A Visit Down Under

Me, moments after landing. Tired, but with coffee.

I developed a theory why so many Americans love Australia: cognitive dissonance. After 14 hours sitting in a cramped metal tube, you convince yourself, of course this was worth it! This place is the greatest! (Note: Add six more hours to your trip if departing from the eastern U.S.)

This is my first trip “Down Under.” I do know a fair number of Australians, have done a lot of reading about Australian culture and politics, and listened to an appropriate amount of “Air Supply” for a child of the 80’s, so feel I know a thing or two about the place. Still, it’s virgin soil.

Why am I heading to Australia? I’ve been writing about the global economy for going on three years now, mostly covering bleak stories from economically depressed places, from America’s heartland to West Africa. For a change of pace, my assignment editors thought it would be nice to visit a place that’s economically prospering. By most standard economic evaluators, the top-performing countries in the developed world are Canada, the Scandinavian nations and Australia. I’m here to report on how Australia did it, and pick up some stories behind those numbers.

I don’t intend for this blog to be a minute-by-minute account of my travels, rather a place to highlight some interesting things I found along the way that won’t make it into my radio pieces.

My first two radio pieces from Australia:

• Why the Australian Floods Were Good for the Outback
• Australians: Among the Biggest Gamblers on Earth

Blog Posts:

• First Impressions of Sydney