"in australia red means go"

i was tempted to make this entry only the following sentence: we played flip cup at orientation (and it ruled).

but in the interest of stories and details (and life in australia beyond school sponsored drinking games), i decided to make this a legit entry. orientation started as most do, boring, in a group, and inside. blah blah be safe, go to class, don’t get poisoned by creatures, don’t get roofied, blah, etc. annnd a few hours later, we’re outside at the campus bar and the dude that picked me up from the airport is ordering pitchers and moving patio tables to create an epically long flip cup table. welcome to higher education in the sunniest nation on earth. thinking of the impossibility of playing flip cup at BC’s orientation (at which FATHER leahy, our president, was present) makes me smile even more.

other smile inducers include all things related to mardis gras. yesteday in sydney was the lgbt pride/mardi gras/awesomeness/gayday parade. it was off the wall glorious. i have never seen so many dudes wearing so many wings (and so little other clothing) in my life. i actually heard the “aussie aussie aussie, oi oi oi!” cheer! it was one hell of a celebration…so much so that i felt a bit bummed to be run-of-the-mill hetero chick. insane pictures coming soon!

brief tale to prove the aussie wonder: we are walking home thursday night from a bar. i have an unstoppable craving for ice cream/popsicle type item (and getting those banana pops from lower isn’t an option). stop in a convenience store. bring supreme popsicle to counter. dude asks for 2.70. i tell him, ”i’m sorry, i only have $2” and i start to bring pop back to freezer. he stops me, says, “oh--no worries! enjoy it sweetheart!” and that i did.

i’m making admirable progress on my life goals list. getting to australia already checked one off. hang with kangas: check. nude beach: accidental check (did not expect naked bodies at our beach, but hey). immortalize myself by writing in wet cement: check (right outside my apartment in AUSTRALIA, no less). skydiving: uncheck, coming soon. scuba: uncheck, also coming soon. send a message in a bottle: in progress.

i like lists. here are some:

things i am in love with:

beach every single day

plenty of barefoot time

aussie accent (especially in small children)

meat pies

pure blonde beer

when australians say “heaps”

australian dogs*

kings of leon**

the sun setting not setting until 8pm 

*the dogs here are fantastic. they are everywhere and never, ever have leashes, yet, they are the most obedient pups in the world. they follow their owners attentively, wait outside stores for them, and follow complex instructions some KIDS might have trouble with (“bruno, go wait over there for a bit while i’m swimming!”) 

**in a timely fashion, i became obsessed right before i left. and here they are like gods, meaning every club plays sex on fire on heavy rotation.

things i am not in love with:

the metric system (it’s more logical, yes, but to me? nonsense)

wild spike in shark attacks (more attacks in the last month in sydney than in the last many years. let’s go surfing!)

things that still baffle me:

driver’s side on the right

people who enjoy vegemite

things i want from all of you:

your current addresses (if you want postcards! and you do want postcards)

suggestions of how i can watch 30-rock and 24 online

your promise to buy a plane ticket here before july

plenty’o’emails

 school starts tomorrow. i’ve been on vacation since LDOC of 2008. thus, i haven’t been in class for nearly three months. i’m not sure if i recall how to sit still. si se puede?

[edit: i wrote this yesterday, and am posting it today, thus i have already had class and have already survived sitting in a classroom and taking notes. great success!]

the end.

love,

kasey