So, having a great time, Melbourne is awesome, Australia is all sorts of complimentary adjectives, etc. etc. I'm almost reaching the half-way point, though, and I've found myself occasionally hit by the most incredible sense of homesickness. It doesn't help that I'm not exactly doing anything fun right now - having to study for midterms here just reminds me of studying for midterms at home, only here I don't have Taqueria del Sol or waffles to cheer me up. (Okay, so yes, I eat my feelings, DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT? Jeez.) I'm sure that when I get on the plane for New Zealand (yeah, thats right) I'll suddenly be all, "America? Yeah, WHATEVER."
Right now, though, I've been thinking a lot about home. I've never been so aware of my American-ness. Obviously, one is more atuned to one's nationality when one is abroad, but I guess I just didn't expect to feel such a connection to the States. Especially now, with the political climate, I was happy to get away from everything "American" for a while. Here, though, I find myself searching out reasons to be connected. Meeting Americans who have moved to Australia is always exciting - their eyes brighten and they start talking about Democrats vs. Republicans, driving on the right side of the road, real ketchup, meritocracies, and so on, and I alway get into it with them. Its strange to suddenly miss something that I took for granted for my whole life.
The point of this speech, though is to explain that I've been mainlining music that makes me think of home for about a week now. When I'm studying, walking to class, or just hanging out in my room, I like to play these songs and think about what I miss: television shows, checks and balances, black beans, rudeness, the phrase "how are you?", The Daily Show, the bill of rights, waffles (its a problem, okay?), and what I don't: Fox News, arena rock, jingoism, American cheese, and poor public transportation systems. And now I'm going to share the nostalgic, semi-nonsensical wealth with you.
I Sing America: A Mix for the Weirdly Homesick
For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti - Sufjan Stevens
http://www.sendspace.com/file/d2mw7n
America - Paul Simon
http://www.sendspace.com/file/2b90ua
Young Americans - David Bowie
http://www.sendspace.com/file/m298l4
Son of Sam - Elliott Smith
http://www.sendspace.com/file/olkzey
The Ghost of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ww6jn4
Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkle
http://www.sendspace.com/file/l0e5jp
The Presidents of the United States - Animaniacs
http://www.sendspace.com/file/zkoczz
I've Been Everywhere - Johnny Cash
http://www.sendspace.com/file/3tq4jy
Sweet Baby James - James Taylor
http://www.sendspace.com/file/205se2
Take a Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
http://www.sendspace.com/file/837r74
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wzqk4j
Wayward Wind - Patsy Cline
http://www.sendspace.com/file/m7yqdf
P.S. the interwebs have a full-on hate for me again, so I can't make the links active—cut and paste them into your browser bar and it should take you to the site where I uploaded the files.
4 months ago
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5 comments:
I love you, and I that you love America. I'm one of 2 Americans here, and I'm not really on good terms with the other. And every one here hates on the US of A, which is frustrating for me, because lord knows I don't like much about our current foreign policy, and I AGREE that our healthcare system and EDUCATION system need a lot of improvement. Education, hello? I think it's sort of the biggest deal ever. And so, at least once a week, I meet someone who starts attacking the US, and our healthcare, and our education, and our foreign policy, and our racist history, and I don't know what to do because they want me to fight them about it! Or they want to criticise me for living first in Detroit and then in the South. I MUST be racist! Surely! I try to joke about it, I try to calmly critique my country, I try to defend my country, but mostly I just want to cry.
What always frustrates me about that sort of thing is the immediate assumption that America is the only country in the history of the world that has ever done anything wrong. Like in Australia, people will talk about America's racism, and what they are saying is totally valid, but their moral high horse? Not so much. The treatment of the Aborigines here was atrocious, and they still haven't come to terms with it. There is a lot more blatant racism towards them then we have in the U.S. But of course, playing the "who you calling racist, you're just as bad as we are" card isn't very mature, nor does it address the bigger issue, which is that we do clearly have a problem with racism. So in the end, you just sort of have to take it. And it sucks.
This sendspace thing is very very cool. I downloaded Sufjan right away.
America misses you, too.
What about America by Neil Young.... He IS the Jazz Singer!
Everywhere across the worlddddd
Christinaberg, you need to tell those Eurotrash socialist to SHOVE IT, Bill O' Reilly style.
Europe didn't exactly have the best millenium dealing with religion and nationalism...
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