Aussie Life

I thought I was going to be really clever on this post. I thought this one up weeks ago while I was still in the states. The idea was to do a little mythbusters segment. We've all heard that the toilets flush in the opposite direction in Australia. I don't know where this came from, but I've heard it since I was a young warthog. Of all the things I could have been getting excited about in preparation for this trip, the toilet flush thing basically reigned supreme. I even took the time to record a video of  a typical American toilet flush before I left so I could post it here to compare it to a typical Australian flush. Try to imagine how stupid I looked holding my brand new camera over the toilet and flushing, capturing every second for you guys. Let's consider the myth. Take a second to look at the two flushes and make your own decision. 

    American

  Australian 

Right. I think we can pretty much consider this myth busted. The intense Australian flush not only startles me, it sucks straight down with no directional flow whatsoever. Boo. I was borderline upset to find that all Aussie toilets (that I've seen anyways) flush like this. I don't want to make it seem like this toilet fascination has totally consumed me, but I have done some research on the matter. You may have noticed the two flush buttons on top of the toilet. One is a half flush for liquid matter and one is a full flush for the other thing. Stop me if it's getting too gross. They also don't use plungers down here. Their toilets are better I guess and a plunger is a tool used by weird Americans. When I get home, I'm investing in an Australian toilet for the house. 

At least the toilets aren't exactly the same. That would have made this mythbusting experience even more boring than it already is. 

This isn't the only thing that's different here. My university orientation experience was nothing like what you'd see in any school across the United States. It was a few weeks ago but it's cool enough to talk about for sure. 

UTS threw international students a cocktail party which involved free beer, wine, and champagne for all of us. It also involved me double fisting to make the most out of the three hour event. There were responsible-looking faculty at this event getting their fix of the free booze as well. If it hadn't yet hit me that I wasn't in America anymore, this did it. Get jealous.

FREE

FREE

After the cocktail party we went on the pub crawl that was also organized by the school. It showed us a couple of good pubs in The Rocks and gave me an opportunity to drink a quick litre mug of beer. Solid. 

Not free, but still good

I swear everything seen in these pictures is 100% legal for me here. This beer mug was so big I could probably fit all the Australian change I've been accumulating into just two of them. An exaggeration, but I'm trying to make a point here. The change that inhabits my pocket/wallet/desk/floor space is getting a bit out of hand. The worst part is the infamous 2 dollar coin. This is the most valuable coin they have here yet it's the smallest in size. Try to imagine the USA coming out with a two dollar coin that is the same exact size as the penny. It's worth 200 times as much but takes up the same amount of room in my pocket. Every time I buy something I have to remind myself that it's worth taking the tiny coin back from the cashier. This is also why whenever I hear a coin drop on the ground, I immediately stop what I'm doing and crouch down in public like an idiot in search of whatever treasure may have escaped my pocket. It's funny to watch all my American friends struggle to remember that coins have worth here.

The ridiculously tiny 2$ coin (with US penny)

The other coins. Left to right: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, and 1$

The notes aren't that hard to use luckily. They're colour coded. Yeah, it's Monopoly money. I don't feel like I'm actually spending anything when I hand over a purple piece of currency. The cool thing about the notes is that they're completely water proof. I don't have to worry about putting them through the wash (not that my laundry will be done with any consistency). 

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Let's talk about some of the things that can be watched on the gorgeous, 19-inch, snowy-pictured television I have in my room. Well, I'll just talk about it for now since I'm the one posting. But feel free to give your comments afterwards. When I sit down to watch TV here, it's a long process. I have to put some deep thought into it. Which of the five channels will I choose? On one station, there will be some sort of Australian soap opera. The only reason this potentially interests me is that a girl in my film class stars in one of them. I need to find out which one and when it airs when i see her this week. Normally I'd rather drag my knees across cement than watch a soap opera so I flip to the next station. Here's an unfamiliar face: Oprah Winfrey. I thought I was going to be able to escape Oprah's control over what people do and buy. This episode was about living a long, healthy life. I decided to leave it on (strictly for background noise, seriously). Apparently drinking goat milk can extend your life. Some old Italian guy on the show had been drinking it since childhood so its got to be the real deal. 

Like a true American, I absorbed Oprah's every word and immediately vowed to run out to the store and grab some goat milk ASAP. I must have told Lauren every day: "I'm getting the goat milk today". But again, like a true American, I was too lazy to actually go get the stuff. Eventually, I think Lauren got fed up with all my talk. I walked into Unilodge one day and she slammed a carton of goat milk down on my desk. Or did she just hand it to me? I don't know, but slamming it seems more dramatic so that's what we'll go with. We immediately cracked it open and had a taste. When I saw Oprah drink it, she looked like she was chewing on it. Fortunately, this milk went down pretty smooth for me. Of course, I forced other people to try it (despite their repeated attempts at declining) and got mixed reactions. I'm going to have to do further research, but if it really does add to your life, I have every reason to buy it again the next time I need milk (which coincidentally is today). 

Before the goat milk talk I believe I was blabbering about the television. You'll see a whole lot of American shows. "Two and a Half Men" (very popular), "The Simpsons", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Beauty and the Geek", "David Letterman", and my personal favorite "The Ellen Degeneres Show".  I came to Australia hoping the TV was going to be crappy so I wouldn't get addicted to any shows and become a couch potato. I think I got my wish. As good as Ellen is, I don't feel like I'm missing out when I skip it in favour of a more quality study abroad experience. We did rent season one of the Aussie comedy "Summer Heights High" though. Whoever has seen it knows just how necessary of a decision that was. 

One show I'd wanted to catch is "Bondi Rescue". They pretty much show all kinds of emergencies and lifeguard rescues at the nearby Bondi beach. I've been to this beach a few times and have seen the camera crew doing their work. That got me really interested. A few days ago I was finally able to tune in. It was nothing like what I imagined. Maybe it was a boring episode, but I wanted shark attacks and I got beach arguments and cuts on the leg. Bondi Rescue is not dead to me, but I'm temporarily rescuing myself from the program so no time here is wasted. 

I have HEAPS more to write about. I've just been a tiny bit lazy and I'm again struggling with my internet. More to come.