Australian Life

Well, I apologize for the massive delay in my recent blogging adventures, but I have been super busy! Over the past week I have been studying (crazy! I know) and preparing for this HUGE presentation I have to give next week that is supposed to be 20-30minutes long. I don't know what these Aussie teachers are thinking when they assign a HUGE project in week 3...let alone to a Study Abroad student.
I also have had some recent "noteworthy" news in the last few days. I was published in University News, and you are more than welcome to read my article ===> HERE!!!
Other than that I have not been doing anything too wild and crazy. Australia Day was quite the sight. I had 3 classes that day (which was complete rubbish!) but in 2 of them we got Lammingtons, which are a traditional Australian dessert type things. They are a cake (sometimes lemon, sometimes yellow cake) which is sooo light and moist, and then they are covered in chocolate and sprinkled with coconut. They are delicious. In my first course, my professor brought in homemade Lammingtons with little Aussie flags on them. She is a riot I tell you. She is an older woman with her spiky grayish blonde hair, who wears HOT pink lipstick everyday. She is hillarious in the classroom.
My other teacher bought Lammingtons, as she is a bit off her rocker (if you catch my drift). They were decent but not amazing. After my first two courses me and some fellow Americans went to Broad Beach for Australia Day! There, we saw everything possible with an Australian flag or emblem on it. There Australia Day is our 4th of July, we just do it better! There were people cooking out on the grill, throwing back a few (I mean a lot!) beers, playing music, games, having a good time. There were tons and tons of people on the beach, playing in and out of the water. A young Aussie boy even gave me a Weiss Bar. The first two times I thought he said a Whisper and I was like "Ughhh...what?!" But it was an ice box (popsicle) that was frozen mango and ice cream. It was really good...these Aussies truly have it made.
After a few hours at the beach, we had to run back for our last lecture, where we learned all about Aboriginal people and the development of sport, and then we watched "The Dish". It was a great way to really feel for the country I was in, and I thought it was hillarious. The goon I was drinking (sorry mom!) may have added to my presumed humor, but regardless...I liked it.
After class we came back to our dorm, and began the celebration. I put on my very best Obama T-shirt! and was ready to hit the town. However, after my long long day of celebrating and class, I just kicked back with some fellow Americans and represented our country best with some Family Guy and American Dad. Original..I know!
Today we went shopping in Pacific Fair, which is this HUGE mall that has outside stores and inside the mall stores and everything else in between. It was an awesome place and we will more than likely return soon!
Well, a shower and another Aussie adventure are calling my name. Between 1 and 2 a.m. I will be hiking up Mt. Warning, an inactive Volcano, and the bus leaves at midnight. Be prepared for a blog about that soon....

Until Then,

Wilson

Aussie Thursdays and Where's Wally? Pub Crawl 111

After a rough couple of days, I decided that nothing would put me in a better mood than a couple wild nights! So I decided to live up to the Uni experience and attend Thursdays at Don's. Don's is the bar on campus (yes, on campus!) that has great deals for Bond students, and has live entertainment and such to keep us all entertained. After kickin' it at Don's for a while, we took the free bus to Shooters, a "Super Club", in Surfer's Paradise. Now, Shooters is this huge club that has 4 rooms, all of varying themes and types of music. They have a stripper pole-esque room that has 2, yes two, poles in the middle of the floor, with booths and tables along the outskirts, mainly you just see people making out there. Then they have a HUGE techno room, that has platforms to dance on, strobe lights, smoke, the whole techno/rave experience. The R&B room is next, Miss Nancy Louise Davidson's favorite, where they have just R&B music, and its really chill. The last room, which I have only frequented a couple of times, is a room that has no DJ but a couple pool tables and "the Smoker Room". In this "Smoker Room", which is basically a small closet that has bars on the outside wall that lead to outside, it makes them look like monkeys in a cage (Thank you, Molly Regan). You are not allowed to have drinks in the "Smoke Room", just you and your fellow smoking people. I have not been in the room to smoke, just went in to grab my friend so we could peace out. After getting caught in the rain, talking to some lovely ladies from Bristol, NOT LONDON, England, and convincing half the street to eat at Theo's Kebabs (I got a chicken one, with everything and Hommus and Sour Cream. BOMB! I'll describe it next), we took the bus home and I got some shut eye. Oh, did I mention that I got "thrown out" of Shooters? Yeah....I decided to just jump over the railing to go from one part to the next (which I lifted my friend over the railing because she was to short, but there was no point in walking ALL the way around!). Well, apparently the bouncers didn't like that because they asked me to leave at that point. No big deal...we were done anyways.
Before I go into the wild details of the pub crawl, let me first tell you a few things about Kebabs. Kebabs are the best drunk food you will ever eat. Bill's Toasty does not have crap, I don't know if I'm allowed to say $hit, on a Kebab. A Kebab is kind of like a Gyro/Flafel. It is a soft, thick tortilla like shell (I guess) that they heat up. Then they put chicken, beef, lamb, or vegetarian match meat in it, along with 2 sauces of your choice, including: Hommus, Sour Cream, Garlic, BBQ, Chili, and a few others that I can't think of off the top of my head. Then they put cheese (it looks like a mozzarella or a legacy type cheese), lettuce, tomatoes, and some kind of ending herb seasoning thing on it. They wrap it up, put it in a paper sleeve, put a few napkins on top of it and hand it over. Your mouth waters before the first bite, and then you meet the most amazing food you have ever eaten. It is an epic experience. While eating Kebabs, at Theo's, Ozi's Kebabs and Pizza is right next to it. Well, realizing that Theo's was amazing, I convinced multiple people to eat at Theo's and Theo now loves me, well I assume he does.
Also, people from England are not neccessarily from London, and they can make great American interpretations.
After recovering from Thursday night, which was a very, very late night, I woke up Friday ready to face the world again. Buses for the pub crawl left at 4:00pm, so we decided to begin our day around 2ish. We were all dressed in bright yellow with black stripes shirts (like a bunch of bumble bees) and marched our way to the buses, from buses to bars, from bars to buses, and then repeated it at a total of 6 bars. Let me tell you, it was a very wild and entertaining time. At the first bar, they had two Skyy Vodka girls giving out shots, along with some Skyy makeup samples for the ladies. Well, two attractive girls giving out free alcohol to a bunch of college students on a pub crawl...let's just say we attacked them! They also gave some fried food, pizza, and water (who actually drank water on the pub crawl?!?!). Then we were paraded along to our next bar. Every bar after that gets a little fuzzy on the names and places they were, but here is what I remember:

• They raffled off a meat tray and seafood tray at a bar
• One bar had a topless waitress and other waitresses in thongs and bras (somehow I missed both sets of these!)
• At one stop, some girl was giving out "Bondbook" stamps (Bondbook is something on campus, but I'm not quite sure what. Voting is sometime next week) and apparently I lifted up my shirt and got 10 of them! By the end of the night they were all a little smeary, but nonetheless they looked good!
• I proceeded to yell "Where's the Beach!?!?" and lifted up my shirt to show off my stamps (and nipples apparently) at random times throughout the night. Word on the street is a woman shielded here child's eyes.
• People on the streets of Australia laughed and stared at the massive amounts of bumble bees stumbling through the streets.
• One group of girls vommed at the first bar and were given a cab ride home.
• It was great to see multiple people passed out in the bathrooms with vom all over them, as they didn't quite make it.
• We loved the bar that had $2.90 drafts of Carlton Mid!
• A bouncer at a bar kicked a stool out from under a guy while the guy was standing on top of it screaming and dancing. Apparently you aren't supposed to do that.

That for the most part was the pub crawl. Of course packing tons of kids into buses to parade around town, I'm sure the other drivers on the road loved seeing a rocking, bouncing bus filled with kids screaming, singing, pointing, showing their nipples (guilty!) and such at them while driving. After we went to all our places we ended up at Shooters where we met the red shirted group of Where's Wally? 111 to end our night. I, of course, went to Theo's towards the end of the night. Got asked if I was some kind of gangster by these girls from New Zealand. And then went to the beach to put our feet in the water while we waited on the buses to take us home. As we arrived at Uni with Sweet Home Alabama blasting on the Koala Coach, we called it a night and went to bed.
Today we went to the beach, explored a new one by going to Burleigh Head beach, and planned some future trips. Well that is enough for now...

Until Then,

Wilson

There You'll Be

So this isn't really what I had planned to have my next post be about, but it is a huge part of my life that cannot be ignored. Don't worry, I'll blog tomorrow (possibly) about more Aussie type stuff.

Every morning, I wake up and wish you were here...

   A year ago today (in Central Standard Time), I would have been in St. Louis, MO, studying chemistry in the Reinert ballrooms. Telling myself this semester I was going to do great things and get those outstanding grades I deserved. I went to bed later that evening, woke up at 7am Wednesday morning and went for a 5 mile run. I came back to my room in Reinert Hall, showered, finished up some last minute homework, and decided to check my email. Luckily, to my surprise, I had two emails from the person I admired most and hadn't talked to in a while, my Gramma. She sent me two of those corny forwarded emails, of course to me and a number of other people, with an explanation of how it was "...cute..." and stuff. I replied to her that morning, and then had to go off to my morning classes. I did the usual, Theology and then off to Chemistry...
   In Chemistry, I got a phone call from my Dad's cell phone. I ignored it and replied "I'm in class!!!" since I knew that they had just arrived to Florida, figuring they were calling to tell me about the nice weather and stuff they were having. He replied "Call me anyways" as pure as day. I ignored it until I got out of class at 10:51 am Wednesday morning, and called my dad. My mom answered and I was happy and expecting a "Hi we made it to Florida" phone call, but instead I got the worst news I have ever heard. I was on my way to my next class, and my mom said the 5 most painful, god awful words I have ever heard "Wilson, Gramma died this morning." I dead stopped in the middle of campus, someone behind me crashed into me.
   Life since then has never been the same. Looking back, life with her will forever be cherished. I still remember to this day the first time I ever watched the movie "Pearl Harbor" with her and Sammy. Halfway through the movie, at the end of the first VHS tape, I claimed I didn't feel well, when really the movie was just too graphic and I was scared. She had me sit on the couch next to her, smelling like laundry, hand creme, and soap, and I leaned into her sobbing away. Now, I can't watch "Pearl Harbor" without crying. I watched it last night and cried multiple, multiple times. I know the story is about two guys who have a lifelong friendship that fall in love with the same girl. Oh, and war, but for some reason I relate it to her. Every line, scene plot, and character reminds me of her. The song "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill, the soundtrack to the movie, is exactly how I feel about her. "...and everywhere I am, there you'll be."
   As I said in her eulogy, the hardest speech I've ever given (besides the line in my graduation speech, in which I teared up when I looked up and saw her face when I talked about her) "My Gramma always told me she loved me, my Gramma always told me she was proud of me, my Gramma was always there for me." "My Gramma will always love me. My Gramma will always be proud of me. My Gramma will always be there for me."

Gramma, I love you and I miss you, and life will never be the same without you.

...and every night, I go to sleep with one hand open for you to hold.

Until that day,

Wilson



First Day of Classes, excuse me Courses

Well, I seemed to survive my first day of classes here at Bond Uni. While I was supposed to have 3 classes (1 lecture and 2 tutorials (tuts as the Aussies call them)), tutorials were canceled this week, as they are like small discussions and interactions on what you learned in lecture. So i attended my first lecture, Freelance Writing: Magazine and Creative Non-Fiction. The teacher, an ex-American resident, wore acid washed jeans and flip flops with a button down. He basically made it big by writing financial advice columns in the States and Canada and went on to books, seminars, and eventually teaching here at Uni. He kind of lives a crazy life.
As one of the very few Americans in the course, I'm a bit worried, as not only will I stand out but I don't know anything about the newspaper and magazine business over here. He asked who in the class wanted to be a journalist, I was one of the few who did not raise my hand. However, after calling me out and asking what I wanted to do, he complimented me and said I would probably have much higher chances of getting accepted as a doctor over the next guy due to my "writing background." It was actually very reassuring. Suck on that SLU and Stacy Phillips-Keller! I can have a minor and still do great things.
Well, we shall see what other exciting things my classes lead to. I have Gender Communication tomorrow, Tuesday, and then Australian Pop Culture and Human Growth and Development on Wednesday.

Until Then,

Wilson

First visit to the beach!

Yes, I finally got a chance to go to the beach...It was absolutely goregous. We had perfect weather for our first time visiting the beach. Friday we stayed in at night, and during the day I went on another run. I am kicking myself for not taking my camera with me, as I found lots of interesting things on this one.

• Apparently it is just as cool to write the "F" word on public property and walls in Australia as it is in America.
• Australians too spray paint graffiti in quite impressive artsy words and male genitalia.
• They write lyrics to American songs on sidewalks and strips of caulking on sidewalks.
• They have absolutely stunning houses. I'll get some pictures of their homes shortly.

After a much needed recovery from my Goon filled Thursday night, Friday was a great day of rest for today's adventure. Me and 2 other lads went into Robina to attempt to donate blood. Apparently, due to all the flooding, counless blood banks lost all their supplies and are in desperate need of blood. They opened up their facilities on Saturdays in order to help with this lack of resource. Unfortunately for us, fortunately for them, all of their spots were full this morning, so we told them we would return sometime this week.
Then 4 buses, Koala Coaches if you will, loaded with Bond University students set out for an "Aussie Beach Day" at Broad Beach in Surfer's Paradise. It was so nice. This mornings weather was cloudy and rainy, but it ended up being hot and sunny, with a nice breeze. We were there for almost 4 hours when we headed back to Uni after a day of plenty of sun and water.
I got burnt, but not big time. I put on plenty of sunscreen mother, and reapplied very often. Except, I got burnt in the most awkward places. Lines of sunburn that seem completely out of place. As follows:

That was one streak on my forearm that got burnt.

 The picture I had here to much resembled my donk so I did not post it for obvious reasons. I apologize, but I have a mother and a reputation. Sorry for the inconvenience and let down.

 And the worst part of me that got burnt was.....

Correct...

My feet and legs! I guess I didn't think that I needed  to put any sort of sunscreen on them. I did however, remember to put it on the tops of my knees, but not my ridiculously white feet or my legs. Yes, it hurts. Yes, I'll remember it next time.

Well, I'm off to attemptingly drink the sunburn away!

Until then,

Wilson

Too Much Goon!

Well it has been a few days since my last post, so I figured you would all like to read some more about my adventures Down Under. On Tuesday we had an "Official Welcome to Bond University" cocktail like party. I, being the American that I am, forgot to pack my Khaki pants (Mom, please ship those to me soon!) so I showed up in my very best Aussie business (very) casual shorts with a very nice button down. To be completely honest, I looked much better than the kids in jeans if I do say so myself. And ladies, it said Cocktail, not tease! (sorry mother....but let's be honest, it was funny!) Later that night we came back and put on our Trackeys and introduced some Aussies to American comedy, by showing Baby Mamma and The Hangover in the common room. They did ask the question "Are Americans really like this?" Sadly, we had to tell them yes, yes some of them are!
After a great night of resting up, we hit Wednesday hard! We went to a very intriguing (sp?) Study Abroad Info Session, where the guy told us that they lose people at the beaches and do around 200-300 saves per day. Well, if that didn't make us want to head to the beach, I don't know what does! After that session, we went to our very first "Wednesday by the Water" and had a barbie by the pool in our swimmers. Music, free food, a giant inflatable 2 person obstacle course, and the water in 80 degree Aussie weather was amazing! (How is the weather back home by the way?) After soaking up plenty of sun, what was I thinking when I said "No I won't need sunscreen"?, all of the Aussies could instantly tell who was American by our wonderful bright red, sunburnt skin. We went to dinner and then came back and taught some Aussies some American drinking games (i.e. Circle of Death, Flippie Cup, High-Low) and then attempted to go to the bar. Who knew that a bar was closed on Wednesday night in Australia during O Week? Lame.
Thursday was a day to be reckoned with! After partying with my box of Goon on Wednesday night (Goon is what the Aussies refer to cheap wine or alcohol. The Americans love it because it is like $9-10 for a box that lasts you and a friend for a good night, or two if a decent night! It tastes decent for the price, so we all party with it hard!) I decided to take it easy on Thursday day. I sobered up, cured my hangover (for the most part) and went on my first Aussie run. It was amazing! Got to see some of the side streets of Market Square and surrounding area. Then we ventured to the heaven of liquor stores: Dan Murphy's. Dan Murphy's is a huge wearhouse, probably the size of your average supermarket, that is FILLED with alcohol. It was every 18+ American-in-Australia's paradise. (P.S. to all the Swigert's--They had Miller Lite, but it was $45 for a 24 pack. And they only had Budweiser, so I had to side with some XXXX Gold instead of my lovely Bud Light. I must add that an Aussie called Bud Light "Piss Water" and other names of the sort. I almost slapped her!)We bought our fair share of alcohol and came back to party. The theme for Thursday's party was Tight 'N Bright, clearly us Americans could handle that. I put on my best attire and hit it hard with my box of red goon. Do not drink red Goon! White is manageable, but the red not so much. After drinking my fair share of my box we decided to wait in line to get into the party. Well that Aussie heat and humidity, plus a few slaps at neighboring standees bags of wine, I got a little woozy. Let's just say the Goon hit me hard and I didn't quite make it to the party.
              Thank you girls in the elevator that helped me to my room, sorry for being a Damn American!
Those were my goon filled nights, where to be completely honest, I acted like a goon myself! Just another day in paradise I guess.

Tomorrow will be our first beach day!

Until Then,

Wilson

Things that Make You More American

As my time Down Under starts, multiple things make me stand out as an American. They are, as of now, as follows:

• Cargo shorts, Basketball shorts, shorts that go past your knees, baggy shorts, etc.
• Nike shoes, Jordan shoes, etc.
• Tshirts, American Eagle polos, backward hats,
• Calling a fifth of Vodka a fifth (It's a 750 mL, Mate!)
• Asking for a glass of water or a water cup (There are some cups over by the basin if you want water.)
• When getting salads (vegetables) at Subway and you ask for Green Pepper (It's a green Capsin)
• Ketchup = Tomato (pronounced Tomahto) sauce and there packets are way different (Your look of amazement gives it away too
• "Where is the nearest beach?" Gives explanation..."but don't swim in the canals. They have Bullsharks that will rip your legs off!"

The beginning of a life Down Under

As I prepared to board the plane in St. Louis at Lambert International Airport, I hugged my mom, dad, and sister goodbye and proceeded on through security. After arriving in San Francisco Airport, I had to recheck in at the Quantas airline counter, re-pass through another airport security, spent $12 on a roastbeef sandwich, bottle of water, and a banana, and then waited to board my Qantas 747 airliner destined for Syndey. They call my group and I walk to the plane with my boarding pass in hand, only to find out that I would be sitting in the very last row, in the middle seat. Being 6' 3" and smashed between a bitchy black woman and her husband, a pissy fiancee' of some sort, and directly behind a woman who likes to put her seat back all the way without warning, with my backpack between my legs was not the most ideal 18 hour flight of my life. I got up twice during the entire flight. I got 2 meals, a small bag of "snacks", a hard pillow, a complimentary toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste, and the worst pain in my ass I have ever experienced. Needless to say, it was a pretty decent flight where I watched 3 movies, read almost my entire book, and caught some pretty decent sleep only to be woken up by turbulence...no big deal!
The airline staff was very friendly and, miraculously, can pour coffee and tea during turbulence while serving breakfast, breakey if you will. After departing the plane I had to locate both pieces of my luggage and attempt to make it through customs. Since I left the states in jeans, moccasins, my white T and Tshirt combo with a thermal over it and a jacket, I was sweating in the 75 degree, humid weather. After getting my luggage, I had to bear customs. Awkwardly enough, I stood on a yellow line with my bags facing forward, and a little cocker spaniel came and smelled my baggage. Unknowing to me, I thought it was a dog that was confiscated or being held in quarantine for a person so I reached down and pet him and he made his way onward. So I made it through customs very easily. Dear America and Mexico, adopt this policy...it works great!
I then had to wander all around this airport, walk outside and back into the domestic departure terminal, recheck my baggage, and pass through security once again (3 for 3 on airline security checkpoints, 1 for 3 on full body scans). However, in Australia, security must be not that important to them or they just assume that I didn't get anything in the airport that would do any harm. I walked through the metal detector with my belt, shoes, and stuff in my pockets with no problems. I then had to board a bus and be taken around to my terminal where I waited on my next plane to Brisbane.
When I arrived in Brisbane, I once again had to reclaim my luggage and attempt to find some people that were supposed to take me to Bond Uni (Bond University). This is when I ran into Helen and all the people doing the group Study Australia, where I boarded there bus and got a free ride to Bond, even though I wasn't supposed to be with them. Hey, I made friends and got there in one piece with all my luggage. Pretty fair trade in my eyes.
After arriving at Bond I checked into my dorm room, which is so classy compared to dorms in the states. I'll post pictures of it soon. After unpacking and getting settled me and my roommate, who is from Boston, went with his friends down to a "barbecue", which turned out to be a 17 year old teen center, and then left 5 minutes after. We then decided to go to this bar that was about a 5 minute walk from our dorm, might I add this was Sunday night at like 9 something. We went to the bar and tore that place up. Met some Aussies who told us "You are sooo American" as we were wearing shorts, American Eagle polos, backwards hats, flip flops, nike tennis shoes, and accents. Regardless, we made friends and had a good time. I ran into the SLU kids at the bar and ended the night stumbling home screaming in our faux Aussie/English accents until we stumbled to our rooms and passed out from our drunken state and our extreme jet lag.
We started our first day at Uni starving, hung over, and very American. On a rainy day in the states you would find it totally acceptable to walk around in a pair of flip flops, basketball shorts, and a white T or T shirt of the sort. In Australia...NO! These people are dressed up constantly. Jorts (jean shorts) are popular on men, as well as sleeveless shirts, tight jorts, and extremely short shorts...I'm talking inches above that knee. Every person we encountered knew we were from the states instantly, we attempted to fit in and look normal but it just didn't happen. The questions we asked, the way we talked, the way we looked made us stand out like sore thumbs. It was somewhat unbelievable.
As the day progressed we were deemed more and more American, until finally the night ended in a Toga party, that then proceeded to continue at a club, that then ended on a bus ride back to Uni and calling it a night.

That was my first few days down under, let's see what follows.

Until Then,

Wilson