Diversity

And you thought this post was going to be about our new President...nope. But I will say here, was it disappointing that the man I voted for did not win? Yes. Am I a bit nervous about the next four years? You bet. Do I wish Barack Obama would change his worldview when it comes to abortion and same-sex marriage? Absolutely. Would I rather choose to spread my wealth when and to whom I wish, rather than big government choosing for me? Oh yeah. But...all that does not change the fact that nothing happened on November 4th that wasn't supposed to happen. Why? Not sure, but I'm a firm believer that nothing surprises God. All I do know is that whoever is President, deserves my respect (at least for the office itself), my ability to keep my mouth shut when I want to say negative things about him, and most of all, my prayers. (Hmm...and surely our current President deserves all of these as well instead of what he and his family have had to endure for the longest time!) But I was talking about diversity...
I meant diversity on the streets of Sydney. It hit me as I was walking to Subway for lunch today. Because I. Just. Can't. Eat. McDonald's. Anymore. This. Week. I love my cheeseburger but I must take a break. You see it all on the streets of Sydney, such as...

1. People wearing pointy bamboo hats. You know...like the ones you see in a picture of people from Vietnam. But what's puzzling, is they're not of Asian descent. So why...

2. School children wearing big floppy hats with wide brims. I was struck with how many children you see wearing hats down here. Because the only time you see kids, especially babies and toddlers wearing hats in the U.S. is when their parent wants to take a picture of them in a cute hat and has to take the picture real fast before the kid reaches up to pull it off. Found out in my research (only for you, my faithful readers...no stone unturned) that several years ago there was a major health campaign around Australia that insisted that parents put hats on their children when they went outside. In fact, it's almost considered a form of child abuse if you don't. Most schools won't let children outside for recess unless they wear their big, floppy hats. Why? Australia has the world's most cases of skin cancer...three times more than the U.S. Makes sense.

3. Tee shirts with writing on them. Most I could not re-print here for my family-friendly blog, but did pass one today on a guy that said, "You Look Like My Next Girlfriend." Uh...no.

4. Flip-flops. Everyone wears them. You'll see business women in conservative tailored jackets and skirts, shuffling along in flip flops on their way to work. (I assume they change shoes when they get to their office.)

5. And on the other end of the spectrum...high-heeled shoes like you wouldn't believe. It's also not unusual to see women shuffling along in 4 inch heels. Come on...how is that remotely comfortable? (says the American who is mostly seen in her faithful Nike's.)

6. Ridiculously skinny jeans. Can I just say that no one, even if you have the body of a supermodel- male or female, looks attractive in those really tight skinny jeans. And men...you just look like you have skinny chicken legs when you wear them. Eewww.

7. Uggs. There's a reason why these boots sound like you're saying the word, ugly. And who wears furry boots when you have shorts on? Shorts with furry boots? That doesn't make any sense.

8. Man Bags. Um...what? Women carry purses. Men...you just carry a wallet. If you have more to carry than that, sure...carry a briefcase. Sling a backpack on your shoulder...fine. But carry a man bag? You just look silly. And finally...

9. Leggings as Pants. If you want to wear leggings...go ahead. But put something on that covers your backside. A skirt. A long shirt. Whatever. And the same goes for all those men that jog in the Botanical Gardens while wearing spandex. (Except for the skirt part.) Really don't want to see any of that.