What are Kangaroos???!!

I had Australia related dreams last night.....

1. We are living in Australia for awhile. On our property, we have some kind of insect room/house. It's this room where various bugs are on display. But it's free-flowing. Bugs can come and go. So each time you visit, you might see something different. I'm amazed by the variety of bugs in Australia.

I have other animals on my mind as well. I start thinking we should make some kind of bird feeder. I consider just spreading peanut butter on trees, and sprinkling it with seed.

In the midst of all this, I become very thankful that we're living in Australia. I remind myself how lucky I am, and vow to never take it for granted. At the same time though, it feels a bit scary to be so far away from America. It makes me feel somewhat disoriented.

I've gotten that feeling sometimes when we've been in Australia. It's not really homesickness. I don't miss America. It's more a feeling of....nervousness? Maybe. I guess it's just that sense of being so far away. Although we're really not that far away since there's planes that can take us home in less than a day. It's not like the past where you'd have to do months on a ship.

2. I'm with my friend Tracy and her daughter Tara. I have a kangaroo stuffed animal. But in
the dream, Australians don't call them kangaroos. They have some weird name for them, involving the number 7. I forget, and use the word kangaroo. Tara's completely confused. I have to explain what I mean, and tell her that kangaroos are the American word for that animal. I'm embarrassed by it all.

3. I'm at some event where we sit in an audience. My sister Dawn's with me. The people doing the show/speech are talking about universities. Dawn, all of a sudden, says that there should be colleges for black people. She says it with innocence and enthusiasm. Some members of the audience snicker, and mumble about her being racist. I talk to some people who don't seem annoyed at what she said. I say there actually ARE schools specifically for Aboriginal Australians. Then there's confusion about the American word college, and the Australian one. I conclude that it's good to have schools for Aboriginal Australians, but it's not good if those schools are there for the purpose of keeping them out of other schools.

There were some non-Australian dreams. In one....

4. I've just recovered from the stomach flu. While sick, I had missed time with guests that my parents had. Now that I'm better, they have new guests. We're all with them. I suddenly suspect that my dad thinks I faked the whole stomach flu thing. It seems he doesn't believe I was sick, and that he thinks I was faking it to avoid the whole social encounter thing. I bring this up, (in front of the new guests)sort of hoping/expecting he'll reassure me that he DID believe me. But he doesn't. He doesn't defend me. Instead he confirms what I suspected. I ask if, next time, I should have them come see what I leave in the toilet. He says yes. I'm thinking he should believe me because my mom knows I had the stomach flu. He should take my mom's word for it. But then I realize she never saw any proof either of my sickness. She seems somewhat doubtful herself, but more willing than my dad to take my word for it.

I act astonished about the whole issue. I say I had been so bothered and shocked by the fact that they hadn't believed I had an eating disorder. But how could they ever take my word for something complicated like that, when they can't even take my word for something straightforward like the stomach flu.