Brucebruce - Brucebruce.tumblr

g'day, AUSTRALIA.

i think one of the scariest parts about blogging is sitting yourself down and then flipping through the catalog of emotions and experiences, looking for what you think is relevant or noteworthy, both for your own reading pleasure and for that of others. for me, it felt like the catalog i began once i arrived in australia was filled to the brim with a myriad of feelings, from overwhelming excitement to daunting fear. it’s challenging to write this blog itself, because i still don’t know exactly what i want to talk about. i guess i’ll start from the very beginning.

the immersion began from the moment claire and i stepped off of the plane. having been in the air for the past fourteen hours, we headed for the restroom—or rather, the toilets­—and then looked for the exit—or rather, the way out. noticing these disparities between australian and american english, as well as the chilly weather outside of the airport, i arrived at the first of multiple realizations: we’re in a different country. not entirely different, or even very different; but definitely somewhere foreign, somewhere new. somewhere where the weather is at its coldest in july and where i have to look to the right before i cross the road.

almost immediately, i felt a mingled and intense surge of emotions and feelings: excitement, breathlessness, fear, happiness, anticipation.  it’s strange to describe this, because it felt nearly visceral, but everything had a certain glow, a sort of aura of unfamiliarity and newness. i even vaguely recalled feeling this way when i visited england and france, or when i first arrived at USC.

we jumped on the bus (from the left side), fresh from the plane ride and ready for another three hours of travel to canberra (with an accent on the can, in contrary to the manner in which i previously pronounced it) from sydney, which lies to the north. although we were unable to see a lot of sydney because of very high freeway partitions, we noticed some interesting things: houses resembling those i had seen in the british or french countryside; rolling, grassy hills layered with trees; an awkwardly long (but narrow and low ceilinged) tunnel. upon arriving to canberra, we were greeted by a friendly student who drove us to our college (australian for "dormitory"), where we quickly settled in. we rushed to enrol (yes, only one l) in classes, obtain student IDs, and then begin our first weekend in australia.

yeah, so there’s a lot i’ve skimmed over/totally ignored. gotta start somewhere. i’ll elaborate on specific aspects (e.g., canberra itself, what uni is like, etcetera) later. i'm just glad to finally get started.

blogging FAIL.

no one but myself to blame!

well, there was also that trip to orlando.

and to san diego.

and...my outright laziness.

i feel like i started off the blog very quickly, at the very cusp of summer, with the renewed energy that comes with staying up until the early morning and waking up in the late afternoon. although i said that i'd blog about my preparation for australia, i've actually done the most of my preparing in the past few days, with only 2 days left to go before i board my flight.

i enjoyed the freedom to procrastinate. and that renewed energy only compelled me to seek other pleasures of summer, like finishing then we came to the end and watching vicky cristina barcelona. (both were excellent.)

but i just felt hesitation whenever i thought about my future travels, like figuring out what i wanted to do in australia would require tedious, almost scholarly, research, through the purchase of cumbersome travel guides and skimming of foreign websites. and now, everything feels rushed, and crammed together like the clothes in my bulging suitcase.

but i don't know that it's all bad. as much as i wanted to plan out every minute of the next six months, i'm reminded that traveling should be about adventure and spontaneity. and while i know better than to completely abandon making any plans, i'm sure that i'm going to have an amazing time.

it was a pretty great summer, after all.

I might have already reblogged this but I don’t GIVE A FUCK

via brooklynmutt.com

Finally, progress comes from being willing to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. We need to ask ourselves, 'How would it feel if it were a crime to love the person I love? How would it feel to be discriminated against for something about myself that I cannot change?' This challenge applies to all of us as we reflect upon deeply held beliefs, as we work to embrace tolerance and respect for the dignity of all persons, and as we engage humbly with those with whom we disagree in the hope of creating greater understanding.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a speech to the human rights body of the United Nations on International Human Rights Day.

View the full speech over here or read it over there!

Gay USA (1977) dir. Arthur J. Bressan Jr.

whos granny smith where shes getting all of these damb apples.