Goon Guzzler

Hey kids,
well I have the first week under my belt and it has been nothing short of fantastic. I keep having to remind myself that I am actually here to study and that I have class coming up on March 1st. Between then and now I have to prove my natural selection by getting through Survival Of The Fittest O-week and a surf trip this weekend. I'm pretty amped about those but can't say the same for my liver....or my wallet.

Since my last post I have swam in the Tasman sea twice, had four bbqs, seen a band called the Mess Hall play live at the St. Kilda festival, sailed around on a harbour cruise, showered twice, and changed my underwear once.....I think I am getting the hang of the Australian culture.

The majority of my days have bee taken up by seminars and meetings for all of the international and exchange students. There are people from all over. There was a point last week when I stopped and looked around me to realize that I was surrounded by people from Norway, Sweden, Italy, Germany, France, England, Canada and the mighty US and A. To quote Australian singer Ben Lee, "We are all in this together". They have also been putting on events for us at night. After the boat cruise I met up with the Aussies at the local pub, Stolberg, before taking the party back to res. Four of them thought it would be a good idea to climb down the chute of the salvation army clothes donation box that you would find outside your local grocery store. Of course, the way these things are designed you can get in....but you can't get back out. It was probably the funniest thing that has happened since I got here. All of us smart individuals that chose not to climb in and were relishing their misfortune. They ended up spending the night in the box I'm pretty sure before someone helped them to get out in the morning. Unreal.

Yesterday afternoon a group of us trekked to St. Kilda Beach. We went to the grocery store and bought some stuff to make sandwiches on the cheap and then got a box of wine. The cheap boxed wine here has the nickname "Goon" and the taste of gasoline. But my goodness it goes down easily if chilled to perfection. We sat on the beach for the rest of the afternoon just hanging out, swimming, and relaxing. There's nothing like it. A group of lads from Ireland were sitting off to our right and it wasn't long before they asked us for a game of football. Now we're talking. My team lost 20-11 but it was a good laugh with plenty of banter.

I will leave it at that for now. Hope everyone back hope is keeping well and are taking in the Olympics as much as you can. I watched the highlights from the Canada vs. Norway game and was swelling with pride. Hopefully we can keep it up and bring the gold back where it belongs. Did anyone else watch Sean White in the men's half-pipe today? That kid is an animal! Love watching that ginger fly through the air. Class above the rest.

Updates after my surf trip this weekend. Stay Tuned
Love,
D