Day 193

if you ever wanted to scrape the surfaces of other cultures, i have a bona fide, discounted solution for understanding australia, new zealand, and the united kingdom. and you don't even have to fly across water.

go to canada.

to be honest , canada, as lately as a couple years ago, hardly held more cognitive detail than a simply assumed tundra that was once really sick on the east coast. americans might not pay much attention up here but they know us.

commonwealth citizens get open work visas for canada and, for most, the canadian dollar is worth more than their home coin, so there's a huge number of australians and kiwis and english working here for seasons or sending converted money home or just up and moving here. the currency conversion is probably a big part of why its uncommon for americans to try to work here. still, the overall headache process might still have to do with a situation involving a salty tea party that provoked some war and a command involving the whites of the eyes.

apparently, most kiwi girls won't give you the time of day unless you have a solid path of conversation planned if an introduction is initiated by a guy. another one of the biggest ways that the southern hemisphere people function in comradeship is with their hassling personalities. meant in fun, the banter and tearing strips off one another affirms deep friendship. it's true. i see it. there's a ton more cultural differences but overall, it's just as likely to meet a canadian as it is southern hemisphere denizen up here.

there's much to be said about canadians too. guns and beer in public stores are never present and most people don't even lock their doors. hitchhiking is still hitchhiking, but i'd rather do it in british columbia than in the states. there was that one dude, though, that i thanked and kindly denied once i noticed a crossbow casually sitting across the passenger seat of his pickup truck.

i'm falling into a bad habit of watching documentaries at night and not forcing a move to bed until 5 am then resulting in a staring at the ceiling for another hour thinking of ideas that seem good at the time and then finally falling sleeping with a mental list of notes until noon when i roll into broad daylight with matted hair and recollection from a few hours before.