Today was my second and last day in
Canberra. Starting 10am I was homeless (as in: no
hostel), so I had to spend the say outside - without my backpack, which I stored in the YHA's basement. In the morning I took the bus to the National Museum of
Australia, which promised to: 'celebrate Australian social history in a unique way byrevealing the stories of ordinary and extraordinary Australians,promoting the exploration of knowledge and ideas and providing adynamic forum for discussion and reflection.' But, of course, it was a museum, so most of the floor space was for Aboriginal drawings, a fossil of some kind of swimming creature that apparently lived in the centre of the country and lines of text about irrigation, explorers and fires. It was all souped up a little by video and screen displays, but at heart, it was still a museum. Marginally interesting, but it didn't give me any new information, nor did it really entertain me. There were, however, some things I did like. The audio samples of Aussie English had me in stitches a couple times and I found out that if they want to, Aussies really can baffle me. The part on sports was entertaining (I didn't know that netball was a middle ground between korfball and basketball!), as were the displays on Holden (big Aussie car brand). Sports and cars....... that is
so not me, it's scary. What's happening to me?!? The museum took me a mere two hours and afterwards I took the bus back to the centre, where I had my lunch. I sat down on a bench and there, among trees and the public servants, I took the book out of my daypack and started to read... until about half an hour ago. Lovely, just sitting under the shade of a tree, reading Lord of the Rings.
I think I can now give a semi-informed opinion of Canberra..... it's a city built for public servants. It
was, of course, especially designed and built as the new capital of the country (hence its position between quarrelling
Sydney and
Melbourne). But practically everything here is still geared towards it. They are everywhere too: men in white shirts and dark trousers, women in suits, briefcases galore and more than a few cups of Starbucks coffee... quite a few of them work outside on one of the benches. Nightlife is virtually non-existant. I think there are three pubs (including and Irish one) in the centre. The Lonely Planet practically skips over that section completely. Another thing that gives this place an official (as in: 'this is the seat of government'
feel is the outdoors art&architecture. It's what could definitely be called corporate art - often steel structures designed to give life to a place, but completely devoid of any life or creativity. It's typical for Canberra, I think. The city's motto could very well be 'function over form'. In short: it's not really my kind of city. Yes, I have enjoyed myself here, but that was
despite of the city, not thanks to it. I'm glad I went to Canberra, but I'm even more glad I get to leave it today.
One last note: my English accent is changing. The changes are subtle, but they are there. Trouble is - I have no idea what it is changing into. I rather fancy the thought of coming home with a true blue Aussie accent, but whether that's strong enough to beat the British I had drummed into me the past years, I don't know. We'll see...
