Stasis

Well, dear reader, given the low likelihood of a quick return to home, I think I might need to put this site on hold for a while. It doesn't mean that I will not return, it simply means I have to orient toward being in DC for the time being and figuring out a plan for return.

Bike Sunday (bike ride beautiful day part 3)

Kate and I drove out to The Plains, which google maps tells me is about 48 miles from DC. From there, we did this bike route here which was really beautiful. A screen shot of the route is below:


The Plains is just off I66 and really in the country. The route took us to Middleburg, and then a bit north and west, and then we headed back south and into the village again, where we had lunch with this couple we met while riding.

The ride took about 3 1/2 hours, which wasn't bad at all given the terrain and the stops we took. I definitely need another water bottle and bracket - I ran out of water and that is not good. We had lunch at a nice little place in The Plains and also stopped by a farmers market out that way before getting on 66 and heading home.

Culture shock (the return)

Late last night, I arrived back in Washington. It was after midnight before I got my luggage, so I stayed at a hotel near the airport. Tonight and for the next week, I'm housesitting for friends - I need to find a place on my own.

Coming back is weird. What's weird ... hmmm ... all the American accents is probably first on the list. Walking and driving on the right. The racism that is everyday life in DC. Toilets with only one flush setting. How cheap American paper money looks is high up on the list. $4 gas was a little weird, but it's still cheaper than in Sydney. I will probably get used to it soon enough.

Here and There (Bilocation)

In this virtual environment, it's easy to go to the old home. Back in DC, I listened to NPR at WAMU on the radio; it's real easy to listen to All Things Considered or Marketplace here on my Real player. What is a little weird is listening to the evening news at 8 in the morning.

Of course, I read washingtonpost.com to catch up on DC and US news. It's not like reading the paper - especially the comics - but it works.

Here my print news sources are the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review; for television, it's SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) and ABC news (that's Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Both are state-funded. SBS is very interesting, as its mission as a network is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society". They also report in English.

For the papers, I buy them maybe two or three times a week. Newspapers here are more expensive in the United States. The Sydney Morning Herald is $1.30 (about US$1.21) and the Financial Review is $2.70 (about US$2.51); I haven't yet checked to see if they provide discounts for daily delivery.

The Australian perspective is rather refreshing, and more comprehensive in its international coverage. The financial news follows the U.S. business environment since the United States makes up such a large share of world business news (plus it's making a lot of news right now, with the deepening recession and subprime mess).

What is so amazing aboout our internet age is that I can have my feet in both the U.S. world and the Australian world at the same time.