Join the club

When we first moved up to our little rural environs, we were continuously quizzed by the coastal residents about the other people who live waaaaay up here on the mountaintop. There are persistent rumors -- similar to the type you hear in certain areas of the States about the kinds of places brought to mind when you hear the Deliverance soundtrack for example -- but we’ve determined that tales of swinging farmers are a combination of the townies’ ignorance about country life; they simply can’t imagine what passes for entertainment without shopping, dining, and pubs to occupy their time, and a heapin’ helpin’ of plain ol’ xenophobia. I’m happy to say we’ve met quite a lot of people and haven’t yet been approached to join any secret society (though this may be a result more of our general physical appearance and less our neighbors’ morality) however, we are definitely members of another local club: The Ex-Pat Club.

I initially worried residents might resent foreigners moving in on their turf, much as I did the flocks of newcomers perpetually descending upon Florida, but no worries, mate, we are in the majority here. Off the top of my head I can name a dozen or so German, Swiss, and Austrian neighbors, two Brits, a Canadian, a couple Kiwis, a handful of Thais, a Torres Straights Islander, a Zimbabwean, an American or two, even an Iranian, and most of the other Aussies here hail from other regions as well. There are still a few old-timers around, third and fourth generation families easily recognizable by their surnames posted on all roads not named after creeks or mountains, and they have been friendly and welcoming. Basically, if you're not Aboriginal, you're an immigrant. Admission to the club, what passes for the secret handshake, is as simple as answering two questions: 1) Where are you (or your accent) from? and 2) How did you end up here?


We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations, far away. We have learned that we must live as men, and not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger. We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.

-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt