I Guess I'm Just Not Cut Out for Consistency

Hi guys. There are two things going on here: 1) I'm bad at keeping this sort of thing up - remember the garden example I gave in one of my first entries? I warned you. And 2) my free-wheeling lifestyle doesn't provide me with much of a routine. So updating my blog has never really made it's way into any sort of rotation...not that I actually have any sort of routine rotation at this point. So at this point in my life, I'm guess I'm just not cut out for any sort of consistency.

Anyway. The most important things are that I'm happy, healthy, and doing well. After my last update, I covered a good portion of the continent on vacation visits with Allison (in August) and Mom and dad (in September). I also presented at a conference and met the Prime Minister of Australia. There are about 20 plus potential blog updates in all of that, but I'm not going to worry about it too much.

Right now, I'm staying in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The Top End (as they call it) has a MUCH different feel than anywhere else I've been. It is generally less-developed and more remote. This is the land of Crocodile Dundee. Well, that's a bit of a Hollywood simplification and stereotype. Also, Aboriginal culture and Aboriginal Australians are more visible than anywhere else I've been. 48% of the Northern Territory is Aboriginal land and 1 in 3 Territorians are aboriginal. But I'm learning that the aboriginal culture is incredibly diverse - there were nearly 250 different "nations" prior to European settlement and even today many indigineous Australians speak 12 different tribal languages.

Research is starting to move and I'm hoping to finish up my work in NT by the beginning of December. But we'll see - you can never really predict how quickly things might move. I've gotta run and get some lunch, but I'll post some pics for you all later!