Political politians discuss politics.

We sat around the table together, their raised voices filling every corner of the long hall.
Arguing over exchange rates, climate change, desal plant and refugees.

I sat there. Lips shut tight.

the government is the one who needs money! We don't even need ice burgs! Melbourne is better than everywhere! They are all liars, as if they need help!

I sat there. Lips shut tight.

The answers were obvious. The public had told them. Over, and over,and over again. Maybe if they listened. Maybe if they opened their eyes to the easy solution.
But in this world, when it comes to politics, even the thought of those things seems preposterous.

So I sat there. Grinding my teeth.

Dressed in their suits, with their noses high in the air, they discussed the future of our country as if it was a game. Thinking if they messed up, they could get a 'get out of jail free' card on the next turn.

So I sat there. Almost bursting.

Their voices got louder and louder as they got more excited about the things they could do and build to 'their' country. The money they could spend, the time they could waste. The things they could destroy.

So I stood up and took a breath.

'Stop.'


They all turned, all 24 greying, glasses bearing faces, turned and stared me down.


'Why?' They all said at once.


'Can you not see? We are slowly killing our life. Our home. Our world. One development at a time. We are denying help to those who need it, even when they have nothing, and we have everything. We are sending water to crowded cities, so they can have longer showers, and water their gardens, when there are those who need water to survive. How don't you see it?'

All at the same time, there eyebrows furrowed.

I sighed and walked out.
I hope, I hope with all my life, that they will relax their brow, before its too late.

The coloured dog.

She walks through her day. Smiles. Laughs. Socializes.
She looks with the corner of her eye. It's still there.
She goes home. Homework. Dinner. Bed.
She looks with the corner of her eye. It's still there.

The dog won't leave her alone. Like Mary's little lamb it follows her everywhere. Never lets her forget that it exsists. The dog is sad, and pushes its sadness towards her. Pushing her down. Down. Down. Down. The dog won't help her up. The dog is black, and it blocks out the light in her life like an eclipse.

She wants to feel happy again.
For the worrying and anxiety to go away.
She wants the hole in her stomach to close.
For the the bright side of life to show itself.

The dog won't leave her alone. Following her like a shadow. She knows when she turns, it will be behind her.

That black dog.

The dog won't leave her alone.

Why?

I go walking in your landscape.

There are no words to describe the way you feel sometimes.
And there are none to describe how much I love you.
Thank you for always being there and giving me a smile.
Whenever I see you I still get butterflies.

Please never leave :) x

The pitter patter of the Foote

I have this friend, she has two dots on the end of her name, and her last name is a piece of the human body.
I would say she was pretty special :)
She has a love hate relationship with Justin Bieber, and she sometimes has an ear tan line, but I really don't know what I would be without her.
Her lovely curls and and gorgeous smile make me grin whenever I see her!

Just cause we hang out in the toilets when its cold and sit in the shower blocks.

I have the funniest memories with her, and its fantastic she is just a stroll down the street.
You know those friends you know your going to be friends with for life?

Yeah :) she is one of those

Girl I love girl I love you, x

Religions

I'm not a christian, I am not a Buddhist, I am not Jewish and I am not a Muslim.
I am waiting for the day when people will realise that, although religion is important, in the end we are all looking and praying for the same thing.

Peace.

All it will take is a bit of Hope.

And a bit of Unity.

Leunig the Ledgend.

I love collecting the Leunigs from the paper. He always has something comical or political to say about the world. The most recent I have received is this delightful poem;

Lovely dreaming olive tree
Oh, the way you look at me
With your multitude of eyes,
Dark and Shiny, strong and wise.

Let me drift into your gaze
Dreaming of the summer days
Of love and light and you and me,
Oh lovely dreaming olive tree.

It made me smile :) a great way to start a day with a story like that.
I borrowed a book from the library of his once, and sat there reading all of his opinions of politics and war. He is a wise man that leunig, a wise wise man.

Water Fights.

PTEA TUEK DONG

While I was at this amazing place, I made a friend. A friend I will never ever ever forget.
Her name is Sakorn, also known as Sammy.
When Sammy was eight or nine, she got raped. She then gave birth to her daughter Bitsie.

The first time I met Sakorn was during our first monsoon, her, jac, and I had this massive water fight and got absolutely drenched. It was the funnest thing in the world.

That night we heard her story, and were shocked that for someone so young, something so horrid and disgusting could happen to them.

Throughout my time there, she is the one who will always be with me.

The way she taught me to say 'I love you' In khmer, and the way she cried when we left.

I hope the rest of her life is a brighter one, but I know it will be with a bright a spark as hers. X

The friend called Music.

Isn't it amazing the way music affects people.
The way it triggers a memory, an emotion, a different side of you.
The way it can change your mood in an instant.

For me it's artists like Paul Kelly who can always inspire me, Angus and Julia Stone who calm me down and make me smile, Bliss en Eso who get your blood pumping, and of course Radiohead who just does all of them in one. As well as many more.

You can trust these people to be there when you are sad, or its the happiest moment of your life.

I can't even imagine life without music. Music is the friend who you can tell your secrets too, and they will never tell, they will just sing you a song to make you feel better or to make you think.

The best part is when you create the music yourself. Telling your story through a way much easier then words.

Well, thats what its like for me anyway :)

While I was overseas, I got sent this quote from my bible, Frankie.

"One of the best things about travel is coming home again.

Going over seas is nice and all, but one of the best things about travel is coming home again. That weird jetlaggy feeling you get driving in from the airport, when your hometown looks new and a little strange. Maybe you notice things you hadn't seen before. Maybe it feels smaller, or cleaner, or friendlier than it normally does. Maybe unfamiliar. Or maybe recognisible and homey, like an old, well loved jumper wrapping you up in its warmth.
Getting you away for a while gives you a different view of home. just for a few days, you're seeing your surroundings through new eyes, rose tinted glasses or not. Fresh views and new ideas.
We wish it could last forever
xoxo
Jo and Lara"

I love traveling.


But I love the feeling of home. :)

The Challenge called the world

The school trip that put me into perspective.

I knew there was unhappiness outside my safety country, but I didn't realise how much.
I didn't realise that these people weren't happy, but were always having fun, always laughing and smiling. I didn't realise how easy it was to help these people out.

During my trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, we did a project at a street family center in Battambang, Ptea Tuek Dong. Although we only had 5 days there, those families made the biggest impact on me.

One time there was a monsoon, and the rain turned the dirt to mud.
All the kids, and all of us jumped into that mud.
The kids, even though it may of been their only pair of clothes, didn't care if their clothes got dirty, they just cared about living in the moment, and making the most of what they had.

Make the most of what you have, never take anything for granted.

The greatest lesson they taught me, and they taught it to me just by hanging around me.
I am forever grateful to them, and I hope one day I can return the favor.

Make and Mend

There isn't much I want from this world. It's the little things that always please me the most. A nice fire, a day with friends, little moments that you know are going to stick in your brain forever, although they might not be the most important ones.

All I know, is in my life, I want to make a difference, and I want to mend someones unhappiness. I have now experience poverty and obviously it hasn't met humanity.

It seems like a game of chance. These people were born in a poverty stricken country, so now they have to survive on nothing. Imagine if you were born in a place like that. How would you survive?

The leaders of these country disturb me. They know what is happening, and yet they let them suffer. As long as tourists still flock in. All they need is a place to call home, and yet they are still deprived of that. Where is the sense in that?

The people in these countries however, you see them smile. They have nothing, but yet, the ones I met, and talked to and spent time with, are the most amazing people I have met. Their lives are the pits but they have these beautiful smiles.

It doesn't make sense to me.

The whole world should just be making smiles and mending them.

It doesn't take much effort really.

After my trip, my view on the world has changed.