Sorry it's Reconciliation Week

Every year between May 27 and June 3 Australia celebrates "Reconciliation Week".  The week is a time for Australians (and dirty foreigners) to learn about the shared histories (between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals), cultures and achievements and to explore how people can join the national reconciliation effort, whatever that means. 

Unlike most publicly recognized weeks or months the dates for RW actually hold some significance.
 
May 27 marks the anniversary of Australia’s most successful referendum and a defining event in the nation’s history. The 1967 referendum saw over 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census.  One could read this to mean that 90% of, what was at the time, White Australia, chose to have legal empire, including the power of law enforcement, over the Aboriginal people.  On the other had, one could understand this to mean that 90% of Australians chose to give the Aboriginals the same legal rights as them.  If the latter is true than 1 out of 10 people didn't want Aboriginals to have the same rights as them.  To be honest, that isn't much of a surprise.  We've noticed that there is a very tangible undercurrent of racism and xenophobia in Australian society.


On June 3, 1992, the High Court of Australia delivered its landmark Mabo decision which legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a special relationship to the land—that existed prior to colonalisation and still exists today. This recognition paved the way for land rights called Native Title.

As far as I can tell Reconciliation Week is basically intended to honour the original Australian culture.  There are a bunch of ceremonies around the country where lots of people, mostly non-Aboriginals, show how much they care.  But they're not sorry.  That was yesterday.  National "Sorry Day"  is an Australia-wide observance held on May 26 each year. This day, like other Reconciliation Week events, includes activities such as concerts, outdoor events, marches, speeches and politicians pretending that they care.  The first "Sorry Day" was held in 1998 to commemorate the Aboriginal families that were destroyed when children were forcibly seperated from their families during the early days of the European settlement.  It's basically the same thing that happened in Canada except that, in a very un-Canadian fashion, we still haven't officially said "sorry".  At least not with a day on the calendar.

How did I find out about it?  Was it the banners that were flying in the city?  Was it in talking to co-workers and acquaintances?  Was it because I got the day off of work?  No.  I got an email at work from our Regional Manager saying that he was going to be attending a RW event and that my employer is a proud participant in RW.  They also go on to say that they are committed to participate positively in closing the gap between all Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.  I don't know what that means exactly but I do know that I have yet to run into co-workers in my current office that are of Aboriginal descent.  I'm not suggesting that they should be running sort of affirmative action but they I can't see what is actually being done to make a claim like they're closing the gap.  The Aboriginal 'issues' here get a lot of lip service paid to them, even moreso than in other places (*cough* Canada *cough*) but at the end of the day, Australia's record when it comes to dealing with Aboriginals is spotty at best.

Australian to English Dictionary

One of the truly charming and enraging things about Australians is their habit, or dare I say pride, in butchering the English language.  This doesn't just take place in situations where two blokes might be whining about the latest footy result like a knocker while  pounding back a couple stubbys and snags.  No, rather this takes place almost everywhere and all the time, from speaches in Parliament, to business meetings, to radio announcers to everyday conversations.  So, here is a quick and easy translation of some of the more common Australianisms that one is likely to experience at any given moment:

ace – excellent

ambo - Paramedic, Ambulance Officer

‘ang on – wait a moment

arvo – afternoon

‘avago – have a go (usually ‘ya mug’ – you fool – is added); try harder

barbie – barbecue or BBQ

bewdy or bewdy bottler – good; the best

Beyond the Black Stump – far from the city; the outback

bickie - biscut or cookie

bingle – minor car accident

bludger – layabout, one who wants something for nothing, person who does not work or works very little

bluey – a swag or blanket roll

bombed out – unsuccessful; also drunk

bonza - excellent

buckleys - no chance

budgy smugglers - swimming atire, also referred to as 'togs'

burl - 'give it a burl' give it a go; attempt something

by crickey – an expression of surprise

cactus – useless, broken

cark it – to die

cashed up – having plenty of ready money

cheesed (off) – bored; fed up

chewy – chewing gum

chook – domestic fowl

chook raffle – a lottery in which the prize is a chicken; usually held in a ‘pub’ (hotel)

chuck a wobbly – go berserk

cobber – friend

cocky – know all; also a small farmer

combo - combination

come a cropper – to fall heavily

cot case – a drunk or exhausted person only fit for bed

cracking - excellent / get cracking - start something

Darwin stubby - 2 litre bottle of beer

deadhead – a stupid person

deadly - excellent ("The Deadlys" is an award program to recognise the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to their community and to Australian society)

dead marine – an empty beer bottle (also: dead soldier)

dinky-di – genuine

do your lolly (mellon; nana; loaf) – to get very angry

dob in – to betray or report someone to the authorities; also to nominate someone for an umpleasent task

don’t get off your bike – calm down

drongo – stupid person

dry as a drovers dog – extremely thirsty

dunny – an outside toilet

esky – a portable icebox (brand name)

fair crack of the whip – ease up (also: fair suck of the surf)

fair dinkum – honest; genuine

fair go – a chance; also an appeal for fairness

flake (out) – to collapse; to fall asleap

flat out like a lizard drinking – lying prone; also rushed; extremely busy

fossick – to search for something

freak out – to have an extreme reaction (good or bad) to something

full as a goog (tick; boot) – drunk; full of food after a big meal

game as Ned Kelly – very brave (Ned Kelly was a daring bushranger [robber] in 1878)

garbo - garbage collector

g’donya – good for you; well done; can also be sarcastic; or mean ‘I don’t believe you’

go off like a bucket of prawns in the sun – to create commotion

goodo – yes, alright

goon - wine sold inside a bag and cardboard box

gutful – more than enough (I’ve had a gutful of this – I’ve had enough)

have tickets on yourself – to be conceited

hit the deck – to duck; to put your head down

hit the tin – put money in the kitty; to contribute to a collection of cash

hoon – a stupid or uncultivated person; also a fast or wreckless driver

hooroo – goodbye

jackaroo - male working with cattle or horses

joolaroo - female working as a jackaroo

kero - kerosene

knocker – a person who makes derogatory remarks

larrikin – mischievous, wild or carefree person

lations - family relatives or 'relations'

like a hornet in a bottle – furious

like a possum up a gum tree – moving fast

like a rat up a drainpipe – moving even faster

lingo – language

mackas - McDonalds

mate – good or best friend; also used to greet someone as in ‘G’day mate’

matilda – a blanket roll carried by a swagman

mexicans - people from the state south of yours

milko - milk home delivery person

m’oath – my oath; on my oath. bloody oath - i agree

mug – fool

mulga – rough country (actually: a type of tree)

muso - musician

no-hopper – incompetent person; social misfit

nosh up – a good meal

nick off – to go away; expression meaning ‘lose yourself!’

nifty – stylish; clever; shrewd to the point of dishonesty

ocker – the archetypal uncultivated Australian male

prang – minor car accident

rack off – to go away

ranga - person with red hair

rego - vehicle registration

righto - alright

ring-in – a substitute

rissole - a type of meatball flattened out; or fat meat patty. (also: 'given the rissole' sacked or fired from employment.

rort – a con

sangers – sandwiches

servo - a petrol station or gas station

she’ll be apples, she’s sweet – it’ll be fine

shoot through - to go somewhere else (or he shot through)

shonky – poor quality

shout – to buy drinks for everyone

shrapnel - coins of a low denomination

sickie – a day taken off work, but not necessarily because of illness

skip – Australian-born (from Skippy the kangaroo [a TV show])

skite – a bragger

slack - work left over by a lazy person. To 'pull up the slack' is to do the work left over by others.

a slash - to take 'a slash' or 'have a slash' - to urinate

smoko – a break from work (originally a cigarette)

snags – sausages

speedo - vehicle speedomoter

stinker – an objectionable person

stone the crows – exclamation of astonishment

swag – a blanket roll of light bedding

swagman – a man who travels around the country on foot and takes odd jobs usually in the outback

ratbag – a rogue; an eccentric person

rubbish – to criticice; to mock

servo - petrol station

ta - thank you

tall poppy (/syndrome) - a cultural tendancy to cutt people down to size - criticise people who excell or achieve significantly / or publicly above others

ta-ta – goodbye

the ditch - water between Australia and New Zealand

tinnie – a can of beer; a small aluminum boat

too right – an exclamation meaning ‘I agree’

top drop – a good beer or wine

ute – open backed pick-up truck

veg out – relax

wag – to play truant

wheelie – a noisy skidding turn while driving

whinge – to complain

whopper – something surprisingly big

woop woop - out in the middle of no where

wowser – a killjoy; a prudish teetotaler

yakka – hard or heavy work

yobbo – a loud or stupid uncultivated person

yonks ago (or yonks and yonks ago) - a long time ago

zonked (out) – tired out; exhausted

A Week or so in Pictures

And now for another episode of "Stuff That May Be Mildly Interesting To Certain Individuals"...

 

 

So Cyrus has returned home from New Zealand.  Tanya took all the photos on her camera so we don't have any of the pictures of their trip (besides their departure photo below) but I'll be posting some of those when we receive them.  By way of a general recap: they enjoyed seeing New Zealand, they enjoyed spending time with Tanya's family and friends and they enjoyed travelling together.  

 

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One of the significant differences between Australia and North America (aka "The Civilized World") is the sporting culture.  In Canada and the US the major sports are Football, Baseball, Basketball and, particularly in God's Country, Hockey.  All of these sports exist in Australia but none of them are among what makes up the sporting culture here.  Instead, the most popular sports, in order from most popular to least (by my estimation) are:

1) Australia Rules Football (or Footy as it's known).  This is a sport I actually enjoy watching.  It is non-stop action, it's hard hitting, it requires a number of different skills and it can get quite competitive and emotional.  One of the games I watched they calculated that one player ended up running 17km during the match.  That would be hard enough besides the fact he also had to kick, pass, tackle, leap and all the other odd things they do.  I guess my point is that I have some respect for Footy players.  That is with one notable exception: the hair.  There is a trend, which is particularly hot in Footy at the moment, which is a mullet type of haircut.  It's bloody awful.  Some players choose not to wear the mullet.  Instead many of those players have a haircut like a banker and a beard cut Grizzly Adams.  So, the entire Footy match is like watching a chaotic convention of 80's pop stars battling it out with laid-off Goldman Sachs employees.

2) Cricket.  This is a very popular sport, particularly at the national level and it also doubles as a cure for insomnia.  How anyone can manage to sit through 3 hours of, what is essentially, watching a couple of dozen men stand around a grass field is beyond me.  And of course, there's the longer version which can take several days.  I've tried to watch it and give it a chance, I really have, but beyond being eye-gougingly boring (I know that's not a real word), the game has more rules than there are blades of grass on the fields.  I'm fairly certain that they just end up making up most of the rules as they go since the majority of the audience has either fallen asleep or passed away from old age and wouldn't notice.

3) Rugby.  Rugby is a very international sport and is quite popular in many countries.  It is really the foundation for both American Football (or "Gridiron" as it's known here) and Footy.  In Australia they have two distinct rugby leagues.  One is known as the "Rugby League" (original, I know) and the other as "Rugby Union".  There are some minor differences between the two but make no mistake: they are equally boring.  Recently I had a chance to go to a Rugby League match in our clients box at the stadium.  The match tested the Western Force based out of Perth versus the Brisbane Reds based out of Adelaide.  No, in fact they are actually based out of Brisbane.  I was just making sure you're paying attention.  A touchdown in Rugby is worth 6 points and an extra point is worth one.  A field goal is worth 3 points.  So, you can imagine the excitement of the game with a final score of 11-11 (each team had a touchdown, missed extra point and two field goals).  Here I am below during the "action".

Actually, I enjoyed the atmosphere, for the most part, even though the game was pretty slow.  I think the wine helped...and the beer.  It's the first real Australia sporting event any of us have been to so far.

4) After those three I'd say that soccer (not "football" to the chagrin of millions of POMs here) and basketball are at around the same level of popularity.  Which is to say you can't really make much of a living here playing those sports and anybody that has elite level talent in soccer or basketball are likely not playing professionally in Australia.

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This past Monday we officially put the third of our three children into braces.  Keva got fitted with the little money traps and she's doing fine.

 

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In this part of the planet it is Sunday and Mothers Day.  So, happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there.

Stopping to smell the Eucalyptus

In 4 days we will have been in Australia for 18 months.  It's been a bit of a whirlwind.

For the first 6 months we were shell shocked with our new surroundings and our new circumstances.  For the 6 months after that we were actively trying to find a comfort zone, like a dog circling around and around before plopping down suddenly.  For the last 6 months we've been taking stock of where we are and thinking about the future.

I won't lie, the last few months have been tough.  There was the stress of our housing crisis that left us a little rattled.  There are also a bunch of other 'little' things around the kids, our jobs, and the daily minutia.  I have been particularly on edge since I changed jobs (sort of) and now am transitioning to a different stage of my career.  So there's been, what feels like, a constant background noise of tension over the last few months.

For the first time in months, Nadia and I went golfing this week.  As a matter of fact, we went two days in a row.  Actually, it was more like two nights in a row.  We went twilight golfing at the course near our house.  The tee-times start at 4:30pm.  We managed to get about 6 holes done.  On the second night we were walking on the fairway as the sun was setting and a flock of about 40 black Cockatoos flew over our heads.  They were followed by some Lorikeets and Conures.  (The parrot type of birds tend to get most active at dusk and dawn.)  Keep in mind, it's the end of April in the Southern Hemisphere, which is the equivalent to the end of October in the civilized world, and we're out on the golf course in shorts and t-shirts watching flocks of parrots pass gracefully overhead.    In general, it was one of those moments when we couldn't help but appreciate the positives.  It's the little things that help and it helps to leave the house to experience those little things.

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Cyrus is still in New Zealand and he's scheduled to come 'home' this Friday.  Communication has been difficult at times.  New Zealand is even further behind, technologically speaking, than Perth.  Even so, he's managed to check in with us on occasion and he seems to be having a good time.  He spent the first few days near Auckland.  Then they drove to Wellington and spent some time with Tanya's extended family on her dad's side.  Cyrus said that it's quite green and hilly and reminds him a little bit of Canada (with the obvious exception of Saskatchewan).  We are really looking forward to seeing him and hearing more details about his trip.

Last night, as Nadia and I were talking about Cyrus' trip we were thinking about how we didn't appreciate the kids enough when they were young.   We were too busy with life to enjoy it and we didn't squeeze every drop we could out of the experience.  Of course, that's never really changed.  Sure, you can reminisce and think about how things should have been but nothing changes if you don't do more than just reminisce.  With hindsite and retrospect you can look back and know that despite challenging circumstances everything will turn out okay.  It's harder to do that in the moment when you're facing the challenges and daily grind of life.  I don't really know where that leaves me at the moment but I'm pretty sure, despite the challenges, frustrations and the unknowability (?) of the future, I'm pretty sure everything will turn out okay.  That's the attitude I'm trying to take forward and hopefully when I look back in 15 years I'll be satisfied that I was close to getting it right.

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Today is my 40th birthday. 

On the one hand it feels like a milestone but on the other it's just another day. 
On the one hand I feel old and tired but on the other I feel like a pup. 
On the one hand I feel like I haven't accomplished much in life but on the other I can't believe how much I've done so far.

Fortunately, I probably used up my mid-life crisis on the move to Australia so I don't expect any sportcars or motorcycles in my immediate future.

Cash gifts are acceptable.  I promise they won't be used on a motorcycle.