I’m all alone, more or less…

I’m all alone, more or less…

So I was planning on being social and writing this blog in some ‘communal room’ sadly they didn’t have power points, and the other room apparently was being over taken by weird relaxation music. So im in my room, the girl above me was trying unsuccessful to explain why she is upbraiding her hair, and the lady to my right was complaining about the French universities which have just changed from mac to windows or something, I do know she uses a mac and has been living here since september. She was having a bit of trouble thinking in german and trying to speak English, why when she is native French.. im not sure.. but she knew what she meant. Ultimately that’s all that really matters. So viol la..
Youth Hostels are such interesting places, in a study of humanity kind of way. This one seems to be set on redecoration at the moment, its interesting, I was trying to pay attention to a conversation last night, it was a bit tricky with light balls, new tool sets, powerpoints, blow up corona bottles and cardboard palm trees going past behind the speaker. It was like watching a cheap film set get organised, I have the feeling someone has just got a bee in their bonnet recently. A bee with some very odd taste in décor. They also seemed to get a bit confused about what a bar mat is for.. they are currently nailed to the wall.. meh.. what can you say? It’s the French :P I thought youth hostels sort of grew with all that stuff like a kind of fungi.. it never occurred to me you could sit there and actually watch someone nail a bar mat to a wall.. well.. it never would have occurred to me to nail a bar mat to the wall.. but if anything I would have expected it to actually be part of the building.. not an add on as such.
But.. yes.. Youth Hostels are good if you are looking for a little bit of theatre (ie. Bar mats on walls), amusing awkwardness (other peoples awkwardness is always amusing.. just watch someone at the reception while they are waiting for their credit card to be cleared.. while they know there are like 20 other people in the room) and to watch this strange kind of fraternity that is developed in exceedingly short periods of time. Whilst simultaneously no one trusts the next person in the mildest, they were talking about how people keep their wallets safe (after the credit card incident I am differently careful about my wallet and cards), passport, pack, etc. One guy had chained his pack to his bed. Now in perfect theory im sure this could be a good idea, but to me that suggests there's something interesting in it. Something more interesting than a whole pile of dirty junk. Add to that there is one exit to the place, in a very obvious spot. So, for sure it could get nicked, anything could. My socks (which we all know about) are worth a mint, but possibly only to me, you would have to be a certain type of person to take them. I have doubts about their worth on the black market, although they do have L and R on them, talk about tech. I worry more about my little nessie.. that’s got to be worth.. oh… at least one euro on the streets.
Its an interesting concept of worth. To me all my gear is worth everything, obviously it currently is everything. Things like shoes, rain coats, packs, sleeping bags all cost A LOT but really they are of limited worth to someone else. You cant really resell them, defiantly not for their original value. And they are only useful if you are the same size as me, and happen to be into wearing boots (in which case they might take the socks as well) that smell like a kind of war fare.
So although its possible, I have come to the conclusion that its not worth caring round my bags all day just in case someone really wants trashed jeans. Plus in comparison to what else im carrying it isn’t worth it, digital cameras, mobile phones (quad band thanks), mp3 players, lap tops. I use the plural because back packers carry serious money in tech, im not the only person ive met with a lap top (there are at least 8 here currently, 2 macs.. id go for them personally). Backpackers! With lap tops! WTF? As dad said back packers used to be the bottom of every food chain in the world. Now they carry macs. They all have some form of iPod (iPod being the main one still.. sigh), no one uses film.. film pah! (my brother recently reminded me that 4 years ago you couldn’t get me to touch a digital camera with a long pole-they were the ultimate in evil technology that was going to kill photography, and you could only get 12 pics to a $200 card-.. now I cant imagine leaving the house without it) so there are various levels of camera from basic, to hard core DSLR.
Worth really is in the eye of the beholder, I think the thing that shows this most to me is my jeans. They aren’t really that swish, they aren’t branded, nada, but they fit.. they still look ok after 2 weeks no washing.. to me they are worth much more than the $60 I paid for them. Static worth is not.
So ANYWAYS.. these places attract a certain kind of mad clientele. Currently there are about 30 (seems like that anyway there's probably only 7) small children here, who have taken to running down the corridors at 8am screaming. SIGH.. the world has changed when 11yr olds stay in hostels. I guess that’s a good sign, I don’t know. It does mean that there is no such thing as cheap travel anymore, pah there's no such thing as cheap. But it does mean there is a place for small children and mad people to congregate, and its clean too.. so I guess its all good. Aside from that fact that they are allowed to run around late at night, and early in the morning screaming, and taking photos of each other leaving the toilets.. that bit is not good (this is the children, the mad men are much better behaved)
I was very excited to discover one of my French stereotypes is accurate, think of that an accurate stereotype, the smoking one. No one (so far.. I hold hope though) wears striped shirts, red scarves, and black berets.. everyone does carry a baguette though.. and a cheese.. I shouldn’t have got rid of mine eh? Its recently illegal to smoke in here.. but I was quite happy that one of my stereotypes lived up to what it should. a lot of roll your owns.. which I still find fascinating.. (to me they are something older men, and characters in books smoke) I never quite worked out how they work.. and why the whole thing doesn’t just whoosh up in flames like a tea bag. I guess because its not made from a tea bag.. or tea... that could be it now I think of it.
I am assuming that they don’t go whoosh because no one seems to be wandering around with burnt noses and lacking eye brows. would be a good discouragement from smoking.. (fumar tua.. yep.. same ‘smoking kills’ slogans world wide)
But.. the best thing is that this hostel has a million dollar view, this piece of real estate must be worth a mint. Right back out over the city, I can see the path I had to walk yester day to get here. But the thing I noticed with this somewhat different view is that the buildings actually look like buildings in a city that you draw as a child, it is a mary poppins city. With all the windows long and rectangular, and lined up perfectly (a stark contrast to the UK where houses we stayed had no windows were on the same level at all, let alone a straight roof) in square buildings that are only one or two stores higher than the ones next to them.
They are the Buildings we imagine a city to be made out of. Its quite cool. And only one really noticeable highrise .. thankyou SAS.

So today was cold. According to dad (again a sign of the times.. my father knows the weather where I am, and I don’t.. I knew it was overcast, he didn’t believe me until he checked the internet and it agreed with me) it was 3 degrees with wind chill. For the first time in my life im thinking that $250 for an ice breaker jacket isn’t too expensive. I was wearing 5 layers and still couldn’t last the whole day.. everyone else was wearing hard core jackets.. im thinking if the locals are wearing such things.. that might be a hint to the little aussie. I don’t know how people don’t turn into little frozen bundles of carbon… some genetic thing.
What else?.. There is also a miniature museum.. ie. A museum of miniatures.. not a miniature museum. Although looking in the window I got enough miniature ness for the day. And indeed in the window was a minature museum.. little skeletons of dinosaurs and everything.. im not quite sure I see the point.. very compact.. easy to get in one photo.
So.. because of the cold.. I ended up in a few fascinating shops. I found an English language books shop.. which was quite cool.. I got a book (mum and dad both wince.. not more weight they say) about global branding.. which looks interesting although did nothing to defrost me. Various art supply shops, delicatessens, bakeries and super markets.
I also got one of my friends (who is attempting to learn French) a kids book it appears to be about a pirate called arsenic who, judging by the cover, is a blue ant. So it sounds.. interesting at the least.. and could keep me entertained for a little while.
But yes.. I got the brand book because my interest in brands has increased with time away.. and more exposure to which brands are global, which logos etc. And the power brand names have over me and other people. Roxy and Billabong noticeably, and Pringles.
But what we know, and others don’t is interesting. For example you could say the word ‘Safeways’ over and over to whomever you like.. and get no where. Ergo safewas is not universal.. considering its not even national, probably should have guessed. (both safeways and Coles are supermarkets, Safeways is also known as Woolworths in other states)
You cannot say to someone ‘where is the nearest coles?’ I have tried.. it doesn’t work. They don’t seem to have anything comparable, there are shops slightly larger than a 7/11 (also not so international as I would have guessed) then huge barn places like Bunnings for food. Nothing sort of in between.. normal coles/safeways sized. So perhaps supermarket sizes aren’t universal either.
I found it interesting what we refer to as brands, and what is reffered to as the actually product. Ie. The difference between Panadol and paracetamol, its not really Phenergan its anti histamines.. Blu Tac.. and well try explaining that one. Its blue and you use it to stick stuff to a wall.. no no its yellow here (and no its not yellow tac either.. its yellow blu tac but made by the same people.. talk about confusing).
Things that change names are also interesting.
Kodak, Body Shop, United Colours of Benneton, Apple, Microsoft, ESPRIT, Coke and Pringles are all the same so far. Same colours, same logo, same name. Where as Peters (the ice cream) is Ola (lit. hi or hello) in Portugal, and Pauls in the UK I don’t know if its here. Haven’t been looking for icecream. Same font and swoosh around the word though. Also a brand I cant for the life of me remember, but they make lip gloss.. here its called ‘labello’ same font and logo though.. same product as well.
Its weird, you see all most everything the same.. and then just the name is out.. and its very mirror world.. very odd.
Our attraction to brands is interesting.. or our repulsion and the ability to be affected by them seems international. Its curious.. but moving right along..

I was told last night 30% of the English language is French.. I have no idea if that’s true.. but I wouldn’t be surprised. Im better at following conversations in French.. and whether this is similarity or exposure im not sure. But a lot of the words on mums make up.. ‘nior’ and other ones I obviously cant think of now, are all just French cause it sounds cool (go wine knowledge as well.. for example Pinot Nior- black.. umm Pinot.. for an interesting fact it is often drunk by people heading down the goth path and people wearing darker clothes- from working weddings-.. where as Merlot is often chosen by ‘lighter’ looking people). Working in fancy restaurants works too, they seem to think its cool to say jus instead of Juice.. and fancy ways of saying ‘mashed potato’ and although it was annoying at the time (WHY would you bother if the clientel don’t know what it means, I don’t know what it means, and the owner has to look it up in a book.. all it does is make people feel ignorant) its useful now. And champignons means mushrooms in general.. not the specific type of mushroom.. I was proud of getting that. (spell checker even has it)

Then there's the difference in native English between Candies, lollies and sweets. I still get confused. In the states I think its candies (and as such that’s what a lot of people learn), I think of candy as a person.. and that just leads to confusion. ‘Do you want a candy?’ ‘They come in packs?’ To us everything is lollies, except lolly pops.. which are what they are. To the British they are Sweets (I would more think of hard boiled lollies) except a lolly which is a lolly pop. I never expected such a simple thing to be so mind bending.

And with that I shall leave you.. forewarned it forearmed.. no more candie troubles. Or lollie as the case might be, no more sweet troubles doenst really sound right.
Ciao.
And apologies for the scatterness.

Ah.. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsor.. umm.. that car company.. they have generously decided to share the goodness of the internet and put an unsigned hot spot nearish the hostel. Very good people, citroen I think.. with the dots.