Accepting the little differences

Sometimes the life of a researcher is a good one, not least for all the opportunity to travel. I’m away from Japan right now at a conference out in Sydney and I must admit I’m pretty happy about it. It’s great to be surrounded by people who are on a similar wavelength to you; not having to explain what you do and have people look at you as though you are crazy or just immediately loose interest is nice.

It was talking to a fellow researcher that I realised as much as I complain and whinge about the hours and the frustrations, I’m pretty damn lucky. I can’t think of many jobs that afford such a freedom of lifestyle as the one I have now. I\m free to choose to work wherever I want in the world and you know what it probably wouldn’t be too difficult to find some work. I travel a fair amount and I’m exposed to people from all corners of the world. I can pursue the things I find interesting, within reason, and I’m almost constantly mentally engaged.

Hell I’m being paid just to read and learn sometimes. If you’d told me that at the age of twelve I’d have laughed in your face. I’ve met some old friends and made some new ones in my time here and I think it’s the best conference I’ve been to so far.

Anyway this is about my travels through Australia not my journeys through science, though I may throw a bit in every now and then. So my biggest shock about Sydney? It kinda looks and feels a lot like Newcastle, albeit a fair bit warmer. I thought this might be a good thing, I mean I have been a bit homesick for some time, but my initial feelings were really ones of disappointment. Maybe I’ve been in Japan too long? Maybe it just reminded me of the rubbish things I’d left behind at home?

I’m not sure but after the letting go of the initial shock I’ve started noticing quite a few little differences and I’m enjoying the whole experience a lot more. I think it's something I should take away from this and apply to life back in Japan. A lot of people were asking me about life over here and I just found myself complaining. I don't want to be that guy. Anyway without further ado rather than give some kind of proper list I’m just going to outline some random impressions I got in a hodgepodge fashion.

Firstly it’s a lot bigger. I’ve been to big cities before no biggie but Sydney is big whilst still being pretty open. There is a lot of open and green space around here, which does make it quite a pleasure just to wander around aimlessly. I’m also really enjoying being by the sea again. Like actually being by the sea not the Inland sea. On my first day I spent several our just wandering along the docks and the simultaneous waves of nostalgia and unfamiliarity where very refreshing.

Secondly, on the whole people are a little bit more laid back and pleasant than in the UK, or at least as I remember it. I’ve had random people just smile at me in the street, something which I’d completely forgotten happened whilst in Japan, a smiling face was usually coupled with giggles at the novelty of a foreigner. As always it’s nice to not feel like an alien.

One thing that really amused me was the contents of your average convenience store. A lot of familiar products are just that little bit different. Either it’s a slight difference in the packaging images, novel flavours of familiar products, or the same product with a different name; polo’s for example are under the alias of Lifesavers down under.

Woolworths still exists. Mental I know.

Obviously the weather is much nicer. I’ve managed to get here right at the end of spring so the weather is fantastic, not too hot but still much warmer than the UK. On the topic of weather though you often here people talk about the UV index in Aus. It is definitely there. Even when it’s 20 degrees outside if you are in the direct sunlight you can really feel it burn after about 15 minutes, some friends tell me that it gets even worse further south.

Town names are inconsistently interesting. Being a big mix of aboriginal and English names it makes just looking at a local area map pretty amusing. To the south we have Liverpool and right next door is Cabramatta. To the north? Well there is Penrith and not so far away Kurrajong. I could go on but I won’t.

People are well into health and fitness here. It wasn’t unusual to see large groups of people out running, or on bikes or together in boot camps getting fit in the early hours of the morning. This I think this is reflected in the easy access to sports supplements like protein drinks and low carb energy bars in pretty much every corner shop. There also seems to be a lot more gluten-free/dairy-free/vegan-friendly products everywhere too. With an allergy to dairy I’m not complaining.

As I said before I’m staying very close to china town and a major, major difference here is the Asian Influence. Since Australia is so isolated and with the nearest major landmass being south Asia It’s hardly surprising really. At any rate I love Asian food anyway so I’m pretty happy to have easy access to Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian cuisine; something that is surprisingly difficult back in Japan.

Weirdly on the topic of Asia, and South-East Asia to be more precise, I seemed to be drawn towards the Asian delegates at the conference. I don’t think it’s deliberate and at the time I it was pointed out to me by a colleague and I thought he was being stupid but maybe he’s right. I think being stuck in Japan so long I’m unconsciously seeking out familiar sights and sounds when in unfamiliar environments. Well maybe I don’t know well but I think it might be something interesting to monitor when I go back to the UK.

I’m of course only basing this on my impression of one City in one state of an incredibly large country. I have a sneaky suspicion that other states would have a very different vibe and since New South Wales was the first region to be colonised by the British it’s hardly surprising that there are so many comparisons to draw.

 I'll conclude with the best quote from the weeks conference. "You wouldn't believe how accurate lego is." Laters.