Blue Mountains Trip

I just got back to Sydney from a trip to the small mountain town of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, which are two hours west of Sydney. It was a fantastic trip and I met some great people staying at my hostel. Here are some pictures from the trip:

The famous Three Sisters rock formation on the left

Katoomba Falls

I hung out with a young British couple and a Frenchman both nights at my hostel in Katoomba, and it was really funny hearing their perception of the United States and quirky things about their cultures. It's probably the ignorant Oklahoma boy in me, but I've always thought of foreigners as some sort of alien like species of which the only thing we have in common is the actual physiological characteristics that make us both human. Studying abroad last summer made me realize that isn't all true, but this trip has really made me realize that we really aren't that different at all. Hanging out with the people this weekend, they had the same sense of humor and personality traits of most normal Americans. Some of this could probably be attributed to the widespread influence of American TV and entertainment. Over here in Australia it's basically all American shows that are on during prime time, and the people from Britain said it's the same way over there. They knew more about American sitcoms and dramas than I did.

I like hearing how people from other countries view Americans, and I asked them (the 2 Brits and French guy) what America's reputation was in Europe and their response was "taking everything over the top, everything has to be BIG, and the people are usually very big and very loud." After hearing about the case in the States where a 685 lb. man is suing his former employer for wrongful termination, I couldn't really argue with the "big people" stereotype. Only in America would someone a) be 685 pounds and b) be able to sue (and probably win) his former employer for wrongful termination. God bless the USA.

On a more political note, the British people talked in length about how their government provides so many benefits to people that aren't working that they have lots of friends that want to work but don't because it would make their financial situation worse. They said their friends hate it because they really want to work and be productive but if they took a job they were qualified for they would make less money than they would receiving welfare benefits and be taxed on top of that. They also said if you are a single mother in the UK that you are basically set for life by the government and that supposedly many females are intentionally becoming single mothers just because the benefits are so good.

They also said that Australians have much more of an American accent than of a British accent. I think, and I think most people from the US, it is the other way around. It's strange that they view it differently. I also told them that most girls in the US love guys with British accents and they said it doesn't work the other way around in the UK. "An Aussie guy could probably do pretty well for himself in the UK, but being from the US wouldn't really add anything" is what they said. Guess life just isn't fair sometimes. They also thought it was completely ridiculous and strange that their royal wedding was such a big deal in the USA. They didn't even know we knew about it.