Australian student in Los Angeles

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your tales : AUSTRALIAN STUDENT IN LOS ANGELES

PART ONE:	Departure and Preparation
PART TWO:	Los Angeles

Los Angeles, USA
"Do all Australians look like you?" she asks. "Well are all Americans as stupid as you?!" But I resist. I even offer her a slither of redemption with "what do you think I look like exactly" I don't think I was ready for the brutal lack of subtly, such is the American tongue - "like you know, tall, pale with freckles and stuff". I certainly went a few shades darker and found my own Australian tongue utterly tied.
Over here it seems a tan is the most essential ingredient to beauty. The boys wear their caps backwards and the girls wear their breasts upright. Hair is strictly blowdried and t-shirts are stragically placed in the dryer for shrinking. I am considered a dag. Nobody here knows what this word means, but I can feel the vibes.

ABOVE: A Queensland beach

Film work in LA
For the past two weeks I have been working with the Aust Film Commission, in one of the buildings know as LA's 'Twin Towers'. A touch disconcerted with the name I arrived on the 19th floor, and was pleasantly suprised. I'm working with real live industry people and have been involved with two film screenings that had an audience of real live famous people. I was very excited. I've realised I'm going to need more than one dress. (a big thank you to Lauren for secretly packing my one pair of heels). Today I was writing the guest list for the next event, transcribing personal details of locals such as Nicole Kidnam, Halle Berry and Meg Ryan. The highlight of my very boring, very menial task-orintated day.
I've also been lucky enough to sit in on the taping of a 'friends' episode. The sets are really tiny, and the crew is ginormous and the actors are very tanned (that means beautiful, in case you didn't know). However, I would have enjoyed it alot more if there was no little man at the front, employed to keep the audience laughing. He tried everything. Bad jokes, very bad karoke, even worse trivia games and finally resorted to throwing little peices of candy at the crowd. This was the winner. You would not believe what the average American will do for a snickers bar. It was a bitch fighting mosh pit. He rewarded those who screamed the loudest. I felt this approach to be somewhat degrading, by reducing a generally intelligent crowd of people to a howling mass of competition. No one else seemed to share my view.

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ABOVE: Martha Goddard during previous adventures in Morocco.

Universal Tour
I have also been bombarded with hollywood hype which accompanies any good universal tour. My flat mate is obsessed with lists and subsequently I was dragged to every single ride and attraction in that park. We were there for 8 hours. Let's just say substance is not on the list of priorities for American attractions. For instance, in the superman show, another little man was employed to rile the crowd, he chose to throw buckets of water over the spectators over candy - it had a similar effect. next superman emerged, stripped off to his jocks, did a little dance to britney spears and this folks was the end of the show. I left a little dazed and confused. Next was a 'waterworld' show. They may as well have just opened it up as a big pool for the public, because once again buckets of water was dispersed over the crowd. Now if you think the movie Waterworld was bad, well just imagine Hollywoods ten minute version, set in a swimming pool. Avoiding the water was the most exciting part.
It wasn't all bad, in fact I had quite a good day after I gave into the inevidable. I ate a hotdog, danced with daffy duck and lost my stomach on a 3d, similated ride. It was Americanlly fabulous.
This weekend I'm off to vegas and who knows what for next week.

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Keep checking the travelogues for more of Martha's adventures over the next 6 months.

KEEP CHECKING HERE FOR PART 3
CLICK HERE FOR PART 1