Stubby

"Stubby": Australian word for a bottle of beer (those typical sized ones, about the size of a coke bottle).

Ex: "Crack me open a stubby, will ya, mate?"

So I've been really bad with keeping up with the entries, but not because I'm lazy. There's actually not really much going on, and I didn't want to make a bunch of "so I really didn't do anything today except mess around my room" updates. Today was a bit more exciting and thus worthy of a post.

I got up relatively late this afternoon, and thus had to mad bum rush out the door in order to meet up with my buddy mentor, Ruth. Ruth is this red-haired girl from Scotland with a wonderful sense of humor (I'm very jealous of all these people who can make such witty conversation). She was paired up with me through a University mentor program and has been taking me around Brunswick. She also introduced me to some of her friends, including a Melbournian girl and a Sydneysider guy. Sadly enough, real Australians are such a rarity that meeting them are always very exciting. I am especially determined to become good friends with the girl, but she's not making it easy for me. Maybe she sensed my desperation, but whatever it was, she didn't seem too interested in holding a conversation with me. -_- Ruth also gave me her desk lamp, which effectively completed the last missing piece of my room furniture. I finally have a dresser, desk, bed, chair and lamp, all of which were donated or picked off the street. Go homeless Camille!

Yesterday was spent attending the Tropfest 2008 Short Film Festival, which apparently is the biggest short film festival worldwide. I never knew short films would be so interesting. If anyone watches it, keep an eye out for "Marry Me" and "Scab," my two top favorites. After the festival, Ruth, a couple of her friends and I went to a few bars. I finally let myself get cajoled into buying a pint of Guinness, which is one of the nastiest tasting beer yet. It's certainly very pretty, because you can see it fizz up and the beer goes from waves of cream to dark amber, but UGH! It has the worst bitter taste ever! The barmaid added a shot of "black currant" (raspberry) to make the beer sweeter, but I still couldn't finish it and had to give it to two other people to drink.

Now back to the present. Today I met up with a couple of UC EAP students to just wander around inner city Melbourne and Flinders Street. Melbourne certainly is a very nice city, but I miss Sydney's proximity to the ocean. Hopefully I'll grow to love Melbourne even more and stop pining after Sydney's beaches. Tomorrow, we are planning to hit the Queen Victoria market and later on, its night market (there's supposed to be only one more left before it closes for the end of summer). More updates tomorrow!

Oh, and it has gone from cockroaches to disgusting black-and-white striped mosquitoes. I'm being eaten alive out here!

How's tricks?

"How's tricks": Aussie slang for "what's up?" Note: it has absolutely no reference whatsoever to sexual solicitation.

Elton passes by my room. "How's tricks, Camille?"
Me: (thinking it was a joke) "Oh, well business was good last night, so not too bad."
Elton: "What?"
Me: (realized I just said something very, very stupid) "Nothing."
Elton: "Did you think I just called you a prostitute?"
Me: "No."
Elton: " 'How's tricks' means 'what's going on?' "
Me: "Ok."

Crook

"Crook": Aussie slang for "sick" (as in physically unwell).

I passed by Elton, coughing my lungs out and staggering a bit from the fever.
Elton: "Are you a little bit crook?"
Me: "Am I a crook?"
Elton: "Sick. Are you sick."

Unfortunately, I had somehow forgotten that I don't do well with animals in poorly-ventilated, enclosed spaces. After hugging and cuddling with the german shepherd and two cats, I went to bed only to wake up halfway coughing and with an incredible headache. This headache then blossomed into a fever, and the last time I checked, it was 5 a.m. and I was writhing in pain. I can honestly say that having cold sweat and fevers, combined with a burning throat and coughing fits, is the most horrible experience ever. I heard that some pet allergies can induce flu-like symptoms, but I never thought it would happen to me. About 9 a.m., I finally got up to use the bathroom, dig out some Advil and go online to research my illness.

Fortunately, the Advil worked enough for me to meet up with a friend, Evan, and we toured around the city to buy basic household necessities. I now have plastic hangers and cabinet liners, woo hoo! All I need is a desk and I can focus on decorating my room and making it more livable. I'm trying to decide if I want to recover from my cold first, sanitize my room, do much-needed laundry or go out to buy more room necessities. So far, it's the latter. I feel like a bum lying in my room, but cleaning takes up too much effort. Hopefully, the next entry will find me in better spirits and health.

(OMG, my door just partially opened and I looked up to see a long, furry black appendage groping around. It turned out to be Hero, looking for some company. In all seriousness, for a minute I thought it was an alien of some sort. Perhaps I should take it easy afterall.)

Fair Dinkum

"Fair dinkum": could be used as an expression of surprise or a statement. It means "the real deal" or "are you for reals," depending on the context.

"My girlfriend cheated on me."
"Fair dinkum?!"
or
"He's a fair dinkum Australian." (which usually means the person isn't an immigrant or his forebearers were born and bred in Australia.)

The flight to Melbourne was okay, but the process sucked major ass. I had to get up at 7 a.m. to shower, eat breakfast, say goodbye to all my friends and then catch the shuttle to the airport. On the way there, the guy asked me if I wanted to be dropped off at Terminal 1 or 2.
"Um, I don't know... I have to go to Tullamarine, Melbourne," I told him.
"Oh, that's a domestic flight, so I'll take you to Terminal 2," he replied.
Half a hour later, I arrive at Terminal 2, only to find that my flight was actually international because the plane was on its way to Bangkok. "It's okay, Terminal 1 can't be that far," I thought to myself.
Wrong.
Terminal 1 turned out to be located a few miles away, in a separate part of the airport. After running around like a headless chicken for a few minutes, I calmed down and caught a taxi to the correct terminal. My troubles weren't over yet though. I then discovered that my luggage was 21 kg overweight and that I had to pay 200 bucks. Apparently, since I was flying from Sydney to Melbourne, it was considered as a domestic flight and thus, I could only take 20 kg of luggage. "But I was told that I was on an international flight!" I protested. The front desk assistant stared at me in confusion, but still insisted that I had to pay. In the end, everyone kept telling me that I had to give so-and-so this amount of money, but no one actually asked for the money, so I didn't have to pay. Woo hoo!

Melbourne is very different from Sydney in the aspect that it's less of a business district, far from the ocean (which makes Camille very, very sad), much bigger and spread out. I arrived at my home in Brunswick, which is this small coffee shop sort of town, and discovered that my room was a bit dingier than I imagined. This means I will have to invest heavily in decorative drapes and rugs, which isn't all that bad. I've always wanted a colorful room. :)

I live with three lesbians, two cats and one dog. The girls are really nice and amazingly artistic. Imagine a bunch of girls in skinny jeans, lip piercings, bleached and dyed hair and slightly gothic clothes and you've got my roomies. The german shepherd, Yuri, is the most incredible dog. He will bring his deflated basketball for me to throw, and then fetch it and wait for me to do it some more. The cats, Lucius and Hero, love to be cuddled, especially Hero. He'll jump onto my bed and purr like a motor. I'm starting to develop major nasal allergies from their fur though, which is a big concern. I was hoping I could let them sleep on my bed, but at this rate, it seems like I can't even really let them into my room. It doesn't help that Hero enjoys sniffing my stuff and then sneezing on them (it is incredibly cute though and I crack up every time he does it).

Today was spent buying groceries and looking for room stuff. One of the greatest things that my roomies and I have in common is that we like cheap stuff. The cheaper it is, the better. If it's free, then it's heaven-sent, which is why I have just raided a salvation-army type of store and "stole" a crickety old bed frame. As Elton (her nickname) eloquently put it, "they left it outside the store, so it's technically not stealing." Zoe, one of the girls, is slightly worried that it's going to collapse on me one night, but I'm just glad the mattress is off the floor. Elton said to me, "It's definitely not a bed to bring a boy home to, just to let you know." Thanks Elton.

I'll put pictures up of my room as soon as I've settled in and it looks less like a homeless shelter. Until then, please be patient!

Ta

"Ta": slang for "thank you" in Aussie.

(I hold open the hotel door for a young girl.)
"Ta!" She cheerfully replies, walking off and leaving me in bewilderment.

I realize that I haven't made any posts in a very long while, but I blame it on my Orientation schedule. EAP moved me to the Vibe Rushcutters hotel, which is situated in this really dodgy place in King's Cross. Seedy bars line the streets, along with random stripperAccording to the conceirge, "at night, 'things' come out." It was incredibly reassuring. Anyway, ever since orientation started, I barely have the time to seek out a decently-priced internet cafe to blog. Even now, I'm on a time crunch. I have about 20 min left on the computer before I have to go grab dinner with a friend, run to the hotel, change, and then go out bar-hopping with a couple of the EAPers. It sounds glamorous and all, but in actuality it's very tiring, especially since I have to still pack and be ready to catch a taxi to the airport at 9 a.m.

Okay, so I better start writing what I've been doing for the past few days. Um... I went to Bondi Beach for the last day before Orientation started. It was slightly overcast when my roomie, another EAPer and I arrived, so the scenery wasn't too impressive. I would say the highlight was when the three of us walked up to this little park on top of the hill and came across a bunch of Australian magpies. Those birds are the freakiest little avians ever! When they warble, they sound like velociraptors, no joke. I discovered this weird little sound when I was hand-feeding them bits of granola bar. Needless to say, it was just a little bit creepy.

First day of orientation was spent scrambling around to get my luggage checked in, figuring out hotel room arrangements, saying hi to as many EAPers as possible, and then dragging my luggage into my room. We then went to the Darling Harbor Wildlife World, where I got to see koalas, wallabies and butterflies up close.

Second day of orientation was spent in a meeting, where the EAPers were pumped with information about culture, academics and random mishmash. We then were taken to Darling Harbor and had a cruise of the surrounding area. It was pretty cool, even though everyone else hated it. Afterwards, a bunch of EAPers and I just walked around the area, scrounging for food and drinking wine (well, they drank. I watched.) Afterwards, through an entirely chance occurrence, I bumped into another new EAP friend as I was getting ready to turn in for the night. She convinced me to go clubbing with her and her friends, so I consented (and dragged along two friends of my own). That night was eventful beyond words and deserves its own entry.

Third day of orientation. Last meeting with information about Australia and its different Unis. I then spent the rest of the day at Bondi Beach (again) except this time it had much better weather with a more girly company. It's amazing how different a place can be with the right climate and the right people. Most of the time was spent suntanning, taking photos and oogling at the very attractive Australian men.

Which now brings me to tonight. I just realized that the events of the past three days are missing some sections and not entirely chronologically correct, so I'll have to go back and change that later. Until then, please tolerate the horrible spelling and grammer mistakes. Ta!

No Worries

"No worries": a phrase used in place of "you're welcome," "no problem," and generally an all-around response to most statements.

"Here's your cup of ice," said the fruit juice vendor.
"Thank you very much," I replied.
"No worries!"
"Oh.... uh. Thanks. Again."

The barrage of rain paused yesterday morning, so a bunch of EAPers and I took advantage of the brief moment of sunshine to run off to Manly Beach. That's right, the beach is actually called Manly. I actually didn't take many pictures of the beach itself (I just completely forgot) but it was very pretty and reminded me a lot of Cabo San Lucas. The girls spent most of the time sunbathing, and the boys weren't really very active either, so I decided to explore the surrounding rocky area. I've decided that I'm the type who can't sit still in a new area. It has to be explored and studied asap. Anyway, their intertidal area isn't very interesting... just a bunch of snails and crabs.

Later on that day, it started raining hard again, so we headed to the Sydney Aquarium. As sad as it sounds, I had more fun there. Zoology and marine life have always intrigued me, and having it packed in a neat little location is just perfect. They have this amazing shark tank thing that boasts a 360 glass-paned view of the fish, and then further down it turns into this glass tunnel where you can walk through. I'll post the pictures up as soon as I have wireless internet. The only downer was that the platypus tank held no platypus. We literally spent almost a hour there hunting for it, but I guess it just didn't want to be seen that day.

As for today, a few of us went to Bondi beach despite the thunderstorm warning. The day dawned bright and clear, but as we neared our destination, the sunshine quickly disappeared. Secretly I rejoiced, because I didn't feel like getting sunburned again (my chest area took a major hit since I forgot to sunblock there). I spent most of the time mindlessly trailing my roommate and another EAPer, just checking out the views and taking in the sea air. There is this one area where you stand on the edge of a cliff and the wind hits you full blast. It's amazing! I imagine that's what flying must feel like.... the wind whips back your hair and you have nothing but the clouds and sky above you and the grey sea below.

It's pouring rain again and today's my last day "out on my own." Tomorow is the first day of the orientation and I'm supposed to check in the hotel EAP assigned me. Hopefully, with new roommates I'll also find new friends. As they say here, no worries!

Doona

Doona: a purely Australian (and possibly New Zealand?) term for "comforter."

"Camille, I bought you a doona, so all you need is a doona cover and some sheets," said my roommate.
"What?" I said.
(So I've decided that finding an Australian word of the day is a bit harder than expected, so I'm sorry if my Ozzie terms are a bit strange.)

Yesterday was mostly spent dodging rain. It was coming down spectacularly, and I believe the Australian news said that these couple of days have been the biggest downpour in ten years. It's great for Australia, because they've been in this super long drought, but I can't help but feel a little resentful. My windsurfing plans are ruined!! On a lighter note, I met up with two other fellow EAPers. They are hilarious and have the best storytelling skills ever. God bless those with humor. Anyway, the four of us just walked around Darling Harbor and eventually ended our night at a bar with a mug of beer. Did I ever mention how nasty beer is? It's freaking bitter and disgusting. I took one gulp and had enough, which is pretty sad since the rest of my group was a year younger and downing it like water. Must build up that tolerance.

So I've lost track of my roommate and I believe that it's because he can't find me and has given up. Time for me to go!

Dodgy

My high school friend Maddy came up with the wonderful idea of having an Australian word of the day. Therefore, I shall start each post with a new Australian word and launch my entry off of it. Now you guys can learn to speak some Ozzie too!

Dodgy: sneaky, suspicious, cheap-looking.
"That shuttle driver of yours looked real dodgy."

I suppose I can start my adventures from the very beginning. The process to getting to the LAX went quite smoothly, despite the unexpected appearance of my aunt. She tends to complicate matters with her opinionated manner of handling things, so by the time my parents and I finally got into the car, my mom was quite frazzled. The goodbyes were short and sweet. Dad gruffily hugged me, while my mom fussed over my apparent inaptness.

My airline was Air Pacific, so I had a stopover flight in Nadi, Fiji. Unfortunately, that also meant the plane was filled with retired Caucasion couples, cackling about their grandchildren and what spa treatments they were going to recieve. Luckily, the couple I sat next to was very nice. I taught the husband how to use his brand new Ipod nano, and the wife struck up a conversation with me. Turns out she is a retired nurse in Indiana and her two grandchildren are in NYU. As for Nadi itself, I couldn't really see much of it since I was in the terminal for the three hours. I could only tell it was very green and humid. The flora reminded me of Hawaii.

My flight to Sydney was much shorter (only four hours) and I got a window seat. I had some trouble with the entertainment system, but a nice guy who sat a seat away helped me out. "Balls of Fury" is actually quite a funny movie. Anyway, my first view of Australia was wreathed in clouds. I tried to take some pictures of the coast, but I seriously doubt you'll be able to make it out through the haze. It was just a lot of trees and houses.

The humidity hit me as soon as I got off the plane, a warm, damp blanket that settled around my entire body and lungs. It reminded me strongly of Taiwan weather, and it didn't help that there were ASIANS EVERYWHERE. It was like I took the population of Irvine with me, except they had morphed attractive accents. My dodgy shuttle driver was Indian as well, and tried to cheat a few extra dollars off of me. I threatened to find someone else, and he hurridly conceded.

The hostel, Wake up! Sydney, is very clean and filled with young people from around the world. If you guys are ever looking for a hostel to stay in Sydney, this would be the place! It's very safe and the staff are really friendly (one of them gave me change for the shuttle driver and made that dodgy remark). My roommates are already very cliquey though, so it was hard to make friends who wanted to hang out. In a moment of panic, I facebook messaged a fellow EAPer who was also in Sydney at the moment. It was kind of nerve-wracking because I've never arrange a meeting with a complete stranger, but he turned out to be a good guy and we had lots of fun exploring the city.

My main goal was to see the Sydney opera house, but he suggested taking a detour through this huge garden/park. Australia has so much amazing wildlife! There's giant fruit bats, white cockatoos, some sort of ibis, and then we got hissed at by this sort of coot because she was trying to protect her duckling (who strongly resembles a black dust bunny). The opera house was meh. It was just as big as I imagined it to be, but like with most glorified things, once you get super close to it, you see all the cracks and chips and dirt. It was still pretty amazing to see and touch one of the biggest icons of Australia. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, pretty much just getting lost and taking pictures along the way.

Okay, now I've got to go since my time is running low. Wow, it's pouring rain now. Damnit.