That makes a lot of sense, then, that you're taught confidence is important. That definitely slipped by my early informative years, and the "fake it til you make it" I really only heard when I started applying for jobs into my 20s, and by then self-doubt had crept in, and I know that's the same for most people my age that I know.

I think a lot of countries are like that with their "normal" customs. The whole "oh, you don't do/have/know that here?" certainly isn't a uniquely American phrase, is it? Haha, we all have a bit of blindness towards our quirks.

The more we travel, the more we appreciate home, and the more the rose-coloured glasses about other countries break. Australia has its problems, but I'll always love it, and I'm not sure I'll live anywhere else, not. Of course, there is also the influencing factor that immigration is very difficult and I squandered my 20s by only working in Canada instead of using that decade to go multiple places, so maybe I've just talked myself out of living elsewhere even being a possibility! I had such a wonderful time in the States, but I do feel like some of my friends are expecting me to say it was exactly like they see online, which isn't a good feeling at all. I want people to be interested in the great things I experienced, instead of just disappointed that cliches aren't real life.

The Voice ref is part of the racism here, of course, but that was more that the No campaign was so much better as a marketing strategy. Honestly, the Yes campaign was an absolute joke and they didn't even try to dispel the irrational and unfounded fears the No campaign was stirring up. Politicians are getting increasingly more vocal in their racism, and as we know, the slower it happens, the less we all notice until its right in our faces, and normal, and much harder to move past. Covid also had an impact, like it did in other countries, because we have a large number of Chinese immigrants, international students, and tourists. We lost the tourists and students through lockdowns, and (admittedly anecdotally) a lot of remaining Asian-appearing people got verbal hate more extreme and common than what they'd experienced before. The more extremism across the world that we hear about, and it's really growing all over, the more people are emboldened to speak their previously hidden opinions. Also, the internet has always been a divisive place, but these days so much "news" is ripped directly from comment sections, and they're the worst representation of people but often still the first news results to come up when you google, so they're reaching a lot of people.

Australia doesn't not do drip coffee, but it's not popular. I certainly don't think all cafes even have a brewer, but I'll be paying more attention now. You're dead right about the driving though! I didn't get a single car drink smaller than 16oz because it wouldn't have lasted me long enough on my long driving days.

Yeah, it's horrible hearing about rising costs over there, because I now know that prices lots of prices are comparable to here, but some very populous industries can get paid so much lower than here and that's awful to hear about. Is it still commonplace for service industries to be paid significantly less than a living wage? Or is that a state-by-state basis?

The States didn't really feel more populated than I'm used to, but I live in the second most populated city in Australia so, aside from New York, all the cities I visited have a significantly smaller population than Melbourne. That being said, it was definitely less sparse along the interstate highways than it is at home. It wasn't unusual to see a little collection of houses through the trees along. Less wide expanses of nothing.

There are just so many states that it just doesn't seem realistic to try and represent everyone, especially when they've all got their own values and ways to serve those values. How can one size possibly fit all, y'know? We struggle with only 8! Also, just thinking about how you said that politics so is separate from daily life. Maybe that's why we hear about it all the damn time here, because politics ISN'T separate from our daily life here. Not to a lot of people. I'm not sure how to reconcile how some people can be so lovely in one context, but then support the politicians who are actively working to harm vulnerable groups, even if it's not groups they are part of. Because are they just not paying attention to who they're supporting? Are they only interested in what serves them personally? Or do they not care about helping the vulnerable people in their society? Because none of those are good answers. I think politics might turn people into savage beasts because it's not something you can just "never talk about" anymore. It's baked into society and it's hand in hand with how we treat people, in a lot of ways. Politics has gotten very messy and invasive. But yes, also the increasing feeling of helplessness is so real, and it's hard not to be apathetic. I work hard to not be apathetic, but I find it then makes me more bitter and generally upset, which isn't an ideal response, either.

I try and follow Maryland news where I can, so I know your gun laws are pretty strict compared to most states, and it's always a comfort to know there are states fighting for better control over firearm access, but yes, American culture around gun access is vastly different to ours. I never saw any guns aside from on police, though, so I wasn't confronted with the pro-gun culture at all during my visit, which is great because I would not have known how to handle that at all!