All color in nature depends on an object’s surroundings.
~ Richard E. Cytowic
Look at the image above. Green & blue spirals, right? Ahhh, you knew that was a trick question. Turns out the “blue” and “green” are the same color.
Our perception of colors is affected by context. Similarly, our perception of a particular culture or country is affected by where we’ve just come from.
Do you remember the last time you got stressed out just after arriving in a new place? Maybe you were stuck in a five-lane traffic jam thinking, “This traffic makes me want to shove my luggage tags down my throat!” But….if you’d just come from a country with even more horrendous traffic, you’d have been sitting back with a big grin thinking, “What a relief!”
Moving from Nepal to Australia has given me an appreciation for certain things that wouldn’t even have occurred to me had I come straight from, say, the USA or England. Here they are, in no particular order:
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Family
We’ve spent a lot of time with Rinch’s family this past month in Oz. It’s been fun and they’ve been incredibly supportive, patiently letting us stay with them while we search fruitlessly for an affordable apartment with a short lease in Canberra.
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My Very Own Midwife
Here in Oz I have my very own nurse midwife who’s going to be with me all the way, plus a fantastic support team. This is a level of care that’s just not available in Kathmandu.
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Predictable Traffic
I’m not saying Aussie drivers won’t run you down given the chance, but working traffic lights and legally-enforced pedestrian crossings give me a sense of peace I generally don’t find when playing Frogger with Kathmandu traffic.
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Real Milk of All Kinds
Since we don’t have a fridge in Nepal, we usually use powdered milk or else buy the little bag o’ milk sold by our local grocer. The bagged milk is non-pasteurized and must be boiled and used within a day. Now we’re in Oz, I love going to the fridge for cold milk any time I feel like it…and it can be cow milk, oat milk, soy milk, rice milk…so many choices!
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Hot Water on Demand
Bathing in Nepal: if there’s sun, the solar heater might be generous enough to let you have a full bucket of nearly-hot water. If it’s cloudy, then plug in the electric kettle (or use the gas stovetop when there’s no power) and heat water until you have enough for a bucket. Bathing in Australia: step into the shower and turn on the taps. Instant bliss!
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Push-button Laundry
It’s easy and cheap to have a laundress in Nepal, but last time we were there we never got around to hiring one. So I did all my laundry by hand, usually in cold water. It took about 30 minutes a day. I love the convenience of the washing machine.
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Silence at Night
In Nepal, I slept with earplugs to block out the loud radio music playing in the neighboring chicken farm all night long. Presumably to help the chickens lay better? We never quite figured this out. The dead silence of the Australian night is such a treat.
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No Bargaining
Sometimes I love the social interaction that comes along with bargaining and sometimes I just want to pay and get on with it. I’m enjoying the fixed price culture in Oz, although of course coming from Nepal everything seems reaaaally expensive! A nice side effect of having come from a bargaining culture is that I’ve gotten in the habit of asking for discounts. The other day Rinch was buying a shirt in the Fyshwick outlet mall and got $10 off simply because he asked. It’s always worth a try.
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Pregnant Friends
I’ve enjoyed going to pre-natal classes here in Canberra and getting to know other expectant mums. Of course there are pregnant women in Nepal too but there’s not really a structured network of groups, communities, resources, etc, so it’s been nice to tap into that.
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Drinkable Tap Water
I still get a frisson of excitement every time I drink water straight out of the tap without having to boil or filter it.
These ten things are not the same ten things I loved last year, when I had arrived in Australia from the USA. If you’d asked me then, I would have waxed lyrical about wallabies, the breathtaking scenery of the Great Ocean Drive, and puzzling yet lovable expressions like “fair dinkum.”
The next time you feel annoyed about something during your travels, imagine that you’ve just come from a place where it’s ten times worse. And take a few moments to feel gratitude for the things you can’t get elsewhere.
Where have you recently come from? What things do you love about where you are now?
I want to help you find your calm center and experience travel with courage, curiosity and compassion.