Wolfmother!

Last post of the day, promise.

Wolfmother is an Australian band what is starting to make it big. They play metal, and they will rock your face off. Ever since I got here, a lot of people were excitied about Thursday because Wolfmother would be playing at the UC.

Except me, because I couldn't get a ticket.

Until I went to Creative Writing, and my friend Lyndsey said she had a ticket but didn't want to go. Next thing I know, I have a ticket to the show.

It was awesome. In person they were simply amazing, the crowd was into it the whole night, just a fun concert. I especially liked their cover of Communication Breakdown, because I knew the words! This led to an interesting conversation with one of my friends.

Her: Is this a single they released in America?

Me: (trying not to show my amazement of her lack of rock knowlege) Uh, no...its Communication Breakdown, by Led Zeppelin.

Maybe you had to be there. Anyway, here's a pic from the show!



More pics below from the Sydney trip. Have a good weekend!

Alan

(EDIT: Here's a link to their website.

Sydney: the retroactive post

As promised, here is the Sydney trip retroactive post....with photos!


I boarded a bus in Canberra last Friday to head up to Sydney. As the bus pulled out of the station, I promptly fell asleep. When I did wake up and look at the scenery...well, it wasn't much. Think Eastern Washington, and you get a basic idea.

Rolled into Sydney around 5:00 and found my way to The Big Hostel to check in. After getting settled, I went down to Darling Harbour to find something to eat. Darling Harbour is really nice, has a shopping centre and a bunch of little cafes that you can eat at.


Darling Harbour with skyline.


View out towards the Pacific.

I went to a seafood cafe, and ordered the Agnolotti, which is pasta stuffed with salmon. As I said before, best pasta dish ever. I then walked around the Harbour a bit more before calling it a night.

I don't have to go back over what I did later that week. In case you forgot, here are the posts: Day 1, Day 2. But here are some pics from those few days.


Panorama of flower bed depicting the Australian flag at Darling Harbour.



Sydney Harbour Bridge.


Panorama of Sydney Harbour.


Sydney Opera House


Opera House and Harbour Bridge...I rather like this photo.


Olympic Volunteers monument outside Telstra Stadium


Inside Telsta.

Know your Australian sports: Cricket

At first I was going to write a big long post about the rules of cricket. Then I realized it was a very big, way too long post on cricket that you wouldn't read. So, instead, if you want to know the rules: I suggest Wikipedia. That page works very well, as the Aussies thought I was a bit more knowlegable then they expected.

Instead, I'll focus on my expereinces watching the few cricket matches I have.

I've found cricket to actually be kind of interesting because unlike most sports you don't really know whose winning until the end. Take for example last night's match between Ireland and England.

Englad bats first, and half way through their inning they have a score of 113. They end up with a score of 266. Not a bad score, but would it be enough to hold up for the win? (What other sport could you at one point have 135 points and the commentator say, "The English are in trouble."?) Ireland made it close, but suffered their 10th and final wicket just 48 runs shy of matching the English score.

On the other hand, when Australia put up a 322 against the West Indies, it was pretty much known they would take that one, especially when the West Indies could only manage a few runs per over in the early goings of their inning. (If you're confused...I suggest reading the rules that I linked to!)

So, this element of the unknown makes cricket somewhat enjoyable. Also making it enjoyable: wickets.

Wickets are outs, and they're rare. 10 wickets will end an inning, but often a batting team makes it through the 50 overs (in one day cricket) without this happening.

So, what you get is the opposite of baseball. In baseball, its a big ordeal when somebody scores. The fans go nuts, the players congratulate each other, and it gets shown again and again. In cricket, when a wicket is made: its time to celebrate. An out breaks up the monotiny of scoring, and its enjoyable to watch.

Not that the scoring is always boring. Given that there is no foul territory, batters can be quite clever with where they place the ball to score runs. Mostly its singles and doubles, but every now and then a batsmen will get a boundary to score four runs (crossing the boundary on a hop) or even a six (clearing the boundry on the fly).

My other favorite thing: you bat until you're out. Can you imagine how awesome it would be if Ichiro could keep batting for the Mariners and not need Richie Sexson to get him home? Awesome!

Plus, the unpires will call time so people can have drinks and stuff. In five day matches, they take breaks for things like lunch.

On the down side, even though people are scoring, cricket takes a long time. One day matches last six hours. (to contrast, an MLB game lasts a little over 3 hours).

Overall though, I enjoy cricket. It can be fun to watch and its easy to pick up on.

Interested in cricket? Here's some starting points:

World Cup website

Australian cricket team

USA Cricket team

Major League Cricket...it exists apperently.

Sydney: Day 2

In case you're to lazy to scroll down to Day 1, here's the link. Sydney: Day 1

Today was day 2, or day 3 of Sydney depending on when you started counting. Since its my second full day (and sadly, last) I'm calling it Day 2. Remember, the retroactive post is coming later this week.

Today started as most days start down in Australia: the application of SPF 50 Sunscreen. (I WILL NOT GET BURNT!) I figure I've pulled another one over the Sun and am ready for another fun exciting day in Sydney.

Then I step outside, and its raining. Fantastic! And I'm in shorts and a t-shirt, even better. I soldier on though, figuring I can find a place selling tacky Australia sweatshirts and that will be cool.

There are none at Central Station, so I figure there has to be something like that at my destination today: Olympic Park.

Those of you who know me, my love of sports is nothing unknown, and the Olympics are pretty much my heaven. So, to tour the Olympic Park in Sydney was very cool. Also, my now beloved Eels were taking on the Rabbitohs at Telstra Stadium today, convineiently located in Olympic Park. You have to plan these things.

To be honest, Olympic Park is kind of eerie, or at least it was today. You can tell that the place is designed to accomodate a lot of people. When I arrived, there were not many people there. A few tourists, a few people working out, and some security. It was basically empty.

I walked around most of the morning looking at the outsides of some of the buildings. You can't really get into any of them, so I resided myself to outside pics of the Aquatic and Tennis Centres, basketball arena, and other places.

One place I did get into was an energy officient bathroom (lingo note: Australians don't understand why Americans refer to it as the bathroom if there is no bath in the room. They just refer to them simply as 'Toilets') The inside of the restroom was lighted naturally, a large semi transperant canopy let light in, and it did a nice job. When it gets dark, there are lights inside that would shine light onto the canopy, which in turn distributes light throughout the room. Its much neater than I'm explaining right now, trust me.

Continuing to walk, I came across Telstra Stadium, which is actually quite hard to miss. Beside it there is a monument to the volunteers of the Olympics. This monument consists of a bunch of poles, many of which have the names of volunteers on them. Every volunteer is listed, and even though there are probably 100 names per pole, the number of poles is quite amazing. I want to say 78 poles had names on them (I think thats what I read) while others paid tribute to Aboriginal culture, the Aussie Olympic team, and the Games in general.

After lunch, I bought a ticket to the match, and got decent seats as well. 29 rows from the action. I have some pretty neat pics of the game from this vantage.

Whats really cool about the NRL (National Rugby League...link on the right) is that each team has a junior team. Think of it as minor league rugby. Anyway, before the main game, the teams' junior squads square off for a match. No one really pays attention to it, but its fun to watch. Here, the Eels dominated 42-12. It was awesome, even if no one actually cared.

Unfortunatly, the main match was the opposite. 31-6, Rabbitohs. If I have to hear "Gloy, Glory to South Sydney" one more time...I honestly don't know what I'll do. Song gets annoying after 5 tries...

For those of you scoring at home, the Eels are 0-2 in the comp this season. I'll discuss the game more in a later post, something along the lines of an introduction to rugby.

Back to Canberra tomorrow morning. Until then, cheers!

Alan

Sydney: Day 1

Technically, 1.5 since I got in yesterday. I'll skip over that for now and just some it up with the phrase "best pasta dish I have ever had, period." then we'll do a retroactive post when I get back to Canberra.

We'll also be doing a retroactive post because of the conversation I had with myself in my dorm room.

Me: Do I really need to wire that connects my camera to the computer?

Me: Well, I am thinking that leaving my laptop here is the safest thing to do. So, no, I don't think I need.

Me: Damn, the Salukis lost.

Me: I owe you 20 bucks.

(BTW: There will be an upcoming post on following the tournament and/or your favorite team while abroad. Since this blog is about the entire experience, I figure I have some good stories that aren't directly related to Australia.)

Today, I woke up at 8:00 and then waited for the two girls in my room (hostels, I have since decided, are awesome more or less for this reason) to get done in the bathroom. True to the stereotype, I ended up showering at 9:30.

After checking the e-mail at an Internet cafe (meaning had I brought that wire, you could all see pics...please keep your snide comments to yourselves) I took the train down to Sydney Harbour.

The train system here is fairly extensive. Its like the L in Chicago only with clean trains and more stops. (That's not really an insult Chicagolanders. These trains here were probably upgraded in 2000 for the Olympics, and are going to be cleaner anyway.)

Most of the train goes underground, so Sydney for the most part looks like a black tunnel. Until you come to Sydney Harbour Bridge. Stunning vies as you cross it. The Harbour is pristine. I've never been to San Diego, but I would think its something like that.

As I looked out the window across from me, I saw the Sydney Opera House for the first time. Let me tell you, you see the pictures, maybe videos of it. And you think that it looks neat. When you see it for the first time...its awe inspiring. The building is amazing. Its beautiful, perfect for the setting (especially when the various boats in the harbour go past, that's when the sail motif really sets in)

There was an open market going on at the base of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I bought a photo of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge at twilight. Its pretty cool. After mingling in the market some more, I headed out across the bridge. At a normal pace, this walk takes about 25 minutes. Once on the other side (this is the side with the opera house) I walked around The Rocks. This is where the original city is, and the brick and stone buildings offer a neat contrast to the sleek skyscrapers behind them.

The Rocks are also the site of the original white settlement in Australia. Which made me wonder why the English arrived here first. Wouldn't they have landed in Perth or Western Australia first? I'll look into it.

Got lunch down here at an Asian cafe. Even used chopsticks. Good times all around.

Down by the wharf, on your way to the opera house, there are a bunch of little shops. I had left the hostel this morning without a hat, it was warm (I did have sunscreen, but still) and so I went for it. I bought my new Australian hat. The original has served me well for six years, but its showing its age. So, I bought a new one. I'm not going to lie, I felt a little bad doing it. Almost like I was cheating on the old hat. The new one is comfortable, maybe a little nicer, and will take a little getting used to.

I got used to it pretty quickly though once I walked around the Royal Gardens. Right on the harbour, these extensive gardens are a nice quiet part of Sydney. I loved walking through here. Granted, its the weekend, but even though you can see the skyscrapers of the city, this place is almost tranquil. You can walk along the sea wall, get some nice views of the opera house, or just simply sit in the shade. Very nice, very relaxing.

After that, I came back to the hostel for a brief nap. After I woke up and came back down to the Internet cafe, a storm had rolled in and it started pouring. The new hat held up to its first, albeit brief, test. I'm just glad the rain held off until I could return home.

More coming tomorrow...maybe.

Alan

Off to Sydney

Friday afternoon I'll be heading up to Sydney for a few days. Thats to the awesomeness that is no class Mondays, I can spend an entire weekend up there.

A few facts about Sydney for you...

~It is the largest city in Australia, with a ginormous population of 4.2 million people, making it slightly larger than the metro Seattle area. In contrast, its about half the population of New York City.

~It IS the capital of New South Wales, it is NOT the capital of Australia. (Canberra is)

~The Harbour Bridge, one of Sydney's most well known landmarks, celebrated its 75th birthday just last week. It is refereed to as the Coathanger.

~Some well known opera house is there.

~8 of the 16 NRL clubs are based in the city. They are...the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, the East Rooseters, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers, Cronulla Sharks, Canteburry Bulldogs, St. George-Illawa Dragons, and the one, the only, PARRAMATTA EELS! Look at that logo. That Eel will destroy your soul. Unless you're a New Zealand Warrior, in which case you win the round 1 match 34-18. It was absolutely brutal, and reminded me of watching Seahawk games a few years ago. Oi, hopefully the boys will turn it around.

Here's a clip to hold me over till the Eels win again.

The Eels visit the Souths (Rabbitohs) this weekend, so maybe...maybe I'll take in a match. We'll see.

Until then, Cheers and GO EELS!

Alan

Australian Word of the Non Specified Time Period: Bloke/Wanker

Ok, first some house keeping measures.

The post on Vegemite is coming. I bought some over the weekend. Some people are in shock over this, but whatever. I am determined to like Vegemite, and I'm going to do it. You watch.

Second, the post on touch footy is coming....sometime. It would be this week, but they cancelled our games this week due to rain. I could write about my experience but it would boil down to "I ran around was confused". You, the devoted reader, deserve better than that.

(I do this for you, you know)

Anyway, bloke...and wanker.

Bloke seems like it might be a good name to call somebody. "Hey, you bloke!" But, its not really like that. Its more or less a term for "guy." In fact, when responding to another minister resigning from John Howard's cabinet, one of the opposition leaders said of Howard, "He's the bloke thats supposed to be in charge over there."

The Prime Minister...a bloke! Fantastic!

While bloke isn't a derogoratory term, its not exactly a compliment either, as you can see from that example. But, thumbing through my NRL preview magazine I ran across the phrase "the young blokes have to step up" and "its up to the older blokes"
So, think of it more as "guys"

If you want to go for an insult, I suggest "wanker". This isn't an insult on the biggest level. After all, I'm posting it here and on my blogs I tend to keep it G-rated.

Its more of a light hearted insult, really. Racking my knowlege if American English, we can use any swear kind of light hearted. I can think of many instances in which I've thrown around insults with friends of fairly high severity where we all laughed.

Good times.

For your friends its fairly light hearted.

"Haha, you wanker, you ran into me!"

You can also use it for people you don't know, though not to their face.

"That wanker is kind of dodgy."

And now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

News from the Other Side of the World volume 3

Its been awhile since I've done this feature, and I know you guys have been demanding two things:

1) Its return

2) The oft promised but noft-delivered post about Vegemite. Its coming, trust me. And no, noft is not a word.

We'll start with some weather news. There is a cyclone about 100 km off the coast from Sydney. Its lowered the sea 70 cm and is going to be there awhile. Not a major story, but an interesting read, which you can do here.

Its election season, which means we get attack ads and the like. Here's something fun that my readers in Seattle can relate to: a candidate not wanting to talk about transportation! One of the candidates in New South Wales (just up, down, and around the road. ACT is in the middle of NSW) says its important, but not the most important issue. Full story can be found here.

By the way, the attack ads that we all know and love in America? Its the same down here. Its like I'm getting a preview of fall 2008. Let me tell you, I can't wait. Really, I can't.

A candidate from the Christian Democratic Party seems to be shooting himself in the foot, and his "No Muslim Immigration" plan is, lets just say, not very popular. Not in the least.

Onto sports...the weather in the West Indies is expected to help the Aussie cricket team. And if you don't know jack about cricket, then check out this story from ESPN.com It won't actually teach you anything about cricket, but its a good read. I'm sure a post about cricket is coming soon.

It wouldn't be an NRL season without salary cap issues! Brisbane has them this year. New Zealand had them last year. And oh, you don't think this affects betting? Well, it doesn't really, but here's a story about it anyway. Isn't that great? Big story about a possible salary cap purge and the follow up story is about how people are betting? Doesn't this mean I have to do a bit of gambling to tell you about that? (No Mom, you didn't read that. Honest!)

In other news...

That Skyfire thing I went to, apperently there was underage drinking at it. And the government is not happy.

Water continues to be kind of a big deal.

John Howard isn't going to fire one of his ministers that is labeld by an opponent as "corrupt as humanly possible" Sounds familiar in a way.

And, just to avoiud East Coast bias...a new species of frog has been discovered in Western Australia Rock on.

Happy reading!

Alan

Australian Word of the Non-specified Time Period: Mate

THis time, the word isn't just Australian. Sure, we use it America as well, but not like they do down under. Its time to discuss the word "mate."

Mate can be used to describe your friends.

Me and my mates went down to the Lighty for a few drinks.

It can be used as a common greeting.

Hey, mate!

Here's the best part: you don't have to know the person to call them mate. The cashier at Checkers...mate, the cab driver...mate, the person sitting next to you on the bus...mate. Think of it as a friendlier version of "you". Instead of, "You there, could you pass me that book?" You would say, "Hey mate, could you pass me that book?"

You don't know the person, but feel free to call them mate. This also means if there's someone you don't even like, you can call them mate.

In fact, the Lonely Planet guide to Australia says to not go unless you're willing to call everyone mate, regardless of you knowing them or even liking them.

When I return to the states, I'll probably be using mate for awhile, but considering no one else uses it, it may fade from my vocabulary after awhile. But, I'll do my best to keep it around as long as possible.

Cheers,

Alan

Skyfire

Every year Canberra holds Skyfire, a huge Fireworks display over Lake Burley Griffin. By the looks of it, everyone in Canberra was there. Not joking, it seemed like everyone in the city was there.

A few friends and I went down to Commonwealth Park to watch the event. In the center (or centre!) of the lake there were five barges full of fireworks. This meant that this was going to be awesome.

At 8:30, a fighter jet (with afterburners on!) flew over head, to start of the festivites. It was quite the sight, one that I wish I had captured on camera. Being inspired, I pulled out my camera and started to take pictures.

20 minutes of fireworks, synced up with music from various movies. The playlist included Star Wars, Back to the Future, Superman, the matrix, and Afternoon Delight (the version from Anchorman, including the cast complimenting themselves on how good they sounded)

Afterwards, seeing how the entire city was there, it took us one hour to get out of the car park, and about an hour and a half to get back to Uni.

Then, we ate pancakes at a place with free wireless internet. All in all, a good night.

Alan

(pics when I can get to a computer with un dodgey Internet)

(update: here's some more pics!)

Kangaroos...a different prespective

As I said in one of my previous posts, I came across kangaroo meat while in the grocery store. Considering that the animal is on the national coat of arms the only sensible thing to do was to purchase it and eat it.

Of course, when confronted with a new food, there's the inevtiable question of how to cook it. Is there a special way to prepare kangaroo? Is there an Aussie recipie that people really like?

I asked the people on my floor about this, and the general consensus was..."I don't know, I've never had it."

Since kangaroo looks an awful lot like a steak, this left me with one option. Put some oil in a frying pan and have a go for it. This was the suggested way of doing it anyway.

Kangaroo cooks fairly fast (especially if you're like me and you like your meat to be a bit on the rare side) and in no time I was eating a national symbol.

So how was it? It was amazing. I didn't put any sauce or merinade on it. A little salt, but thats it. So, I was getting the full intended flavor of kangaroo. Its very juicy, has a good tender flavor to it. It tasted pretty much like a steak, which is good because as my friends might know, I have a fondness for a good steak.

The meat was fairly inexpensive, it was easy to cook, and to top that off, it tasted really good. Thats a triple win in my book.

Plus, as I just found out, its good for you! Quadruple win!

Kangaroo steak has CLA power

The post on vegemite is coming. I might actually buy some just to relive the experience. And trust me, its an experience.

Alan

Australian Word of the Non-specified Time Period: Dodgey

I would make this a daily post, but I'd probably run out of words. A weekly post maybe, but just in case I forget, here's introducing the Australian Word of the Non-specified Time Period.

The word of the...um, day is "Dodgey".

Dodgey is a fantastic word that can encompass everything from something that's not working right...

The dryer is being a bit dodgey.

...to suspicious persons...

That bloke outside of A block looks a bit dodgey.

...to even the weather.

Whats with this dodgey weather? It was supposed to be sunny today!

Dodgey is, by far, my favorite word thus far down here. In fact, I'm using it right now to describe my inability to log into my e-mail. The Internet is being dodgey!

Right now there is approximatley a 100% chance I will be using dodgey when I return home. To which you might have to say something like

"Alan says dodgey so much, he's becoming a bit dodgey himself."

How I amuse myself.

Dodgely,

Alan

"Go The Brumbies"

Yesterday, I made another trip into the city to do some basic shopping. Basically, I was being a tourist. I got some postcards, a shirt, and am now the proud owner of an Australian flag.

While in Canberra Centre, I came across the store "Brumbies HQ". The Brumbies are Canberra's team in the Super 14 competition (more on this in a minute).

I knew the Brumbies had a match that evening, and asked if I could get tickets there. Nope. I found it odd that a place called "Brumbies HQ" wouldn't sell Brumbies tickets, but no worries. I could probably get some at the gate. With that bit of news, I went home, but not before noting that I could ride the bus for free to the game.

This might be the first thing free I've seen in Australia outside of the BBQs during O-Week, I was happy.

So, later that night, I hopped on the bus and got down to Canberra Stadium. Had no problem getting a ticket (game was far from sold out) and even got a discount due to being a student. Good times all around.

Canberra Stadium is relatively small (it holds about 25,000 people) but it has a nice feel to it. It reminded me a little of Martin Stadium in Pullman. Everyone's close to the action. Unlike Martin Stadium, Canberra Stadium is an enclosed bowl all the way around. (Note: I would have pictures, but I left my digital camera in my room, and am posting from the Computer Centre. I'll update this later)

I got general admission tickets, and was in the South Endzone, maybe seven rows from the field. I watched the players warm up, even shot some video of it (again, its on the camera...be patient) and settled in for the game.

At the match there was no playing of the Australian anthem, and I was surprised how fast the game started. The Brumbies took the field, and then the game basically started. It couldn't have been more than two minutes from the time the teams came out of the tunnel to kickoff.

As soon as the ball was kicked I got this feeling, one I haven't had at a sporting event for a long time.

I had no idea what was going on. I knew the purpose of the game, I knew how scoring worked (kind of) but from a general standpoint, the game was lost to me.

The first scoring took place about two minutes into the contest when the Bulls (a team from South Africa) kicked a field goal to take a three-nill lead. The Bulls would add a few more penalty goals, then a try and conversion to take a 19-0 lead at the break.

The Brumbies had their chances (right in front of me, no less) but everytime they seemed to be going in for a try (think touchdown) they fumbled the ball. Here's where rugby gets interesting.

Other than running with it, a player can't propel the ball forward or make it go forward by any means. This means when the ball is fumbled, and inevitably goes forward, play stops and possession is rewarded to the other team. So, when the Brumbies got dangerously close to the tryline, only to lose control of the ball, the Bulls were given a nice chance to clear the ball.

The second half saw the Brumbies score a try (whoo!) and continue to get close to the tryline but not actually score on a few other occasions. A rather disgusted crowd (heard one fan refer to it as the, "worst Brumbies match ever.") left after witnessing a 19-7 defeat.

(By the way, the title of the post refers to what fans say at the game. Its not "go Brumbies" Its "Go the Brumbies". Other common things heard at the game were "RUN FORWARD!"; "What the hell was that?"; and the ever popular "You wanker!.")

When I got home, I looked up the rules online and the game made about 50 times more sense. I'll look them up again before going to my next game. And I'll probably have a slight clue as to whats going on.

Overall, it was a fun experience. It was a lovely night to be outside, and watching sports is always a good time. Saw some big hits and some really athletic plays. Rugby is fun to watch, and hopefully play, as I've entered into the "Touch Footy" league here on campus. Touch footy is touch rugby, and I'm sure you can figure out how that works.

Some other rugby related notes...

~The Super 14 is a rugby union competition featuring (get this) 14 teams. The teams are state or province based (meaning players from that area make up the squad). The teams are located in New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa (the national teams in these countries also face eachother in the "Tri-Nations" tournament).

~Rugby union and rugby league are two different things. What you see in the states is most likely union, and that is the style of play used in the Rugby World Cup. From what I can tell, the difference between union and league are about as much as the difference between baseball in the National and American league.

~The Rugby World Cup is this fall (starts in September) and will be played in France. USA will be there (as one of my friends here pointed out though, "If all you have to do is beat Barbados to get in, you should be making it.") The Eagles, as our national side is called, suck. During the last RWC, USA snapped a 16 year drought without winning a RWC match when they beat Japan.

Don't expect much out of the Eagles this year either. They're placed in a pool with defending champion England and world power South Africa. We are ranked ahead of Tonga and are just behind Samoa (the other two teams in our pool). But, considering the top 2 teams in each pool advance, it will take a shocking upset to get to the knockout state.

Alright, enough rambling about rugby. Though if you're interested in the sport here are some links to check out...

International Rugby Board: Rugby's version of FIFA.

Rugby World Cup

The Super 14

The Brumbies

USA Rugby

Until next time,

Alan

Meat Pies and other foods

I went to the grocery store today and found some interesting things. Such as...

~Eggs are not refrigerated in stores. This scares me. Also, all the eggs are brown, hardly any white eggs, so its the opposite of what you would find in the states. It does say to refrigerate the eggs once you buy them though.

~They don't have 1% or 2% milk. They just have milk. I hope the Aussies version of mil is of the 2% variety.

~Cheddar cheese is a light yellow, instead of orange. (What? Americans dying food? Never...)

~Kangaroo meat is fairly cheap. I bought some because I felt obliged to. I have no idea how to prepare it. I'll figure it out though. Looks pretty good though, so we'll see. Perhaps this website can help me out.

After shopping, I was a bit hungry. Since I've arrived I had heard about how good meat pies were, and that I needed to try one. My friends are downright shocked when I tell them I still haven't had one.

So, this particular day, that needed to change. I got a beef pie.

And it is massively delicious.

Nice flaky crust, filled with nice tender beef. You realize why the meat pie is big down here. Its awesome. I can't wait to have another one.

(Side note: When I told one of the guys on my floor that meat pies aren't popular in the States, he referred to America as a third world country.)

Restaurant note:

As my friends back in the States might know, I am a fan of the fast food places. They might not be good for you, but hey, you can't beat a cheap quick meal.

Down here, they have the typical American staples: McDonalds (referred to as Mackers), Burger King (Hungry Jacks, the logo is the same though), KFC, Subway, etc.

Of course, I didn't want to try something I can get back home. Thats not what this trip is all about. So, I tried Oporto.

These guys make the best chicken sandwiches I've ever had. GOt a nice little kick to them as well. The company was started by a Portogese immigrant. According to the story on the bag...well, its actually on the website, so here you go.

Oporto’s founder Antonio Cerqueira opened his first Portuguese-style chicken restaurant in North Bondi in 1986, stunning the locals' taste-buds and quickly gaining a growing army of fans.

If Oporto went into battle tommorow...I'd be on the front lines.

Their website could be viewed here: Oporto

On a sidenote, yes, I've tried Vegemite, but it is deserving of its very own post.

Until then, cheers!

Alan