I moved to Brisbane when I was really young from The Philippines, and have lived here for most of my life. I am a Queenslander, and for those who know what this entails, it means not only winning eight State of Origin premierships against rival state New South Wales, but that summers are spent lazing about in your togs and thongs/pluggers with a cold beverage, barbecues (steak, please, not prawns) on your Webber with mates playing/watching cricket or listening to the Hottest 100, mozzie repellant, and constant humidity followed by resplendent cooling storms, and winters are spent watching the footy (Go, Broncos!), wearing no more than a cardigan to keep you warm, and pretty much enjoying the same activities as the summer. I have a love/hate relationship with Brisbane, but it will always be home to me. I didn’t realise how much I’d missed this place until I lived away from it for nearly 5 years. You begin to appreciate the lifestyle, and especially the people. You’ll meet arseholes, dickheads and idiots anywhere in the world, and trust me, Brisbane has its fair share, but the one thing that stands out about Brisbanites is the warmth and kindness of the people no matter what the situation. This is not me bagging out other places/people that I’ve lived in/met, but merely some observations from the last fortnight since I’ve moved back.
I met up with a friend and her young daughter at a shopping mall for some coffee/lunch and shopping. When we drove out to the parking boom gates, my friend’s credit cards (she tried three of them) didn’t work to pay the parking fee, and I could see behind us that there were about 11 cars backed up waiting to exit this one gate. There were a few beeps and some shouting, but one lady walked over to the car and said to my friend to take her parking card, come back through the entry parking gates and give her the ticket so she can get out the gate. I think that in an age where instant gratification is considered the norm practice, it was relieving to know that there are people who are willing to place their busy lives aside, exercise some patience in order to help another person. This also goes for passengers on public transport who will happily give up their seat on a jam-packed train/bus for an elderly person or a pregnant mum, or would help a mum with kids and a pram onto the platform at a train station. Or even patrons at a cafe/restaurant or waiting for a service, who would let you go in front of them if you looked like you were in a hurry or were holding excessive amounts of groceries. And today when we were at the local farmers’ markets, a shopper bought some super cold freshly squeezed orange juice for the busker who was playing in the heat and humidity. I resent anyone who considers Brisbane as a backward city or bogansville because quite frankly, I’m proud of the citizens here who still uphold the basic human consideration of giving a shit about other people.
What do you enjoy/love about the place you live in this world?
dm
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