But I'm stuck in the UK

You know that song by Planet Funk called 'Who Said: stuck in the uk'. Here is a link to it It's lyrics go something like: I've never been to the USA, I'm a slave to the minimum wage. Detroit, New York and LA, but I'm stuck in the UK.

Yep. That sums me up pretty well at the moment. Except perhaps if you were to replace the USA with Eastern Europe. See, that's where I'm off to next on my travels and I cannot wait. I leave the UK on the 22nd July but until that time I am working in a very 'rural'- the view is of sheep; nice sheep, but sheep all the same- pub.

I am staying with my grandparents too. They have been very kind to have put me up and to have let a few of my friends visit and stay with them, but living with older people certainly has it's challenges. Spontaneity is rather difficult when you're older, or at least that's what I have learnt since living here.

Mind you, I have done some typically English things like picking asparagus just before summer solstice, and also picking raspberries (with which we made a delicious raspberry coulis) which i have enjoyed. I also visited Oxford last week with Sarah-Jane, who visited for two days. But getting back to my rather obscure song reference, I feel rather stuck at the moment. See I am literally being paid minimum wage for my pub job and, although I have never worked in a pub before, it seems hard to justify the hours for such little money. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers or whatever they say to make you feel better.

On a plus though, I have managed to take some time off work for three days to go up to London on Monday which I am very excited about. My two good friends - both called Sarah- are arriving from Australia and so we will do some sightseeing together. I am lucky enough to be staying with my English cousin in Putney which should be nice too. I am hoping to visit the Tate Modern while in London because, firstly, I enjoy modern art and, secondly, it has been spoken of so highly by my highly cultured Dutch family with whom I spent a very special five days at the end of my Western Europe backpacking trip (extended blog post to come on my adventures in Amsterdam). They told me it was definitely a 'must see'!

I am now starting to get super excited for the reunion with my family in early September. It's funny how after being away for so long you crave such weird but familiar things like simply going to our local Coles supermarket with my mum to do the weekly shop. Or to walk my dog Charlie on our routine walk from Middle Harbour to Manly. Only two months to go.

As an aside, my Apple MacBook laptop, which I usually rave about and talk up incessantly - as in "I would never go back to a PC since I got my MacBook pro" - has totally broken down. It has stopped working and takes about two days to log in - serves me right for bragging. Hence my blog posts are rather sporadic; they are dependent on me being able to access a computer. I will make a more concerted effort to write regularly now though, albeit on my iPhone. It's actually not as hard as I thought to write on a screen the size of a pea, but please excuse all the mistakes.

What I wanted to know though, and please feel free to comment, is: what home (or local) comforts do you miss most when you're away?

To iPhone or to iObject?

I recently discovered a chinese contractor, Foxconn, which is responsible for assembling the iPhone has had eight of its staff make attempts (many of which have been successful) to end their lives over the past year.

According to Fairfax Ltd, "[t]he most notable Foxconn suicide came last July when 25-year-old Sun Danyong jumped from his high-rise apartment after being interrogated over a missing iPhone prototype."

IDG News service reports that Foxconn has asked "Chinese police to investigate a case in which an employee reportedly committed suicide after being pressured over the loss of an iPhone prototype."

The report suggests the Chinese former employee was "roughed up" by a Foxconn security official, and that the incident reveals "management shortcomings" at the company.

Additionally, Apple has admitted to using child labour, with Fairfax reporting "at least eleven 15 year-old children were discovered to be working last year in three factories that supply Apple."

Where I feel torn is that I own a Macbook Pro, an iPod and an iPhone, so am I supporting this practice and thus endorsing unsafe working conditions?

Am I morally or ethically obligated to take a stand and refuse to continue supporting Apple until they demand improved working conditions from their contractors? And would my stand even make a difference to Apple? Unfortunately, I think not.

I'll continue typing on my Apple laptop and calling on my Apple iPhone, but at least I'll be aware of the ethical problems associated with the company and perhaps, by blogging, so might others.

Photo courtesy of: http://dotnetslackers.com/Community/blogs/kaushalparik/apple%20iphone.jpg