 |
| Just thinkin' |
Well, the day has finally arrived and I
return to Peru! After an unexpected
six-month stay in Perth, Western Australia, I’m heading home. Life in Perth has been exceptional! I can’t say enough about this city. My first impression, when I was briefly here
in August 2011, was way off base. What I
thought I saw was a quiet, non-descript, homogeneous, boring town. How wrong I was.
 |
| Perth public spaces |
Perth, on
the farthest edge of the continent, is as isolated from the rest of the country
as in some ways is Iquitos. Yes, you can
get there by road from Sydney or Melbourne (unlike Iquitos which you cannot
arrive by any roads) but why would you?
Even by air, it’s a five hour flight from Sydney and there’s not a whole
lot in between. For this reason and for
many years Perth remained somewhat a big country town—but no more! The population has swelled to about 2.2
million and growing. There are now
restaurants, bars and cafes at all levels of price and quality. Public transportation (by bus and rail) is
clean, convenient, affordable and widely available. The cultural scene is
world-class with concerts, traveling art exhibits, museums, plays, and foreign
film festivals. The weather is like San Diego which means lots of sun, green
trees and flowers blooming all year long, miles and miles of sandy public
beaches, countless public parks, foot and bike paths, plus numerous playgrounds
for kids and walkable neighborhoods with shops and cafes in every suburb. Shopping is excellent with many small dress boutiques still viable in
the era of big box stores and generic shopping malls. Then the very best thing about Perth is the
cultural diversity. I feared coming here
I’d stand out as an American in a sea of Aussies. Not so.
There are large numbers of Indians, Africans, Asians, Muslims, Greeks,
Italians, and of course oodles of Brits—and even Peruvians! They influence the food scene with countless
ethic cafes and restaurants. There are lots of specialty shops for homesick
ex-pats all of which only increases the interesting things that are now Perth. When
James and I take our daily walk and pass others on the footpath, barely one in
four overheard conversations are in English! And then don’t forget the
Aboriginal population that is finally being widely recognized, embraced and
included in the larger public life of white Australian culture.
 |
| My favorite neighborhood cafe |
My time
here has also allowed me to understand the political system which is
parliamentary. I didn’t know much about
it before but it seems fairly sensible.
There is hardly a noticeable “election season” and there are few
political ads as we are endlessly bombarded with in the US. Oh there’s lots of
vitriol as the world has just seen with the ouster of Prime Minister Julia
Gillard, Australia’s first female PM, but it’s done in such a matter of fact
way, that is seems to leave few hurt feelings behind. Yes, there are big egos and much to be
potentially gained by being in politics but it certainly seems to me that most
politicians are truly in the game to be public servants. And when their time is up, they have other
“real lives” to return to and enjoy. The
thing I like the best is how the federal government does its budget. There is no party wrangling and endless years
with no formal budget in place as in the US.
Instead, each year the party in power decides on and presents a
budget—Done! It’s good for one year and
spells out where revenue is expected to come from and where it will be
spent. If they should deem taxes go up or down,
programs should be added or cut, unusual events should be paid for then so be it. The budget is presented--period, case closed.
Sometimes there are deficits and sometimes not but overall it’s a
sensible, practical, professional and adult approach to managing a whole
country as fine and livable as I’ve found Australia to be. Oh, and PS, voting
is mandatory. You don’t vote then you
pay a fine. The system works hard to be
sure everyone is part of the process not excluded. How refreshing!
 |
| Perfection! |
Last but
not least, perhaps the thing I will miss most is a quality cup of cappuccino. You simply cannot get a bad cup of cap
anywhere in the city, from the lowliest milk bar to the finest restaurants.
Real baristas are trained and employed everywhere making for a wonderful experience
each time a cappuccino is served—and always in a real china cup and saucer,
too. America, the land of the bottomless cup of coffee, could find some real
inspiration here.
Now on to
Peru….a posting to come in a few weeks once I’ve figured out where things stand
and what’s new and exciting in the Peruvian rainforest.
