On Being Human

Canberra has more than one hill! And none of the other hills have an important "house" on them. 

No, I don't mean a post about being human in the way you're expecting.

I'm participating in a project called The Human Brochure (not being paid for any opinions, just so you know*). If you're anywhere on social media, you've most likely heard of it. I've been threatening to write a post about Canberra since we moved here and the Human Brochure is the perfect reason.

I've been pretty clear about my love of Canberra. Before I moved here, I didn't feel the same way. I played the same role as you most likely do. "Judger from Afar", "Speaker of Uncomplimentary Things", "Maker of Assumptions that Canberra is only about politics".

And then I moved here and my role changed. I became that annoying person singing Canberra's praises.  Just like the New York Times. "There ARE things to do here", "There ARE great cafes", There ARE some really great restaurants AND yes, even bars", "There ARE some interesting places to hang out AND interesting people to meet. Plus, it's clean and easy to get around and nature is actually a considered part of this "city". Oh, and we have a really great burger place that started in a caravan that may actually have been around before all your burger vans.

Look! Burgers! Really good burgers in little red plastic baskets with chips. 

That's the thing about Canberra, you can't judge it from afar. You can't even judge it by driving down the main street (the burger place isn't on the main street incase you need to know). Canberra has depth, man. And you can't find it driving around roundabouts on main streets.

What's that? You have an important Craft Council? Don't worry, we do too. And teeny little exhibition spaces.  

Then, in 2012, along came the Human Brochure; a Visit Canberra tourism project designed to dispel the Canberra myths. They brought 500 interstate social media savvy visitors to Canberra and let this city speak for itself. And it worked! Many of the visitors hadn't been to Canberra before and they loved it. It was great to see people experiencing the real Canberra and not falling for the stereotype anymore.

And now, ACT Tourism are repeating the project with 101 locals. And they kindly let me be one of those locals. This is the perfect thing for me - I already celebrate Canberra anyway.

Sorry. Not sorry. Food and Wine. Don't feel bad for me.

I'm in the Food and Wine stream. I know, poor me. I thought about applying for the family fun stream (for about a second) but Food and Wine it was. So, Visit Canberra are treating us 101 "humans" to a bunch of local fun and we'll all write about it. *There is no obligation for what or how we talk about it, so my opinions are not up for sale.

I'm mostly talking about my experiences on instagram and pinterest but I will be dropping by here to post things that I think fit well in this space.