Aussie land

The aussie's have a funny way of abbreviating everything. Sunglasses become sunnies, footie refers to a football, aircon is airconditioning etc.... They also have a uniform in the public school system that includes a hat. I guess the sun is pretty vicious and they have a lot of skin cancer so its become a requirement. Kids can get into big trouble for not wearing their hat. It makes me laugh, would our independent America be okay with the school system telling us how to dress and how to protect ourselves against the environment? I'm not so sure. Thursday night I went to the local mall and entered into the familiar 'Target' store. When checking out they asked if I wanted a ten cent bag. There was no other options. I'm all for the 'ecofriendly' system and often carry my own bag when shopping but also had to laugh at the fact that they would not be providing a bag for my purchases.... Has this hit America yet? The mall was swarming with young kids. There was a 'brawl' up near the entrance about one hour before the mall was to close. Apparently this is a normal occurrence , both for kids to fight at the mall but also just for kids to fight! At a youth gathering last night I spoke to a couple of the local girls and they were talking about how if you are one city and known to be from another high school you can easily get jumped, especially the boys. Its a part of their 'normal' life... so sad! Tonite I am heading down the red light district of Brisbane, called the Valley. There is an outreach that goes down there every Saturday evening until 3 am and they are making a big impact on people through evangelism and encouragement. It will be interesting to see and am praying for protection along the way.
New goal for when I return to the States- get an international driver's license. That way I don't have to worry about it whenever I travel or do any outreaches....