Audrey (Australia)-Cultural Experiences

AH First post! I know it's really belated but what can I say, I've been busy!

I'm currently on my two week homestay and I'm having a fantastic time. I feel so lucky that I have such a great family and get to live in such a beautiful area.
My "mom", Gina, is the Homestay coordinator for the program and I think I was placed with her because she is a chef by profession and understands veganism very well. She has a 14 year old daughter, Fiona, and an 11 year old, Charlie. All three of them are outgoing and engaging and I feel like I'm really a part of the family. For example Gina had bellydancing yesterday and I 'watched' the Charlie and Fiona and today I looked after Charlie and got him to the bus on time in the morning.

Gina lives in a neighborhood called the Channon (pronounced Chan-en) about 20 km outside Lismore. The region is largely pastoral, very hilly with cows and livestock, but just half an hour away there are massive Eucalypt and tropical forests. Lismore is a hotbed for alternative lifestyles including a couple large communes. This started because an Acquarius Festival was held here in 1973 and many of the college students who came decided to drop out of school and start a life here. For example, on my street there are at least two musicians, a German expat who used to live under a tree, a Jungian therapist, an organic gardener, a natural healer, and a garden rejuvenator. I'm really enjoying everyone and I had a great talk today with the German expat and her husband, a musician. Everyone seems to be very much in tune with each other and there is a strong sense of community, it could hardly be more different than LA.

Also this is like the perfect marijuana growing climate and just about everyone has a plant in their yard. I went a party with my "mom" on Saturday and both she and her partner were smoking and drinking all night. Which was great because I didn't need to feel guilty about consuming vast quantities of wine and champagne. God the way Australians drink is really no joke!

Charlie my host brother is completely obsessed with skateboarding and American culture. All our conversations go along the lines of him asking "What do they call Hungry Jack's in America?" [Burger King], "How do you pronounce dog in America?" and then laughing my silly American replies. Or as I leave the bathroom I'm ambushed with "Want to see a truck stop?", "An ollie?" or whatever skateboard trick comes to mind at the moment.

I'd like to get and explore more but we have so much reading! The problem really is that the reading is so interesting I WANT to read it all and it takes me forever to absorb all the details.

Our classes have taken a turn for the boring side but fortunately we're going to a Buddhist retreat tomorrow and spending the night there. We're going to explore the spiritual side of environmentalism while camping in a Eucalypt forest. Amazing? Absolutely. Unfortunately we can't kill anything, including leeches, mosquitos, and snakes. I actually haven't seen any snakes yet but I DID overhear the Channon store manager discussing his 'pet' 9 foot python today. I think my expression was probably pricelessly American.

Here are my most recent observations on Australian culture:
-Mosquites are mozzies, skipping class is wagging, and rainforest rave parties are doofs
-Not only is there Vegemite, Marmite and Promite are alternate versions and people really do enjoy it.
-Dental care seems to be a low priority compared to surfing, art, drinking, or really anything.
-Linkin Park and Weird Al are the music of choice for adolescent boys.
-There are marijuana police that patrol people's backyards and drop down from helicoptors to collect pot plants.
-Leeches here are tiny and have the unforunate habit of climbing through shoelace holes and into eyelids. If they do you have to leave them there because pulling them out would destroy your eyeball.