sustainabilityhttp://megantmorrison.mindsay.com/
Have a great day!
Right now I'm in a suburb of Brisbane with Michael and Silvana. We've been running around and keeping busy. There have already been some difficult situations, though. Yesterday, Michael took me to an aboriginal art gallery for "a little exposure." There, I experienced the anger that many of the "Stolen Generation" still have for those who so mistreated their people. Michael later told me that this man has a particularly sad story. He grew up in Holland after he was taken from his family. When he came back, he was unable to be accepted in the aboriginal community or by the white community.
Although this experience upset me, I now feel more prepared to work with aboriginal peoples. I've also been inspired to tweak my ISP topic: I will now focus more on how aboriginal dance is helping communities and the different societies that are involved with it.
Peter has thrown all 15 of us out into the wilds of Australia. In my case, the wilds of big city Australia. Yesterday marked the first day of my indepedent study project, so I am currently (almost) alone in Brisbane. Meredith, who will also be based out of Brisbane for a few days, and I have arrived here safely. This morning Meredith went off to do research at a Museum, while I headed to the University of Brisbane library. As it turns out, most of the references for indigenous dance are videos or documentaries, so I think I will take some popcorn to the Uni tomorrow and have an 8 hour solo research party. I will use my time in Brisbane to do research before starting my work with aboriginal groups in Sydney and Melbourne.
Today, I also ventured across the river to Kangaroo Point and did some lindy hop with the locals. We had a big BBQ and watched rock climbers scale the walls.
Being alone in a foreign country is a beautiful experience. It helps me remember how indepedent I am and gain confidence in my ability to meet people.
From the Field,
The Great Megsby
When I saw the postcards in the store at the rest stop, I was cowed by the beauty of the natural scenes which smiled at me from their color-printed cubicles. I thought for sure that the trip to Fraser would be the best trip of the semester. After two days on the island however, I believe this to be the hardest trip of the semester. Although I was first infatuated with the idea of a real-life mario kart -- driving by the waves, avoiding flopping fish and old, rusted shipwrecks -- the novelty soon wore off as I realised the extent of the damange which Fraser Island has undergone due to its popularity as a tourist location. As we drive aloing a beach whose dune-system and biodiversity have been decimated by humans, we pass contless other 4 by 4s who emitt huge amonts of carbon as they tour (and further compact) the 79 km island. They hours revving their engines as they try to dislodge themselves from the all-sand highways. Even worse, I feel like a tourist. I ask myself what learning about this ecosystem is costing it. I ask myself how people can reflect on natural beauty and processes in the prescence of so much movement and reshaping.
I have seen amazing things here. I've seen pods of dolphins surfing the waves, sea turtles bobbing in the surf, humpback whales, lakes so clean that you can drink the water you're swimming in -- lakes with the purest water in the world. I wish that people's wish to experience the beauty here did not exhaust the landscape. The earth is tired and needs a respite from the vehicles that claw at her skin and the heards of tourists which clog her veigns and arteries. We are clots in an otherwise beautiful and adaptive system.
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We talked today of the different types of dissiduosity and, at that moment, I felt as if I was appreciating the changing of the Australian seasons for the first time. The trees shed their bark here to signal the onset of spring just as leaves falling in much of the northern hemisphere mark the coming of winter. These Connections make missing home more difficult. I don't feel like I'm missing out; I feel like I'm understanding new processes.
We've also begun a discussion on public relation's role in promoting sustainable or unsustainable processes. In many areas of the world, companies are hired to make environmental destruction marketable. A book I'm reading right now called Secrets and Lies tells the story of how a New Zealand logging company used PR to promote unsustainable consumption. On Fraser Island, the turpentine-like substance produced by the trees was marketed as satinay, a more refined-sounding label. The logging on the island was managed poorly and many of the largest trees have been destroyed. This is sad because, as John Sinclair said, the oldest trees are the most magnificient and give uniqueness and grandeur to the forest.
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After talking to some aboriginal people today, I feel very excited about my ISP. These people performed a welcoming dance for us and then we all passed the day learning how to use traditional spears and boomerangs. For these people, traditional dance and song have only been ressurected in the past 10 years. They have had to re-invent their traditions by going out into the bush and watching the flora and fauna for inspiraton. I will study this further and I believe it will be a significant part of my ISP project.
