Friday, July 31, 2009
Stay Tuned
I know I haven't shown much in the way of pictures so far, but I'm going to the Caversham Wildlife Park tomorrow, where I will be taking pictures of all sorts of nefarious creatures. Did I know what the word nefarious meant before I decided to use it in that sentence? No, I did not. However, even after looking up its definition on my faithful Dictionary.com, I've decided to stick with the word because I like how it sounds. I've recently come to the realization (or realisation in Australian) that although I happen to know a lot of big words, I don't actually know what very many of those words mean. But who knows, maybe I'll get there and all the animals will really be nefarious.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Comment
Webster's Dictionary defines a comment as an observation or remark expressing an opinion or attitude. So far not very many people have taken advantage of the comment feature on this blog. I think commenting is an excellent way for readers to share what they've liked so far, ask a question, or ask for clarification and more detail. It even allows for complaints, though all complaints will be promptly deleted.
Not sure how to leave a comment? Well don't worry. I'm going to explain how to do that right now.
***Update: Just switched settings so anyone can comment without signing in. If you want, instead of clicking Google Account just click Name/URL and type in a name.***
Not sure how to leave a comment? Well don't worry. I'm going to explain how to do that right now.
***Update: Just switched settings so anyone can comment without signing in. If you want, instead of clicking Google Account just click Name/URL and type in a name.***
- Click on the word comments at the bottom of each blog post. The page will refresh and a word box should appear.
- Type your message in the word box. Please try to avoid using any obscenities.
- Under the word box it will say "comment as:" followed by a box with a down arrow. Click on the arrow and a list of options will appear. Click on the first option, Google Account.
- You will be redirected to a new page. If you have a Gmail, Picasa, Blogger, or another Google username then sign in at the sign-in boxes on the right of the page. If not then click on the "Create an account now" link below the sign-in boxes. Don't worry it's a real short process.
- On the next page simply provide any email address that you already use and a password. Also put whatever name you want to appear with your comment in "display name".
- Then it will take you back to the blog for a preview of your post. Complete the annoying word verification thing and click Post Comment.
- Your comment should now appear under the blog post. You can now click on "subscribe by email" to the right of the post comment button. This will send you an email if someone else comments on the same post you did.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Christmas in July
Last Friday, on the 24th of July, Tommy More held a Christmas in July formal dinner. The dinner was preceded by a special Christmas Mass in the chapel, and Christmas carols were sung during the service. The dinning hall was decorated for the occasion and even included a Christmas tree (or a plastic one at least). The usual buffet style dinner was transformed into a full service, four course meal complete with traditional roasted turkey and Christmas ham. Santa even made an appearance during the meal! Every resident of Tommy More brought a gift to the dinner and put it under the tree. When the real Christmas rolls around, these gifts will be given out to children who often don't receive any presents on Christmas.
Apparently the Christmas in July celebration is popular in Australia. I've heard that the reason behind the celebration is that it is far too hot in December in Australia for roasted turkey and ham and all the other British traditions that depend on a cold winter Christmas. Although, our celebration last Friday, in July, in the middle of the Australian winter was a cool 60 degrees. And most unfortunately, there was no sledding and not a snowman in sight.
Apparently the Christmas in July celebration is popular in Australia. I've heard that the reason behind the celebration is that it is far too hot in December in Australia for roasted turkey and ham and all the other British traditions that depend on a cold winter Christmas. Although, our celebration last Friday, in July, in the middle of the Australian winter was a cool 60 degrees. And most unfortunately, there was no sledding and not a snowman in sight.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Research Project
For those of you who don't already know, all the Notre Dame engineers who enter the Perth study abroad program are required to complete one field research unit (unit is Aussie for course, course means major... it's all very confusing). I have attended a couple of meetings about the projects, but I haven't yet been assigned to a team. As of now I have two options.
First there is the REV Project. Last year, the Renewable Enery Vehicle (REV) Project successfully converted a four-door, five-passenger, combustion engine car into an electric vehicle. This year the same thing is being done with a two-seater sports car, the Lotus Elise. The idea behind the project is to show the viability of electric vehicles by converting cars already in production, rather than building prototypes that rarely ever make it to production. The cars are charged using electricity generated by the solar panels on the roof of the electrical engineering building on campus, making them 100% emission free.
The other project involves working on a "Driver-Assistance System" for a BMW X5. The system can also be referred to as autonomous driving. The goal is to develop a system in which the car itself can recognize lanes as well as detect and track other vehicles on the road. The system will alert the driver of dangerous situations, such as drifting into other lanes. The system will also assist in breaking if the car is nearing a collision. I also believe the system will feature some kind of steering assist as well. Although I already knew a lot about the REV Project before I came to Perth, I hadn't heard anything about the BMW project.
I'll probably find out exactly what I will be working on at the project meeting tomorrow. I'm leaning towards the REV Project with the Lotus Elise because I think the renewable energy aspect is more in line with the kind of work I want to do after I graduate. Although, I'm also very interested in innovation, and the Driver-Assistance System sounds really exciting. I discovered at the last meeting the specific tasks I could be responsible for if I work on the Lotus. Adding the electrical components and batteries and such will make the sports car much heavier than it was before. The team needs someone to research the capacity of the current brake system on the car. If the car is indeed too heavy then that person will have to find replacement brakes for the car that are strong enough to stop the added weight. That same person will also be responsible for researching the best way to implement a regenerative braking system. Another task requires designing a reinforcement for the supports of the battery cages. The two steel beams at the back of the car that the batteries are supposed to hang from is not strong enough (the batteries are very heavy!). I think the Computer Aided Design course I took last year would be very helpful in designing something like that.
No matter what task I am assigned, I'll be pretty happy to be doing research. It should be fun to finally start applying the things I've been learning over the past two years.
Also I've added a link to the REV Project in the links section on the right ---->
There's pictures of the cars and a much more detailed description of the project and its goals.
First there is the REV Project. Last year, the Renewable Enery Vehicle (REV) Project successfully converted a four-door, five-passenger, combustion engine car into an electric vehicle. This year the same thing is being done with a two-seater sports car, the Lotus Elise. The idea behind the project is to show the viability of electric vehicles by converting cars already in production, rather than building prototypes that rarely ever make it to production. The cars are charged using electricity generated by the solar panels on the roof of the electrical engineering building on campus, making them 100% emission free.
The other project involves working on a "Driver-Assistance System" for a BMW X5. The system can also be referred to as autonomous driving. The goal is to develop a system in which the car itself can recognize lanes as well as detect and track other vehicles on the road. The system will alert the driver of dangerous situations, such as drifting into other lanes. The system will also assist in breaking if the car is nearing a collision. I also believe the system will feature some kind of steering assist as well. Although I already knew a lot about the REV Project before I came to Perth, I hadn't heard anything about the BMW project.
I'll probably find out exactly what I will be working on at the project meeting tomorrow. I'm leaning towards the REV Project with the Lotus Elise because I think the renewable energy aspect is more in line with the kind of work I want to do after I graduate. Although, I'm also very interested in innovation, and the Driver-Assistance System sounds really exciting. I discovered at the last meeting the specific tasks I could be responsible for if I work on the Lotus. Adding the electrical components and batteries and such will make the sports car much heavier than it was before. The team needs someone to research the capacity of the current brake system on the car. If the car is indeed too heavy then that person will have to find replacement brakes for the car that are strong enough to stop the added weight. That same person will also be responsible for researching the best way to implement a regenerative braking system. Another task requires designing a reinforcement for the supports of the battery cages. The two steel beams at the back of the car that the batteries are supposed to hang from is not strong enough (the batteries are very heavy!). I think the Computer Aided Design course I took last year would be very helpful in designing something like that.
No matter what task I am assigned, I'll be pretty happy to be doing research. It should be fun to finally start applying the things I've been learning over the past two years.
Also I've added a link to the REV Project in the links section on the right ---->
There's pictures of the cars and a much more detailed description of the project and its goals.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Aussie Rules Football
Yesterday we had the exciting opportunity to learn how to play the game Australian Rules Football, or Footy for short. Apparently new this year, the university has organized a program in cooperation with another nearby university, Notre Dame in Fremantle (no affiliation with our Notre Dame although we do send our business students there for a semester). The program will allow international students to learn the rules and strategies of Footy from experienced Australians, many of whom play for the university's club team. At the end of the program, our team here at UWA will play a match against the Americans at ND Fremantle. I assume these Americans that we will be playing against have already been here for a semester as they already have their own uniforms and a really stupid and uninventive team name, the Yankeroos. The team name is actually awesome, and I am incredibly jealous that I did not think of it first. No word yet on whether our team will get uni's or even a name, though I will push heavily for the Leprecrocs - half leprechaun, half crocodile, and a whole lotta attitude!
Wow so moving on, I'll try to explain the rules here briefly, but I recommend looking up some you tube videos of the sport if you really want to get the whole picture. I would post one on here, but the internet connection in my room runs at snail speed and it would take me an hour just to preview a 30 second clip before posting. So the idea is there are two sets of goalposts on each end, one wide and one narrow ( like this | | | | ). It's six points for kicking the ball between the inner posts and one point if it goes between the outer posts. There are three ways to advance the ball down field. You can run with it. You can only run for 15 steps (or meters) though, at which point you must bounce the ball to start another 15 steps. By running you also risk being tackled which would result in the other team taking possession of the ball. You can also hand pass the ball to teammates. A hand pass consists of holding the ball in one hand and punching it with your other hand. You cannot throw the ball in any way. I should also point out that the ball is much like an American football but a little more rounded on the ends. The third means of advancing the ball is the kick. The strategy is to kick the ball a long distance down the field to teammates. If they successfully catch the ball, then it is called a mark. No one can touch them and they are free to kick it to another teammate or try to kick it through the goalposts. I believe if they begin to run instead then they are fair game for tackling. I asked and they can't stand there forever either, only 30 seconds. Looks like the coveted Schluter Stall won't work in this sport (high school basketball coach reference for the non-Novi readers). Also there isn't any pass interference, so it gets pretty rough when players jump up to try to catch a kicked ball. Well those are the rules as far as I know them. The game is played in an oval, and there is out-of-bounds but I don't know quite how that works yet. I noticed flying in on the plane that the landscape was scattered with little green ovals instead of the little green rectangles you see in America. Between all the cricket and footy played here it makes sense.
For our first practice, they taught us the basic form of the hand pass and the kick, and we did drills. We practiced on the James Oval, which is the big field in the center of campus. We must have looked pretty inept to the many Australians passing by. At the end we played an elementary version of the game with just hand passing and tagging instead of tackling. Thank goodness for just using hand passing because some of our warm-up kicks were hitting buildings outside of the oval. Overall it was a pretty fun time, though I often found myself, when the instructors weren't looking, pulling the football back behind my head and heaving it down field to my warm-up partner as if to score a game winning touchdown.
Wow so moving on, I'll try to explain the rules here briefly, but I recommend looking up some you tube videos of the sport if you really want to get the whole picture. I would post one on here, but the internet connection in my room runs at snail speed and it would take me an hour just to preview a 30 second clip before posting. So the idea is there are two sets of goalposts on each end, one wide and one narrow ( like this | | | | ). It's six points for kicking the ball between the inner posts and one point if it goes between the outer posts. There are three ways to advance the ball down field. You can run with it. You can only run for 15 steps (or meters) though, at which point you must bounce the ball to start another 15 steps. By running you also risk being tackled which would result in the other team taking possession of the ball. You can also hand pass the ball to teammates. A hand pass consists of holding the ball in one hand and punching it with your other hand. You cannot throw the ball in any way. I should also point out that the ball is much like an American football but a little more rounded on the ends. The third means of advancing the ball is the kick. The strategy is to kick the ball a long distance down the field to teammates. If they successfully catch the ball, then it is called a mark. No one can touch them and they are free to kick it to another teammate or try to kick it through the goalposts. I believe if they begin to run instead then they are fair game for tackling. I asked and they can't stand there forever either, only 30 seconds. Looks like the coveted Schluter Stall won't work in this sport (high school basketball coach reference for the non-Novi readers). Also there isn't any pass interference, so it gets pretty rough when players jump up to try to catch a kicked ball. Well those are the rules as far as I know them. The game is played in an oval, and there is out-of-bounds but I don't know quite how that works yet. I noticed flying in on the plane that the landscape was scattered with little green ovals instead of the little green rectangles you see in America. Between all the cricket and footy played here it makes sense.
For our first practice, they taught us the basic form of the hand pass and the kick, and we did drills. We practiced on the James Oval, which is the big field in the center of campus. We must have looked pretty inept to the many Australians passing by. At the end we played an elementary version of the game with just hand passing and tagging instead of tackling. Thank goodness for just using hand passing because some of our warm-up kicks were hitting buildings outside of the oval. Overall it was a pretty fun time, though I often found myself, when the instructors weren't looking, pulling the football back behind my head and heaving it down field to my warm-up partner as if to score a game winning touchdown.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Good on ya, mate
Finally got the slide show feature to work on this blog. You'll find it at the bottom of the side bar over there --->
Unfortunately, the pictures appear kinda small but at least they will give you a break from my constant rambling. And I will also be posting links to my Picasa web album as I take new pictures, so you'll be able to see them full size if you wish.
GOOD ON YA!
Means: Good for you.
(yeah, I didn't use it in context but it's just fun to say)
Unfortunately, the pictures appear kinda small but at least they will give you a break from my constant rambling. And I will also be posting links to my Picasa web album as I take new pictures, so you'll be able to see them full size if you wish.
GOOD ON YA!
Means: Good for you.
(yeah, I didn't use it in context but it's just fun to say)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Has it been a week already?
Wow what a week. So much for the vacation part though because classes start tomorrow morning. Although it should still be quite a vacation from what I've gotten used to in South Bend. Here's a recap of the first week:
So the orientation here was quite an overload. They jam-packed everything you need to know about living in Perth and attending UWA in a massive one day talk-a-thon. Then they left the rest of week 1 for events with your college or registering for classes. The plus side of orientation was the opportunity to meet many of the international students who were studying abroad at UWA just like me. At the orientation breakfast, they called out each country who had sent a student and had those from that country stand up. The list was quite extensive. One from Switzerland, another from Japan, and one more from China, a few from Germany, a small group from France (you could spot the French guys in the group by their scarves), a good sized group representing England (including one chap who stood up and jubilantly yelled "YEEAAHH" upon hearing his country's name), some Swedes, a couple of Italians, and a few Germans. At this point the speaker announced the United Kingdom and then realized he had mistakenly announced England separately so he asked the English to stand up again as well (to which the same excited chap exclaimed "YEEAAHH!"). Were there other countries named? Of course, but I don't remember them because at some point in this presentation the speaker announced the United States of America, to which half the room stood up and was greeted by murmurs of shock and distress from their inferior counterparts. We, the 30 Domers and a bunch of fellow Americans from various universities across the States, were the dominant party. Or so we thought. Norway was the last country to be called and, to my surprise, a large contingent rose from the back corner of the room. Not larger than the American party but large enough to say "your not the only show in town". The woman were blond, the men blonder, and big too. Think Team Iceland from D2: The Mighty Ducks.
Anyways, the whole thing was pretty neat sitting in a room with all these different people. I have gotten to meet many of them too. I met a guy from South Africa, who actually goes to UPenn, and another guy from Italy who has been to Cedar Point and had to describe Top Thrill Dragster in Italian to his friend standing next to him. I met a girl from England, and a group of four from France who didn't understand where I said I was from the first time but understood completely when I switched the pronunciation to "Day Twah" (that's Detroit for those who didn't take a semester of French). And of course I met some girls from Norway. One of them told me Heroes was her favorite show. I've found it very interesting how big American entertainment is around the world. It seems like everyone watches the same shows and movies, and listens to the same music as Americans do despite being from all over the world. We were at a bar last night and the band only played American rock songs, such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "You Shook Me All Night Long." I'm pretty sure the Aussies knew more American songs than I did.
So anyways, I've done plenty of stuff this week. I took a bus tour of Kings Park, Perth, and Fremantle. Kings Park is a huge park area (1,000 acres) between downtown Perth and the UWA campus. It actually starts right behind Tommy More College. Fremantle is the port town near Perth. It has three different restaurants claiming the best fish and chips in Western Australia. We ate at one of them. I can't remember ever having fish and chips before, so I'm really able to validate the restaurant's claim. We also took a bus ride to the Mundaring Weir, which I already talked about, and a wildlife reserve, which I didn't talk about. The wildlife reserve tour happened at night because that's when the animals are most active. The problem was it was also chilly and raining so many of the animals most have had the sense to stay warm cause we saw very little. There were some kangaroos in the distance and then we also saw various smaller kangaroo-type animals of which I can't recall their names. There wasn't much to see with just the guide's flashlight, despite his uncanny ability to spot anything moving within 100 yards in all directions. There was a UWA professor taking us on this trip to teach us about how Australians think and act. He's responsible for taking us on three field trips throughout the semester so we can earn one anthropology credit (YAY!). Anyway, the most interesting part of the wildlife tour was listening to the guide complain about how the cat population is destroying the delicate ecosystem, while the UWA professor undermined him from the back of the group, accusing the guide of falsifying the facts to promote an ideal ecosystem which never really existed. Other than that, I've been to the beach a few times. Although the weather hasn't been very good at the beach, but hey at least there is a beach.
Well anyways, it has been a great first week here in Australia. And also, the bathrooms are indeed co-ed. And it is very weird. And I've got class in the morning so I'd better get some sleep.
So the orientation here was quite an overload. They jam-packed everything you need to know about living in Perth and attending UWA in a massive one day talk-a-thon. Then they left the rest of week 1 for events with your college or registering for classes. The plus side of orientation was the opportunity to meet many of the international students who were studying abroad at UWA just like me. At the orientation breakfast, they called out each country who had sent a student and had those from that country stand up. The list was quite extensive. One from Switzerland, another from Japan, and one more from China, a few from Germany, a small group from France (you could spot the French guys in the group by their scarves), a good sized group representing England (including one chap who stood up and jubilantly yelled "YEEAAHH" upon hearing his country's name), some Swedes, a couple of Italians, and a few Germans. At this point the speaker announced the United Kingdom and then realized he had mistakenly announced England separately so he asked the English to stand up again as well (to which the same excited chap exclaimed "YEEAAHH!"). Were there other countries named? Of course, but I don't remember them because at some point in this presentation the speaker announced the United States of America, to which half the room stood up and was greeted by murmurs of shock and distress from their inferior counterparts. We, the 30 Domers and a bunch of fellow Americans from various universities across the States, were the dominant party. Or so we thought. Norway was the last country to be called and, to my surprise, a large contingent rose from the back corner of the room. Not larger than the American party but large enough to say "your not the only show in town". The woman were blond, the men blonder, and big too. Think Team Iceland from D2: The Mighty Ducks.
Anyways, the whole thing was pretty neat sitting in a room with all these different people. I have gotten to meet many of them too. I met a guy from South Africa, who actually goes to UPenn, and another guy from Italy who has been to Cedar Point and had to describe Top Thrill Dragster in Italian to his friend standing next to him. I met a girl from England, and a group of four from France who didn't understand where I said I was from the first time but understood completely when I switched the pronunciation to "Day Twah" (that's Detroit for those who didn't take a semester of French). And of course I met some girls from Norway. One of them told me Heroes was her favorite show. I've found it very interesting how big American entertainment is around the world. It seems like everyone watches the same shows and movies, and listens to the same music as Americans do despite being from all over the world. We were at a bar last night and the band only played American rock songs, such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "You Shook Me All Night Long." I'm pretty sure the Aussies knew more American songs than I did.
So anyways, I've done plenty of stuff this week. I took a bus tour of Kings Park, Perth, and Fremantle. Kings Park is a huge park area (1,000 acres) between downtown Perth and the UWA campus. It actually starts right behind Tommy More College. Fremantle is the port town near Perth. It has three different restaurants claiming the best fish and chips in Western Australia. We ate at one of them. I can't remember ever having fish and chips before, so I'm really able to validate the restaurant's claim. We also took a bus ride to the Mundaring Weir, which I already talked about, and a wildlife reserve, which I didn't talk about. The wildlife reserve tour happened at night because that's when the animals are most active. The problem was it was also chilly and raining so many of the animals most have had the sense to stay warm cause we saw very little. There were some kangaroos in the distance and then we also saw various smaller kangaroo-type animals of which I can't recall their names. There wasn't much to see with just the guide's flashlight, despite his uncanny ability to spot anything moving within 100 yards in all directions. There was a UWA professor taking us on this trip to teach us about how Australians think and act. He's responsible for taking us on three field trips throughout the semester so we can earn one anthropology credit (YAY!). Anyway, the most interesting part of the wildlife tour was listening to the guide complain about how the cat population is destroying the delicate ecosystem, while the UWA professor undermined him from the back of the group, accusing the guide of falsifying the facts to promote an ideal ecosystem which never really existed. Other than that, I've been to the beach a few times. Although the weather hasn't been very good at the beach, but hey at least there is a beach.
Well anyways, it has been a great first week here in Australia. And also, the bathrooms are indeed co-ed. And it is very weird. And I've got class in the morning so I'd better get some sleep.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Kangaroos!
The first kangaroo we've seen since we got here. We took a tour of the Mundaring Weir on Thursday and saw some roos there. The Mundaring Weir is a dam that stores water to be sent down the Golden Pipeline to the mines in Kalgoorlie, which is in the harsh, dry outback. We first spotted the roos as they hopped past, being chased by some family's dog. It was quite a sight to see them move as they hopped over rocks and fences and even a section of the pipeline. I snapped the above picture when we saw another kangaroo later, which was kind enough to stop and pose for pictures for a while. I took quite a few pictures of it before I decided it would also be a good idea to take a picture of all the excited American students clamoring to get a good picture of the creature that I'm sure the few Australians in our group were about half as excited to see.
Although it seems to me the Aussies take great pride in the kangaroo (it is a regular symbol for Australian businesses such as the airline Qantas), I have heard them referred to as pests. I believe it is similar to the way we think of deer, since both animals are considered overpopulated in their respective countries. I wonder if they have the same trouble of kangaroos jumping out in front of cars as we have with deer?
View pictures here.
I didn't talk about any of the cliffhangers I left last time but I'll get to that soon.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
First post from Australia!
Well so much has happened since I got here I'm not sure where to begin. We haven't had much free time since we arrived, and as soon as our scheduled activities ended for the night most of us hit the pillows pretty hard as we have yet to recover from the dreaded jet lag. I'm talking about going to bed at 8 or 9 and waking up at 4 in the morning! Even as I type this I know my mother won't believe it. That's right mom I woke up at 4 and for once it isn't followed by the letters P and M.
So anyways (expect a lot of these "so anyways" readers, it's the only transition I like). Also, when I say "we" I'm referring to myself and the 29 other Notre Dame students in this study abroad program. So anyways we arrived here at St Thomas More College (that's the dorm I'm living in) at about noon on Sunday. That's after what I calculated to be about 25 hours of flight time and countless (actually countable) hours in airport terminals. A man with a UWA sign picked us up at the airport and drove us to the college (again Australian for dorm) by bus. My first impression of Australians was that they are very much like Disney World staff. The driver delivered both jokes and useful information in a cheery Australian accent that had me thinking I was either in Epcot or watching the Discovery Channel (it's too bad there's no Australia in Epcot, it should definitely replace Canada). Arriving at the college, we were warmly greeted and treated to a meal in the dining hall. The Rector, Brother Rob, is very friendly and easy to talk with and the Assistant Rector, Pauline, is a very friendly, little old lady with a delightful accent. After the meal we received our room key cards (the doors/keys are much like hotels), and we went off to see where we'd be living for the next five months. I myself was very impressed with the rooms: lots of storage space, a big desk, and a balcony! Here this will give you a visual.
The room
View from the balc
For the rest of the first day, we were shown campus and the surrounding area by the Australian version of RAs, "duty tutors" (imagine how an Aussie would say it for full effect). A few others and I pressed these Aussies with many questions about their culture. At first they were happy to oblige. I discovered, not surprisingly, that they do not have Outback Steakhouse in Australia. But more of a surprise was that they don't drink Fosters here. I guess it is only sold to other countries and advertised as "Australian for beer." Also, the only place to see a kangaroo near here is at the zoo, and they don't call Australian women sheilas even though it's on the door to the women's bathroom in Outback Steakhouse. Our inquisition finally ended when one of the duty tutors proclaimed he was quite annoyed at the endless stream of "Do you have...? Do you have...?". Mass was attended. Dinner was served. And it was good. And there was evening and there was morning - the first day.
I've decided to leave it at that for now. More to come: UWA orientation day 1, meeting fellow abroad students from all over the world, a bus tour of Perth and Fremantle (with pictures), and are the bathrooms really co-ed?
Aussie word of the day: KNACKERED
Means: Tired. (At first we thought the duty tutor was saying we were all naked.)
So anyways (expect a lot of these "so anyways" readers, it's the only transition I like). Also, when I say "we" I'm referring to myself and the 29 other Notre Dame students in this study abroad program. So anyways we arrived here at St Thomas More College (that's the dorm I'm living in) at about noon on Sunday. That's after what I calculated to be about 25 hours of flight time and countless (actually countable) hours in airport terminals. A man with a UWA sign picked us up at the airport and drove us to the college (again Australian for dorm) by bus. My first impression of Australians was that they are very much like Disney World staff. The driver delivered both jokes and useful information in a cheery Australian accent that had me thinking I was either in Epcot or watching the Discovery Channel (it's too bad there's no Australia in Epcot, it should definitely replace Canada). Arriving at the college, we were warmly greeted and treated to a meal in the dining hall. The Rector, Brother Rob, is very friendly and easy to talk with and the Assistant Rector, Pauline, is a very friendly, little old lady with a delightful accent. After the meal we received our room key cards (the doors/keys are much like hotels), and we went off to see where we'd be living for the next five months. I myself was very impressed with the rooms: lots of storage space, a big desk, and a balcony! Here this will give you a visual.
The room
View from the balc
For the rest of the first day, we were shown campus and the surrounding area by the Australian version of RAs, "duty tutors" (imagine how an Aussie would say it for full effect). A few others and I pressed these Aussies with many questions about their culture. At first they were happy to oblige. I discovered, not surprisingly, that they do not have Outback Steakhouse in Australia. But more of a surprise was that they don't drink Fosters here. I guess it is only sold to other countries and advertised as "Australian for beer." Also, the only place to see a kangaroo near here is at the zoo, and they don't call Australian women sheilas even though it's on the door to the women's bathroom in Outback Steakhouse. Our inquisition finally ended when one of the duty tutors proclaimed he was quite annoyed at the endless stream of "Do you have...? Do you have...?". Mass was attended. Dinner was served. And it was good. And there was evening and there was morning - the first day.
I've decided to leave it at that for now. More to come: UWA orientation day 1, meeting fellow abroad students from all over the world, a bus tour of Perth and Fremantle (with pictures), and are the bathrooms really co-ed?
Aussie word of the day: KNACKERED
Means: Tired. (At first we thought the duty tutor was saying we were all naked.)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
On the way to the airport
Pretty much just told the whole story in the title there. Welp cya on the other side.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Simpsons - Bart vs. Australia
I recently watched an episode of The Simpsons where Bart calls an Australian boy to found out whether or not Lisa's story about reverse flushing toilets is true. Long story short, the call results in Bart being indicted for fraud and he must fly to Australia to face his punishment, leading to a hilarious series of events none of which are very politically correct. I couldn't find much of the episode on YouTube, but here's one clip I found:
Update: Found the entire episode here at this strange Thai website
Update: Found the entire episode here at this strange Thai website
In the mean time...
So it's ten or nine days until departure. Lately I've been trying to get my finances straightened out for the trip. And by finances I mean I cleaned out my entire room looking for spare change. I found it. I found $172.26 of it to be exact! I also recently relied on my main source of income over these past years: can and bottle returns. I only managed $19.00 in that venture, but I invested $10 of that into a lottery scratch game and won $30. So how could you really expect me to get a summer job with luck like that? Anyway, I also opened up a bank account at Bank of America today, which should allow me use of their Australian affiliate WestPac's ATM services without incurring a fee. But this is all boring stuff. How about something fun?
5 Things I Look Forward to Doing in Australia
Australian word of the day: SCRATCHIE
Means: instant win lottery ticket
5 Things I Look Forward to Doing in Australia
- Witnessing an Australian Rules Football game
- Visiting Uluru (or as the white man calls it "Ayer's Rock")
- Going to the beach in November
- Learning Australian culture and lingo
- Fighting a kangaroo
- Surfing
- Snorkeling
- Scuba Diving
- Swimming
- Anything else that starts with an 'S' and involves the ocean
Australian word of the day: SCRATCHIE
Means: instant win lottery ticket
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