Old and New, In and Out, Side by Side

The question/paradox I am going to focus this project on is one that has made me wonder a lot over the past year about a variety of cultures, traditions and more. I will focus on the idea that there is a lot of traditional aboriginal history amongst and alongside the cosmopolitan city life of Sydney, Australia. After spending last spring studying in Sydney, I absolutely fell in love with the city. It’s casual and fancy, trendy and grungy all at the same time. But the most interesting paradox I found was this ancient history of aboriginals, their drive to maintain their heritage, and how they live not so far off from this up and coming trendy city. There is a man I used to see on my way to work every morning who sat by Circular Quay in his traditional aboriginal paints and attire and played his didgeridoo. Obviously, he was there as a street performer to make money.

Aboriginals are very traditional and many keep their traditions strong. There is a very high number of aboriginal children who are illiterate and there are efforts and organizations to help end this issue. There is a high population of aboriginals that live in the outback in the middle of the country, but there are some on the coast in pockets in places like Cairns.

10 People/places/things associated with my topic include:

• Aboriginals
• Australians
• Sydney
• Alice Springs
• Uluru
• Cairns
• outback
• aboriginal art
• Central business district
• Iconic sydney buildings and sculptures