I’m heading off to Sydney soon with hopes that the journey home won’t be quite as “eventful” as the journey here. I’ve had a really fantastic time in Canberra and I hope to be back soon with my family. I can easily picture myself making a life here.

This trip was initially supposed to be for six months but I don’t know what I’d have done being away from my wife and son for that long. Luckily we cut that way back to just two weeks which has been an ideal amount of time. There’s been enough time to develop relationships with the people I’ll be working with remotely and I’ve had time to explore the surroundings on my own. I’m anxious to get home and I’m conveniently avoiding any thoughts about weather.

At my farewell lunch I talked more about Australia’s social issues with some friends from work. I found my assumptions about the Australian-British and Australian-Aboriginal relationships to not be entirely correct.

Before I go any further I should say that my impressions are based on the thoughts of a few people I spoke with and shouldn’t be considered facts. I encourage any interested to look into this further.

There is still some animosity below the surface towards the British, although it’s almost a rite of passage for Australians to go spend a few years working in the UK after getting out of college so it’s obviously not something that looms heavy in the hearts of Australians. The members of the penal colony are considered, by some, to be the first settlers and to have a direct link to them is a matter of pride.

As for the Aboriginal voice, it’s not quite as vocal as I perceived it to be. Many of the Aboriginals were just killed when the British settlers arrived, and most of the others resorted to living in the desert. Some here still posses a deep rooted disdain for the Aboriginals. There’s a perception that they can’t secure jobs, are drunks and get a free ride from the government. I can’t comment one way or the other as in my two weeks here I haven’t seen any Aboriginals myself. There are plenty of Aboriginal inspired items, especially of the souvenir variety. I say inspired and not created because none of it seems to actually be produced by them. Australians seem perfectly comfortable cashing in on the international perception of the situation without acknowledging the state of affairs.

It’s interesting to note that the settlers here never acknowledged the indigenous people in Australia. The Aboriginals were unorganized and unable to stand firm. The Maoris from New Zealand, on the other hand, were organized and did resist, at least to some extent. They’ve been acknowledged by the government and currently account for nearly 10% of New Zealand’s population compared to the 2% the Aboriginals can claim. The issue of acknowledgment still plagues the country. It’s largely ignored by most but some do feel ashamed of the history. Either this is just a small minority or the sentiment isn’t strong enough to actually provoke change in policy.

Hopefully I have not shone and unfair light on Australia. Worst things can be said about most countries. Taking an outsider’s perspective on the situation has made it easy for me confront the issues here and pass judgement. I can only hope that my recent experiences and thoughts will allow me to make similarly harsh observations about my life and surroundings. Complacency seems to allow any ghastly change tolerable, so long as it’s gradual.