Well, I've finally got enroled in "subjects" (classes, for all us Americans), and will be taking Australia and America, Ethnic Nationalism and the Modern World, Data Analysis 2, and hopefully Metric Spaces. That one's still up in the air. It took two and a half hours of running around the Uni to get all that straightened out, but I now have both my student ID and my health care card. I will definitely be able to get to all my maths subjects - I know my way around that building pretty well by now! (And I still got lost trying to get out of it). The campus is pretty big, especially compared to Grinnell, and its not laid out on a grid, which makes it pretty confusing at times. I have been able to get home pretty easily from uni, though - at least that part of my sense of direction is good!
I'm really glad I don't have to drive here. Its pretty crazy. Sometimes drivers have to do this thing called a "hook turn". Keeping in mind that aussies drive on the "wrong" side of the road; a hook turn is turning right from the left lane. You pull more or less into the cross walk halfway across the road, and then wait for the other light to turn green, at which point you finish your turn as the cars behind you wait. Its a bit terrifying to be in a car while the driver does this, but it works. Walking is difficult here, though. Crosswalks are often few and far between, or only get you to the tram stop and not actually across the road. Speaking of crosswalks, the signal to walk here is a green man walking and also a sound emitted that sounds like a manic woodpecker attacking a telephone pole. Its a bit panic-inducing.
Last night Kate, Cari and I went bowling with some aussies we met at Ormond. The place we went is a bar, with a buy a drink and bowl for free policy on Sundays. We bowled two rounds, and then we all went to the Crown Casino. We wandered around, looking at everything, since the three of us hadn't really ever gambled before, and then Cari and I played a 1cent game and won $28! (Okay, 26, since we each spent a dollar). But we're going to use it to go out to eat brunch. We also decided at that point that we would stop while we were ahead, and got all our coins changed to notes so we couldn't spend them. We also got free juice boxes for being in the casino and gaming, which was pretty sweet. The guy handing them out was really funny and helpful and also gave us each an extra juice. All in all, it was a pretty sweet trip to the casino.
I can't wait for the semester to actually start. I start my subjects a week from today and I'm really excited. It seems like forever since I've actually had to do something with my brain, and I also think that the partying will die down some once all the international students actually have something to do. People have been out to bars, pubs, and clubs almost every night we've been in Australia, and that is definitely not my scene. I've gone out a few times, and I had a really good time, but partying more than once a week is exhausting, both physically and on my cash supply. As Kate and I have discussed, food seems much more important than going out, so we try to keep it pretty low-key, even when we do go out.
On Saturday (today is monday) I went to the Queen Victoria Market to buy fresh fruit and veggies. It was amazing. Everything was pretty cheap (even avocados!) and really fresh. Its a big open air market, with two long aisles of stalls for fruits and veggies, an indoor meat market, two smaller aisles of what are considered "deli goods" here - spreads, dairy items, sliced meat, and bread. There are also stalls of leather goods, tourist items, clothes, and shoes. It was pretty incredible, and I think I'll make it part of a weekly routine. Next time, I'll bring a camera. But I was able to buy avocados, cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes, onions, bread, sliced turkey, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, asparagus, and bean sprouts, all of it fresh and lovely and yummy. Most of it is from Australia, as well, which makes me feel good too! I've been having fantastic turkey sandwiches ever since.
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