Cultural Phrase (in English for once!): Those who lose dreaming are lost.
-Australian Aboriginal Proverb
Meaning: There are probably many different ways to interpret this phrase based on who you ask. For the Aboriginals, the “Dreaming” or “Dreamtime” is an alternate dimension where they believe the spirits who created the world as well as their ancestors dwell. My guess is that those who lose sight of this “Dreaming” lose the support of their ancestors and the creator spirits and lose their path in life.
Before I did some research into this quote, I interpreted it as losing motivation or the dreams you want to achieve, which is unfortunately an issue that plagues me. In the past few years, due to the incredible stress from school and all these newfound responsibilities, everything seems to be a hassle. Clearly, I need to get used to the strange schedule of college and probably not take as many difficult classes next semester.
But stressful issues aside, the country we’re talking about today is Australia!
Just a few days ago, the general public had a referendum in Australia in which over 60% of people voted to allow same-sex couples to get married, which is a large step towards equality. The country is still divided between people who wanted to legalize it and those who didn’t (a main person against it is former Prime Minister Tony Abbott). Regardless, congratulations to Australia!
Continuing on, it’s rather amusing I’m doing this post on Australia. When my sister was in elementary school, she had to do a project on Australia and for some strange reason, I never forgot that project. At one point, we were watching TV and they mentioned something about Australia and as a joke, I turned to her to verify it and she looked at me blankly and asked why she would know. She had somehow forgotten she did that extensive project on Australia.
Most people know a lot about Australia: deadly creatures that want to kill you in every corner such as spiders, snakes, drop bears*.
They’re horrifying, but they’re just like the creepy squirrels on campus: just jump back whenever one gets too close to you and you’ll be fine.
Australia’s questionable fauna aside, there are a bucketful of activities unique to Australia and you can easily find lists that go on and on about said activities, like this one.
A few activities include Lake Hillier, the lake known for its strange pink hue, finding giant pink slugs, visiting innumerable rainforests and beaches with strange inhabitants or the horizontal waterfalls, or going to Coober Pedy, which is a old opal mining town located in the middle of nowhere. Due to the heat, most houses in Coober Pedy are underground and there’s an house there adorned with women’s underwear.
As if their strange animals weren’t enough.
Obviously there are many more popular locations to visit such as Uluru and cities such as Melbourne or Perth, but considering how strange Australia can be, it may be time to step out of our conform zones and spark up the imagination and curiosity in the world around us!