Sunday September 20

In Canberra airport, watching planes take off. I just read an account of the (1971?) Luna Park fire in the airport bookstore and am feeling deeply disturbed (have you ever seen a photo of the creepy entrance to the park? If not, google it immediately. You can see the head grinning from the air). Also read, in same book, unfortunate account of seven Aborigines dragged unwillingly to America to tour with “The Greatest Show on Earth” until they all gave up and died, and their bodies were mummified. Good ol’ Barnum.

Canberra airport is, as my sixty-year-old Singaporean taxi driver informed me this morning, rather scraggly for a capital city airport. Well—no one comes here anyway, so I suppose it doesn’t matter. Again, going through security, not a single person checked my ID. Also carried an entire bottle of wine through with no difficulty. Yay!

Won’t bore you with details of the Fulbright conference, but highlights are as follows:

1. I now know someone in almost every major city in eastern Australia, including Hobart in Tasmania, and as such, I plan to begin travel immediately. Woo hoo!
2. After a special behind-the-scenes tour of Parliament House, sat in on “Question Time” with Parliament. It was HILARIOUS! Basically, it’s a chance for all members of Parliament to ask questions of the Government. You have the Opposition party on one side, Prime Minister and Deputy at a little table in the middle, Government on the other side and then the Speaker sits up in his chair and gazes stertoriously out over the melee. The Speaker’s job is to control Parliament, which at times sounds like a bunch of cats fighting. Seriously. Think of Senator Wilson yelling out “You lie!” and then imagine that half of the Senate is caterwauling the exact same thing, members of the Government are openly laughing at them, Obama is sitting patiently writing at the desk and pretending he can’t hear anything while Biden raises his voice to yell over them and Nancy Pelosi finally says, in a bored voice, “The Vice President has the floor…the Senator from South Carolina will resume his seat…” and then, increasingly sarcastically, “The Senator from SC will resume his seat…THE SENATOR from South Carolina will RESUME HIS SEAT!” Once in a while the Speaker would make EVERYONE resume their seats like unruly schoolchildren, and then say something like “if you ask a question, wait to hear the answer!” Jovial-looking interns bounce around the floor bearing glasses of water, Senators pass notes and giggle over them, we the Americans sit in the gallery above with our mouths hanging open. The highlight of the event was when a member of the Opposition asked a question (i.e. in thinly disguised vituperative, demanded to know why the Education program had failed to produce such and such results) and the Minister for Education took the podium. “I would like to thank the member from Dickson for his question,” he began, “and before I answer it I can’t help but notice that the member did not ask his question except after the Opposition leader passed him a note, presumably telling him to ask this question, and I would like to know why the Opposition leader lacks the INTEGRITY to ask the question himself…” at which point the floor positively erupted with laughter from the Government, all the members of the Opposition leaped to their feet and paced back and forth yelling things, and the Speaker boomed “Order…order…ORDER…” on a rising inflection until the member from Dickson approached the podium and demanded an apology. I can’t help but wonder just how much of the fighting is just show, so that when Australians come and watch, they can cheer for their own faction. I wonder if all the Senators get together afterward in the Café and have tea. “You know, Bruce, I didn’t really mean it, but my constituents were in the audience today so I had to say SOMETHING bad about your party…”
3. Unfortunately K Rudd did not meet with us, but we went for tea round the Ambassador’s residence, including little sandwiches with the crusts cut off. I think we averaged four tiny brownies and three sandwiches per American. Ambassador has just left and new one is about to move in, so the place was completely empty, but still utterly elegant. At the Embassy lawn, enjoyed a forest of trees planted by illustrious Americans: Colin Powell, Sandra Day O’Connor, various other secretaries of state, ambassadors, and of course we found a tiny tree planted in 2003 by Harriet Fulbright, and we all got our photo by it.
4. Had Devonshire Tea for the first time: scones (“skuns”) with cream and raspberry jam. Mmm! Averaged three scones per American. Then we all felt slightly ill afterwards.
5. Toured the National History Museum and also the War Memorial. Fascinating!

Canberra is extremely well planned and not very populated. Saturday night I met up with one of Simon’s friends, Daniel, and we watched some footy games at a pub. Unfortunately Australia’s rugby team lost horribly to New Zealand. Afterwards we went to the Casino and enjoyed some dancing in the eighties’ nightclub. Home and in bed by 1. Another wild night in the Capital.

Have purchased Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters for a mere twenty-four-ninety-five from the news agent. This is a wonderful book. Read it!