Lest I get so far behind that I can't catch up, here's a shorter account of the footy game two Sundays ago and our drive to the Great Ocean Road last Saturday!

The Australian Rules Football game was at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (which I toured while at Melbourne Welcome). The Richmond Tigers were hosting the North Melbourne Kangaroos, and naturally I had to barrack for (Aussie term for 'root for') the 'Roos, since I live in North Melbourne!

And wouldn't you know it, they won 103-53. The rain was just pouring by the end of the match, though I don't think they do any sort of rain delays here. There were also tons and TONS of seagulls roaming the stands. One section down near the field that was mostly emptied thanks to the rain was completely taken over, and they were constantly occupying unpeopled sections of the field.

Kinda ridiculous.

The rest of the week was mostly going to advising meetings and hanging out, and then on Saturday we got up early, piled into three rented cars, and headed off to the Great Ocean Road. It was a little bit of a nightmare trying to get out of the city, but we finally got on the West Gate Freeway and went over a huuge bridge over the Yarra and headed west. The drive was really, really beautiful, rather reminiscent of the Pacific Coast Highway, except that on the other side of the ocean along this road? Antarctica. ANTARCTICA! Too cool. We had lunch in Lorne and then wound our way along the coast down towards the Gibson Steps and the Twelve Apostles. Hopefully, I'll be putting those pictures up soon on Facebook!

Tomorrow (if I get my ass in gear): recap of my first week of classes!

cultural interlude: television!

I went to start writing about this past week, starting with the footy game and ending with yesterday's awesome drive to the coast, but as I'm watching the finale of MasterChef, I'm going to start off with some Aussie culture/media observations!

• There are a lot of funeral home/funeral services ads on TV, which I feel would be totally strange in the US.
• Australia is in the midst of a huge public awareness campaign about speeding. The entire last commercial break was taken up by a PSA by the campaign, with talking head interviews of people involved with/affected by a car crash caused by speeding, starting with witnesses and first responders, then going to friends, girlfriend, other passenger, then on to the father, mother, and brother of the young driver who was killed in the accident. Pretty heavy for the commercial of a reality competiton.
• MasterChef is one of the most popular, if not THE most popular TV show on right now. Earlier tonight was a debate between the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard (of the Labor Party), and the leader of the rival Liberal party, Tony Abbott. This debate was originally scheduled for during the time slot of this MasterChef finale, but it was changed since they knew most people would be watching this show instead. That's some pull. The finalists are Callum and Adam, and I'm not really leaning toward either of them, so this is pure entertainment right now.
  
• In Australia, the Liberal Party is the more conservative party, and the Labor Party is more liberal.
• So in Australia, retirement funds are called Super Funds, which throws me off every time i see a commercial for one, seeing as Superfund is uh, something rather different in the US.
  
• There's a lot of American shows on Australian TV, especially daytime TV (The View, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Jerry Springer and Maury, various soaps)
• That's not to disregard the primetime American shows, which are generally of the crime drama variety (NCIS, CSI of various varieties, Lie To Me, [Law & Order] Criminal Intent), though there are a lot of American sitcoms as well.
  
• There are also lots of Aussie crime drama and real-life crime/law enforcement-related reality shows.

Okay, now on to the week in review. If I get around to it after the end of this show.

melbourne welcome

So I'm going to NEED to do a photo post soon, 'cause I've done quite a few things since arriving and quite a few things since I last wrote. Tuesday-Saturday I was at Trinity College at Melbourne Uni for "Melbourne Welcome," an orientation program put on for incoming international students. Most of the students were from the States, but I met people from England, Ireland, France, Sweden, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Mexico, Taiwan, and more. (My 'host group' consisted of 10 people, 7 from the US and 3 respectively from Mexico, Norway, and the Netherlands.)

Tuesday was check-in and the initial tours around the campus and around the city; we did a bit of shopping at QV Square, (not to be confused with the Queen Vic Market) where we visited Big W, which is kind of like an Australian Walmart. I think it's run by Woolworth's, though, but don't quote me on that. In QV is a food court level, and I found myself a Japanese bakery with melon pan! (If you don't know of my obsession with melon pan...it's deep-seated. I love melon pan.) Naturally I bought one and consumed it on the spot--should have bought two!

Wednesday we split the Trinity group in half and went to a couple different locations around the city. My group went first to the National Gallery of Victoria, a big art museum in Federation Square. After a few hours there, we went to a nice restaurant a few doors down to taste some Australian flora and fauna--shrimp, veggies, cheeses and quail eggs, but also crocodile tail, emu steak, and kangaroo chorizo! Everything was actually really good; I kind of wish the kangaroo had been a little less spiced so that we could experience its actual flavor, but I suppose I'll have ample opportunity to go seek out more. After we ate our slightly terrible bag lunches, we headed over to Eureka tower, the highest public observation deck in the southern hemisphere! (Australia is all about being the best of the southern hemisphere.) We zoomed up to the 88th floor and had a look around. Unfortunately it was a cloudy and rainy day, so we couldn't see far into the distance, but the view was still very nice. My host group, led by the indomitable Ash, left a bit early to check out the Crown complex. Crown is a huge, and I'm talking Vegas huge, casino complex on the Yarra. It's the biggest casino in Australia and, you guessed it, the southern hemisphere, and we only spent a few hours wandering around. Endless restaurants, luxury shopping (Versace, Guess, Burberry, Prada, and some random designer pajama maker that was selling rainbow leopard print onesies), restaurants, arcades, and gambling. Wednesday night we went to Melbourne Central for bowling at an Ed Hardy-themed bar/alley, but I didn't really want to front the cash to embarrass myself, so I hung out with some other bowling abstainers. We actually ended up down in the basement, shopping for some necessities at the grocery store near the train station before heading back to Uni on our own.

Thursday morning we went to the zoo! Finally saw some koalas, wombats, and penguins I could photograph! Unfortunately the platypus was hiding this morning, so I'm afraid I probably won't get to see one in the near future. (At $24.90 a pop, I don't think I'll be going to the zoo again soon.) I was especially excited when we entered a huge aviary and I saw a cassowary! He was kind of just standing there, hiding in the bushes, and refused to move a little bit so I could see his big massive feet. Alas. In the afternoon we went to the Botanical Gardens for an 'Aboriginal Heritage Walk,' led by 3 Aboriginal men who welcomed us to the country and walked us around the gardens, telling us about native uses for plants. Thursday evening was our formal dinner, with important College and University attendees. When we arrived in the hall, we were to stand behind our chairs until the people who were going to sit at the high table entered the room. It was all very British and Hogwarts-y, and there was a great deal of wine on the tables to be had. After our dinners, there were speeches, and some of us took part in a special drinking game where you had to take a sip whenever "Trinity" "College" and "thank you" were uttered. Not that there weren't enough of all of these, but the game REALLY would have gotten going if we'd also thrown "welcome" into the mix.

Friday morning we were split into 4 different groups, based on trips we'd signed up for when we first arrived. I went to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, where cricket and footy are played. Had a good wandering about through the complex and at the National Sports Museum, which is also inside, then had lunch and the afternoon off, which was a very nice break. Then dinner and sleep for me, though there was an Aussie-themed party going on for those who wanted to go out.

Yesterday was really just checkout of Trinity, walk back, and chill, which was very nice for recharging batteries. Today we're going to a footy game (if I can ever figure out when people are leaving for it), so I'll have to write again soon!

all moved in

After my friend graciously accompanied me in walking over to the apartments, I got myself moved in! I have a roommate, who is Australian, but she's away for the mid-year break and I'm not sure when she'll be back. The apartment is pretty tiny, but rather nice, and there's even a TV (with like 4 channels that play kids shows almost all the time, but I can't really complain) and a balcony. There's a pool in the courtyard, and a cafe near the entrance, and it's pretty nice overall. Apologies for the short entry, I've got to get ready for Phillip Island, where we're doing a slightly fuller orientation. Also there will be penguins. More later!

travel part 2 + first day in oz

Can I just say the LAX needs to up the map content of their airports? I had absolutely no idea where to go to catch my V Australia flight when I landed. Thankfully, it ended up being in the same terminal thing, which I only discovered by wandering around aimlessly in circles for about 15 minutes. I succeeded in getting some of my stuff charged, though there ended up being no internet on the flight so the laptop was slightly in vain.

Also on my flight were these kids, who got a little shoutout from the cabin crew later on in the flight. I got kind of excited about this, 'cause hey, baseball isn't really an Australian sport, RR-S aside.

The plane itself was super futuristic looking; as I got on, you could see a little hint of the first class area (which had a bar. With stools.) and even though the economy class was way smaller, it really wasn't too bad. I lucked out with an aisle seat (I hate having to make tons of people stand up so I can use the toilets), and there was a pretty nice selection of music, movies, TV shows, and games in the little seat back console to keep you occupied. I was super excited to see The Goonies and Rear Window as options (and watched some of the latter :D). Flight was pretty uneventful, had some not-too-terrible dinner (tortellini), had some not-too-quality sleep, and eventually some rather disappointing waffles.

Customs/immigration were very low-key, just asked some questions about medicines ("All for personal consumption?" "Yes." "All right, you can go ahead.") and about having been in a wilderness area in the last 30 days ("Do you have a tent or any camping gear?" "No." "Any shoes with soil still attached?" "No." "Okay."). There was a little bit of stress regarding my ride to the airport, since the pickup service didn't realize I was, well, arriving that day. They had me down for tomorrow, but since they showed up to get other students, I was able to get my ride after a little while. Yay!

I waited around the hotel for a little while, since I arrived around 8:00 and couldn't check in until 2, and then I went to meet up with a friend I knew who lived in the city, and we went around and rode a lot of public transport, which is AWESOME here. Amazingly convenient. It makes me so frustrated that Seattle has really crappy transportation (really, busses and one light rail line is NOT enough). Then we grabbed some lunch and hung out at her really awesome house, where I met her cat and bunny. Since I'd gotten off my plane at like 4:50 am, I was completely exhausted by 3 pm, so I took the train back to my hotel to finally check in. I tried so, so hard to stay up until 8 pm, which the man at the desk suggested as the magic number for being able to get past the jet lag, but I finally passed out around 6. Which is why I'm up now, at 6:25, but I have higher hopes for today, considering that I was actually able to sleep last night. Plan for today: watch some TV, shower, eat brekkie (I got a little voucher for a free one in the little restaurant downstairs, hopefully I can remember where I put it), check out by 10, then figure out when/how I'm going to get my stuff to the student apartments by 2.

Random observations!

THERE ARE SNUGGIE ADS IN AUSTRALIA TOO NOOOO
Also seen on TV: Jerry Springer and Maury, Lizzie McGuire, cricket (I'm determined to figure out how it works), rugby, A COMMERCIAL FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME WITH ICHIRO WHICH WILL BE ON TV LIVE ON FOX SPORTS 2 AT 10 AM ON THE DAY AFTER WHATEVER DATE THE ALL STAR GAME IS!!! (sorry, just saw that, got super excited, must find a television), lots of features on what's happening to Aussies in other countries (one teenager injured in running of the bulls, 90-year-old man arrested for child sexual assault in Thailand, Toni Collette and Rose Byrne with Emmy nominations) and domestically. The current political scandal is about the PM's plan to put a processing center for asylum-seekers in East Timor without consulting the East Timorese president; the current big celebrity story is Dannii Minogue's baby.

As an avid player of the licence plate game, I've been noticing the designs (super plain) and slogans of various license plates. There are a few for each state, it seems; here's what I've seen so far:
Victoria - Garden State
Victoria - The Place To Be
Victoria - On The Move
Queensland - Sunshine State
Queensland - The Smart State
ACT - The Nation's Capital
NSW - The First State

Also, Burger King is Hungry Jacks here. Both have similar signs and the Whopper, so I'm assuming that they're the same company.

For Rosa: I saw a "Give Way to Peds" sign next to a turn lane. Yay Peds!

Okay. Almost time to implement my morning plans. More later!

the travel has commenced

I'm currently on my first of two flights, from Seattle to LA. I'm really enjoying this whole airplane internet thing, and if there's internet on my next flight, I'm going to be set. From what I read on their website, I don't think there's internet, which is super sad, but that's why I have a DS, a book, a pillow, a blanket, an mp3 player, a notebook...I think I can handle it. It's just going to be a long, long flight. This might be goodbye before Melbourne, and if so, let's hope my carry-ons aren't over 15 pounds each. I might have to end up wearing sweat pants over my jeans/walking around with my pillow around my neck and my blanket as a cape to lose weight. We'll see.

so i leave in 20 minutes

for the airport. This is going to be so, so hard. Also: airline weight requirements suck. 15 pounds per carry-on? 35 pounds per suitcase? Clothes are heavy, damnit! And so are laptops and books. Gah. Well, just in case this is my last post (hah, of three) until I get there...see you the day after tomorrow!

about that "regular" business...

So yeah, really bad at regular updates. But I've been thinking about blogging a lot lately, and seeing as I leave in THREE DAYS (oh crap), it's about time. After 3 wonderful weeks in Utah and one long weekend in California, it's really time to crack down and get things done. Mail last-minute things, call the bank, stress about EVERYTHING but not do a ton of it... yikes. Maybe I should make myself a list so I can consider doing it all.

• Call the bank and tell them that I'll be out of the country for 5 months (about to do after this post is written)
  
• Research cell phone plans/costs in Australia
• Teach parents how to use Skype
• Print out/gather together important papers
• Update computer and back up files
• Email program and ask about the whole getting from my hotel to my orientation sign-in deal
• PACK.

Hm. I guess I'd better get started.