looking at the results you would think Canada should do the same thing. But I don’t think it will ever happen. Sport in Canada, especially non-winter sport does not create the same passion that is does here in Australia. The money and resources would not be given as easily as it is here in Australia. For Canadian’s it’s a once every 4 years event, so we can easily forget, as our summer athletes do not have the same presence as the athletes have here in Australia.

I will be cheering for the Canadian’s first and foremost and falling back to the Australian’s as my secondary favourite.

Have a happy Olympics viewing.

The Footy Show: Australia’s last remnant’s of male chauvinism

Australian Rules football or Footy as they call it here is a very popular spectator sport with both men and women. So popular that I would say it rivals the Canadian obsession with hockey. Why ?

It’s a topic that is talked about in offices with passion. Every week people put in their choices for winners through Footy tipping website, office pools or betting sites through telephone.

Both men and women gloat with envy when their team wins or take their lumps when they lose.

Every week on TV station channel nine there is a show called the Footy Show. I have only ever seen very brief glimpses of the show, as I don’t care for the sport. This show comprises of a panel of men supposedly talking about footy. But the show tends to do stunts and gags that have noting to do with football.

There is one host in particular that has drawn great criticism, especially from female viewers and non-viewers – Sam Newman. He has been lamented for being a sexiest with his segment of a cardboard cut out of a woman’s body and stapling a picture of woman’s face so he can rant and rave.

He has made rude and lewd comments about women that at one point advertisers were pulling their ads. Channel nine earlier this year pulled Sam Newman off the show for a few weeks so he could attend sensitivity training. But he is back on the show and at it again.

This past week on the show footage was shown of Tasmanian MP Ms Wriedt commenting on confectioner Mars' $4 million sponsorship backing a Tasmanian bid for an AFL team, Newman said: "It's worthy of coming on her."

After the backlash that was received, “Footy Show producer Tim Cleary said Newman had done nothing wrong.” And the “AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said he accepted Newman's defence that the remark had been a genuine slip.”

I find it hard to believe that Sam Newman is given such leeway by both Channel Nine and the AFL. It’s not that show is a ratings powerhouse that it used to be. It airs on a Thursday night where on channel 2 ABC, a panel show of politicians and lobbyist’s take Q&A from an audience which beats the footy show in ratings.

The only thing I can think off that keeps Sam Newman and the rest of his cronies’ with their lame jokes and gags on air is nostalgia, the men that run channel nine and the footy show and the fact that it causes people to talk about it even if only a small percentage is actually watching it.

Australia has shown that it can lead the world on issue of Climate Change and saying sorry to Aboriginal people. It needs to change its male dominated viewpoints. Hopefully this will die out with the older generation. I hope the younger male “footy crowd” “real aussie” doesn’t continue the tradition. Otherwise I fear Australia will be left behind the rest of the world on male/female relations.

Back in Melbourne, reflecting on Toronto

Our adventures are over. We have been back in Melbourne over 2 weeks now.

While in Toronto I had no desire to Blog. I had a great time being in Toronto, enjoying the warm weather, great food and seeing family and friends after being away for 18 months.

Not much has changed in Toronto, but it does look and feel a little different. The downtown core of Yonge and Dundas has changed with redevelopment. The Royal Ontario Museum has had a face lift and is now a bigger and a better museum for it. The CN tower now lights up at night with a colour show. The TTC has LCD readouts of stops and a neutral sombre female voice telling you what stop you are arriving at.

But other things have not changed, like the Blue Jays still losing. Car drivers are still courteous to pedestrians but also drive to fast. The food at the local greasy spoon tastes the same and hot dogs and donuts taste great.

One thing that has changed is my taste for pizza, while in Toronto I did not really enjoy the pizza I had. Pizza Pizza, Classico and Mamma’s Pizza just did not cut it for me and my taste buds. I did not find it as tasty as my own home made pizza or that of my local pizza shop in Melbourne. You have to come and try the Margareta and the Mexicana at Fairfield Pizza. It is so delicious you just want to keep eating.

But to reiterate my previous point, the Hot Dogs, home made hot dogs with cheese and buttered buns are so delicious. Who knows what’s in them but they taste so good. So Australians need to come to Toronto for hot dogs and Canadians need to come to Melbourne for pizza.

It was great to go away and see Montreal and Ottawa. I had never been to Montreal in summer time and it is a great city. The highlight for me was renting 2 bikes for free at the metro stop and riding up Mont-Royal. At the time I was cursing, because I was out of shape. But looking back it was very nice. As well as spending our first evening on National day in Montreal was a nice feeling. And getting our own private recital at St. Joseph ’s Oratory with Philippe, Allison and Chelsea.

Also our time in Ottawa was nice because I got to be a tourist again and do things like visit the House of Parliament, The National Gallery and the Museum of Civilization. But also do things like walk along the Rideau Canal and go for a drink on a Friday evening while listening to a live funk band. And of course seeing all the family in Ottawa.

Back in Toronto it was good to see former work colleagues and former basketball friends and my buddies.

Finally it was great to be back home with my parents. The food can not be beat; my mother is just a marvellous cook. She makes food that’s hearty, tasty and so delicious.

It was great to discuss in person with Charles about technology and hear his viewpoints on global issue like high oil prices and the measures that need to be taken.

It was great to be back in the company of my parents and all of our family friends. It felt like old times and lots of eating, stories and jokes were had.

If there is a good time to visit with family it has to be summer. Sitting out in the front porch or back yard drinking cool drinks and eating good food, there is nothing better in the world.

I love Toronto, it is my home and where my family is and I will be back one day.