Back from the ISA

I'm back from the International Shakespeare Association's World Shakespeare Congress that is held once every 5 years. It was in Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane was very cool, and I love how much Australia is marked by little traces of England which indulge my Brit fetish--meat pies, cheese and onion crisps, bangers and mash, all those unhealthy staples of the British diet that one can't live without. The accent is cute too. And everyone was soooo polite. I swear, they were even nicer than we Canadians are reputed to be! That was cool; what was less cool was how damn obediant they were. Nobody would jaywalk--ever! It was ridiculous; not a car coming for miles around, but everyone would stand there at the light waiting forever for it to change, like mindless drones. A Brit friend, who was taking the mick with me, commented that at least they weren't being a drain on the public health system by crossing and getting themselves killed, as I was likely to do! Not that I did. The weather was great too. It was about 18C the whole time--not bad for the middle of winter. I could get used to winters like that! It's good to be back in Québec though, although the jet lag on the way home nearly killed me. 23 hours door-to-door from the airport hotel in Australia to my own home. Talk about a trip!