I went to the 'bad school' in my area, where the rough/not-smart kids usually ended up, and we had a very mixed student population as compared to the 'better' schools nearby -- but the highest achiever in my grade by a million miles was my friend Nisansala, who was from Sri Lanka. She's got a PhD in science now, while a lot of the white kids I knew are still finding their grown-up feet.
The Bali thing is especially gross right now because the bombers are about to be executed, and the papers here are full of "don't go to Bali for a sexy holiday right now, the terrorists are going to have a revenge attack and you will diiiiiie! (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/warning-to-schoolies-stay-away-from-bali/2008/10/25/1224351608043.html)" -- because obviously Bali doesn't exist except as some kind of zoo full of ethnics who are nice to look at but might bite you if they're cranky.
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The Bali thing is especially gross right now because the bombers are about to be executed, and the papers here are full of "don't go to Bali for a sexy holiday right now, the terrorists are going to have a revenge attack and you will diiiiiie! (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/warning-to-schoolies-stay-away-from-bali/2008/10/25/1224351608043.html)" -- because obviously Bali doesn't exist except as some kind of zoo full of ethnics who are nice to look at but might bite you if they're cranky.