Bending the Space-Time Continuum

I believe the closest we have come to inventing time travel are direct flights to/from Australia and North America and Europe. Sure, it’s true that crossing the date line from any 2 points results in the loss or gain of a day. But this is particularly poignant when travelling completely to the other side of the earth.

This morning, Saturday morning, I woke up around 5:30 am and got the last of my stuff together. Kirsty picked me up at 7:30 am and we went for a proper Melbourne coffee before she dropped me off at the airport, around 8:30am. By 10am I was settled into my seat on the plane and ready to head back through time and space.

As I am writing this, at LAX, it is 8:30am on Saturday. It’s as if I have been given a chance to redo the day, although, I know the price of this is that I will lose a day when I return and travel into the future. I would rather not lose a day in Melbourne to gain a day in LA, but that’s the consequence of time travel.

With all the preparations and bitching about coming back, it hadn’t really hit me that I was returning to North America. It seemed obscure and unreal. Not even 13.5 hours floating over the Pacific in a tin can was enough to really make me believe I had really left my home. It wasn’t until I got off the plane at LAX that I really realized I’m not in Australia anymore. Australians are warm hearted, friendly people. When I got off the plane there were some airport workers standing at the gate, and I gave them a friendly smile. Instead of getting a friendly smile in return, I just got glazed over looks that told me I was not, by any means, a unique individual human being. All my hopes and dreams that I hadn’t really left Australia were shattered and I resigned myself to accepting that I am back in North America now. I’m looking forward to leaving already.
(As a side note, since I am in Calgary now, I am actually enjoying being back and having a break from uni.)

Sign at my gate at LAX:

WARNING
This Area Contains
Chemicals Known To
The State Of California
To Cause Cancer And
Birth Defects Or Other
Reproductive Harm.

I love that Every Word Is Capitalized And Yet They Still Put A Period At The End Of The Sentance. This sign makes me want to know a lot more about these chemicals, like, how much exposure to them causes cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm? And where in the 'area' are they? See, the problem with this warning is that it's not really informing me of anything other than that I should be fearful. It doesn't actually tell me anything useful. Ah, America.

Bracing For The Shock

It is only a matter of days now before I return to Calgary, and I am starting to get some excitement mixed in with the general sense of dread I've had about the trip. For all my years of travel, I have learnt how to manage culture shock when I arrive somewhere new. But I have never learnt how to manage the culture shock of returning to Calgary. And this time is set to be especially intense!

In Melbourne, I am surrounded by incredibly intelligent, open minded, progressive people who are constantly challenging each other to grow, both as researchers and as individual people. A sizable minority of the people I know are either (or both) queer or vegetarian. Going out for food and coffee I am presented with a plethora of amazing options. There are interesting museums and plenty of cultural events going on all the time so there's never a reason to be bored. Plus, the shopping is indescribably amazing. My experience of Melbourne is not at all representative of the city itself, I know. But my experience of Melbourne is basically that it is my own personal paradise on earth.

In Calgary, I have not found people to be particularly supportive or open minded or progressive. The culture in Calgary is based around commerce, which I find disgusting. What I feel about Calgary I feel strongly and I'm not going to hold my feelings back. I find the people in Calgary challenging in their refusal to change. The queer culture in Calgary seems to mostly be there because they haven't yet found a way to be elsewhere, and as a vegetarian, you can't walk into any restaurant and be garuanteed to have options to choose from on the menu. My experience of Calgary is not at all representative of the city itself, I know. But my experience of Calgary is basically that it is my own personal hell on earth.

I am very much looking forward to seeing friends and family and pets. And I know the experience of coming back will probably not be as bad as it gets played out in my head...my expectations are, as I'm sure you've gathered, low. I also know that I would regret it if I didn't come back when I had the chance, which is why I will actually be getting on that plane on Saturday.

I'm not interested in having the same experiences that I've had living in Calgary before. I don't know what has changed with people in Calgary, but I know what has changed in me. And soon, Calgary will know too.