[RT pic] Robert
Treborlang
Australia		 Roddy The Rooster
Roddy The Rooster & Friends
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Induction

[image]One brilliantly sunny day I realised I was in Australia. I found myself wandering in the streets. After two hours of walking past innumerable houses with parched gardens, I began to feel uneasy. There was no one in sight.

  After some more walking, I heard the drone of human voices and the clink of glasses coming from a corner building. I stepped inside a half-opened door. I saw a row of men standing with their backs to the street and facing a wall, as if waiting to be shot. Later on I was to learn that the place was called a "pub" and that, far from being in any danger, the establishment was a spot where these men felt safe from the women persons in their lives.

  Turning to the nearest group of men, I assailed them with questions about this brand new country. I did not know whether it was my clumsy manner or my odd appearance, but after a short period of questioning, the men became angry and told me to mind my own business. Not quite understanding, I asked them to elucidate. Their answer was to turn their backs.

  I knew then that I would have to learn fast. The place was very different. It seemed my overseas multilingual cross-cultural background was no longer of assistance. This was going to be a major intelligence operation. I would have to infiltrate the Organisation and discover its unwritten laws.

  But my enquiries made me feel freakish. I stood there wanting to communicate, whereas the locals seemed perfectly happy just being, not wanting to say anything. Added to that, nobody gave me any encouragement, nobody said, "You're doing fine, you're beginning to fit in nicely".

  The problem was that I never knew whether or not I was surviving. Worse, I had no idea as to the minimum acclimatisation period before I'd be considered fit for the company of normal people. A month? A year? I asked around but nobody seemed to know. Most people growled - they seemed to hate the very idea of telling me anything.

  After months of such lessons, of rejections and failed attempts, I began to get the point. To survive, first and foremost I would have to adopt their customs. I would have to stand around for a while, if only to learn whether to grunt or say "thank you" when somebody brings you a beer.

  I began to take notes...


Copyright © 1991-2002 - Robert Treborlang

[RT pic] Robert
Treborlang
Australia		 Roddy The Rooster
Roddy The Rooster & Friends
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