Alice Springs is a welcomed site after camping in the cold for the last 2 nights. I am staying at a proper hotel, with my own big bed. I relax and and catch up on my blog the first day and a half. There are some day tours to go on the east and west MacDonnell ranges and a bunch of stuff but I really just want to relax. I finally venture out the second day and walk around town. There is a huge Aborginal presence here which is quite nice to see.
Australia has had great difficulty in integrated the nations "first people". The cultural differences are great. In Alice, they mostly appear barefooted and because water is sacred to them, not to mention scarce, I am told they do not bathe the way we are used to.
They seemed shocked by me, I wish I new what they were thinking when they saw me. They just stare this sort of blank stare, it feels very strange and it makes me a little uncomfortable. I am walking down the street and this Aboriginal lady walks up to me and starts talking to me in her language and when she sees the look of "I have no idea what you are saying" she asks where I am from. I say "the US", she says "Welcome to Australia!" I wish now I would have asked her more questions and about herself, but it just seemed rude at the time.
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