shhh.

There is one thing i cannot get over about Sydney. One thing that does not make sense.

The quiet.

It's everywhere, trains, buses, shopping centres, markets, street corners, cafes.. I just don't understand.

How can a city so densely packed with people provide such a serene backdrop for your thoughts?

Sure there's the noise of the traffic, the shuffle of people as they pass but there's a lack of chatter. There's nothing to hook you into a conversation. No eavesdropping to be done.

I've grown up on trains where, if you aren't listening to your own music, you're listening to other peoples music. The melody of conversation swirls around you until a choice word, a loud word, an interesting tone grabs your curiosity and lures you in. Sometimes you hear things you wish you hadn't. Sometimes you learn something you'll never forget. You get to know your fellow man intimately, without so much as a glance exchanged between you.

Here, all you have are your thoughts. There is nothing to distract you. Nothing to escape to. Maybe that's telling of this city. Everyone respects the need to focus on the task at hand. Maybe this is why dreams seem to prosper here.

The buckle and sway of the train takes the place of inane chatter between a group of schoolgirls . The train drivers station announcement takes place of that phone conversation you can't help but overhear.

Or maybe it is the city's swagger. It's tough, it wouldn't trust you with this kind of information even if you wanted it to. You haven't earned it yet. Maybe you need to stick around for a while before it lets you in on it's secret. Before you can hear it's noise.

You know, I have never been much for noise. I used to cry at fireworks. I'm still scared of balloons. A too-loud, look at me laugh makes me squirm. This town might not be so bad after all. For all its bravado, its seems to me, that it might be.. the perfect place to grow my little brain.