Updating y'all
Mood:  chillin'
Now Playing: some rasta
Topic: experience of place
so I've written bits and pieces in a green spiral bound notebook- which I'll use here.

The world gets so much US mass-produced information and media that is starkly deprived of its cultural context.

I guess this is why I have come to the US. I have been fascinated by reading between the lines of texts -even when I was little- reading the World Book Encyclopedia- and seeing the hundreds of pages they dedicated to the US, and the 6 or so pages they dedicated to Australia- and the self congratulatory tone of so much US writing.

So now I'm here...I am in a youth Hostel in San Francisco, and there is a magazine on the coffee table with Jessica Simpson on the front cover in a US flag string bikini, and khahki army pants undone at the fly. On the cover, it says '75 reasons to love America'.

So now some stories of my experiences so far...

I get into Los Angeles (LAX) airport on Tuesday arvo, and it seems a regular sort of place, no probs with immigration. I stay around the airport for several hours working out what to do and where to go.

There is this strange announcement every 20 minutes or so, saying,

"Attention passengers: You are not required to give money to solicitors. This airport does NOT sponsor their activities."

I really puzzled over this for a while- the image of lawyers walking around the airport, bullying passengers into legal contracts seemed a bit unlikely. I thought that maybe the boss of the airport is a bit weird and has this thing against law suits or maybe there are insurance issues with the planes or something.

I read 'USA Today' in Starbucks and see the headline that some unions have split from the AFL-CIO at their national conference. Also, there is a weather segment on air pollution, saying that air pollution/haze is caused by hot cloudless days. (a little bit of propaganda).

I stay around trying to use public phones and the internet for a few hours. I cannot contact the people I had hoped to stay with. So I go to travelers' aid and book a room for $42/ night (all the other places are booked out), then go wait for the free pickup.

A couple comes with me, one of whom is Australian. We get there and check in in the lobby. There are two local men standing there who tell us that this place is really dodgy. There are young girls- hookers we are told- who come out of the lift, and then we hear there are several police cars out the front, since they are dealing crack cocaine.

I go up to my room (near that couples' room) and close the door and lock it, hoping the door and the third floor level is enough of a fortress to keep people out.

I get a random phone call at about 2am, and it freaks me out totally, so I stay awake for ages.

In the morning, I survey the area from my window. Here is a picture of the view of the window, and a closeup of a billboard visible from the window.

opening address
Mood:  spacey
so here i am in San Francisco. I will have to update you about my wanderings so far... but maybe tomorrow- too tired tonight.

If you are wondering why the mountainous background- it embodies a goal I have to go on an amazing bushwalk some time in the last six months...

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Maybe I will share a short email I sent my brother- it will fill in some details for you- just enough to whet your palate for some stories.

Hi James,

hope you're having fun.

I'm currently in San Francisco- got in here at 230am this morning on a greyhound bus from LA (its currently about midnight now). Had a good day learning about fundraising from the student coalition STARC(in the presbytery of a Catholic church in the rough 'tenderloin' district where there are many homeless men, then going to a house in the 'mission' district (hispanic community and student area), where the group I was with had ice creams at a place nearby- sundaes with lots of cream and cherry on top- Americans eat SUCH UNHEALTHY FOOD- pizza all the time and so much wheat and GROSS processed food. It is hard for me to eat healthily- I have to eat as much as possible at Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants. (at a japanese restaurant I ordered sashimi by accident and had to eat it- slimy...

Anyway. Thought you might be in need of some inspiration.

In a comment on Sydney Indymedia, someone has posted aspeech by Martin Luther-King about Vietnam. I think it's great. I want you not only to look at the content, but also the method- the rhetoric. Look
at his sentence structure. Ask Elizabeth to identify any parallelisms, that culminate to 'end focus' at the end of the sentences.

Anyway say hi to everyone for me!

Anne
--
If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we
must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a
less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift
will find a fitting place.
~Margaret Mead~