Aussies - once and for all

Ok, I've been doing a lot of thinking about why the Aussies bother me. They shouldn't. Some of the best friends I've met on this trip are Aussies. I can't really despite the entire race based on a few dozen drunken, rich, college-aged ones, right? But why do they continue to get under my skin?

Well, I think it's because they're all doing what I'm doing (travelling through Europe), but they're doing it so young. 9 out of every 10 Aussies I meet has this story: "Hey mate, I just graduated Uni and decided to take a year off to travel the world before I move to London to get a job. Oh, and my budget is 100 euros a day, not including accomodation." My usual response: WTF?? First of all, how can you afford to travel just after graduating college? You haven't even had a real job yet! Second of all, how in the world can you afford to travel for a whole year? Third of all, how do you have a budget twice the size of mine, even though I'm only travelling for 6 weeks?

I guess the root of it is that I'm bitter. When I graduated college, my dad handed me a very fat envelope. I assumed what was in it would be a card and a nice, thick stack of cash. But I opened it to find my student loan bills, my car loan information, and some pamphlets about finding my own health insurance! Haha, yes, it was joke, but still, I was on my own. All I have since graduating is a mediocre-paying job and a student loan that won't be paid off until I'm 43 - just about the time I'll have to take out more loans to put my hypothetical children through college. The only way I could even afford to make this trip happen is because I got in a car accident in December and combined that money with my tax return and economic stimulus package. Even then, sometimes I have to just eat gelatto for lunch (not that I'm complaining).

There is something about the way that so many of the Aussies can just pick up and travel the world with what seems like not much forethought or worry that just drives me absolutely bonkers. Don't they know that this trip is huge for me? Don't they know that most of my friends have never done something like this, and none of my family has ever even been to Europe? Don't they recognize how courageous and independent I am to take this big step into the unknown for a whole six weeks? Don't they want to just buy me drinks and ask me questions about life because I am so wise and brave??

When I tell people I've been married, their eyes widen into saucers before they can restrain their gut reaction and try to act nonchalant. It's like they've never met anyone who was married. Like it's a rare disease and they want to put me under glass and inspect me for further study. Wow, what could possibly make someone get married before the age of 30? And you looked so normal. . .

Needless to say, I'm going to have to stop looking to the people I meet on this trip to pat me on the back for my unprecedented courage and valor. The fact is that lots of people travel Europe at all ages, for all reasons, and with all sorts of budgets. That doesn't make my experience any less valid. But I'm also going to have to stop expecting to have long, philosophical conversations with fascinating locals who have never met an American before. I'm not travelling in some remote village to go see a medicine man or something. I'm in huge, European cities where there are often more tourists than locals, and the opinions of Americans are. . . well, less than great. I usually have to spend some time as soon as I meet someone debunking the myth that all Americans are ignorant religious fanatics who care only about waging war and consuming all the world's resources. Because, that's not true, right? Right? RIGHT?