Sydney - Day 3

I have been in Australia for 3 days now and have been adjusting quite well. Danny and I were picked up from the airport by a Korean taxi driver and we asked to be taken to an internet cafe. Well, he dropped us off at one in Korea town so I soon found myself checking email in Australia next to nerdy Korean kids playing World of Warcraft. Here are a few of my initial reactions and discoveries:

-My ATM card doesn't work and I have no access to money.
-Beer and liquor are incredibly expensive. One liter of Jack Daniels is $50 AUD (~$45 USD?)
-Their money is cooler than ours. It's plastic/paper, water proof, and color coded. They use more coins than we do and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
-Food is expensive but the produce selection is actually quite good. Kiwis are cheap.
-Standard to metric conversions are really annoying.

We are staying in hostels in the downtown area. It turns out that backpacking is quite popular and we have met people from all over the world. The least common nationalities in this area are American and Australian/New Zealand. The most common people are Europeans and they aren't exactly the nicest people I've ever seen. They keep to themselves for the most part and look at you like you're a clown. They have no way of telling that I am American before I speak to them so I can only assume they treat everyone that way. There are also a lot of Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese in the area. Even though almost everyone here speaks English, I can't understand half the things they say to me through their accents. The guy at the phone store today had a Chinese accent AND an Australian accent. Nod and smile.

The nicest people I've met so far are Canadians. I want to hug everyone I meet who doesn't have an accent. Canada is awesome in my book right now and I will never again blame them for anything. I am starting to understand what it is to be American. Stepping away from the background of my own culture has helped me to see how we are similar to others and how we are different. North Americans are definitely more social than people from other places, with the exception of Irish, English, and AU/NZ. I met some Africans and they are all really really nice people too.

Women from other parts of the world are the same as American women: cautious. They question your motives for talking to them. I have been seeing people for people and not men and women but an open and friendly hello often leaves me talking to a woman's back. I hate the game and refuse to play it just to have an open conversation. I'd rather wait for someone to respond to me just as openly. I think I need to get out of the city.

Today, Day 3, I finally met more Aussies. I love them. They are always down to engage in conversation and love to joke around. They have a very lighthearted attitude and don't take many things seriously. "No worries" is the motto. Out of habit, I always thank people for helping me (a good habit i think!) and the Aussies always go "oh no worries! no worries!" like I am being overly kind to them just for saying thank you. I love them. Aussies are super cool.

When we first arrived, Danny and I met a Kiwi (New Zealander), Ryan, and we hung out together for a few days. It turns out that he's interested in energetic healing and has been researching and learning on his own for the last few years. He has a lot of knowledge about the subject and some of the jargon goes over my head. Ryan came with us to check out the largest metaphysical bookstore in Sydney, which is coincidentally right down the street from us. A metaphysical bookstore of this size could not exist in the US because people just don't believe in it to the same degree that the rest of the world does. US stores have to squeeze into a closet sized space. Danny wanted to buy a book but decided he couldn't afford it. Then he found $20 on the ground. Awesome how little things like that happen. I read a book and figured out that the particular gift I have is called claircognizance. I haven't been able to research it anymore than the one paragraph synopsis in that book.

I bought a book about Indigo children. Here is a description of indigo children taken from reference.com:

According to New Age belief, Indigo children are highly sensitive with a clear sense of self-definition and a strong feeling that they need to make a significant difference in the world. They are strong-willed, independent thinkers who prefer to do their own thing rather than comply with authority figures. They are empathic and can easily detect or are in tune with the thoughts of others, and are naturally drawn to matters concerning mysteries, spirituality, the paranormal and the occult, while opposing unquestioned authority and contradictory to convention. They allegedly possess wisdom and level of awareness "beyond their years." They are also said to feel a strong sense of entitlement.

Some beliefs hold that they are often labeled with the psychiatric diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and also Autism, and that they become unsociable when not around other Indigo Children. They are also believed to be prone to depression and sleep disorders such as insomnia and persistent nightmares. Indigo children also possess defining characteristics in learning; indigos tend to be more visual, kinesthetic learners so remember best what they can picture in their brain and create with their hands. Movement is required to keep them better focused.

Indigos possess a warrior spirit and are here to tear down old and corrupt systems that no longer serve humanity to make way for truth and the consciousness revolution. My next post will include more about the consciousness revolution so you all can know what I'm talking about.