No shoes? No worries!

Disclaimer: Australian lingo may be a bit confusing and overwhelming.

So, I’m about 2 cups of goon in and I’ve come to the full realization that this life is pretty chill.  I’ve mentioned in my other blog what goon is, but I’ll mention it again - goon is boxed wine.  It’s about $9 for 4 liters of goon.  Yeah, duh, that sounds normal, but this is what they drink here because a 24 pack of beer is a solid $35-$40.  Yeah… so we’ll suffer through some goon, instead of blowing money on beer.  Coming from a person who enjoys beer, this is borderline torture.  Do you know what it’s like to skull goon?  (Do you know what it’s like to chug boxed wine)?  It’s disgusting.

Continuing on the idea of casually skulling goon… life’s pretty crisp.  Every interaction continues to convince me that the typical Australian lifestyle is real.  Over the weekend, as I stopped by a friend’s apartment, he showed us his very valuable Ugg minis.  Yes, I said HE.  A male friend of mine very proudly sported his male Ugg minis.  Us Americans questioned this.  Again, he proudly informed us of the Australian way: we don’t care about style here, we just wear whatever is comfortable; we don’t care; if Uggs are warm, who cares.

That’s the thing here - they don’t care.  Did I mention most people don’t wear shoes?  They go shoeless because, it’s more comfortable I guess.  Who wants to wear closed shoes on a humid day of 90 degrees?  Even flip flops are a bit more comfortable when your feet are sweaty… especially on the changing, hilly terrain.  Even in class people don’t wear shoes… they have to be reminded.   It’s kind of contagious… I find myself not wanting to wear shoes.  And hey, if I can’t find shoes go match my outfit, I may just go shoeless. 

            Not wearing shoes may not be hygienic, but I guess who cares?!  That’s the Australian way of life.  They don’t care about anything other than comfort.  No shoes? No worries!  If you’re comfortable,  what else matters?  But seriously… what else matters other than being comfortable?  How many times have uncomfortable heals or shoes ruined your night with pain and blisters?  Too many times.  Here, beauty is not pain, beauty is whatever is naturally comfortable.  Why don’t we reduce the amount of pain we have to endure in the US? … because we’re not Australian, I guess.