Just to put that random subject line into perspective for y'all, in Australia, just after you get your driver's license you have to place up in the front and back windows these white plates with a big red P on them to indicate that A. You're a probationary driver and B. You've got your license for the first time. I think the analogy is appropriate.
So Dorothy has left Texas and entered San Francisco via Phoenix, Arizona. In Phoenix I think the airlines conduct their own scientific experiments by trying to see if they can cook their passengers in that narrow walk way pressure cooker from the plane to the airport. Honestly I felt like I was being broiled alive there. So that gave me a good inkling of Phoenix weather in July. *Makes note - save Arizona for December*
So before I left Texas the foods I had tried included Cajun catfish, etoufee, gumbo and dirty rice, Mexican - omnomnom, refried beans, flour tortillas, nachos with some kind of mixed melted cheese sauce that mixed so well with the salsa I thought my tastebuds had died and gone to heaven. We tried the Texan version of Greek and Italian and on my last day I had Texan BBQ. I always knew the BBQ sauces in Australia were sadly lacking - smoked beef brisket, BBQ sauce, potato salad and coleslaw all deliciously good but the highlight? and I cannot get over the generosity by the way...the highlight was my new found Texan friends had made a stop at Blue Bell ice cream (after I mentioned that high quality ice cream was few and far between in Perth) and brought some individual tubs for us all to have. I now want to import Blue Bell into Perth. They tell me the ice cream is the best because their cows are happiest *vbg*.
As if that wasn't enough kindness - two of my new found friends decided that I wouldn't be allowed to pay a nearly $50 cab fare back to Hobby airport. They DROVE me there. I am seriously just staggered by how kind, friendly and generous the Texan people have been. They not only drove me there, they drove me there in completely horrendous road conditions as Texas caught the stormy aftermath of Hurricane Alex. They were all so fantastic and I am definitely going back to Texas.
It made me realise that we don't have that in Australia and you know I think it's circumstances - these people faced Ike, there was 9/11, there was Katrina, there's the fact that they share sons and daughters off in Iraq - I think all these things plus the underlying spirit of Southern hospitality have just combined to make for a communal feeling of such friendship, camaraderie and empathy towards each other. Less than two days after being on this workshop for school I felt like I could have known these people all my life - that's how comfortable and welcome they made me. I have never attended any kind of workshop in Australia where that would happen - like I said to my new found friends Australians are very much - if it's too good, it's too good to be true. It's sad but if this kind of open arm friendliness was displayed I think Australians would be a little wary. I'm not sure how that can change - as it is a cultural thing, it definitely relates to the groundswell of feeling about the lack of community in our country. I really think it's a grass roots issue that gets fixed by the individual making those choices.
And now I am here in San Francisco! Only for a few days and then we're off to New Orleans. I've been told the Sourdough on the Wharf is a must eat item and we're doing Alcatraz this afternoon. On that note - Breakfast!
So Dorothy has left Texas and entered San Francisco via Phoenix, Arizona. In Phoenix I think the airlines conduct their own scientific experiments by trying to see if they can cook their passengers in that narrow walk way pressure cooker from the plane to the airport. Honestly I felt like I was being broiled alive there. So that gave me a good inkling of Phoenix weather in July. *Makes note - save Arizona for December*
So before I left Texas the foods I had tried included Cajun catfish, etoufee, gumbo and dirty rice, Mexican - omnomnom, refried beans, flour tortillas, nachos with some kind of mixed melted cheese sauce that mixed so well with the salsa I thought my tastebuds had died and gone to heaven. We tried the Texan version of Greek and Italian and on my last day I had Texan BBQ. I always knew the BBQ sauces in Australia were sadly lacking - smoked beef brisket, BBQ sauce, potato salad and coleslaw all deliciously good but the highlight? and I cannot get over the generosity by the way...the highlight was my new found Texan friends had made a stop at Blue Bell ice cream (after I mentioned that high quality ice cream was few and far between in Perth) and brought some individual tubs for us all to have. I now want to import Blue Bell into Perth. They tell me the ice cream is the best because their cows are happiest *vbg*.
As if that wasn't enough kindness - two of my new found friends decided that I wouldn't be allowed to pay a nearly $50 cab fare back to Hobby airport. They DROVE me there. I am seriously just staggered by how kind, friendly and generous the Texan people have been. They not only drove me there, they drove me there in completely horrendous road conditions as Texas caught the stormy aftermath of Hurricane Alex. They were all so fantastic and I am definitely going back to Texas.
It made me realise that we don't have that in Australia and you know I think it's circumstances - these people faced Ike, there was 9/11, there was Katrina, there's the fact that they share sons and daughters off in Iraq - I think all these things plus the underlying spirit of Southern hospitality have just combined to make for a communal feeling of such friendship, camaraderie and empathy towards each other. Less than two days after being on this workshop for school I felt like I could have known these people all my life - that's how comfortable and welcome they made me. I have never attended any kind of workshop in Australia where that would happen - like I said to my new found friends Australians are very much - if it's too good, it's too good to be true. It's sad but if this kind of open arm friendliness was displayed I think Australians would be a little wary. I'm not sure how that can change - as it is a cultural thing, it definitely relates to the groundswell of feeling about the lack of community in our country. I really think it's a grass roots issue that gets fixed by the individual making those choices.
And now I am here in San Francisco! Only for a few days and then we're off to New Orleans. I've been told the Sourdough on the Wharf is a must eat item and we're doing Alcatraz this afternoon. On that note - Breakfast!