Alan in Oz

A return?

2007-08-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

I figure'd this would be as good of place as any to say that, while there is nothing remotley planned about this, I'm seriously looking into Bond University for a graduate degree.

Looking at the website has me excited. I haven't told anyone else this, but man, I really miss Australia. Its on the Gold Coast, its got what I want, it could be awesome.

Again, this doesn't mean much, I'm just going to get some info. But, man...the more I think about it, the more I want it to happen.

Alan

Bond University

I'm back

2007-06-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the title says it all, doesn't it?

The trip was uneventful, not even any lost luggage, despite my almost certainty I would have to, I did not pay any weight fines. I did have more leg room on the city jumper from Canberra to Sydney then I did on the plane fron Sydney to San Fransisco. That's AirBus for you...(hey, I'm a Northwest guy, what can I say)

One funny moment, when I checked in at San Fransisco I and the clerk told me I was good to go.

Me: Cheers, mate.
Him: Uh, yeah...

I'm jetlagged, but did take in a Mariners game. I even stayed awake through it. Then I slept for 12 hours when I got home. All is well.

I have a cherry coke in hand and baseball on TV.

It feels nice to be home,

Alan

A sign off from Down Under

2007-06-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

This is my last post from Australia. And, if you knew how many times I'd erased some sentences, you'd know that I have no idea what to actually say.

Its been fun, its been the best five months of my life. I've loved every minute of it, even when I was watching one of my newly beloved teams get beat. Granted, I enjoyed those times significantly less then say, the good nights in Civic, but they were still enjoyable.

I've met amazing people, and I wish I could spend more time with all of them. Without the people I've met here, surely this experience would not have been as great as it was. So, to everybody fron the International Office to the people on my floor, and to the various mix of backpackers I met along the way, I thank you.

I've seen some amazing sights, from the Sydney Opera House to the Great Barrier Reef. I don't know how many times during this trip I've uttered the words, "I can't believe I'm here."

If you, the reader, takes anything away from my writings the past few months I hope I've encouraged you to travel or study abroad. Its a great experience. There's part of me that would love to hop on a plane in January and come right back here, and there's another part of me that looks at a world map and asks, "Where next?" I want to see more of the world, and I hope you do as well.

I've had fun writing this blog, and will continue to do so. I have a few posts to put up, a few more stories to share. There's even a word or two in the Aussie vocab I didn't get to. So, the blog will be active for a while longer.

Before I post again though, I have a long Saturday ahead of me. At least I have a few puzzles to do on the plane.

Its time to go, but as the International Students have been saying, "Its not good-bye, its see you later."

Australia, I hope to see you soon.

Alan

Question Time

2007-06-20T23:57:00.000-07:00

Given that yesterday was the 20th and my flight is on the 23rd, I thought that it might be a great idea to actually go see some of Canberra. Sure, I've been to Civic and all that, but Parliment House....not so much.

So, I hopped on a bus and went down there. Pics of these would accompany the post, but I left my digital camera back at the dorm. Aren't I smart.

First I went to Old Parliment House, which has been turned into a museum. Its very cool to learn about the history of the building and government. I really liked the exhibit on the press gallery, me being a media nerd and all.

You see, unlike Washington D.C., Canberra's a small place. So, ministers and journalists kind of would run into one another, alot. One quote from a journalist was that he felt that the press could sway votes in a way because of this interaction. The ethics of that won't be debated here, but its a point to ponder.

After Old Parliment, it was off to New Parliment House. The new digs the government has are nice. Again, this is where pictures would come in handy.

I started off going to the Senate, which is red in colour. This was to represent the red in the Outback. I arrived just in time to see a vote, and after it was taken just about everyone left. Some guy began giving a speech on small business, and all the while, Senators were just getting up and moving off. At one point, two Senators who had been chatting during the speech laughed, which caused a retort from the small business advocate. They apoligised...and left. I almost felt bad for the speaker.

One of the cool things about the Senate (and Parliment in general) is that there is a lot of pomp and circumstance with everything. There's tradition that carries over from the Brithish Parliment. In the Senate, they have the Usher of the Black Rod, which is a guy, carrying a black rod, that leads the President of the Senate around.

After listening to an intellectual property debate (something far less interesting then I had hoped it would have been) I decided I'd had enough red and went out into the foyer. I picked up my ticket for Question Time and headed into the House of Representatives.

Here, it was green, representing the forests of Australia. A nice touch. The public galleries were full, and at 2:00 the Speaker interuppted a representative's speech and promptly began Question Time.

I didn't know what to expect, really. And what I got was a solid hour of entertainment. Question Time is hilarious.

For example, the first question was to the Prime Minister and it dealt with economic growth. John Howard replied to the question and made every attempt to make Kevin Rudd (leader of the Opposition) look real bad. He mainly attacked the fact that Rudd had used two incomparable sets of figures to try to demonstrate a lack of growth. All the while, he's speaking in this sort of condescending tone. The best line of the whole answer was, "We'll talk about something the Leader of the Opposition knows nothing about: progress."

Of course, the representatives are not quiet during this. They heckle the speaker (one Labor Party member called Howard a crook during one of the PM's answers). They get a warning from the Speaker of the House, but that doesn't really stop them. The best part of the day came when a rep. asked Howard if he knew if the findings from a voting poll had been given to certain people. When Howard responded that he had not authorised the release of such information the Labor Party roared, basically calling Howard out on dodging the question.

A little while later, Howard was asked a very similar question by Labor, to which one member of the Liberal Party promptly stood up, prompting a shot from the other side, "Ah, THERE SHE IS!" She pointed out that the same question could not be asked twice, but the Speaker allowed the question anyway.

And so it went for about an hour. Occasionally, Liberal members would ask the Government (Liberal party) questions. These were used to attack Labor's policies and tactics. I was hoping that the Opposition would be asked some questions, but they were not.

(Sidenote: In Australia, and possibly elsewhere, the party in power is known as The Government, while the minority party is The Opposition. If we used the system in America for Congress, right now the Democrats would be the Government, the Republicans the Opposition.)

In addition to being more entertained than I thought I would have been (lets be honest, its politics...) I kept wondering how George Bush would handle Question Time. The most he has to put up with is Democrats booing him at the State of the Union a few years ago, and that was a controversy. Regardless of your opinion of his politics, its pretty much agreed that Bush is not a gifted speaker (you can, after all buy Bushism calanders) so I reckon that something like question time would be an...interesting experience for Bush. We'll leave it at that.

I do not have any pics from inside the chambers, as they didn't allow cameras, but I will have some of the building up later, either tomorrow or Saturday which means they're coming from America.

I'll have one more post from Australia at least.

Cheers,

Alan

Adelaide: the retroactive post

2007-06-18T23:54:00.000-07:00

Victoria Square fountain...at night!

And away we go with reliving the weekend...

The City of Churches did not disappoint. There were pleanty.

The statue that started the post, this time in full light.

Statue at Light Square, named after an early exporer who made it to Adelaide.

The World War One memorial was very moving. The soldiers in front of the angel gave a very vivid image of war. In the inside of the statue was a room with the names of all the Australians who died in WWI.

The Torrens River was very beautiful and peaceful. It made for a nice place to walk along over the weekend.

Water fountain in the Torrens.

The cellar at the National Wine Centre. Missing from this scene is the sign that should read "Welcome to Heaven."

Since they wouldn't allow me to live there, I settled for a glass of Shiraz. It was delicious.

Day 2 saw me head down to Glenelg, where there is a...Rocky Beach! Ah, just like home!

This was actually in front of an office for beachfront houses. I love Australia...

Believe it or not, this is before the match, when I was actually looking forward to seeing the Bombers play. I looked pretty much the same afterwards, because of the beforementioned beatodwn (see previous post).

Forget about curses, my traveling gnome made the trip down to Adelaide, so he gets to make an appearance on the blog.

thats about all for now, possibly more photos from the trip forthcoming, but maybe not till I return home.

Its getting close...

See you soon,

Alan

Adelaide: Day 3 or I am officially a curse to my teams

2007-06-17T03:50:00.000-07:00

Low key day in the SA capital today. I walked along the Torrens River, which is not as developed as Melbourne's Yarra. It was a quiet walk, but not a lot to look at and experience.

After a quick lunch and a call home, it was off to AAMI Stadium for the Bombers-Port Adelaide match. AAMI is smaller than the MCG by a lot, and there weren't as many booths lining the outside of the stadium either. Also, it was a good thing I took some money out of my account to go to the game, as every walk up window was cash only.

I explored the stadium a bit, and its a nice facility, but an old one. Got a picture of the gnome infront of the goals. All is good.

Then the bounce happened...

Unlike the last game, where Essendon blew a 48 point lead, they decided it would be fun to spot Port Adelaide a 60 point lead and see what happened. The result: a 31 point drubbing which was only that close because the Bombers kicked 6 goals in the final quarter. For those of you keeping score at home, the teams I support are 1-6 when I am in attendence.

So, the Brumbies, Eels, and Bombers can breathe a huge sigh of relief: I'm out of the country for awhile.

I would like to point out something about Australian sports fans: they don't really talk trash. I was all decked out in Bombers gear today, and before the game, during the drubbing, and on the way back to the bus, no one said anything to me. It was weird, and kind of refreshing as well.

The same thing happened after the Essendon-Carlton match, and the two Eels games I took in. No one said a word. Remember that the next time some 300 pound drunk guy is yelling insults at you because you had the nerve to wear the road team's colors to an NFL game.

And since you're dying to know: the Wallabies lost last night, 22-19. They had their chances, but could not finish off South Africa, mostly because they couldn't find touch on their kicks (kicking it out of bounds to relieve pressure) and dumb handling errors. Alan's Rugby Lesson of the Day: If you're playing South Africa, one of the best teams in the world, make sure your kicks reach touch and you don't have any handling errors.

I hope the USA Eagles read this site, as the Springbocks are in our pool for the Rugby World Cup.

BONUS: Julian Huxley was one of the Wallabies who put on a poor kicking preformance. So, when the whole pub groaned in unison:Ah, Julian!" it was just like a Brumbies game!

Anyways, back to Canberra tomorrow. Pictures will be up, but maybe not then. We'll see.

G'night,

Alan

Adelaide: Day 2

2007-06-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

Day 2 was spent in Glenelg, the palindronian suburb of Adelaide. Why go there? Because its on the ocean, that's why. And as I've written about before in this space, I love the ocean.

Glenelg did not disappoint, with a nice relaxed setting in which to enjoy the waves and the beach. Most importantly, the beach had what every good Western Washington beach has: rocks. Finally, an ocean front I was used to. Lots of rocks, minimal sand...like a beach should be.

Lunch is worth noting because it was the two time finalist of the best Fish n' Chips in Adelaide competition, plus it won the award once. Basically, these were going to be great fish n' chips. They were.

Outside of that though, Glenelg was kind of a let down. It was touristy, and it was relaxing, but there wasn't a lot to do. It made for a nice day trip, but it wasn't a good lingering spot, so I hopped on the tram back to Adelaide.

Wallabies game tonight as they begin the Tri-Nations tournament. They're in South Africa to take on the Springboks. Go the Wallabies!

Tomorrow I'll do a little more site seeing in central Adelaide before heading off to the AFL match between Essendon and Port Adelaide. Go the Bombers!

Oh, and happy Father's Day to everyone back home (well, the dads anyway). Father's Day is celebrated in September here, so while I won't be getting a card, I will be home in a week. That should count for something.

And yes I know its only Friday back in the States, and Father's Day is Sunday.

It actually is one week to go,

Alan

Adelaide: Day 1

2007-06-15T01:05:00.000-07:00

(slaps forehead)

Alright, so I came down to Adelaide with digitcal camera and computer connector in hand. I find a nice Internet cafe. And guess what...its USB port is not equipped to handle my camera. I can view photos, but transfer the data? Nope. So, you lucky readers will get a nice retroactive post when I return to Canberra.

At any rate, day 1 was getting to know Adelaide. Adelaide kind of reminds me of Melbourne, in the fact that there's a nice combo of new and old architecture. Adelaide also has a bunch of Churches. I think I read somewhere that its the City of Churches. I even found a Church of Scientology, though that building was not nearly as magnificent as some of the others.

Today I toured the Bradman Collection, which is Sir Donald Bradman's personal cricket collection, on display at the South Australia Library. Basically, here's the equation. Bradman + cricket = pure ownage. Get this, in the 40s, the Poms (British) developed a new style of bowling to counter Bradman, but it was also really dangerous (basically throwing at the batsmen) Even though it reduced his run rate during the tour, Bradman's run average during the tests was still higher than any Australian cricketers average lifetime.

After walking around some more, I came across the Nation Wine Centre. I want to work there. I'm going to become a backpacker, come to Adelaide, and work there. Their collection is impressive, and the wine is very, very delicious.

Also today were stops at the Adelaide Cricket Oval. Cricket grounds are beautiful, think old school baseball stadiums. Even Safeco Field, which has charm to it, is still a sleek, corporate-ish building. If we ever build cricket fields in the States, I hope we follow this tradition.

Also, the War Memorial in Adelaide is very moving, something I'll go into more detail when I post pictures.

More news tomorrow...unless I'm to busy watching the Wallabies.

Alan

Off to Adelaide

2007-06-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well, my dear readers, its time for one last trip to an Australian city. The lucky recipient is Adelaide, the fifth largest city in Australia and the capital of South Australia. For everything there is to ever know about Adelaide, here's the Wikipdia entry.

What am I going to do there? Well, methinks I can find something to do here. For those of you to lazy to click the link, its the National Wine Centre of Australia. Delicious.

And my trip in no way coincides with the fact that Essendon is taking on Port Adelaide in an AFL match on Sunday. Nope....not at all. Sunday at AAMI Stadium...GO THE BOMBERS!

I hope so anyway, because counting a WSU basketball game, my teams are 1-5 down in Australia when I'm in attendence.

In general though Adelaide seems like a great place, really beautiful, known for wine. Really, what more could you want? (Besides an Essendon win?)

Maybe a Wallabies win, who kick off the Tri-Nations tournament in South Africa on Saturday. Definatly finding a pub for that one.

Anyway, posts and possibly picks from South Australia in the coming days.

Go the Wallabies,

Alan

Happy Queen's Birthday

2007-06-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

BTW, there's a brief update on the Neighbours post, which is essential Australia-loving goodness.

Anyway, I'd be a bad blogger if I didn't post about the Queen's Birthday. The Australian's celebrated it yesterday, even though its, well, not her birthday. Or even really the Queen anymore, as Australia got that whole independence thing down.

Basically, the day was a reason to take the day off (public holdiay) and shoot off fireworks, which are temporarily un-illegal for a weekend. Kind of like how two-up was only played on ANZAC Day, but with more explosions.

How did I celebrate? Well, I watched the footy (Cronulla over St. George) and studied for the exam that I just got done owning. And I watched the fireworks as well. It was especially fun when one started shooting in random directions. Nothing quite like sheer terror to help you celebrate the monarchy!

From what I could tell, Australians were more pleased that they got the day off then that it was the Queen's Birthday. No real ceremony or anything. Just a Long Weekend (which meant double demerits on car liscences) and fireworks.

In honour of Queen and me finishing my exams, here's a random YouTube clip which has nothing to do with Australia.

Alan

Neighbours

2007-06-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever watched a TV series that has one-dimensional characters, sub par writing, and bad acting? And then have you wondered why its still on the air (see Anatomy, Grey's)?

Then you have been in my TV state of mind for the past five months while I've watched the hit drama series, "Neighbours"

Neighbours has been on the Australian airwaves since 1985 and since then has been churning out low-budget drama five nights a week. Neighbours is a soap opera that details the lives of the families on Ramsey Street in Erinsbourough (as Wikipedia points out, a near anagram of Neighbours...). Filmed in Melbourne, you can even tour the set, which is a must for big fans of the series. Personally, I watch it to kill the time before Big Brother comes on (post on this later this week)so I decided against the tour whilst in Melbourne. (I FINALLY worked "whilst" into a post!)

The problem with Neighbours, and any other Australian made show, is that as soon as an actor becomes big or a writer catches a break, he or she isn't working in Australia any more. They're off to London or LA. This is part my observation, part discussing this manner with Aussies. In show business, Australia is like minor league baseball. Maybe that example is a bit extreme, but you get the idea.

Though, as much as Neighbours is, in my view, a really bad show, its wildly popular, especially in the UK. If you're aching to see what's going to happen next between...I don't even know the characters names, so, yeah. Anyway, if you want to view the show, you're out of luck. Oxygen had shown it in the States for awhile, but has since dropped it.

You might just have to come to Australia, though I strongly recommend having slightly better reasons for making the trek. It is after all, just a show.

A show with a catchy theme song, anyway. (click on Neighbours, on this page)

UPDATE: Youtube of said Theme song. Whee!

That's when good neighbours become good friends,

Alan

See, they're just like us

2007-06-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

A big concern down here is the Americanization of Australia. And its true to a certain extent. America does influence the culture down here. However, one fast food company has made a stand...

Alright, so its not that big of a stand. Hungry Jacks is still Burger King, with Whoppers and everything. Why not just Burger King? As always, Wikipedia knows all.

Delicious.

Alan

Exams

2007-06-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

**Note, this somewhat has to do with Australia, but it could be about education in general. Enjoy.**

I had my first exam yesterday. So here's a timeline of how the day unfolded.

9:00. Wake up. I heart college.

9:30. As I eat breakfast, that part of my mind that forgets things poses the question, "Are you sure your exam is at 2 and not 9?"

9:45. In no hurry to get a good grade, I finally check OSIS. Exam is at 2.

10:00-11:30. Study a bit more, say the phrase "I got this down," 19 times. Repeat Kalle Lasn at least 20 times so I remember her name for my essay on culture jamming.

11:30-12:00. Surf Internet, play solitare.

12:30. Go to library to check e-mail I can't check in dorm.

1:00. Go buy some chips (thats Aussie for fries) and some gum. Consider this lunch.

1:30. Head up to the gym. Yes, the gym. For exam. Pass by UniBar.

1:31-1:33. Seriously debate going into UniBar and getting a shot of something, just for fun. Ultimatley decide this would be a bad idea.

1:40. Arrive at gym. We're not allowed in yet. Make small talk with classmates. One of my friends is taking the same approach I am (the winging it approach) and we're doing the same questions. Awesome.

1:45. We're allowed into the gym. Here's how its laid out. In the gym, there are rows upon rows of desks, all with test booklets on them. There are four classes taking their exam at this time. So, you go to the quadrant thats assigned to you. At the front of this giant hall is a podium. Thats where the Offical Exam Lady Person (probably not her real title) gives instructions. This was the first time I had ever been intimidated by an exam. Really, its not a stress free environment. Your in this huge room, that despite being full of people is very empty, and there's a person giving out instructions in a rather monotone way. For some reason the scene reminded me of "Brave New World" (minus the sex), but that might have been because I ran across the word Huxleyan earlier in the day.

2:00 START WRITING! GO! GO! GO!

2:40. I finish essay #1 where I feel I made several valid points comparing the Luddite movement of the 1300s to globalistation today.

2:45. After regaining feeling in my hand, I write essay #2. GO! GO! GO!

3:15. I make not as valid points on culture assertiveness. I rambled on about sports and how it relates to culture. Perhaps that shot would have been a good idea, I think. No, it wouldn't have been, I argue back. Only 45 minutes to go...essay #3.

3:17 KALLE LASN! I remebered her name, and I use it in the essay. I am Essay Writing Odin.

3:45. As I am wrapping up my self-acclaimed brilliant essay on culture jamming, they give the 15 minute warning, which means you are no longer allowed to leave the exam room.

3:50. I finish my exam. I have to sit there. I draw ducks in the exam booklet out of sheer boredom. I think to myself, "This is 10 minutes in Australia I will never get back."

4:00 STOP WRITING! Then have to sit while all exams are collected. There's another five minutes gone.

This part baffled me the most about the process. Whats so special about the last fifteen minutes that you can't just up and leave? Thats one of the reasons I love college over high school (one amongst many) is that once your done with a test, you can just leave. Not so in Australia.

Thats about it for the exam day. Kind of a weird experience, but nothing to bad. Got one more to go. I'll remember to finish with more than 15 minutes to go this time.

Australian word of the Non-specified time period: Ripper

2007-06-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ripper is a fun adjective to describe something good.

"He's a ripper of a fellow."

or

"That was a ripper of a match."

You can slo use "cracker" for the same reason.

"I think we'll see a cracker of a game tonight."

Or, to put it new and awesome current events...

"The Eels played a cracker of a match after they pasted the Tigers 38-8. Whoo!"

Go the Eels, go the Eels,

Alan

I come back...

2007-06-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Since everyone is asking me what day I return, here's the answer.

June 23rd. I even leave and arrive on the same day, unlike my trip down here where I skipped a Thursday.

Now, I should really start studying for those exams...or go watch footy. Its really one or the other.

News from the other side of the world: Volume 5

2007-05-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

Considering the last time I did one of these the Australians were preparing for a big showdown with England in the Cricket World Cup, I figure its time to discuss whats making news in Australia.

By the way, the Aussies won the Cricket World Cup. Here's the photographic evidence.

So, about two months later, here's whats making news in the merry o' land of Oz.

~Australia is taking the lead in creating an international forum to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As with anything involving politics, there's a bit of bickering between the two parties here about what Australia has been doing about pollution. A heads up if you read the article, the Liberals are the conservative party, while Labour is the more liberal party.

~Hats off to Kevin Reynolds for the greatest quote ever, "Kevin possibly wants us all to go to bible class with him or something but that's not for us." Reynolds is referring to opposition leader Kevin Rudd and his policies regarding unions. Union leaders are beginning to fear that Rudd and his party (Labour) is losing touch with common workers.

~Kind of a bizzare story in the War on Terrorism. There was a group of Islamic men who are to be tried for plotting an attack on Australian soil. However, they are refusing to stand before a judge because of a religious observance. Aussie Islamic scholars aren't buying it.

~David Hicks, an Australian that had been held in Guantonomo Bay is back, and his family has seen him for the first time in years. Their virdict: he's not a terrorist.

~A pair of gigantic crocodiles are making things difficult for a charity canoe race.

~The AFL is considering reintroducing a State of Origin match.

~FIFA is coming to Sydney.

Enjoy the news,

Alan

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

2007-05-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

So, I figure'd I would actually show you guys a picture of the Australian money. After all, it is awesome. Basically, if you think its weird that the US's new twenties have a colour other than green on them...get ready for a good 'ol fashioned mind blowing.

Like, woah, man.

Not pictures are the 50 (which is yellow) and the 100 (which is green). They are not pictured because, as a uni student, I am not allowed to possess such currency notes, as it may entitle me to meals other than two minute noodles.

One thing you will notice about all the bills is (outside of the colour) the clear spot in each of them. In every bill, there is a bit of plastic inserted into paper. I'm guessing this is an anti-counterfiet measure. Its also made out of polymer, which I found out at the always academic Wikipedia.

Personally, I've taken a liking to the 10 dollar note, as I must agree with the man's fashion regarding hats.

I could totally be on the ten dollar bill.

The other thing you might notice is the bills get smaller as the value decreases. I'm fairly certain the Euro does the same thing to help the vision impaired. Thats pretty cool.

Along the side of the bills, I displayed the coinage used by the Aussies, and this coinage has been a source of frustration for me. At the top are the two dollar coin and the one dollar coin. Guess which one is smaller?

If you said the 1-dollar coin, congratulations: you have more sense of logic than the Australian mint. Instead, the two dollar coin is relatively small, and is therefore a good candidate for getting lost. The added benefit is my habit of finding coins during my room cleaning has become slightly more lucrative.

The most unusual coin is the fifty cent piece. Its by far the largest coin, and does not have round edges. Instead it has flat edges. This makes it easy to find, and easy to handle.

Currency isn't the most exciting topic I've discussed here, and I really don't have much more to add. Though, the value of the Australian Dollar is gaining, which while I'm usually totally opposed to this, now that I'm a little under four weeks from coming home, I'm openly cheering on the Aussie dollar to reach unparalleled heights...sometime around June 23rdish.

Because, just like Pink Floyd, I think I need a Lear Jet.

Alan

The retroactive Cairns Post

2007-05-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

About a week after the fact...I'll throw you guys a bone and put up some pics from Cairns.

This is the Lagoon, which is a saltwater public swimming pool right next to the ocean. Its free to use. The only thing I paid for was a locker to store my camera and the such while I flaunted my new bod around the pool (see the GBR photos post...stop laughing.) On a side note...those electronic lockers are sweet.

Back in the day (1956ish) the Olympic torch came to Cairns on its way to Melbourne for the Olympic Games. Here's the commemorative statue.

Along the Cairns beach there is a danger of crocodiles. I did the only thing a brave tourist can do in these situations: take a picture of the warning sign. I was actually kind of disappointed that I didn't see a crocodile because I wanted to take a pic, but looking back on it, thats kind of like being sad that the IRS didn't call you in for an audit because you wanted to have a chat with someone.

The fabulous Cairns beach! The tide was possibly just way, way, way out. But, I figure these mudflats are slightly more permanent then that.

Captain Cook orders you to stop for a meal.

Reflection Flame and Garden. This was a nice memorial to the various branches of the Australian military as well as police, fire, and ambluance workers.

Because its been to long on this blog without a Styx reference..."Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me."

And we'll close out with some Aboriginal art that was on the side of a shop along the beachfront. Aboriginal art is pretty cool, and looking at a few galleries was a fun experience whilst in Cairns.

Enjoy the pics,

Alan

Why you should visit Cairns.

2007-05-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Cairns doesn't have a great beach, and there isn't a lot to actually do IN Cairns.

But, it does have some spectacular sunsets.

And...

More Cairns pics...and possibly another round of GBR pics later this week.

Until then, Happy Memorial Day.

Alan

Trying vegemite

2007-05-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

You've asked for it, I have finally delivered. Its time for the vegemite post.

For starters, it could be argued quite easily that Vegemite is a big a part of Australian culture as are Qantas, rugby, and akubra hats. Possibly bigger, because outside of the bush, no one wears akubra hats.

The Aussies love Vegemite. It might be its own food group. So, it was time to see what all the fuss was about.

First off, there is a right way and a wrong way to try vegemite. Most people when trying Vegemite stick their finger in it and put a big dallop of it in their mouth. After all, it LOOKS like chocolate, so why not? Let me ask you this: if you knew a guy who had never had butter before, would you tell him to just put a big glob of it in his mouth? Of course not. You would tell him to put it on toast first. Same with vegemite.

Yes, in fact, I did eat this.

Vegemite has a distinct scent to it. Its hard to describe. It doesn't smell like vegetables (nor mites, not that I know what they smell like) Whatever it is, it doesn't exactly scream "eat me" when you take a whiff. Think the opposite of a good wine.

Anyway...its time to chow down.

Hey, YOU try taking a picture of yourself while eating Australiana.

First reaction: This is really salty. Whodathunk it? Vegemite is salty. Then it tastes kind of like vegetable paste. I know, you're thinking, duh...thats what it is. But honestly, the secondary taste is exactly what you might expect out of a vegetable paste. In fact its not that bad.

Then the aftertaste comes and...well, the after taste, which lingers longer then an unwanted drunk guy at a party, is not enjoyable. That said, I struggled valiantly through. I was determined to eat the whole piece of toast. But, eventually, Vegemite won. The half eaten toast is the result of my battle with Vegemite.

In general, visitors to Australia hate Vegemite. Its found to be disgusting, repulsive, and just all out nasty. I found it to be not that bad. In all honesty, it wasn't terrible. Would I eat it again? Hell no! Did I spit it out or spew because of it? No.

My reccomendation: if you come to Australia, try it. You have to try it at least. Actually, according to the last part of this article, its available in the US, though I've never seen it. At any rate, try it.

And Mom, yes, I know that right now you're remembering all those times I refused to try (insert food here) and no I'm not taking you up on those offers.

At any rate, to close out, here's a YouTube clip of Vegemite's latest ad campaign.

We all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch, and tea...

Alan

More pics from the GBR.

2007-05-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

Alright, I've been lazy this week, so here's some more pics from the GBR.

Fish and coral...whee!

Literally, name the colour, and it was down there.

Nemo's way-to-the left brother.

I found the different colours above the waves to be really interesting. The clarity of the water was amazing as well.

Not all the fish were brightly coloured. Some prefer to hide in the shadows.

But, some fish more then made up for it.

Turtle!

Our valiant hero.

I'll probably do a second posting of this, because I have heaps more photos. Plus, the walking around Cairns pictures will be up soon as well.

Alan

State of Origin

2007-05-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

Don't worry dear readers, pics from Cairns are coming. However, I found a place in Canberra with free wireless that I can actually log onto. Plus, that place serves pancakes. So, tomorrow, I'm taking the laptop there and will post the pics and the like.

However, I feel I must talk about State of Origin. Mostly because it deals with sports, and that to an American, this whole idea is really weird for reaons I'll get into.

State of Origin is a rugby league match between Queensland and New South Wales. The plyers on the teams are from those two states. Hence, they play for their "state of origin."

State of Origin is huge. Its been discussed in the rugby league shows and websites for the past month. Players try to get selected for origin, as representing your state is a high honor.

In a way, its sort of an equivelent of an all-star game. Its the best players from a particular region. However, unlike all-star games back in the States which are usually laid back, exhibition matches, State of Origin is a fierce rivalry and its played with a great deal of passion and energy. No one takes the game lightly. As evidenced by the following pic.

A few things to keep in mind...the NRL season is in its 11th week, nearing the halway point. Origin was played Wednesday, week 11 starts Friday. No rest for the weary. Also, they play this game two more times, in the middle of the NRL season.

To use an example, this is like the best college football players from Texas and California getting together in mid-October for a clash to see whose supperior. They play the game Wednesday, and then go back to their campuses and play a regular game on Saturday. Could you imagine it if the NCAA instituted this? It would be insane, the idea would probably be ripped to shreds. Coaches would scream and yell about it.

Here, its a tradition and a well anticipated event. And, just like any other good rivalry, the two teams can't decide on the official record for State of Origin. Ironically, the United States (not exactly a rugby league hotbed) is involved.

In 1987, after Queensland topped NSW 2-1 in the series, the teams went to California to put on a show for the American public. Try to grow the game there a little bit. Queensland, having already won, took the match as an exhibition game. New South Wales on the other hand, wasn't to happy about losing the series and told its players to view this as the deciding match. The result was a 30-18 win for the Blues (New South Wales).

Now, the Australian Rugby Leauge and the two state rugby league bodies had decided that while the match would not count in the overall standings, it would count towards players stats. Then, after the match, the ARL said that it would count towards the overall standings. Just to add to the confusion, here are two quotes from the ARL President back in 1987.

'It's an exciting experiment but the match isn't and won't be billed as an exhibition match'."

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind it was an exhibition game and should not count towards official match scores."

You can see where the confusion lies.

At any rate, the match last night was fantastic. NSW jumped out to a 18-6 lead at halftime, thanks in part to a fantastic try by Jarred Hayne just at the end of the first half. Hayne (an Eel, BTW. Go the Eels!) blocked a kick from Queensland at about midfield. It went off of him, but backwards, negating the possibility of a knock-on. He then collected the ball and sprinted down the sideline. Just as he was about to be knocked out of bounds he kicked the ball into play and gave chase. Hayne won the race to the ball, put it over the try line and put the ball down (got to do that for a try) to secure a thrilling four pointer, and increase the Blues lead.

But, the second half was all Queensland (nicknamed the Maroons) who scored a few brilliant tries as well as a rubbish one due soley to a horrible NSW mistake. Queensland had kicked the ball down field, but it was going to go into touch (out of bounds) for a 40/20 kick. (That is, a kick from behind Queensland's 40 metre line that goes out of bounds past the NSW 20 metre line. This results in a scrum feed for Queensland, and would have given them a great chance to score). So, the Blues player dives on the ball, and tries to keep it in play, so from the ground passes it to a teammate. The teammate wasn't ready for the pass, and it bounced past him. The Maroons scooped up the ball and scored a bizarre try that gave them the lead and ultimatley the 25-18 win.

It was an awesome game. You could feel the excitement in the crowd, and the level of play was excellent.

Cairns Days 1 and 3

2007-05-20T01:21:00.001-07:00

Cairns is pretty much what you would call a tourist community. Between my hostel and the ocean, there are no less then five billion souvenier shops. Half of which sell opal jewelry.

The tricky thing is, people don't come to Cairns to see Cairns. They come to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef or the Rainforests, or the beaches that aren't in Cairns. Cairns is a jumping off spot for tourist activities in other places.

Basically, to use an analogy, Cairns is to Tourist Hotspot as Independence is to Oregon Trail. Sure, you go there, but you don't stay there.

So, days 1 and 3 were spent wandering around town trying to find cool things to take pictures of. I accomplished this, but I left my camera in my room, which means we get to do everyone's favorite activity: a retroactive post.

But really, there was no special building or statue that was a must see. This was a typical resort town. A few good resaurants, some great places to get a drink, and a whole lot of not much else.

There is the Lagoon, which is a public saltwater pool right next to the ocean. Its free to anyone, and it was fairly busy this weekend.

Oh, and the ocean? Its there, but the beach is this mud flat thing, that while highly attractive to look at (sarcasm) it prevents one from dipping their toes in the water.

That said, its a nice town, and I've enjoyed the stay. And, considering the headline in today's Cairns Weekend Post screamed that there was a man shortage in Northern Queensland (Headline said 50 women for every 1 bloke) I still might move here. I would link to the story, but it appears the Cairns Post does not have a website, because its a subsidary of New Limited. Thanks conglomoration!

Anyway, time to go grab a Guiness from the Irish pub down the street. Mmm...delicious Guiness. Pics of the weekend, plus (and I promise) the vegemite post this week.

Alan

Great Barrier Reef

2007-05-19T03:26:00.000-07:00

So, usually I would go with Cairns Day 1. Guess what, forget day 1. Day 1, while enjoyable, is nothing comapared to Cairns Day 2, which was a day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. I even rented an underwater camera to take photos of the event.

I had to be down at the wharf by 7:45 this morning. Trust me, I have never been more eager to jump out of bed at 6:30. Got down there with pleanty of time to spare, so I took in the early morning on the Pacific Ocean. In a word...it was nice. Calm breeze, some birds, yeah, it was nice.

Get on board the boat, fill out some forms that basically boil down to "Don't drown, and if you do we don't owe you money." Then, a few more talks from the crew about what we're doing on the day and then its off to the reef!

Now, if you look at a map, the GBR as I'm going to call it from now on, is right next to Australia. You wouldn't reckon it would take you that long to get out there, but it does. Two hours by boat. Most of that two hours was me thinking that maybe I should go get some of those ginger tablets. I soldiered on though, and once I went up to the sun deck, and looked at the horizon, the need for the tablets went away.

(I'm trusting all you extremely intelligent people in Internet land to figure out what ginger tablets are for)

After getting my fins on and mask situated, it was time to do some snorkeling. Of course, having never snorkled before, using the snorkel takes a little getting used to. You breathe out of your nose for so many years and then you can't. So, my first few minutes in the water were spent reminding myself to breather through the mouth, take deep breaths, and enjoy myself.

Once I did, I was able to see things like this...

Underwater photography is hard, and so some pictures of fish are kind of blurry. It does not take away from the awesomeness.

Here's a better looking fish.

You can watch shows about the GBR or see pictures, but one you're there, its just amazing.

And, I'd write more. But the day absolutely wiped me out. That and the potential already-gave-me-cancer sunburn I'm sporting on my back, I'm tired. I'll post more pics, probably when I get back to Canberra. Until then, here's a pitcure of a turtle. Everyone loves Turtles.

Till then,

Alan

Greetings from Cairns

2007-05-17T03:19:00.000-07:00

G'day readers. Greetings from a nice, warm, Cairns.

Its winter down here in the southern hemisphere, and its been kind of cold in Canberra. So, I came here where its nice and warm. Should be a great holiday, and the complete opposite of my post exam trip to Adelaide, which is further south than Canberra. In June. Brr.

No pictures yet, as I just got here and its been dark. Hooray for that. So, I'll give you a few observations about the air travel system in Australia.

Basically, you have Qantas and Jet Star to get around. So, your options are kind of limited. Of course, when the entire country is the population of New York City (a bit over actually, but their roughly the same) this sort of thing happens I guess.

On a related note, the airline network is not as deep as you might expect. Take for example, Canberra. Canberra is the nation's capital. You'd think this sort of place would have flights going all over the place. Well....not really.

You can fly to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane and then other places from there. thats what I know of. My flight to Adelaide in June is routed through Melbourne, so its not like provincial capitals are the ticket out of Canberra. Again, this is probably due to the limited population, but I still found it surpring.

Also surprising, was checking in at Canberra Airport. I did not have to show my ID once. In fact, I only had to show it once the whole trip, and that was checking in at Brisbane airport when I stiwtched airlines (to JetStar). Remember that the next time your in the security line in the states. "Australians do not put up with this..." Well, they do. Just not to the extent we do.

Also, there is no wireless at my hostel, the first one that has had that issue. Australia seems bound and determined to keep me from posting on this blog from my laptop.

Tomorrow will probably be spent exploring Cairns and setting up a reef trip for later in the week.

Until then,

Alan

Off to Cairns

2007-05-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

Time again for another travel adventure. This weekend, its off to Cairns, in northern Queensland. Cairns is a tourist hub because of some reef that's nearby.

There's also heaps of beaches and other stuff to do. Should be a fun weekend.

For everything there ever was to know about Cairns...here's Wikipedia's entry on the city.

I;m taking the laptop, so maybe, just maybe, you'll get pictures while I'm up there. But, we shall see.

If not, I'll talk to you in text form soon.

Whoo, Cairns,

Alan

Australian Word of the non specified time period: Oi

2007-05-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

Time for a quick post/ The wod is Oi.

Oi is used when you want to get someone's attention.

"Oi, John!" or "Oi, mate!"

Its a fun little word. Practice saying it quick and loud, and you'll sound just like Aussies do, if only for half a second.

Oh, and its pronounced oy, as in oyster. There you go.

Australian Beer

2007-05-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

I just wrapped up a couple of assignments. What better way to kick back and relax then have a few beers? Hell, whats a better way to do assignments then over a few beers? (Answer: Better? None...wiser? A lot of ways...)

During my time here I've tried to drink a variety of beers from Australia. This is for two main reasons. 1) I'm in Australia, might as well see what the locals drink and 2) beer I'm used to is heads expensive. Think 20 bucks for a six pack of Sam Adams.

At first I was a bit scared to try the beer down here (my first six pack was a very, very expensive Guiness) because Lonely Planet says something to the affect that the beer is chilled so cold so its still refreshing regardless of taste. And indeed, the tap at Uni Bar of Toohey's New says that its Super Chilled. And yes, its refreshing and quite good, but once it warms up a bit, its not the greatest beer to drink.

So, here's a crash course on beer in Australia. It might be more extensive had I not taken up a liking to Bourbon and Coke.

Tooheys New.

Part of the Aussie Big Three (their version of Budweiser, Miller and Coors) and, at least in the ACT and New South Wales is the most popular beer. Its a major player in sponsorship, and it has some great ads.

Overall, the beer has got an alright taste to it. Its nothing special, but it can be refreshing after playing some Ultimate or if your on the cheap and still want to get your drunk on.

Carlton Draft

Its fairly popular, but I think more so down in Victoria. Its a good beer, and I prefer it to Toohey's New. Has a nice flavour to it, though its different from American Beers. Ditto the good ads.

**Note to the people on Facebook, as always with YouTube clips, come to the actual blog to view the clips. If you don't, you will regret it and possibly loose sleep.

Not much else to say, its a good beer and I like it. Wanna fight about it?

Victoria Bitter

A proud supprter of the three time defending World Cup Cricket Champions (w00t! Australia...FTW!) Vitoria Bitter is, despite its name, not that bad of a beer. I haven't had a lot of it, because they don't really advertise, and the first time I mentioned that I kind of liked it an Australian guy looked at me as if I had no taste in beer. That and, while enjoyable, it wasn't as good as Carlton Draught. But, they do sponsor the cricket team. That counts for something.

XXXX (Not a porn site, trust me on this)

XXXX is a Queensland Beer, which I bought a six pack of because it was a beer I had heard of while in the States. I opened the six pack during Old Res Wedding, while in a state of absolute blitznitude. Now you know how when you're drunk things taste incredible? Take for example, nachos. Now, everyone loves nachos. They are already amazing. Drunk nachos? INCREDIBLE. That doesn't even describe it. Drunk nachos are amazingly awesomelly, gift-from-God, great. Things taste better whilst drunk.

Upon drinking my first XXXX, I remarked, "This is the worst beer I've ever had." It was like the opposite of drunken nachos. There's still one in my fridge. I'm afraid to drink it.

In other words, I don't reccomend this beer.

Toohey's Old/Carlton Black

Back in the states, I'm a fan over darker beers, such as Amberbock. So, I figured darker beers over here would be great!

Not so much. They have a distinct flavour to them, but its one that isn't quite as refreshing as a dark lager thats American brewed. I didn't find these beers to go down as smooth as I'm used to, and they can be difficult to drink. Though the folks at Beer Advocate disagree with me, I didn't like Carlton Black or its Toohey's cousin.

In a related story, I count Amerbock as one of the things I miss from the states.

Beez Neez

Here's the story. I was at the Lighthouse, a local watering hole. I had been watching the footy, and drinking Carlton Draught. I was having a good time. Then I went to the bar to order another drink, when I saw Beez Neez on tap. the tap said "Honey wheat beer". I thought, "Honey? Beer? Benjamin Franklin was right! I ordered one.

And, from the first sniff (I'm one of those weird people that smells their beer before they drink it) and taste I have loved this beer. Its got a good beer flavor, and then a nice, sweet aftertaste. Its got a microbrewery feel to it, and I like that. Again, I disagree with the fine folks at Beer Advocate who claim Beez Neez is "worth a try". Its beyond that. I would consider it a must drink if you're down here. Got to try it at least once, right?

I will probably count Beez Neez as one of the things I miss when I return home.

A few notes about the post, some of those sites might ask for a birthdate to enter. Drinking age in Australia is 18, so if you're under age...well, feel free to log in anyway. Alan in Oz: Corrupting youth since 2007.

I also linked to Beer Advocate twice. For anyone that enjoys beer, or wants to enjoy beer more its a great site. Reviews of beers, tips on how to enjoy the flavor of beer more, and just all in all its general beer greatness.

Its Sunday, so no absolute blitznitude tonight. Which is to bad, because all this talking about beer has made me thirsty.

Oh, and Happy Mother's Day!!

Alan

Higher education in Australia

2007-05-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

I should probably be doing other things, like school work, but I'll blog about doing school work instead. Besides, I have a fairly good idea of how things are going to go in terms of the big essay thats due, so I'm not all that worried.

Anyway, here's my view of higher education in Australia. In general, its more independent then American college is, and that has its perks and its drawbacks.

In a typical class, you'll have one lecture and one tutorial (discussion) a week per class. So, you're in class for eight to ten hours a week. Most people get Friday off, and if you're awesome like I am, you get Monday off as well. There's something like sixteen weeks in a semester, so I'll go to Uni for about 48 days...probably closer to 45 with public holidays.

At least at UC, a lot of the content is put up on WebCT. Now, we have WebCT in the states, but not to the degree that its used here. Lecture notes get posted, lectures are streamed, and the professor will interact with students on the forums. Does this happen in the States? For some classes, yes. This has happened in all four of my classes here. Given that at SIU, a lot of courses don't even use WebCT, I found this to be interesting.

As far as grades go, you basically get three shots at grades. Tutorial participation, an essay, and then a final exam. Some courses do give out homework, and there are weekly readings, but that hasn't happened in my courses, or at least the weekly readings isn't tested on.

Now, I come from the American education system who, if students had a motto, might be "Slack off to win." The professor isn't going to test you on your readings? Why am I reading it then? There are more important things to do, like video games and drinking. Maybe you do some readings, but if there isn't a sense of urgency around it, people don't bother.

Here, you're on your own for the most part. And if you don't do the readings, it doesn't hurt you now but it probably will later on. I'm starting to realize this. To me, its hard to get into the flow of my classes because I'm used to having homework and things due every week or so. Here, that sort of thing doesn't happen and what I did normally back in the states doesn't work here.

The moral of the story: if you study abroad, do the readings!

That said, I'm pretty good at studying at the last minute and doing school work under pressure. So, two points to me.

After essays I turned in and tutorials are done its time for final exams. This is going on in the states now, and I remember this week to be actually fairly relaxing with a few bursts of stress when I would take tests. I'm sure others have a different version of Finals Week (one that includes no sleep and/or pulling of hair).

Here's a great alternative: spread out finals over three weeks. Thats what they do here. All the finals take place at the gym, and so they have to spread them out over three weeks. Why do they do this? I don't have a clue. Its possibly the most inefficiant way to run a finals schedule. Plus, they only do two tests a day, each one lasting two hours.

So basically...my final three weeks are going to be easy as pie. I'll study, do some sightseeing around Canberra, get around to posting about Vegemite. Those sort of things. I only have two exams in three weeks.

Considering I find exams to be low stress anyway...I can't wait for finals here. Three weeks of nothingness! Awesome.

To those back in the states, enjoy the exams. I'm enjoying Australia.

Alan

Kangaroos...a third perspective.

2007-05-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

The other night I was walking back to ressies with my friend Joel. It was after ultimate frisbee, so it was dark and also prime kangaroo watching time.

By now, we've seen a lot of kangaroos. And while they're still awesome, its not the "oh my God, look!" moment it was in February. We hear this weird sound, kind of like a grunt and a scream. I have no idea how to describe it.

Joel: Was that you?

Me: Uh...no.

Then we look over to the bush where there are kangaroos. But they weren't grazing. They were fighting. The whole boxing kangaroo thing...absolutely true. And its awesome to watch. Though nothing as spectacular as this...it was similar.

Facebook readers, you may have to come to the website to watch the YouTube clip.

A few housekeeping details. The dreaded words "Uni work" have reared their ugly heads once more and I'll be busy for awhile. Posts when I can, but it might be a few days.

Alan

Tags!

2007-05-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

I put tags on all the previous posts so you can go back and read some of your favourites or whatever. If anyone out there is using this site as sort of a guide to how their study abroad experience might go, maybe the labels make it easier.

Anyway, thats all for now.

Alan

Australian Word of the Non Specified Time Period: Heaps

2007-05-01T00:39:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that "heaps" has crept into my vocabulary here on the blog. Thats because "heaps" is...well, heaps good.

Basically, it means "very". I've heard, "Thats heaps good," or "That heaps awesome."

It can also mean a lot. "He got heaps of chips."

Its a simple word, so not a lot of length to this post. I'll probably be using this word when I get home as well, possible in some sort of fun Australian combination like this:

"That bloke over there is heaps dodgey."

Alan

Melbourne retroactive post: Day 3

2007-04-30T02:40:00.000-07:00

A look down the Beach Trail.

Here we go...

Day three was spent walking the beaches around Melbourne. As I've written before, I don't come from a land of sandy beaches, so this was fun. But before we get there...

This was taken along the Australian Heritage Bridge (actually on Day 2, I just forgot to put it up). Its a depiction of an Aboriginal. Across the bridge there are similar structures representing the various people who have come to Australia. Its pretty cool to see.

Keeping with the aboriginal theme is this eagle. In Aboriginal mythology, the Eagle was very important. Its patriarchal (while the matriarch is the black swan) So, a gigantic one watches over the Docklands.

It wasn't all beaches...I also walked through an environment reclamation project, which offered up that cool view of a bridge. But, you want to see sand so, here you go.

Here's Port Phillip Bay...behold its awesomeness. As I've written before, I love the ocean because of its size. Its just awe inspiring that no matter how tall we build a skyscraper, no matter how huge we build a stadium, the Earth comes up with something to tower over it. Here's two pics that (somewhat artistically, but not really) sum that up.

Note the people in the foreground and the ginormous body of water in front of them.

Fun with piers!

Anyway, enough of me trying to be artistic. The Beach Trail is fun to walk along. Beautiful people, waves crashing (a very soothing sound) and it was a sunny day. And lest you forget you're by the ocean (how could you...its right there.) there were lighthouses.

As I continued down the beach, I stumbled across something I had never seen before. Kiteboarding. I explained what it was already, so here's the photographic evidence.

Don't sop believin...hold on to that parachute, kiteboarder dude!!!

In terms of insane things I'd like to try once in my life, I think kiteboarding may have made the list. It looks like a good time, when you get the hang of it.

Moving along the ocean front I found this statue of Captain Cook.

Cook is kind of a big deal down here, as he discovered the place. I think that warrants a statue. Not far from Cook, was an Australian War Memorial, also very worthy.

Keeping with the war theme, not for from the Aussie war memorial, there was a St. Kilda War Memorial which I found to be inspiring.

St. Kilda was quite nice. I bought a painting at a street market down here and mingled for a bit. I also stumbled upon Luna Park, which was terrifying.

That clown will eat you...and your soul.

After looking at Luna Park, I began the long walk home. Not sure how far it was, but I walked for seven hours that day. But, as a result, on my way back to the hostel, I got this cool (albeit blurry) pic of Melbourne at night!

Hope you enjoyed the pics...not sure what the next post will be of. Possibly the long awaited Vegemite post?

Stay tuned,

Alan

Aussie Rules football and MCG

2007-04-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Melbourne Cricket Ground. Behold its awesomeness!

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "I demand Melbourne retroactive post day 2!"

This is basically it. I went to an Aussie Rules match for Day 2. So, we're all happy.

Australian Rules Football is an outstanding combination of being one of the strangest sporting events I've been to and one of the most exciting. Here's what you need to know rules wise in order to follow an AFL match.

1. The field is an oval. Not a rectangle. Hooray for cricket influences.

2. No offsides. Whee! Players can go wherever they want.

3. You can run the ball, but must bounce it on the ground every 10 meters. Or you can sort of punch it to one of your teammates. Even better, kick it to them. If they catch it cleanly, its called a mark, and they can get a free kick.

4. Don't get tackled. If you get tackled, the umpire does a bounce.

5. Kick goals, not behinds.

Here we see a picture of an AFL goal. The two tall posts in the middle are what players are aiming for. Kick it in between those and you score six points ( a goal). If you kick it between one of the large posts and one of the outer small ones...its a behind. You missed, you suck, but you earned a point.

Kicking behinds are referred to as misses. So, please, kick goals.

Now that you're caught up on the rules of the AFL, its time to discuss the MCG.

My cricket knowlege is...how do we put this...not great. My AFL knowlege, probably less. But still, when I came upon the Melbourne Cricket Ground, you can feel the history of the building. Its just one of those places that just has that majestic feel to it. I've only experienced this at one other stadium, that being Notre Dame Stadium. You may not be totally aware of the history of the place, but you know that , sporting wise anyway, its an important history.

Then you see the statues.

Sir Donald Bradman...knighted for his cricketeting abilities.

All around MCG are statues of cricketers, footballers, and a sprinter. All depicting the greatness of Australian athletes. One of my favourites was the statue of an original Austrain Rules game.

Note the headgear and clothing. Slightly different from what the boys wear today.

MCG was also the main stadium for Melbourne's 1954 Olympics. Lest you forget, here's a giant plaque commemorating the event.

It has all the gold medal winners from that Olympiad. Something I probably would have paid more attention to had it not been for the fans.

AFL fans are crazy passionate. The paint faces, wear costumes, are loud, and make walking around the outside of the ground a fun experience. I didn't take pics of the fans (don't ask why...I just didn't think to) but here's something interesting. At least to me.

In the AFL, there are 9 clubs based out of Melbourne. They are the St. Kilda Saints, Western Bulldogs, Collingwood Magpies, Hawthorn Hawks, Richmond Tigers, North Melbourne Kangaroos, Melbourne Demons, Carlton Blues, and the ESSENDON BOMBERS.

The match I attended was Carlton vs. Essendon in what the AFL termed the Rivalry Round. So, a good crowd was expected with both sides having pleanty of supporters. And what better way to support your club then to become a member?

Choose wisely.

Divided only by a path, are booths set up to become a member to Carlton or Essendon. A member, from what I gather, is kind of like getting season tickets in some ways, but in others its supporting the club. When I purchased my ticket for the match at Collingwood headquarters (considering that rivalry, it got a strange look, but thats where the Ticketech office was) I took a look at the Members options, but was still a bit confused by it. At any rate, becoming a member supports the club financially, and you get a hat out of the deal. I chose to pass.

As you can tell from what I linked, I'm an Essendon Supporter. This is due mostly to one of the main guys at the International Office being a Bombers fan, and so I followed suit. Doing research on Wikipedia I found that they're one of the most successful clubs in the AFL, having captured 16 Premierships (tied for most with Carlton). As a result, other fans refer to them as the 'Evil Empire' (well, I read that in the game day program, anyways) a term reserved for a baseball team I don't care for all that much. In addition, they're affiliated with Manchester United. So, how can I remain an Essendon supporter? Doesn't this have bandwagoner and evil written all over it?

Possibly, but considering they finished 15th last season, bandwagon is low. Plus, Steve Irwin was a fan. Got to do it for Steve. Also, everything I read about coach Kevin Sheedy has been awesome.

Sheedy is outspoken and quite the character. My favourite tidbit about him is he'll refer to "Martians" costing his side the game. The Martians are the officials, and he avoids fines. Brilliant.

Anyway...back to the game. Pie and chips in hand, I enter the MCG, and marvel at how big it is inside.

Not sure if that does it justice. It seats 100,000 people. There were about 65,000 in attendence for the game.

The atmosphere at the game is great. The crowd is into it the entire time and overall, there's kind of a college atmosphere to the game. Remember in high school when the football team ran through a paper banner on homecoming? That happens at AFL games!

OK, the players more or less run out from underneath it, but its still cool.

After the teams run out...its time for the bounce.

To start the game, the umpire bounces the ball off the ground, and then it kind of works like a tip off in basketball. By the way, the ball is that red thing thats level with the second tier in the stands. They get good height off of this thing.

An AFL goal judge signifies a goal by Essendon. This was a common site in the first quarter. Which resulted in seeing this...alot.

Club supporters use these gigantic poppoms to celebrate goals. The size of these things is scary. Now that you're frightened, here's possibly the funniest part of an AFL match.

When the ball goes out of bounds, the umpire faces the crowd and then flings the ball over his head. The two clubs then battle for possession. To see this is simply amazing. Of course, can you think of a better way to determine possession? Its more fair then a rugby union line out, and where's the fun of just giving it to one team. More power to you, Aussie Rules.

At this point, I'm greatly enjoying the match. I somehow got front row seats for thirty bucks (did I mention that? That was sweet, though next time I want to be higher up so that I can figure out whats going on) my team was up by 48 points, and I was going to finally see a club I chose to support win the first time I saw them play in person.

Wrong.

Carlton staged the largest comeback in their history and Essendon lost. Though considering the final score was 125-122, I can't say that I wasn't entertained. That was possibly the most fun I've had at a sporting event, and if its not at the top, its up there. Throw in the fact that the crowd was literally a fifty-fifty split between Carlton and Essendon fans, and the crowd was into it the whole game, and loud the entire fourth quarter (quarters are a half hour long, by the way.) it was an outstanding experience.

Anyway, as you can imagine, Carlton supporters were quite happy. I'll be a good sport and put up the pic, because its kind of cool.

The flags are really cool, and I wish we had this in America. At NRL and AFL matches, fans bring club flags to the game. Trust me, when a sea of flags comes up after a try or goal, its really cool, and I'd have to imagine a tad intimidating.

Day three pics coming later...possibly tonight after touch footy. Sorry for the abrupt end to the post, but it was long enough.

See the Bombers fly up,

Alan

The retroactive Melbourne Post day 1

2007-04-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

Here we go...some select photos of Melbourne.

View of Melbourne from the Rialto Towers. Its the tallest office building in the Southern hemisphere.

Bolte Bridge with bird in front.

Two examples of the unique architecture in Melbourne. Buldings had a lot of different colours then I'm used to seeing. Not sure what the first building is, but the second one is the Australian Customs Agency.

Melbourne skyline along the Yarra.

Melbourne is home to the Australian Open. Want to know how far it is to the other grand slams? This sign will tell you.

A very bizarre statue of a...I don't really know.

More to come later. Library's closing, so day 2 pics will come tomorrow. (hopefully).

Alan

ANZAC Day

2007-04-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day in Australia and New Zealand. This is the Australian version of Memorial Day. Throughout the country, thousands of people attended Dawn Services and parades to mark the occasion.

I did not attend a Dawn Service as, it happens at dawn. I did watch a few of the west coast ones on TV, and they are quite moving. A good combination of religious and patriotic, not heavy on either side.

After the dawn service, its a public holiday so...people drink. A lot. I went with a few mates to the Labour Club and the place was packed on a Wednesday afternoon. I mean, packed. The Labour Club is a members only club where people can go and eat, drink, gamble, or just watch some TV. I go as a guest of someone, and have enjoyed my trips to the club.

The main attraction of the day is a game called two-up. Its pretty much simplest gambling game ever. You have a guy whose the spinner. He has a small wooden bit that has three coins on them. The spinner flicks the coins into the air, and which ever face is showing twice...that side wins.

So, people bet on this. People will say, "10 dollars on head!" and they'll find someone who wants to place ten dollars on tails. The spinner does his thing, and whoever wins the toss keeps the money.

I was told that Australians played this game in the trenches in WWII, betting cigarettes, which makes the game make a bit more sense. Add to the fact that its only legal on Anzac Day and you get a lot of people cheering on coins.

The best part is, anyone can be the spinner. You just get in line and you get to do it. Here's where the game becomes awesome. When you're the spinner you put down a bet, say ten dollars, that you will toss heads. This is called the pot. Someone in the crowd matches the pot. If the spinner throws heads...he keeps the money and gets to spin again. Throw a tails, and the spinner loses the money and can no longer be the spinner.

First time I spin...heads. I get to keep going. Now, the money isn't mine yet. To collect it, I need to throw three heads in a row. But, each time, the value of the pot increases. So, my ten dollar bet was now twenty.

I have to add, the best part of two-up is that every roll (or toss, spin, hand, I heard it called all these things) half the crowd cheers and the other half groans. Its awesome.

I throw heads again. Its up to forty. Then, some bloke makes a side bet on the pot, adding another 20 bucks to the equation.

"COME ON SPINNAH!!!" yells the Ringmaster. Thats my cue.

I step in the ring, the crowd is cheering (I'm not joking, they love their two-up) and flick the coins in the air. The Ringmaster looks over the coins...

"HEADS!"

Now, I'm not known for my math skills, but I do know that probability was about to go to tails. I had won three in a row, and even though I could keep spinning and collect money at a reduced percentage if it came up tails, I decided to keep the 100 bucks and buy more beer.

Later on in the evening I was joking around with some Aussies about Anzac Day and I said, "So basically, you remember your vetrans as early as possible and then get pissed and gamble for the rest of it?" I fully expected to hear, "Nah, its much more then that," but the general consesnsus was, "Yup."

So, I spent ANZAC Day in a fantastic mood, which is how most of the people I saw spent it. A good day though. I think it beats the American Memorial Day tradition of camping any day of the week.

Come on spinner,

Alan

My favourite pic

2007-04-24T01:41:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's what I consider my best pic down here.

Its of Port Phillip Bay from St. Kilda pier, looking back on Melbourne, with sunbreaks.

As I explain below, I've been real busy, but here are the posts you can expect soon.

~Melbourne retroactive post.
~Aussie Rules Football
~The Melbourne Cricket Ground (may be combined with Aussie Rules post)
~ANZAC Day

Here are some more pics of Melbourne at the Facebook album.

I get the day off tomorrow (ANZAC Day), but lots of things will be closed so not sure if I'll be posting.

Until then,

Alan

I'm still alive

2007-04-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Loyal Readers,

I'm still alive. I have not been captured by Kangaroos. I'm doing quite well.

See, I've had this paper due, and I figured that instead of pracrastinating by doing blog posts, I should procrastinate by doing other things. So, the site has been fairly dead for awhile.

Probably after my tute today I'll post more. Of course, by then it will be early morning for all you guys and this will get buried under a heap of posts.

Oh well, see you tonight.

Alan

Melbourne: Day 3

2007-04-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

When we last left off, I wanted to go down to Port Phillip Bay. Considering Melbourne is built all around said Pot Phillip Bay, I figured how hard could it be to find it.

Probably, not really that hard. But, when have I made things easy on myself?

Heading out the door at 11:00 (not sporting my Essendon hat, as I would be headed to rival territory and they lost) I set out to find the beaches of Melbourne. I headed past Telstra Dome and towards the Docklands. I planned to follow the Yarra River to the bay and then walk the beaches. But, a funny thing happened to that plan: the Port of Melbourne Industrial Park.

I walked through the park, smiling to the occasional biker, wondering when I'd get to the ocean. After a bit, I decided to take a picture of a rather large ship. That how I stumbled across Fishermen's Bend.

Fishermen's Bend is at the mouth of the Yarra, and true to its name there were fishermen abound there. I thought I was home free, but alas, the beach front there was private. So, I went through an environmental reclamation park, which was quite scenic and very nice and I probably would have enjoyed it heaps had it not been for the sign at its entrance.

"BEWARE OF SNAKES"

Besides are dashing good looks and great tastes in hats, Indiana Jones and I have one other thing in common. We don't like snakes. So, I was fairly on edge going through here. Didn't see any, and I'm not going back to look for them.

The park trail put me out on a road that led me directly to the Beachfront Trail. Jackpot! Port Phillip Bay is massive (I know, somewhere, a geography teacher is slapping his head. "Of course the bay is massive!" he is shouting at the screen.) I've always liked the ocean, and one of the things I like about it is when you look out onto it and just stare into the vast emptiness. I always thought it was cool. And yes, I did go out ont a pier, turn to the Northeast and look towards home. Its something I do, I guess. Anyway, I find the vastness of the ocean to be kind of inspiring and intimidating at the same time.

At the trail head, it said St. Kilda pier was 6.8 km away. No worries!

I walked further down the beach, stopping for lunch (a seafood platter, with chips plus a glass of wine. Loved it. Especially the wine.) Where I stopped for lunch, there was a band playing. Just a cover band, but one of the songs they did was "What a Wonderful World." It seemed so fitting. On a pier, drinking wine, watching the waves crash along the shore. What could make the world more wonderful?

An ice cream cone, thats what. So, I got one as I continued down the beach. I felt like a little kid again. Ice cream and ocean. If I could have those two things for the rest of my life, I'd nearly be set.

One of the most bizarre things I saw today was just west of St. Kilda (kind of weird to refer to points along the shore on an east-west axis). It was kiteboarding. A guy gets on a surfboard, and then holds onto a massive kite. The kite catches the wind and then pulls the boarder through the surf. Fascinating to watch, and I'm sure its heaps fun to try. Maybe someday I'll do it.

Continuing on, at this point walking for four hours, I got to St. Kilda pier. It seemed a bit unerwhelming. There was a nice park, and a good view (I did take a picture that I think is the best one I've taken down here...it'll be up tomorrow) but it wasn't to special. I did see Luna Park, which is an amusement park, famous for its laughing face entrance. If you are scared of clowns, I would reccomend staying away frm Luna Park.

There was a street fair going on nearby, and I purchased a watercolour painting of the Yarra at sunset. Looks really cool. After that, despite my love of the ocean, I pulled myself away from it to walk home.

There was one problem. Outside of "walk towards the large buildings in the general direction of here you came from" I didn't exactly know how to get back to the hostel. I used that strategy, fairly effectively (though probably not efficiently, now that I've looked at a map). Two hours of Melbourne and I came across a large tower. It was lit up, and it looked really cool, so I took a picture of it. Then, it donned on me that I had seen this before. It was the Art Centre down by the Yarra River! At an instant, I knew where I was, and quickly, albeit gingerly, made the walk home.

A little over six hours of walking, but pleanty of beaches to be seen. Although I'm tired and quite sore now, today was worth it.

Back to Canberra tomorrow. I leave at 7 am, and will undoubtedly be sleeping on the bus.

Alan

Melbourne: Day 2

2007-04-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot of sight-seeing done today. After a quick breakfast it was back down to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch the Carlton Blues take on my now beloved Essendon Bombers.

This was also a rivalry week in the AFL, so I expected a good game. The teams didn't disappoint. On top of that, I thought I was in the front row on level two. Instead, I was right on the fence, first row. Not bad for thirty bucks. Got some great shots of the action and of the stadium.

Aussie Rules Football isn't hard to pick up on. If you catch the ball off of a kick, you get a free kick (called a mark). Any ball kicked between the two uprights is worth six points (called a goal) and if its between one of those posts and another to the outside of the main goal its worth one point (called a behind). Other then that, I honestly believe anything goes.

Essendon put on a display in the first quarter, scoring 55 points. It was an absolute joy to watch. They ended up taking a thirty point lead into halftime. (Quarters in the AFL are 30 minutes long)

However, Carlton came back, thanks to a third period where they kicked seven goals. They ended up taking the lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth was up and down action. Just when the Blues seemed to put it away, Essendon would answer. Once Essendon got within a few points, Carlton kicked a goal. It was thrilling, an emotional roller coaster...and I didn't know the rules that well. You can just feel the excitement.

In the end though, the Blues would win it by a few points, 124-121. The 64,000 plus in attendence were thoroughly entertained.

The Australian Football is unlike anything I've ever seen. It'll warrant its own post (with pictures even) once I get back to Canberra. Lots of tradition in the game, and the atmosphere was like that of a college game. Great times.

Its also possible that the MGC itself earns its own post. This coming week could be busy on the blog, so watch this space.

Tomorrow its up to Port Phillip Bay and exploring some of Melbourne I haven't seen yet. Until then...

Alan

Melbourne: Day 1

2007-04-13T03:07:00.000-07:00

Time to recap the day's events from Melbourne. I would be uploading photos but the computers at the hostels don't like that. So...I won't. This means I get to do another retroactive post when I return to Canberra.

I got in last night after about eight hours on a bus. Thankfully, we stopped in Aubry, a town right on the border between New South Wales and Victoria. A sign at the train station said that Aubrey was a major point in the Australian rail system as it was where the gauge (size, more or less)of the rails would switch. For being such an important place it was quite small though. Seemed like a nice quiet town.

Anyway, it was good that we stopped there as it gave me a chance to eat. I was famished, and not looking forward to coming to Melbourne on an empty stomach.

Bus arrived in Melbourne at 9:30, and from the station it was just a short walk to the Melbourne Backpackers Connection Hostel. After I got checked into the hostel I went for a stroll. Two reasons behind the walk. 1) I had been on a bus for way to long. 2) I wanted a beer.

Central Melbourne does not lack for clubs, but I didn't want a club. I didn't want loud blaring music, no live band, no ten dollar cover charge. I just wanted a beer. This was apperently to hard to ask for. I ended up going to bed at about 12, sans beer. which is a recent record for me (the time being the record, not the going without beer).

Today I started my day at about ten. Just down the road is the Melbourne Observation Deck. Figuring a good way to see the city was to get on top of it, I went for it. The views from the top were breathtaking. Would have been even better had it not been a really hazy day. Of course, it was here that I realized that my digital camera had a bum screen (see previous post) so that put a slight damper on the day, but I soldiered on.

I went past Telstra Dome (not to be confused with Telstra Stadium, which is in Sydney) to Victoria Harbour. Lots of really neat statues down there. In fact, the entire city has unique architecture. The people designing the buildings here aren't afraid to use different colours (sorry Ike...its a habit now). In fact, the Customs Building is a orange, black, and white. It looks anything but official, but it works. I'm no expert in architecture, but I feel that Melbourne has done a splendid job combining old, new, and modern architecture into its cityscape.

Beuty in contrast. There will be photos to back this up later.

I wound my way down the Yarra River, which gives excellent views of the city. The whole feel down on the river walk was a relaxed one. One image in particular stands out to me. It was a business man, wearing a suit and tie, sitting on the grass with his co-workers. He had his shoes and socks off, just relaxing there having a good time. It didn't seem out of place, it didn't seem strange. I suppose thats how Australians escape the rat race.

The Yarra led me down to Batman Avenue (I swear I'm not making this up) which takes you to Melbourne Park. Here is where the Ron Larver Arena is (home of the Australian Open), the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and various other sporting venues. I bought a ticket for tomorrow's AFL match (Go Bombers), somewhat ironically at the Collingwood Club's head quarters.

I then did a bit of souvenier shopping, before heading back to the hostel. After a day of walking, I didn't feel like going back out again, so I'm calling it an early night.

A full report of the AFL match awaits tomorrow. So far, my new favourite teams are 0-2 when I watch them in person the first time. Hopefully, Essendon can reverse that tomorrow.

Until then...

Alan

A bit of bad news.

2007-04-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

A bit of sad news as I begin my trip into Melbourne. The screen on my camera has cracked. Half of its out, and the colour isn't great on it. This makes taking pictures a tad bit difficult.

The good news is, I can still take pics, and they still turn out great. Really, looking at what I've got so far, I'm practically thrilled with how they've come out.

Computer at the hostel's being difficult, or else I'd upload some. As for now, its off to see more of Melbourne...and take pics!

More to come later,

Alan

Off to Melbourne

2007-04-11T00:31:00.000-07:00

Tommorow, I head down to Melbourne. SOmething you probably deduced from the title of this post. I'll spend four nights in the capital of Victoria.

For everything you ever wanted to know about Australia's second largest city...might I reccomend the highly academic Wikipedia.

Melbourne is arguably the sports capital of the nation. Australian Rules Football is huge in Victoria, and Melbourne is home to 9 clubs in the AFL. The city is also home to the Melbourne Cricket Ground which is a world famous cricket venue. The city recently hosted the World Swimming Championships and of course tennis' Australian Open is held here. Needless to say, I think I'll find something to do.

Also, according to Lonely Planet, Melbourne is big on coffee. I'm big on coffee. Win, win. There's a chance I'll be wired enough to stay awake the entire seven hour bus ride home.

Of course, this time around I will be bringing both digital camera and digital camera connect-to-computer thingamajig so I can upload photos whilst down there.

What do you mean I'm not technologically inclined? What tipped that off?

Anyway, there should be reports coming from Melbourne in the next few days. If not, I return to Canberra on Monday (Sunday for most of you).

The hope of the weekend is to take in an Essendon Bombers AFL match. Normally I wouldn't support a team thats been so succesful over the years (they are tied for most AFL/VFL premierships with 16) but considering they finished 15th last season I guess the bandwagon is fairly empty. Plus, black and red is a sweet colour combo. They take on the Carlton Blues at the MCG on Saturday.

On the other hand, it does seem really weird saying "Go Bombers." Oh well.

Go Bombers,

Alan

Old Res Wedding

2007-04-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

As you may recall from my post about O-Week, life in residences is a bit different then it is in the States. The best possible example of this would have to be Old Res Wedding, something I had the privelege of attending a few days ago.

With the festivities set to kick off at six thirty, most people on Res begin drinking at four or so. Got to do this right. I abstain from such activities yet because I have a lot of beer and not a lot of liquor. Following the old addage Beer before liquor, never sicker, I hold off on joining the fray right away, instead I get ready for the event.

This is not an ordinary party. After all, the word "Wedding" is included. Its a dress up affair. So, break out the shirt and tie and get ready to wow the crowd. I was informed that I looked good by numerous people, some of them attractive women with Australian accents. This night is starting our the right way.

At six thirty, with six pack of Jim Bean and coke in hand, I head over to one of the common rooms for the "Buck Party" (the women head over to another place for the Hen party.) Basically, this is a bachelor party. Everyone drinks...a lot, they "draw" for a groom (meaning they put our names in the hat pick one, but have already determined who the groom would be.) We ate some sandwiches, drank some more. Life is good.

My friend Tommy is "selected" to be groom. This basically means that he gets to drink more then the rest of us and is guranteed a pash (kiss) from the bride later that night. Congrats to him. We sing to him, egging him on to skull whatever someone hands him. Good times. I get sung to a few times as well, probably because I was representing the Northern Hemisphere.

"Its a lot of pressure, representing an entire hemisphere. But I think I can handle it," I tell on the of SRs.

(And seriously, there was nobody from the Northern Hemisphere there. No Americans, Europeans, Canadians, Asians...nobody.)

In the meantime, the big screen TV is showing hilights of past Masters tournaments. The general concensus: golf sucks. So, some one puts a porno into the DVD player. We then proceed to make fun of the movie from its bad writing to worse acting. Then we drank some more. Do you see a trend here?

Somewhere in between all of this I went back to my room to get more drinks (note to self: XXXX is possibly the worst beer ever) and on the way back started singing Phi Mu Alpha songs. It was a good night.

Eventually, because no bachelor party is complete without one, a stripper shows up. Gives Tom a lap dance, does her thing. One of my friends asks me how this compares to frat parties back in the States.

"This is right up there with the best of them," Cheers to that, you can guess what happened next.

After the stripper finishes up, we mingle for a little while, drinking more. I meet up with an Australian who tells me he went to Tennessee.

"You know Rocky Top?" he asks.

"Hell yeah Rocky Top!" I reply, we then sing the chorus from Rocky Top, something that would have bewildered the bejesus out of anyone else had they not been totally pissed. Like I said, it was a fun night.

We then go over and meet up with the girls who are just as drunk as we are. The "wedding" involves a guy playing a priest yelling something a long the following:

"CAN I GET AN AMEN!"

Crowd: AMEN

Preiset: I CAN'T HEAR YOU?

Crowd: AMEN!!

Preist: I THINK NEW RES AND ARSCOTT ARE STILL SLEEPING! WAKE 'EM UP!!

Crowd: AMEN!!!! (as loud as possible)

Then there was some part where we knelt and said some sort of prayer or blessing for the new couple, who then kissed. We cheered. Some girl asked if I wanted some of her drink, and by ask I mean put to my lips and poured down throat. Fun times, fun times indeed.

We then went to the Uni Bar and got strange looks from people who couldn't figure out why we were all wearing suits and the such were here.

Overall, just a fantastic night, somehow made even better by the fact that this happened (and was supported by) Residential Services.

I love this country.

Alan

News from the other side of the world: Volume 4

2007-04-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I've done one of these.

The big story is the Tsunami in the Solomon Islands. Both Australia and New Zealand have pitched in with the relief efforts. Now there's concern about disease. The tsunami also raised concerns about Australian safety and the day of the quake, a lot of shoreline businesses closed down.

One of the biggest stories down here is that of Ian Thorpe accused of doping by a French newspaper. Ian Thorpe is, not surprisingly, trying to clear his name. This is apperently wearing him down. There's also a lot of debate amongst Australians as to weather or not he did it. This sounds a lot like the cases of Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis which, if they have taught us anything its don't fully trust these tests or the French media. This story could become huge depending on further revelations.

In addition to clearing his name, Thorpe is "embarrased to be Australian" over the treatment of Aboriginal people.
The debate on Euthenasia just got a lot hotter due to this Sydney case.

There's a lot of controversy about how Australia's Aviation Safety council handled a plane crash two years ago.

Western Australia's got bank all of a sudden.

I love sports, and I love the media, so when the two collide its a must read for me. Telstra is quite upset about how its NRL video is being used.

Glenn McGrath is coming after England in the World Cup. The match is only 4 days away and the Ashes Series is still on the minds of Australians. (The Ashes is a cricket series Australia plays against England. The Aussies usually win, but not this year. That didn't go over so well.)

A light edition this time, but as always happy reading.

Alan

The Touch Footy Post

2007-04-02T02:20:00.000-07:00

Its been asked for, maybe even demanded. And now, I bring you the touch footy post.

Right now most of you are thinking, what is footy? Is Alan getting some hot Australian action that he's not telling us about? In reality, footy is another name for rugby so you can go ahead and feel silly now.

No one realls calls rugby "rugby" down here. Its footy. Channel 9 even advertises for Friday Night Footy and Monday Nght Footy (which to my delight, does not feature John Madden.) You don't ask if the rugby's on, you don't say you're watching the rugby. Its footy. Not that if you call it rugby, the locals will look at you strange, but you learn pretty quick that rugby is referred to as footy.

So, as you can guess, touch footy is....touch rugby. Given what you know about rugby (not a lot, I'm presuming) you're probably wondering how touch footy works. Wouldn't you just get touched over and over again with everything ending in a draw?

Not if you use league rules! There are two forms of rugby, and we'll get into those a while later. But, in league rules, after a tackle (or in this case touch) the defense must back up 10 metres and allow the offense some space to advance the ball.

Other than that, standard rugby rules apply: pass it backwards, five touches till turnover, ground the ball on the try, and don't drop the ball. A rule I became familar with in this evenings comp.

I've delayed writing this post because I wanted to actually get a feel for the game before I wrote about it. The first week I was confused as confused could be. I knew to pass backwards, but the defense backing up part? What was that?

So, I'd run a bit, we'd get a tackle, back up a little before hearing the ref, "back with me, white shirt!" (I was wearing a white shirt, but you figured that out.) So, I did a lot of running, a lot of not figuring out the game, and we got killed something like 10-3.

The next two weeks I gradually got in the flow. I was able to read plays a bit, get some good runs (with the ball even!) and had a lot more fun, though I swear the ref backs up more then 10 metres. This especially sucks when the other team goes on a long run on the opposite side of the field. Because, you then have to run that distance (not after them, you stay spread out to maintain a line) plus the additional ten metres. Because if your team makes a tackle whilst offside...its another 5 touches to the other team.

Personally, I thought touch footy would make a great fun cross country practice. (A practice where you run to keep your legs fresh, but not neccesarily work them because there's a meet coming up. In high school this was usually a game of Ultimate played seemingly 20 aside)

This week, my team, the mighty Pink Salmons (record 0-3...2 by forfit since we didn't have enough girls on our team) showed up to the oval to take on the Lions. This was sure to be an amazing clash that would wow the UCU Touch Club for years to come.

The score was tied 1-1 in the first half when the Salmon used some brilliant running to get close to the Lions try line. I slipped out to wing (close to sideline). My friend Beela gets on a run but just as he's touched (and has drawn the outside defender in) he passes the ball out to me. I'm thinking "Holy s***! I'm about to score a try!" Knowing I had to ground the ball, I glance up to judge how far I had to run before grounding.

At that point the ball hit me square in the hands and fell to the ground. Somehwere, John Madden is informing the world how you can't take your eyes off the ball.

Later in the half, the score is now 2-1 in favor of the Mighty Salmon. Once again, we've gotten the ball close to the try line, once again I'm on the wing. Once again Beela has drawn in the defense and throws me the ball.

"Don't drop it again, moron." I said to myself. It worked, I secured the ball, sprinted across the line, and put the ball down. I had scored a try, I was God of Touch Footy. As Kenny Maine might say, "I am amused by the simplicity of this game, bring me your finest meats and cheeses."

I was then promptly offside on the ensuing tap (starting the next possession). I was no longer God of Touch Footy, but I'd still take some of those cheeses.

Later on in the half, the Lions are threatening the Salmon try line. They send a ball out wide, which goes over its intended target and right onto my fingertips. The ball hits my hand, falls to the ground. I'm thinking "Lateral! You can pick this up and run!" So I do. I scopp the ball off the ground and sprint off for the try line. This is sweet.

Have you ever wondered what goes through a football players mind while he's running down the field with a defender chasing him. If its anything like how I felt its something like this:

"I'm going to score! Wahoo! Nothing between me and the tryline! Unless that guy catches me! (look back) No, I can beat him! I'm totally getting my second try of the game! (look back) Dude, he's gaining. He's fast. My high school nickname was the Sloth. Afterburners...go! Now slide, ground the ball! Aww man...I think he got me a metre from the try line."

The two of us (myself and the defender) now await the teams to come down the field. Except they aren't coming. Instead, I see the ref waving us back down there. I jog back down the field where one of my teammates informs me, "You dropped the ball."

Yeah, even that little brush off my fingertips was a "knock-on" which brought the ball over to the other team. My fellow Salmon were impressed with my run, even though it didn't count. That made me feel a little better, but having to go from second try of the game to playing defense right away....not as fun.

Overall though, touch footy is a fun game. If you want more information, here's the Australian national site.

Here's what the highly academic Wikipedia has to say about it.

I might buy a rugby ball over here and teach the game to you guys back home. Besides, throwing and kicking a rugby ball round is fun. We shall see.

Oh, and in the excitement of the three posts yesterday I forgot to mention...THE EELS WON!!! A thrilling golden point win over the Wests Tigers. A joy to watch.

Till next time,

Alan

Wolfmother!

2007-03-31T01:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-31T00:39:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-25T01:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-10T04:53:00.000-08:00

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

2007-03-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

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

2007-03-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

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"

2007-03-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

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

2007-03-01T23:14:00.000-08:00

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

First round of pics

2007-02-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

G'day everyone. I went walking around Lake Burley Griffin yesterday (actually, I only made it half way) and was able to take some pictures. I put an album up on Yahoo for your enjoyment.

You can view the pics here

A few notes...

The lake is the main focal point of town, but walking around it will take you from city centre to farmland in no time flat. Its kind of strange, but nice at the same time.

Since the main government buildings are alligned on the lake, there's also a lot of memorials, which I took some pictures of.

This was my first real trip into the city, but I really just looked at things, haven't done anything "touristy" yet. Unless you count walking up the hill at Commonwealth Place, camera in hand, just to get a view of Old Parliment House. THen I've done touristy things.

Enjoy the pics, more to come later.

News from the other end of the world...2

2007-02-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Time for the second round of the feature for all you news junkies in the world.

The top story...

Tony Blair is telling John Howard that Australia should come up with an exit strategy in Iraq, echoing what opposition leaders in Australia have been calling for. Howard is downplaying the remarks (wonder if this has something to do with the alliance with the US).

Here's the article.

The largest paper in the country, The Australian, is supporting Blair.

Also, Dick Cheny's coming down for a visit, and some people are not happy about it. Cheney's visit will create the largest protection force for a foreign dignitary since George Bush came in 2003. Cheney will be down here for 3 days.

More US-Australian relations. George Bush has told John Howard that he will help speed up David Hicks' trial. Hicks is an Australian being held at Guantanomo Bay, and fter five years was finally charged with what many Aussies think are bogus offenses. Howard is becoming less and less popular, so Bush will try to help him out with a speedy trial.

The country is trying to get control of all of its water. Currently the states have individual control of their water and how its used, but due to a drought, the federal government is pushing for national control. Victoria is opposed to this.

In sports...the Australian cricket team says it will become a force again. After losing to England (shocking) and then New Zealand (inspiring one guy on my floor to scream "What the hell is wrong with the Australian cricket team?!?) the Aussies head to the Carribean trying for their third straight World Cup championship. Their skipper says that after the tournament, then the criticts can have their say.

Archie Thompson scores five goals as the Melbourne Victory win the A-League Grand Final.

In other news...

Australia will be using enviromentally friendly light bulbs.

Sydney is having problems landing major sporting events.

Aussie rules football might get its own channel.

Happy reading!

Alan

Thongs

2007-02-20T20:29:00.000-08:00

First off, if you're on Facebook, and don't join this group, I'm going to be sad.

Students Against Alan Hoffmann Being Eaten By Kangaroos.

It might be an SIUC only group, but the concern is appreciated.

So, here's your first bit of Australian slang: thongs. While down here I've been asked why I don't wear them, have heard people be advised not to wear them to a party, and have seen more of them then I ever thought possible.

Of course, I'm talking about sandals.

Considering its a balmy 30 degrees outside today, and is likely to be in the high 20s to low 30s for awhile (think Celsius, people!) I decided to buck with my normal anti-sandal ways and buy a pair. They were cheap (12 bucks) and are fairly comfortable. I put them on half way through my walk back to the Ressies and was amazed at how nice it felt.

Of course, this bit of terminology is still a bit weird to me, leading to this quasi-awkward (for me) conversation with the woman at the register.

Her: So, whats your mailing code?
Me: (thinking, thinking pulls out wallet to look) Sorry, I'm an international student, I forgot it.
Her: No worries.
Me: 2507.
Her: Where you from?
Me: The states.
Her: Is this your first pair of thongs?
Me: (trying not to giggle, because I'm obviously 12 years old) Yeah.

Then it was off to the grocery store for some supplies, including Peach Tea. I haven't seen this in the States, but I haven't looked for it either. Its basically what it sounds like, tea with peach flavoring. I had this on the airplane, and I think it changed my life.

I feel like you need to know these things.

Other notes...

~I have class three days a week. This is what is known as awesome.

~Have not heard back from the rugby club, but have from the Ultimate Frisbee team. Going to throw with them tomorrow.

~Rugby jersies are just as expensive as anyother sports jersey. An Eels one goes for about $120. I've decided to become an Eels supporter because, lets face it, that nickname is awesome. I bought an Eels polo, in which I look quite dashing.

Cheers!

Alan

Kangaroos

2007-02-18T22:12:00.000-08:00

Just like the United States has squirrels, Australia has Kangaroos.

Took this picture last night while walking around campus. There's a video too, but YouTube is sucking the fun out of things and taking forever to load it up. (Just a few minutes though!)

Once I can, I'll imbed that vid onto the site, and you can enjoy some awesome kangaroo hopping.

UPDATE: Here's the YouTube video!

What, you want more Kangaroo? Fine, here you go.

While this second one isn't as exciting, you do get to see how the kangaroos "walk". They're still close to the ground, and they slowly push forward with both hind legs. Its still kind of a hopping motion, but acts as more of a crawl over the ground.

I love my digital camera.
Alan

News from the other end of the World...1

2007-02-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

I’m going to start what I hope will be a regular feature here at Alan In Oz. Presenting the first addition of News From the Other End of the World.

Basically, I’ll scan the papers and relay what’s big news down here to those of you reading back in the States (or anywhere in the world, really. This is, after all, on the World Wide Web.) I want to give you guys an insight on how Austraalia works in the world, and just in general what’s going on down here.

The Top Story…

In a story that might not be getting a whole lot of press back home, Australian prime minister John Howard is attacking Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s Iraq policy.

"If I were running al Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats,” said Howard, referring to the dateline Obama set for troop withdrawl from Iraq.

Australia does have a small presence in Iraq, supplying 1,400 troops. Something Obama made mention of.

"If Prime Minister Howard truly believes what he says, perhaps his country should find its way to contribute more than just 1,400 troops so some American troops can come home," he said. "It's easy to talk tough when it's not your country or your troops making the sacrifices."

Obama also suggested that the Aussies put more troops to Iraq help with the cause. Howard maintains that his country’s contributions are significant. Gwynne Dyer, a columnist that is published in The Canberra Times points out that this isn’t entirely correct. Australia’s population is about one-fifteenth of the population of the United States. So, if you work the numbers, one-fifteenth of the U.S. presence in Iraq is 10,600.

Why is Australia even in Iraq, you might ask. Well, its because the government here feels the need to be on good terms with the United States. Given its small population, the Australians fear invasion from Indonesia or other Asian countries. I picked up a book, “Australia in International Politics” and on page 5 (to give you an idea of how prevalent this way of thinking is) it reads…

“The turning point in World War II, which showed that the British were incapable of defending their far-flung empire in South-East Asia and the Pacific. Australia, too weak to protect its own territory from determined attack, had to find a ‘great and powerful friend’. That new friend was the USA, and Australia has been in close alliance with the USA ever since.”

Australia has fought alongside the US in many wars, most recently the one in Iraq. Yes, Australia does face the threat of terrorism (88 Australians were killed in the Bali Bombings in 2002, and ten were killed on September, 11) but as Mr. Dyer writes in Thursday’s column, “If the US were to invade Mars, Australia would send a battalion along to guard the supply depot.”

A link to the CNN story

A link to Dyer’s column.

A story relating to that last bit by Dyer. Perhaps that is why the leader of the Labour Party (think Democrats) is all in favor for a US Military Communications base in Western Australia….

Story 2 gives us an environmental concern. A Japanese whaling vessel is floating adrift near the world’s largest penguin breeding grounds. A fire aboard the ship makes it a risk to leak oil, and its in an area that’s hard to get to, and sees a lot of storms. So, an oil spill here (the ship carries over 300,000 gallons of oil) could be pretty bad.

Here’s the link.

Now for some sports. Already reeling from a stunning defeat to England (and I do mean stunning. The Aussies are kind of mad about this, actually) in cricket, the Green and Gold received more bad news when one of their top players badly twisted his ankle in practice. Brett Lee is now doubtful for next month’s Cricket World Cup.

The Aussies are playing New Zealand for three matches, but aren’t counting on a victory. Stephen Flemming, the Kiwi captain, told reporters that there is no such thing as a weak Australian team.

New Zealand and Australia play three one-day matches beginning Saturday.

In other news: Telstra doesn’t like the iPhone.

Sydney might use recycled water.

There is some political tension between Australia and the island nations.

Hope you like the new feature. More to come later.

O Week...or Australians and Alcohol.

2007-02-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

G'day Mates!

(Note: yes, they actually do say that down here, its not just some Crocodile Dundee inspired sterotype. In fact, one of my friends wanted to hear my Australian accent and had me say "G'day Mate" He was rather impressed with it, actually.)

So, this is O week. O week is Orientation Week where we get acclimated to Uni life and things like that. So, guess what? I'm still not in class. They start on Monday.

So, what are a bunch of college students to do while waiting for classes to start? Well...the Ressies Rulebook gives us an idea.

UCRS believes the enjoyment of alcohol is an adult privilege and recognises it as an established part of Australian lifestyle. UCRS therefore permits the responsible consumption of alcohol on Ressies.

Basically, that means drink up. The drinking age in Australia is 18, so almost everyone at Uni is of legal age. In fact, there are two bars on campus. My friends I were wondering why they didn't just have a liquor store on campus. Its a cash cow waiting to happen.

The first night of O Week (Saturday) about 70 of us are in the green room at International House (I live in Old Ressies) Its your basic get to know you kind of thing. You know stand up, say your name, where your from, and what your studying. Maybe something interesting about yourself.But, don't forget your drink! Beer, liquor, wine, you name it it was in that room. And if you didn't have a drink one of the SRs (like an RA back in the states) will make you a Screwdriver on the spot. I find it to be kind of weird, but got used to it fast.

Not only did we drink at this, we played massive drinking games. Including the largest game of "I Never" you've ever seen. I never has to be the greatest get to know you game ever created.

Yesterday, at about 5:30, I had happy hour with some people out in front of the ressies. When I told the Aussies that this sort of thing would never happen in the States, they told me to move.

This might be why, at the International Students lecture, we were advised not to try to drink an Australian under the table. You will fail miserably, and feel terrible the next day. I have no intentions of trying.

Lets see here...they do sausages down here. I've had one a day thanks to O Week festivities. Not bad either, I like it.

I've also signed up for a few clubs. I found the Ultimate Frisbee guys, and got on their mailing list. Then, after circling around the courtyard a few times I decided to go to the rugby table. I've never played, I'd probably get killed, but what better way to learn the sport but to play it? So I signed up for it to.

Hey, you only live once, right?

On classes...

Here's something you'd never hear them say at Orientation in the states: Avoid Buying Textbooks. But, its actually in the International Students "Tips" section. I'll see what I can do.

Also, you go to a class lecture once a week and then a tutorial once a week. This is fairly relaxed. Also, you can skip the lectures if you want, they don't take attendence. I do have to go to 80% of the tutorials though in order to avoid deportation. I'm sure I can handle it.

Also, its really hard to get an A here (or as they say an HD, High Distinction) Its the top 2% of the class. I hope to get one, but I'm not going to be upset if I don't get it. The saying here is P's (Passes) get Degrees...which is something American students can relate to.

The Grade system is High Distinctions, Distinctions, Credit, Pass. Just so you know.

I think that should just about do it for now. I promise to report on more than just alcohol next time. Maybe a post on the slang I've picked up on is in order.

Till then...Cheers!

Alan

The trip down under

2007-02-14T17:24:00.001-08:00

Warning, this post is extremely long. But its a good story. So, read on.

In what feels like a long time ago now (February 7th) I finished my packing, posted my last post on the Alan in Oz site (for now) and headed to the Airport. I was leaving the country…it was going to be awesome.

I check into the airport, and get my bags checked in. But, apprently, with an airline switch for me in San Fransisco, the ticket agent didn’t know that the final destination was Canberra, Australia. We got this all sorted out though. Later at the gate, I was told my bags had been checked all the way to Canberra.

Here is the first “fun” part of the trip. For domestic flights, the airlines tell you to arrive 90 minutes before your flight. For international, its three hours. So, I showed up at the airport 3 hours before my flight, because overall I was going overseas. But…my first fligh was domestic. So, I got to sit in Sea Tac for three hours, twidling my thumbs. I ended up eating a late lunch and using the Internet for awhile. Good times…

The flight down to S.F. is uneventful, though I’m really starting to hate landing. Seriously, I landed four times on this trip and felt terrible during each one. However, my stomach being in knots isn’t what makes this story great, so lets move on.

On the flight, I met a couple that was headed down to Melbourne. Awesomeness. This meant I basically had a safety net when getting to my next flight. If those guys were there, I was in the good. Fabulous. They seemed very nice, and I talked to them for a little bit throughout the trip.

I landed at about 9:30. An incredible thing must happen around 9:30 at the San Fransisco Airport. That thing is the closing of almost all of the Currency Exchange booths. The one that was open was out of Australian Dollars. So, I’m headed to Oz with my greenbacks, but none of their awesomely awesome looking money (yes, its that cool)

(Sidenote about the money: Its multicolored, each bill being a different colour and size. Also, on each one there’s a piece of clear plastic in the bill. I’m fairly certain its impossible to conterfiet this stuff, and no, I don’t intend to try. Also, the smallest bill is a five. They have dollar, dollar fifty, and two dollar coins (as well as tenty cent, and fifty cent, possibly more, I haven’t seen it yet.) I’ll take a picture of it later.)

So, I get to the International terminal, and get to my gate. However, the sign says “Sydney”. My ticket says “Melbourne” I’m thinking “What the…?” it turns out that my flight was going to Sydney first, then Melbourne. A nice little omission from my travel itinerary.

The flight is relatively uneventful. Qantas turns off all the lights to help people sleep , and they feed you meals (two, even!) Finally, after all these years, I understand those jokes about airline food.

We land in Sydney. Hooray! Beautiful city. I even get some money exchanged, and am ready to get going again. I have a bit of time, so I do a bit of shopping. I am now the proud owner of a Wallabies hat, which I purchased mostly to cover up my hair, that for some reason looked terrible after a 14 hour flight. (Fine, I’ll admit it…I’m a tad vain.) The hat is just a yellow hat with the Wallabies logo on it and green. I have a feeling it just screams “TOURIST” but I like it.

See the couple headed to Melbourne again. They seemed to be happy that I made it as well. All is good. We board the flight, and get settled in for the trip down to Melbourne.

Now, here’s a fun geography lesson. What Australian city lies directly in the flight path between Sydney and Melbourne? Hint: not Darwin.

If you answered “Canberra” then you win. Fantastic. I love watching the in flight progess channel for my entertainment. I know, its lame, but I like watching how fast we’re going and that stuff. So, I kind of cringe as I watch us fly right over Canberra. “Hey! That’s John Howard’s house!” (He’s the prime minister)

Land in Melbourne, and now get to go through customs. Luckily, at the last minute I decided not to pack a bag containing firearms, large knives, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and over 100,000 dollars. I had to part way with an apple (they fed us well on the flight, so I didn’t dive into my snacks. I was looking forward to eating that apple too…) but other than that, I got through fine.

It was now lunch time. I opted for some pizza over Hungry Jacks (which is Burger King, just with a different name. Their logo is the 80s BK logo, just with the words Hungry Jacks inside the bun.) I then head down to the gate.

At this point, in no particular order, here are some of of the thoughts going through my head.

“Holy s***! I’m in Australia!”
“Why is Dr. Phil on TV down here?”
“They better not lose my luggage.”
“Dr. Phil followed by Days of Our Lives? Alright, American Day Time TV is alive down here!”
“Can’t wait to shower.”
“God, I hope the Sonics lose their next 30 games and get Kevin Durant.” (note: I don’t know if the Supes even have 30 games left. They probably don’t. I just know I want Durant.)
“I get to miss the fun part of the baseball season. You know, the one where the M’s are still alive. I’m saddened by this.”
“But, I’m in Australia, which is more awesome than baseball.”
“I can’t wait to try a meat pie.”

At this point, possibly the point where I’m imagining Kevin Durant wearing Green and Gold, they announce that the flight is being delayed due to a problem with the PA system. Personally, I’m wondering what the PA system can do what the fleet of five flight attendents can’t. But, whatever.

Then, the announce that they’ve found the part and we’ll board in 20 minutes. Fantastic! I go back to thinking about the upcoming Sonics dynasty (I blame this on jet lag).

But wait! They need to get the part from the hanger, so it’ll take a little while longer. Fine, I just want to shower and maybe get a beer sometime soon. This has been a long day. This is when I notice the cricket match is on. England versus Australia. When it comes to cricket (and probably most things) Australia hates England. The commercials during the match, while talking about certain products, openly bashed the English cricket team. Like imagine 710 Bookstore putting on an ad during an SIU basketball game that said something like “Want to be smarter than those Nebraskan morons in Creighton? Shop at 710. Then use the money you save to go to Omaha and tell Creighton fans how much their basketball team sucks.” I have taken a strong liking to these ads.

At this point, they say that itss going to be a 40 minute wait. Alright, itss cricket time. I get a front row seat to the TV and begin to be thoroughly confused by the whole thing. I think the same guy batted the entire time I was watching. Just as I was starting to pick up on the fact that maybe I could understand this game we’re told that we’re swtiching flights. Oh, and the gate is on the opposite end of the airport. This is apperently, the anti-Cricket side of the aiport, as the match isn’t on.

So, we fly to Canberra. We’ve been told that because of the late plane switch our bags won’t make it as soon as possible, but we can put in our claim in Canberra. No worries then.

I meet up with the U of Canberra rep there. She’s very nice, though I can’t hear anything she’s saying (the whole ear popping thing) I get up to the counter to put in my baggage claim and the woman looks at the screen like its a Sudoku puzzle on a 29×29 grid.

Apprently, my bags did not make the trip. When I was told “checked through to Canberra” I though this meant that they would go through customs in Canberra. Not so. They were supposed to go through in Melbourne. (At this point, just for the record, I’m no longer thinking about Kevin Durant playing for the Sonics.) The bags will be brought up the next day, but not gurantees.

So, I get in a cab and go to campus, and get checked in. I meet Martin, one of the International Student coordinators. We make a plan on how to get my bags and the such. I go to my room, and at this point I basically just pass out. I mean, I’m gone. Slept for 12 hours.

I wake up the next day, and walk around campus to get a feel for it. Its a nice place, I like it. Come back to my room, start wondering when I might be able to shower when my phone rings. Its Martin, they have my bags. They’re on campus even! Hooray.

As I lug my luggage (haha…lug, luggage) through the people moving in, the SRs (RAs basically) who know what has happened are glad that my bags are in. I unpacked everything and showered. It was basically the best shower ever, except for maybe the ones after SIU Homecoming. But, possibly better. The bottom line: the shower was WICKED/ (They say that down here)

Considering that this post is long enough, and you probably have something better to do like take out the garbage, make dinner and/or a drink, or play the Wii, I’ll hold up for now. More to come, including drinking games with everyone in Old Ressies including the SRs.

Don’t stop, never give up,

Alan

(My friend Damien down here sings that song, mostly now as a joke. The real song s quite annoying, but its stuck in my head.)

I leave tomorrow

2007-02-06T23:31:00.000-08:00

I leave tomorrow. The bags are mostly packed, the lose ends are all tied up. I can't wait. A few notes...

~Packing for six months is not as hard as it might seem, and doesn't weigh as much as one might think. I'm taking two suitcases, one weighing about 48 pounds, the other 32. (Max is 50) A little food for thought the next time you see freshmen moving into their dorms. Granted I need to purchase somethings when I get there, but all in all not to bad.

~SPF 50 sunscreen does exsist...and I am the proud owner of some. Considering Australia borders the largest hole in the Ozone layer, I felt this to be a good idea.

~It was a chilly 80 degrees in Canberra today....I decided to skip packing the parka though.

I have no idea how to feel right now. On the one hand, I don't know anyone there (terrifying). On the other, I did the same thing when I ventured off to college in the first place (comforting). So, right now, I'm sort of calm as if tomorrow's flight is no big deal.

Perhaps the flight isn't...just the destination.

And its length...oy veh, the length! (see previous post)

I read about some ways to prevent jet lag. Apperently my idea of parusing the beer and wine list and ordering accordingly is not the way to go. One must be hydrated, to avoid the lag.

Also, motion is essential. I read that the airline seats actually constrict blood flow to your legs and sitting in them for prolonged periods of time (such as 19 hours, for instance) could cause a fatal blood clot. I found that to be quite interesting, and I wonder if something about it will be mentioned in the pre flight safety instructions.

Next post will be from Australia!

Alan

A week to go and a note on time

2007-02-02T00:33:00.000-08:00

I'm a week out from the departure date, and its really starting to hit me: I'm going to Australia. This is kind of a big deal to me, as my previous International traveling experience was a few day trips to Canada.

No big developments on my preperation. Its time to pack and the such, but nothing big to tell you about. But some news and notes...

~I picked up some adapters today. Australia uses a type I plug, in case you were curious. AAA has these for fairly cheap.

~Also at AAA I picked up an International Driver's Liscence. Its about ten bucks, and you get it on the spot. I'm not sure if I'll be doing any driving while in Australia, but in case I do...I'm covered. Hooray.

In other news, the most common question I get these days is, "Whats the time difference?" Besides the obvious answer of, "Its tomorrow.." here's how we go.

Australia is 18 hours ahead of Pacific Time (15 hours on the East Coast) Personally, I think adding 18 is kind of messy (math was never my forte) so my answer is that Canberra is 6 hours behind, but tomorrow. For example, itss currenly 12:45 A.M. on February 2 in the Pacific Time Zone. In Canberra, its 6:45 P.M. on February 3.

Aren't time zones fun?

The other common question or comment is something along the lines of, "Thats one long flight." Yes, yes it is.

When I depart for Oz, I will be flying out of San Fransisco. The flight leaves at 10:30 P.M. on February 7. I arrive in Melbourne at 11:15 A.M. on February 9. Thanks to the International Dateline, my flight skips Thursday. To make the math simple, let's say I arrive at 5:15 P.M. Pacific Time, and we can see that I'm in the air for about 19 hours.

How I plan to spend those 19 hours...

~Sleep
~Puzzle books (I like Sudoku, Kakuro, things of that nature)
~More sleep
~Pray for a good inflight movie
~Write various notes about the experience to share with you, the reader.
~Paruse the fligh's beer/wine selection, order accordingly.

Any ideas on how else to pass the time? Leave 'em in the comments.

(BTW, those of you reading this on Facebook...the URL should be at the top of this "note".

A lesson in the postal service and my classes

2007-01-23T22:47:00.000-08:00

Recently, I needed to mail something down to Australia. Since it was for housing, I felt it was important that it get there fast. At the Post Office I inquired about express delivery to Australia. Keep in mind this is only an envelope with a letter in it.

Normal its 1.89. Express its 35 something.

Unless this express mail actually delivers the mail yesterday, we'll take our chances with the cheaper service, which takes teen days.

Onto my classes. No schedule yet, but I am enrolled in...

Creative Writing. I'v always wanted to take this kind of class, so here we go. Maybe I'll write about a dashing young American who always gets the girl. Now wouldn't that be fantasy.

Internet and Media Communication. And you thought that the Internet was only for sports scores and feet fetishes. HA! You can mass communicate on it too.

Sports Marketing. I have no idea how I would have a use for this class. Ever....

Those are the official ones. I'm trying to get into New Technology and Globalisation. Like the Matrix, but without the Kung Fu.

Thats about it for now. Until then,

Alan

Getting ready update

2007-01-18T01:46:00.000-08:00

Its about three weeks until I head down to Australia. People ask me if I'm excited about the trip, and the answer is kind of a strange one. Its sort of a mixture of yes and no.

Yes, of course I'm excited. I've only been to Canada twice, and thats my international experience. I'm going to Australia, its going to be awesome and a life changing experience.

At the same time, its still three weeks away, so I'm not overly excited yet. I'm not excited in the "Oh boy, here we go!" sense. I'll probably start getting that way, but right now its all fairly even keel.

I got word today that my housing forms arrived and were fine. So, I won't be homeless in Canberra. Here's a link to where I'll be staying,

http://www.canberra.edu.au/residences/on-campus/old-ressies

I'll be in a single (hooray for privacy) but I think just about everything at UC is. The dorm comes with a phone, lamp, and a fridge. At least at SIU, the first two were not included, and the fridge has to be rented.

The biggest difference is, I have to cook for myself, even though I'm in the dorms. This means that once I'm down there, I need to find a pot, a pan, and some cooking stuff. Considering I'm in the capital, I don't think this will be a problem, but it adds a wrinkle to the equation.

This also means I'm sure to do a full report on Vegemite. http://www.vegemite.com.au/

They all look so happy on that website!

By the way, if you're curious to know how I'm preparing for the trip, I'm reading Lonely Planet's guide to Australia. Anything you want to know about the country is there. Hot spots for tourists, where to get a good meal (and drink) and some of the must sees in any city. Even reading about parts of the country I probably won't see is fascinating.

Alan in Oz

2007-01-14T00:40:00.000-08:00

My name is Alan Hoffmann. I'm going to be studying abroad for a semester in Australia. The University of Canberra to be more specific. On this site, I hope to share some of the experiences I'll have with friends, family, and whoever else wants to stop by.

Leave a comment if you like, and enjoy the ride.

Alan.