Back to the Future

When talking time zones, Australia is ahead of the US Eastern Coast by 16 hours, yet there is an overarching feeling, when you come to Australia, that you have somehow managed to step back in time. All in all, I would say the entire country seems to be in the grips of the early 1990's. Walking down the streets of Melbourne, more often than not, you can spot someone with a grunge punk haircut, pink died hair, sleeveless bleached shirts, a sports jacket and slacks paired with white sneakers, large sunglasses and a fedora, almost anything. Sometimes I expect to see someone walking by me with a huge boombox on their shoulder. Yesterday, I even saw a man with a "Flock of Seagulls" haircut while on the tram. (Hey, you like Flock of Seagulls... No, but I see you do). Yet, its more than just the dress of some people. It is a feeling that things are just a bit slower here. People are not rushing around as much. They are not fighting their way from one point in life to another. In a lot of ways it is relaxing. You don't see huge American SUV's or Trucks everywhere you look. In fact, it is not unusually to see old European style cars or vans. There are not as many huge department stores around. I have not once seen a Borders or a Barnes and Nobles, but I have found a lot of little picturesque book shops around. There are less brand names and more personalized businesses. There is a coffee shop on most corners, but they are not usually Starbucks.

I have also come to the understanding (from what little Aussie TV I do watch) that the entire country is about a half of season or a season behind America. Shows that have been playing in America since last September are just premiering over here. To compound the problem we seem to be exporting some of our worst TV shows to Australia. Shows, which I never heard of like "The Middle" (Which stars the janitor from Scrubs and the wife from Everybody Loves Raymond), or "Brothers and Sisters," (which has Callista Flockhart). We need to get shows out here like "Psych." Additionally, movie release dates seem to be at least a month or more behind the USA. That awful "Yogi Bear" movie just came out, and all I have been seeing is posters for it everywhere. I thought I was done with all that and here it comes back to haunt me. "The Green Hornet" does not come out till next weekend. (which I am excited to check out).

Also Aussie technology seems to be behind in certain areas. WiFi, for instance, which is so plentiful in America seems a scarce commodity (at least to me). In the Hostel I had to pay A$1.00 for 15 minutes. I have since moved into a "flat" that is without wireless and I had to purchase a USB modem that has an antenna attached to it. The modem an 20 days of Internet cost me around A$50. However, it is slow and reminds me slightly of the days of AOL dial up. At least it is cheaper than hostel wireless. There are certain cafes and restaurants that offer free wireless, most notably McDonald's (as weird as that is), but for an American on a budget my time online has been severely lacking in the past few weeks. My phone has downgraded as well. I went from a beautiful and very useful Verizon Droid phone to a Nokia that boasts the wonderful new innovation of a color screen. Of course, I have seen smart phones and even iPads (bleh) so I know they exist in this country, but my technology has been noticeably reduced. (And if I ever needed a smart phone with GPS it is when trying to navigate the streets and trams of Melbourne.) I am not trying to be down on Australia, actually I quite love this country and my lack of technology is helping me return to a simpler time. I am finding more peace as I am forced to read a book instead of watch YouTube, or when I have to rely on my wits and navigational sense, instead of an electronic GPS. So until I find a Delorean back home, I must learn to adapt to my new low-tech existence, but as frustrating as it can be sometimes, I am starting to enjoy the peace that comes with it.