Over the past ten or so years I've often been asked why I have a fascination with Australia. Why I'm so interested in the culture, the history and (most often) why I support the sporting teams. Is it because I'm a closet Aussie? Is it because I've been there? Do I have family there? No, no, no. I shrug. Occasionally I'll respond, saying that Australia has been very good to me, which of course no one understands. At the end of seven months here perhaps it's time to explain.
At the beginning of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sings Somewhere Over The Rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. Well, Australia was my Oz. In my darkest, saddest and loneliest moments I always had Australia to look forward to. And the more of those moments I had, the more I looked forward to it. A far off place, unlike any other, where the sun always shines and where, as Charles M Schulz said, it is already tomorrow. Australia was all the optimism I ever needed.
The reality of course is different, as I knew it must be. It rains now and again and bad things happen here, just as they do anywhere else. There are lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). But I've been all over this country now. I've visited every state and territory and it has been more beautiful and extra-ordinary than I could ever have imagined sitting at home. I have met very many wonderful Aussies here - every one of them full of brains and heart and nerve. And while Aus will never be home for me, when I leave I will long for it again as much as I ever did. Until next time.
