When you've resided in a Third World country and then witness this sight within days of arriving in the West, it's a little shocking. This was the sight that greeted me on my first real venture from my parents place since landing in Sydney on Sunday night. My reaction was wide-eyed surprise and a general speechless disposition, which caught the attention of my mother. Seeing such affluence and wealth was kind of disgusting, I'm not going to lie. Having the perspective that has grown in me over the last two years, going from witnessing absolute poverty to being surrounded by everything of "The West", makes me re-think a lot of things I had previously disregarded about my future.
Being home for 6 weeks brings many blessings, especially through the company of my family. My mother is pretty amazing, and she plans lovely things for me to do with her whenever I'm home. Usually, that comes in the form of seeing a professional show or two. Last night, I got to see Hairspray at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney's Star City. WOAH! It was amazing! From the innovative set design and application to Trevor Ashley and Grant Piro absolutely losing it in fits of laughter in the middle of a song, all the way to Esther Hannaford making me almost wet myself, the show was of such a high callibre that I wish I could afford my own ticket so I could see it again! Jaz Flowers has such charisma and talent, I could have watched her perform the whole show herself and not get bored. The casting alone in this thing is stunning, Cle Morgan truly gave Queen Latifah a run for her money (and I flipping LOVE Queen Latifah!). Set in Baltimore, Marylands, USA, I was expecting accents so distracting and unworthy of the stage, but was very much surprised! Kudo's to whoever was the cast's dialect coach!
In other Sydney news, I have stayed low-key and unobtrusive thanks muchly to the rain and lack of a car. Today, however, the shopping mall was paid a visit from yours truly... Quite Frankly, I'm shocked!
Day in and day out, I commonly wear Shalwar Kameezes, traditional Bangladesh pant/dress combinations complete with an orna (kind of like a scarf, cause no one should see or be tempted by the fact I am a woman and have appropriate appendages at a short man's eye level...). Anyway, We wear baggy pants that remind us of PJ'http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs and long tunics so that we're well and truly covered, especially KRISTA SCHROEDER! And now, upon perusing the shops, I'm discovering that these blasted Shalwars (aka clown pants) are in fashion! I could have just brought my daily attire home and been the most popular girl walking around! Goodness, how things have changed!!
Perhaps by the next time you hear from me, I'll be more balanced and used to being back in the West... Though probably not!
Big shout-outs to the Badeshi's in my life that I'm missing more than the convenience of Rickshaw rides! xox
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