5 O'Clock at Night

You may or may not be aware that I come from a land of stay-up-lates and party-all-night-longs. Southern California knows how to keep it real all night. 24 hour fast food, malls closing at 9pm at the earliest, clubs open 'till the early hours in the morning, we know how to have a good time. Hungry at 3am? no problem. Run down to Taco Bell and get some burritos. I have found that this cannot be said for the land of Oz. When Dorothy was traveling down her beloved road of yellow bricks, she must have had to turn in fairly early every evening because of the lack of motivation during the night.

You may all think that I could be being a bit dramatic, but hear me out. I tell nothing but the truth when I say that Sydney closes its doors to fun and food at 5pm every night. This unorthodox practice can be seen as I walk down the road back to school at 6pm (dinner time, mind you) and notice that the vast majority of restaurants have closed their barred doors to block out the poor blokes drooling with grumbling tummies at the entrance. I have yet to have someone say "wanna catch some dinner?" because we both know that there isn't a place in all of Sydney that serves this meal.

When I first ventured into this strange city, this was a rather large disappointing shock. How are we supposed to have a life if everything is closed after I'm done with classes? Well, I'll tell you.

Community.

There is a lot that can be learned from the Australian sense of community. Everything closes early because everyone goes home early to spend more time with their friends and family. Living at Flo, I have come to realize this thanks to the lovely people named Peter and Ruth. These fine supervisors require that everyone at Flo Harris Lodge mark on a sheet of paper if they will be present, absent, or late for dinner everyday. Although this can become almost a chore of "how am I supposed to know if I'm going to be here for dinner next Saturday if its only Sunday today?" I have come to appreciate the values behind it. This dorm-like building is more than dorm, its a community. Eating dinner with all the students here forms a bond that means something.
You wonder why some families in the states are broken and/or falling apart, and I can tell you that part of it is because of the community. People in America are so caught up in work and school and friends that they don't take time to sit at home and share a meal with their family. People feel like strangers in their own home because they don't spend the time to get to know their own family members.

I've realized how important it is to maintain community. Sydney's lack of nightlife may be a letdown, but its something I've grown to appreciate. How can you complain about not being able to go shopping at 5pm when you know that you get to go home and have a meal with people who care about you? Theres just some things that you can't argue against. I have yet to find a valid argument for having any of Sydney's stores staying open past 5 o'clock at night.