Serviette

"Serviette": what they call paper napkins over here. This term has caused me many, many issues in the workplace and amongst my Ozzie friends. No one here will know what you're talking about if you ask for "napkins."
(I've edited out the name of my friend under his request.)

Unnamed Friend: "...And if you want a serviette, they're by the lemonade."
Me: "The what?"
UF: "Serviette."
Me: "What on Earth is that?"
UF: "You don't have serviettes in America??"
Me: "No....?"
UF: "Good God, I didn't know the U.S. was such a backwards country."
When I finally figured out that he was talking about napkins, I told him we don't call them serviettes. He laughed at me.
UF: "Napkins? What the hell? We call them serviettes here! Napkins, what an odd-sounding name."
The cultural differences here still take me by surprise.

So I have my first big test tomorrow, and I just came across a very disturbing discovery. Usually after every class, the professor(s) would post their lectures up on the website. I have just discovered that they neglected to post the last three lectures. It also just so happened that I got lazy on the last three lectures and took down a grand total of ONE page of notes. One page. For. Three. Hours. Of. Lecture.
Fuck.
I hate Murphy's Law. I will now write down every freaking line during class, instead of assuming that whatever I missed will be posted online. Effing hell. Maybe I'll cry into a stupid serviette after I fail my exam.

Embarrassing moment of the week (well actually, there's two):

1: I ate dirt in front of my whole zoology class during our field trip. I was walking behind my two professors and we were heading towards the rest of the class. We were terribly late and everyone else was standing there, waiting for us to catch up. I noticed that my professors were hopping over a metal chain strung between two posts. It was low enough that I could have easily side-stepped over without any mishap. Instead, I thought hey, no problem, I'll just maintain my walking speed and just do a little hop at the end. WRONG. The chain was higher than I thought and I tripped over it, completely face-planting into the grass with my book bag spilling all its contents onto the ground. My two professors turned around with real concern, but I quickly brushed myself off as casually as I could and assured them I was fine. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't even look at them (or my class, for that matter). I still wince when I think back on it. Oh, and for those who were curious, our field trip was to the local lake where a population of black swans resided. We spent two hours observing their behavior and recording their ID bands in the pouring rain (which was actually kind of fun).

2. I was forced to do a number 2 in the boy's bathroom. Some genius decided to build only one girls' bathroom stall for the computer lab. Consequently, whenever I decide to stay late at the computer lab, I have to go into a long queue for the bathroom. This time, it was just one person in the stall and she was taking FOREVER. From the sounds of it, it seems like she was hurling. Meanwhile, the boy's bathroom was just sitting there a few feet away, with no one nearby. There was also the issue of the security camera trained right at my face. After waiting 10 minutes and nearly shitting myself (literally) I thought, "Ah, screw it," and headed in. Of course, I had to wave and mouth "Sorry!"at the security camera before I did it. The experience itself wasn't that great either. The place smelled like old urine.

Alright, it's almost midnight and I better catch the last tram. Wish me luck guys. It won't do to fail a class in Australia. >_<