Aussi Facts

Me again, trying to avoid working on econ and philosophy this time... just thought I would share some fun terms and things I have learned living here thus far!

• They spell it Aussi, not Aussie as I thought.
• If one shouts "Aussi, Aussi, Aussi!" the response is "Oi, Oi, Oi!"
• There are at least 3 drinking songs that everyone knows and sings while riding the bus to bars. One is about Yogi Bear.
• In the spring, residents here where ice cream buckets on their heads with eyes drawn on them so that the Mag-pie birds won't swoop down and (literally) take a chunk of their head off (protecting their eggs).
• Want to sound Australian? Just shorten everything and add a "y"
• They eat spaghetti on toast for breakfast
• Easter is a huge deal, carnivals and wine festivals are thrown in the towns
• Haviannas (sp?) are the rainbows of Australia. Everyone has them.
• When making drinks, bartenders are required to measure the liquor in a shot glass before pouring it in.
• You will not find a can or bottle of coke for less than $2.50
• There is not an Australian equivalent to the Cheez-It
• They have very odd potato chip flavors such as Honey Chicken and Sweet-Chili/Lime
• The chips used for dipping in salsa (tortilla chips) are called nachos and Doritos makes them, plain Doritos?
• They have a very limited amount of frozen pizza products at the store. My friend wants to visit America just to try a "Bagel Bite"
• The toilets have 2 options. Half Flush and Whole Flush. To save water.
• They say to eat vegemite with toast, butter, and cheese. I do not advise it.
• There is Rugby Union, Rugby League, and AFL (Australian Football League), all with their own different rules. None of them like American Football.
• They do not know where SC is in relation to other states.
• There are no college sporting teams like at home. But, many support the local rugby team.
• Surf past the blue flags, swim between the red and yellow.
• Beer is around $40 a case. expensive.
• You can go to "uni" for 4 years and be a lawyer. The usual is 3 years.
• There are very few intersections and tons of roundabouts.
• Terms:
• budgie smuggler- speedo
• septo- derogatory term for Americans (like septic tank)
• Abbo- aboriginal, can be derogatory
• wanker- pronounced wanka, a fool/idiot
• mate- friend boy or girl
• brekky- breakfast
• goon- cheap boxed wine, the choice of students.
• grog- any type of alcohol
• chips- both french fries and potato chips
• magnum- a very popular brand of ice cream/popsicle
• toilet- bathroom
• sunnies- sunglasses
• Uni- college
• heaps- large amount. Used without "of" as in, "That will be heaps fun!"
• Ute- truck
• Cheers- thank you
• Arvo- afternoon
• mozzies- mosquitoes
• bottle shop- liquor store
• Woolies- grocery store called Woolworth's
• schooner- glass of beer
• kook- surfer who doesn't know how to surf
• bin- trashcan
• stubby holder- koozie
• esky- cooler
• Uni- college
• first year- freshman (2nd- sophomore, etc)

Weekend in Sydney

For my first overnight trip in Australia I went to Sydney for the weekend. I can get on the train about 3 blocks from my dorm and in an hour or so it goes straight into the heart of the city. We did not realize until half way into the trek that our hostel was a good 30-45 minute walk from the train station. It would have been nice to have stayed closer to all the sights, but it was actually cool to see a quite, neighborhood side of Sydney. We stayed in a YHA hostel in the area called Glebe. The neighborhood was really interesting, with European-looking architecture and tons of little restaurants. The main point of this trip was to hit all the touristy sites in Sydney. My friends and I purchased a "See Sydney Card" for $135 which allowed free entry into over 40 different attractions in the city. Because Sydney is so expensive, after just 2 attractions the card paid for itself, so that was a good find!

The first night we ate at a local pizza joint in Glebe that was BYO (bring your own drinks). So, the boys went down the street to buy beer from a bottleshop and then brought it to the restaurant to have with their pizza. What we call "normal" pizza at home is hard to find here! Many places only offer toppings like Hawaiian or Veggie, or some other weird combinations... and for a picky eater like me, finding a pizza place that offered pepperoni was amazing! The portion sizes are also so different. A large here is only a little bigger than an adult's personal pizza at some US restaurants! Afterwards, we met some friends at their hostel which was bigger and much more modern than our own. We hung out at the bar located right under their hostel.

Our hostel was small, with not the nicest amenities, but the people there were so cool to talk to. One of my "roommates" was an elderly woman that has traveled all over the world. She has been to Oktoberfest and the running of the bulls! She called the hostel her "base" in Australia because she doesn't actually own a home, but is from Australia.

The first day was full of sight-seeing. First, we went to Sydney Tower to check out the views from the 2nd tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We decided to add a little more adventure to the day by signing up for the Skywalk. This is where they put you in a special suit, harness, and shoes, and you go walk on the glass roof of Sydney Tower! Our guide surprised us by pushing a button that made the already see-through roof we were standing on extend out farther over the streets below us. I was definitely more awake after that. Next, we went over to Darling Harbour to visit "Wildlife World". I watched a man extract venom from the most poisonous spider in the world (who just so happens to reside in our area of Australia), and an even crazier man stand beside the water to demonstrate how Rex the huge salt water croc would try to eat him. We moved on to the more fuzzy animals where I got to go into koala habitat and pet them. One named Charlie actually woke up and came down the tree to greet me. After the wildlife park, we took a cruise around the harbour with amazing views! We got to learn the history of Sydney's harbours (Darling and Sydney Harbour are not the same) and get some great photos! Next it was time to meet my friend, who is studying at USyd, at the aquarium! They had so many underwater tunnels that you got to see all the fish, and sharks, from every angle! Fun Fact: I learned that sea turtles will wedge themselves upside down to keep from moving while trying to sleep. That night we went out to Kings Cross which is the big club scene/red light district equivalent. It was quite a sight. Most of the clubs have a cover charge of at least $20, so we just walked around and watched the insanity. I don't think I'll be going back there.

Day 2- We went for a ride on a jet boat around Sydney Harbour. Again, it was a great way to wake yourself up in the morning! This was not your ordinary tour. It was more like a thrill ride where they gave you ponchos because the driver would make hair-pin turns of 270 degrees creating a wave that would then drench you. After drying for a bit in the sun, we went on the official tour of the Sydney Opera house. Fun Fact: It took 12 years to build and the design you see now was originally thrown out of the group of designs considered! Also, the winning design was inspired by the modern architecture of the JFK airport. On the inside they have many little theatres for productions, and some larger ones. The main concert hall, however, was smaller than I expected it to be. I think it only holds 2,700 people. After that, we took a bus to see beautiful, but crowded, Bondi Beach. The water was gorgeous! And it just so happens that a pro surfing competition was taking place that weekend, which was so cool to watch! We got there just in time for the finals! We also got to meet the family of one of the pros who is only 15 years old competing against world champions! He actually got 2nd place! After a fun day at the beach, and sun-burnt noses, we took a train back to Wollongong and went to bed. It was a great weekend!

Jumping on the glass roof way above Sydney

Climbing Mt Keira

So today was a gorgeous day once again, after we had a run in with some rain this past week. A group of us decided it would be great to climb the mountain that sits behind our campus. There are trails and it is a popular "to do in Wollongong" thing. There are roads that go up the mountain and there are what we call "man trails" that go STRAIGHT up. And we took the latter. The hike up was quite a workout, but fun and so cool at the same time. We walked through "temperate rain forest", saw plants nothing like on the mountains at home, and literally climb UP a riverbed. We were quite the explorers. The view at the top was breathtaking. First we stopped at a cliff off of the path and then hiked up to the very top where the lookout is. The sky was blue and you could see all the other mountains, the city, people playing cricket in a park, and the beach. They even have a little restaurant at the top with a patio right beside the lookout. There were cheaters at the top who just drove up for lunch. A really cool thing is that there is a tradition that when a couple gets married they hook a lock to the lookout fence (with there names or something engraved in it) and throw the key over the edge. The way down the mountain was a different story. We started down the road to meet the trail in the middle so we wouldn't have to try to jump down the steep rocks we climbed. However, none of us had seen the entrance to the middle before. So, we started on a trail that took us back up a good 20 minutes before we met the down trail, with aching legs. Along the way, we seemed to have walked through grass invested with leeches (we had been warned before going and I had been on the lookout the whole way up). LEECHES. I do not do well with blood-sucking creatures. The minute I saw one crawling into my shoe my entire leg started shaking. The boys helped me get rid of them, but the fear was still there. I quickly picked up the pace (they found it hilarious that my motivation to run was to avoid leeches). I literally ran down the rest of the mountain, not stopping until I reached the road across from the entrance at the bottom. I have not run up or down endless stairs like that since soccer conditioning. One of my friends was amazed, "Look at her feet!" Once we were back home I was exhausted, and a nice shower in my tiny bathroom felt great. On another note, tonight we went to see Alice in Wonderland at the movie theatre (practicing my Australian spelling). I thought it was great! I really want to read the books someday. That is all I have for now! What a day! Tomorrow should be another sunny one at the beach! :)

One of the views from the top!

Zane and I

Before conquering the riverbed