Thursday, January 25, 2007

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oy! Oy! Oy!

Happy Australia Day everybody. A bit of contraversey this year with regards to the flying of the flag. Some concerts and outdoor events have banned the flag, due to worries of race related fights. The Cronulla riots this time last year are still fresh in people's memory, when a patriotic rally turned ugly and many hid behind the flag. I wouldn't say that Aussies are a racist lot, but there is a certain tension between Anglos and the large number of immigrants that have been incorporated in the 'populate or perish' scheme of the past few decades.

That being said, banning the flag is a pretty auspicious move. The PM, John Howard, has come out against it, calling it a 'bloody outrage', as he calls most things in life. Hard to imagine the U.S. banning flags in public. Burning flags, yes, but banning altogether is another story.

Today we went on a refresher scuba dive trip here in Sydney with our friend Ellen. Really easy, relaxed sessions, no more than 20ft down with a casual pace. We saw a variety of small sharks, rays and fish. Big blue gropers came and said hello, and a cuttlefish who was none too pleased to see us. After about 20 minutes, we all got oriented enough to have good mobility and balance, but it was very awkward at first being under water again. Getting ready for Thailand in a few weeks.

posted by ncawthon at 10:40 PM