Chat in the park

PERTH - - I've just had the best conversation I've had all day. I'm sitting in a park in Northbridge, a northern suburb of Perth that's supposed to contain all the "happening" restaurants and clubs. So far, I've only come across one street with about four restaurants and as many clubs. Oh well.

A man approached me and (still in "big-city girl" mode) I was on guard. He said Hello and I said Hi. I couldn't place his thick accent but knew it was neither Australian or American.

He spoke slowly and I couldn't decide if he was mentally slow or possibly deranged (I think I've seen some of the latter here). Turns out, he's neither of those things. He's from Chile!

Carlos has lived in Australia for about 15 years, most of them in Perth. He named about 5 other Australian cities that he's called home. (I admit to being a bit jealous of that.)

"Why Perth?" I asked.

"Because it's the best place," he said. He then went on to explain that Perth has its own mafia (who knew?). Yep, I was thinking, "this is why it's the best??"

Perth is, however, very clean. As if to prove the point, a man cleaned the area under a huge tree in the park. Carlos and I watched him rake up every dead branch and dropped leaf. He worked for over an hour.

We sat quietly for a bit, admiring a sky that was so blue and bright it almost hurt our eyes. Carlos offered me a cigarette, but I declined. He said he loved my accent.

We spoke of life's general topics: money and the happiness that doesn't usually come with it; families and how to live with them; politics and how the "average Joe" doesn't usually agree with how his government behaves.

We agreed that its best to not judge a country by its government's actions, but rather by its people...the ones you meet in parks on sunny days.