| Myrons Daily Journal - Page 10 |
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April 16, 2004 Today I am biking from Woodburn to Ballina. I am staying away from Byron Bay until the week end is over. That is the end of Easter vacation for the schools here. I have been told the Byron Bay area is packed. There is one thing about me that doesn't fit here in Australia that is my diet. Restaurants work differently here than in the states. You almost never sit down and get waited upon. You always go to the counter and order, pay and then sit. They will then deliver your meal to you when it is ready. This is fine with me; it eliminates tipping. I remember asking the Aussie next to me on the plane out of LA about tipping. He said it is not done, and DON'T you dare get it started. I can see why it is not done. You are not waited upon like in the states. Now, about the food. I did mention I would like to corner the market on the deep frying machines and the oil that goes into them. I would be a billionaire. Everything is deep fried. I have asked a few people if they know about Tran fatty acids. I might as well be speaking a foreign tongue. Mc Donald can't harm their diet here. It might improve it a little. As I am writing this, the couple next to me just finished a heaping dish of chips (French fries to us) loaded with salt. This obviously was their breakfast. They looked like they were in their 60's. Maybe they really were only in their 40's. I have taken to buying muslie, fruit, yogurt and low fat milk at the grocery. Very few restaurants serve this combo; you can't deep fry it! There must be a few people over here in my camp. I have seen a few health food stores. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have deep fried vitamin tablets. In a land that raises fruits and vegetables, you don't see a lot consumed. They must export them all. Another thing I see a lot of is people on motor driven wheel chairs: far more than in the US. Could this be the result of their life styles? When you go into a Department store, they don't have escalators as we know them; they are long moving ramps to the next floor. I have never seen anybody continue walking when they step onto them. Maybe these ramps are so they will accept the motorized wheel chairs. I have always seen pictures of Australian life guards portraying the country. They are here, but there is a large counterpart to them. April 17, 2004 Its Saturday. I am staying in Ballina again tonight. I was going to bike into Byron Bay tomorrow, but everybody says to stay at Lennox head; Byron bay is a gaudy place with partying teenagers even after school begins. It is a haven (maybe even heaven) for the beach bums that don't work or go to school. For the first time I am in a very nice YHA/motel with two Australian blokes (another Aussi term) that are 69 and 70. They are very interesting to talk with. One has been a registered nurse for over forty years. He has worked in Australia, Europe, and Africa. North, Central and South America. He was a replacement nurse. Asia is about the only area he has not worked in. It is a break from the young crowd. Although, like many of the younger crowd, they drink a lot of beer. I went to an Irish pub with them on Friday night and had one Guinness. After that, I switched to coffee. They suggested Irish coffee; I said no, just regular coffee. My regular coffee over here is a flat white. It is a shot of expresso with foamed milk. I may just continue the trend when I get back to the states. I visited the Returning Servicemen’s League (RSL) later Friday night for dinner. Just about every town has a RSL. It is a non-profit organization with its members as stockholders. All profits must go back into the organization. Some have told me a RSL may get so large that it can hurt a small town by taking over the total entertainment of the town. It is similar in meaning, but not in concept, to our American legion, which can be nothing more than a group of drinkers. The Ballina RSL in town here has a great cafeteria with hundreds of people having dinner; a small Las Vegas style slots casino with at least 200 machines; an off-track betting center, a large stage and stage bar; a convention center that wasn't being used at the time; a coffee bar; a piano bar; a bottle shop and was hosting a large separate art show with hundreds of paintings. This was just the area I saw on a quick tour of the building. It had a large parking lot under the building and a large reception hall where I got a temporary member pass. My friends at the hostel said that at 6 PM every night everything stops at all RSLs everywhere for the reciting of a pledge "Lest We Forget" for those who did not return from the very few wars the Australians have fought in. I returned Saturday night for dinner just before 6 PM to witness this. Just at 6 PM all the lights went out and everybody was asked to stand, be quiet, and face west. It was then that the poem "Lest We Forget" was recited. Here are the words: They went with songs to the battle, They fell with their face to the foe. Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and In the morning, we will remember them. "Lest We Forget " After the poem has been read, everyone repeats " Lest We Forget." The Australians are very involved in commemorating their war veterans. You see examples of this everywhere. On the 25th of this month is ANZAC day for both Australia and New Zealand. This is their Memorial Day. It will be interesting to see how this day is celebrated here. |
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