Down Under

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Melbourne, Australia. It's quite a journey from Baltimore. When I landed at Melbourne airport, I wanted to check into my hotel asap. But my bag apparently chose to stay in the US. The very friendly folks from Qantas Airlines noted my local hotel information, but they also asked me if I had enough clothes for a day and offered me a toiletry kit. Even in my confused state of being, I could tell that this was a nice, thoughtful touch.

Much of my early impressions of Australia were formed by Olivia Newton-John (who was actually born in England), Men at Work, and Crocodile Dundee. Fortunately, I had a richer, more nuanced view from Midnight Oil, Mad Max, and Peter Weir's Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously. Anytime I travel, I experience the disorientation cocktail of jet lag, culture shock, and novelty. In Melbourne, the disorientation dissipated quickly (except for the 14 hour time difference). On the surface, the scenes were familiar to what I see in the US. McDonald's meals still cost the local equivalent of US $4-6. But I noted that Burger King is called "Hungry Jack's". This was my first clue that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Apparently, there is a "takeaway food shop" in Adelaide with the name Burger King. According to one of my friends from Australia, it's an individual business. Can you imagine a small business owner maintaining a trademark against a corporation in the US?

My initial superficial impressions of Melbourne gave way quickly as I visited the amazing Queen Victoria Market (I heard a local refer to it as "the Vic") and walked around the city. Whenever I travel, I'm most fascinated by evidence of cultural exchange. Japan, and Tokyo in particular, felt like a culture clash on several occasions. Melbourne felt like a true cultural mashup. Given its geography, history, demographics, and politics, it's no surprise that Australia felt familiar and exotic at the same time. I explored this reality over the course of my two week visit down under.