Final Australia Video

Summer 2011

I’m back in the USA from Australia. I will be interning at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination this summer. I will be living in the Fraternity House and working at a convenience store. I don’t plan on writing as much as I did in Australia.

If I win the scholarship to Taiwan I will start writing again. Thanks reading the blog.

  MY TWITTER ON THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE BLOG WILL BE ACTIVE ALL SUMMER AND UPDATED EVERYDAY

Entry 42: Live Positive

I think that I have learned a vital lesson this country had to offer me. 

“Focus on the Positive”

Since the beginning of my young adulthood I have been on a path to better myself. I want mental and physical improvement. On the mental side I have abandoned the idea of arguing. I know from a lifetime of experience that arguments are fruitless and destructive. The reason I am able to avoid arguing is because I quickly forgive the wrongs of myself and others. I never forget what happened, but I refuse to carry anger over it. This refusal to carry anger has made it so I literally begin to laugh when people are angry with me. I’m not there yet, but I’m training myself to be immune to anger. What does this have to do with Australia?

Although I am still interested in the field of law I have concluded that it would be against my nature to make a career of arguing small details. I was interested in law because in my American law internship we helped protect a child from physical harm. I think the protection of people is more attractive to me than the general practice of law.

Throughout my life I have been attracted to conflict resolution on the international stage. I think that I have decided that I would be most interested in a career around the topics of peace and stability. I think I will start with low-level work with an NGO like Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch and move into a professional career within larger peace operations in the UN, the World Bank, or the US State Department (irony). My strength is communication. If I focus my strength on conflict resolution I could do a lot of good while using my skills. If I can work on a campaign that stops violence for at least one day then I will have saved lives and accomplished something worth my efforts.

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My path to improvement isn’t only mental it is also physical. One year and one month ago I began to workout. I started to work out because it built up my confidence. My confidence has grown far more than my muscles. Today I finished the 2^nd phase of my Insanity  workout program. I’m proud of myself, and ready to move on to the next challenge. The workout program was focused on lean muscle and strength. Most of the results are invisible because a photo can’t capture will power and agility.

March 2010 – April 2011

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Australians are culturally optimistic. They focus on how great life is already. They eat, play, and “get sun” everyday. They have long vacations and they put a pretty strong emphasis on enjoying life. Americans and Northern Europeans may view the Australian lifestyle as naïve and unambitious, because Australians are so content. However, Australians have found a way to appreciate life, and not to focus on their longing for more than what they’ve got.

I’ve never lived among such optimistic people and it has rubbed off on me. I had spent too much time focusing on how I wanted things to be and I hadn’t really focused on how wonderful they are already. I’ve got to train myself to aspire for better while appreciating how great it is already. I think that if I can synthesize Aussie Optimism and American Ambition I can create an amazing life for myself. One where my ambitions will provide abundantly and my optimism will shine a silver light around any storm cloud.

A satire of Aussie Optimism is below and well worth watching

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Entry 41: The Sorority Life

At Yakka[work] there are three distinct tribes of people who share my struggle through the concrete jungle. First is the senior secretaries whom I sit next to in the thick forest of cubicals. The senior secretaries teach me how to hunt through file cabinets, start fires with twigs, and how to scavenge for cheap tucker [food] through the savage canteen [cafeteria]. They are the tribal elders and I appreciate their wisdom.

The second tribe of people is not those I work with, but those we work for; the lawyers. They are a busy clan of people. They seem caught in a cyclone[hurricane] of minding their own matters. They volley passing smiles at me and we wag chins [chitchat] occasionally. Recently I haven’t had much busy work in the office. I spend most of my day writing term papers for Uni, writing Emails, and drafting blog entries.

The last tribe of people is undoubtedly my favorite mob [group]. They are the recent law graduates. Three twenty some thing year old young chicas who cohabit a shared three person office. They are roughly my age and welcome my far-fetched humor.Twice a day, once in the morning and once in the arvo[afternoon], I go to sit in their work room for about twenty minutes. We make jokes and watch YouTube. They think I’m a dag [funny person] and I enjoy their company as a well needed break from the monotones drone of the copy machine that is parked behind my cubical.

Recently I made my friendship with the young graduates Facebook official. Before we could take the sacred rite of passage unto Facebook and forever. We developed our own co-ed sorority.

JailBird

Our sorority is called, “The Jailbirds”. We are named after a drag show which I accidently attended. The stipulation to join was that the sheilas[girls] must present me with food. I received a cheese burger, a can of beans, and a tangerine as annual dues. We have created a sorority greeting. When I walk into the shared office I shout to my sisters, “G’Day Jailbirds” and like the angels respond to Charlie they affectionately respond with “Emilio!” (A joke one of the girls derived from the movie Night at the Roxbury). We have a secret handshake. We have an official song, “Xanadu” by Olivia Newton-John [Olivia Newton John is Australian]. We have a sorority charity, Children First. We have a division of labor across the sorority. I was elected sorority Librarian, the other positions include Pirate, Accountant, and Mascot. Finally like all great affinity groups we have an ancient secret that is too wild to mention on the internet.

Australia doesn’t have sororities or fraternities so my sisters think our creation of a sorority is a strange Americanism. My light-hearted attempt to organize our sisterhood is providing us with plenty of inside jokes. Our “sorority” is no more than a set of inside jokes and doesn’t extend beyond a Facebook thread that includes the four of us.

The reason I’m telling you about this sorority is because I finally made Australian friends. I have convinced the Jailbirds to accompany me on trips to the post office and for coffee breaks, we attended the Firm drinks event together, and they have insisted that we have a sorority wide farewell lunch for me next week when I leave Freehills.

  The Creation of the First Sorority in Australia will be My Legacy

Entry 40: True Australian Music

I think I have found an artist who can be exemplified as proper Australian music.  His name is Geoffery Gurrumul Yunipingu. He is from an island just off the coast of northern Australia. He was born blind and he sings in his indigenous language.  Enjoy this part Australian culture

(you must click the watch on Youtube option)

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Just for kicks here is a commercial song for mainstream Australia.

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Entry 39: How to get a free trip to Taiwan?

 Fellow Bloggers,

   The Republic of China is hosting 250 international bloggers to come to Taiwan for the centennial celebration and blog about the events. 250 bloggers will be granted round trip airfare, access to centennial events, and a two week home stay in Taiwan. The Blogger’s only responsibility is to blog about the experience. Without a doubt I am going to apply and hopefully take this blog to Taiwan. The trip is from August 12th to August to August 25th 2011. I have to prove myself to be an “exceptional American” to be awarded the free trip. However, I think that I can pump myself up with hot air and make the illusion of grandeur.   

            I want to invite my fellow blogging friends to apply for the invitation. A chance like this is rare and rewarding.

 

-Deren   

Entry 38: La Vida Latina

Finally in the Southern Hemisphere. The water runs down the sink counter clockwise, December is summer, and the constellations are different. After Australia there are three more continents for me to visit before I’ve visited all seven. The remaining three are in the Southern Hemisphere South America, Africa, and Antarctica.  I don’t think I will get to the Antarctic penguin prairie land until retirement. I want to give Egypt and North Africa time to cool off before visiting the pyramids. I’ve decided that South America and I need to get better acquainted. ¡Let the Latinization of Derren Guillermo Temél begin!

I’ve begun to learn Spanish. I tricked a Mexican-American girl into tutoring me in Spanish. The tutoring is more for exposure to the language than structured learning. We do full immersion conversations and I pay a dollar every time I use English (my idea). I studied Latin for two years in high school and to comical affect I use Latin words instead of Spanish ones. To add to my language confusion the Capoeira club encourages me to learn Portuguese nouns. I am colliding the three languages together. It’s actually heaps of fun. Romance languages are only the rock by which you smash open the sweet coconut of Latin culture.

Can you spot me?

While falling over an aborted handstand at capoeira lessons, I made a curious observation. All over the world Brazilians are kind people. In high school I had a Brazilian friend who was super friendly. In Japan, Michael and I attended a Brazilian guy’s BBQ. Now in Sydney the Brazilian people at the Capoeira group are super friendly. I’ve had such a positive experience with the Brazilian people, whom I have met, that the horrors of Rio De Janeiro portrayed in the movies City of Men and City of God won’t keep me away from Brazil. Watch out 2016 Olympics in Rio I’mma coming

I’ve also started to attend Cuban Salsa dancing class. The class is once a week for the last three weeks I’m here. I’m having a good time. Despite not knowing how to Salsa I’m making due. I’m the handsomest man in the class so the ladies are happy to have me step on their toes.

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To put some academic weight behind my new interest I’ve registered for an International Relations course in the Politics of Latin America for the Fall of 2011. One day I hope to understand what Tommy jabbers on about when he recants the history of Nicaragua and to understand those gargantuan papers Bonnie is constantly writing.

To explain my seemingly random interest in Latin America. When it comes to learning Spanish, I’m a late starter. My mother and sister speak Spanish proficiently. My two best friends lived/live in Spain. My friends and family are leaps and bounds ahead of me with Spanish and interest in Latin America.

Rango & Rio

My friends’ and families’ interest in Latin culture reflects a growing trend in the States. The US is gradually becoming more Latinized. For example the two major animated movies in theaters in America today display Latin cultural influences; Rango and Rio. Since the trend is inevitable I’m glad that I’m jumping on the bandwagon voluntarily and with genuine curiosity, before I get left behind.

My major in university is International Relations with a focus on regional politics. I have intensely studied the regional politics of Asia, Europe, and Australia. It is part of my natural curiosity to move onto South America. Should I ever travel to South America, it is in my best interest that I know a good deal about my surroundings and how to communicate with the people. Next semester I will take a class in diplomacy to see if it is right for me. If I do pursue diplomacy I could very likely be stationed in Latin America for years.

Makoto and Asahi

Most importantly I look forward to the friends I will make once I have learned Spanish. Learning Japanese gave me Brandon, Joe, Makoto, Asahi, and Michael. I feel as though learning Spanish will open me up to a host of new people and make my interactions with my already Latinized friends more fun. New friends and a lot of fun is the best reason to do anything.

 

 

My work is hosting a farewell party for a lawyer in my group Thursday night at this restaurant and Friday after work the entire staff, hundreds of people, is having a social drinking event.

Salud, Derren

Entry 37: Great Aussie Commercial

Entry 36: More Donations to Japan Relief Fund

The generosity just keeps on flowing! We have raised another 200$ for the Australian Red Cross’s Japan Relief Fund. This brings our grand total to 1,100$. We have done a great job helping those in need. Should tragedy ever strike the United States, let us only hope that the well being that we have shown today is not an exception but a rule across the globe. View Recent Red Cross Receipt

Entry 35: Improving Life

Profesora

On Thursday (24/3) I went to Capoeira. I really had a great time there. I think that if I stayed in Sydney longer I would completely join these people for the long term. The club is very diverse, young, and energetic. Although I make a fool of myself when I perform I really enjoy it. The best moment was near the end of class and the Profesora discovered that Thursday was one of her advanced students birthdays. They had a “Birthday” contest where the birthday girl had to “fight” with everyone in the club. Capoeira is full of music and celebration and I think watching the Profesora spin on her head while singing Happy Birthday was the coolest way I’ve ever seen this bland song performed. On April 2^nd there is going to be a monthly Capoeira gathering and I think I might get my own footage of the club members then. (The footage in the video is from a trial class two weeks ago)

I didn't make this one

On Saturday I went to a coffee school for a full days training and certification. I’m now a certified barista in Australia. I went to the school because I really want to get a job at BU’s student café. I think that honing my skills will help me land a job at the epicenter of on-campus student life. With experience as a barista in Philly, training in Sydney, and an indie knitted cap I think I’m a shoe in for the job.  Here are some photos of what I put together.

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On Saturday Night I volunteered with “Earth Hour” and I helped Children make didgeridoos. I made my own didg out of toilet paper rolls and it works. Zero children actually went through the long task of making a didg, but I helped kids make drums and shakers out of other materials.

Below is a video of when I visited an animal reserve and a few other small events.