free oh!

Being an exchange student is really cool, because CIEE, Murdoch, and locals keep offering to take us places and show us Australia.

the toilet

For instance, Paul and Kate - the CIEE directors here in Perth, took the group of us to Jus Burgers in Freo. This place had so many options of burgers, I had no idea what to pick! After learning that the pumpkin patty was stuffed with cheese (of which I am not a fan), I opted for the kangaroo burger. It was spicy, delicious, and absolutely lovely! We then disembarked to a torchlight tour of the old Fremantle Prison. Now before you get to excited, here a torch is a flashlight (not to say that a flashlight tour isn't cool...). This prison has a huge historical past as a convict jail and closed down only relatively recently after becoming a high security facility. WA, it also appears, was the last state is Australia to ban capital punishment. While I have not been to any other prison for which to compare, the showers and toilets did not look too inviting to me. Afterwords, the CIEE group got gelato - a perfect beginning to the night.

A few weekends ago we also had a chance to go to an AFL game. Footy, Australian rules football is called, is pretty impressive. Unlike our NFL, no protective gear is worn. The ball is passed with a kick or a toss that almost looks like a volleyball underhand serve. When the ball goes out of bounds, the referee throws the ball back in while facing backwards. Oh, and the field is circular and there are 4 goal posts which seem sort of Quidditch-esque. My favorite part was how fast paced the sport is - there are no time outs (rather, the "paused time" is just added on. So a quarter runs for 20 minutes but really the clock counts it out longer). Basically, it was such a sunny and exciting way to spend a Saturday afternoon. As the fourth quarter finished, Dockers fans across the stadium started cheering, Free-oooh! Freeeeee-ooooooh. Freeee-oooh. Freo! <3

Of course, CIEE is not the only program that puts on free events for us. The exchange program here at Murdoch (the responsibilities of which seem similar to Clark's OIA and Study Abroad Office) has get-togethers for the 70some exchange students here this semester. There is a buddy program where each of us is partnered with an Australian (mine is pretty cool!) and we get to attend events like pizza nights at the Tav and BBQs.

A few Thursday's ago, we were also able to go to a local sports club and learn to lawn bowl. This is yet another Australian sport. I would consider it close to bocce ball, where a small white ball is rolled out and then each person wants to get their team balls as close to the white one as possible. The trick, however, when rolling your balls (each player gets two) is to aim right or left. Rather, the ball is weighted towards one side so it will roll straight and then turn back in like the hook of a cane. Tricky, yeah?

And before this post gets too long, Murdoch Village gives us free food (and activities) too! This is the resident hall - though it is not quite like Clark RLH in that it is not actually part of Murdoch University. Alas, every Monday there are free yoga classes, Wednesday they offer a Zumba class, Thursday we can get catered soup, and Friday mornings we can get fresh pancakes. And as it is a Thursday evening, I am off to get me some tasty dinner!

xx

missing

adj - lacking, absent, not found

This week has strangely been a downer for me. I've known from the beginning that eventually the wave of "I love it here!" and "Everything is so awesome" was going to wear off. Eventually, I was going to settle down, more in sync with the person I am, and feel some frustration and weariness. This week, I have begun to miss a lot of things.

Like my best friends;

Chicago, Worcester, Boston;

the ability to buy bags of frozen chicken breast;

campus, the res halls, classes, my professors;

my family;

volunteering at Head Start;

sitting on the green;

the jumbalaya rice mix that comes in a box;

diners, Annie's!; 

Mexican food;

the WRTA semester pass;

netflix;

the view from the fifth floor of the library;

turkey burgers;

cheetos, cheese-its, and goldfish;

;;;

So all you blog readers out there, go hug your dad tight for me. Walk to Yoway with your friends later this week. Attend your classes. Visit the Bistro. Go dancing in the city lights. Eat a mega pancake and splurge on some hash browns. 

Love where you are. I'll try to get back to doing the same.

really cool things

Hey there everyone!! I just wanted to give a quick update, especially because there wasn't much to read on my last post. Some really cool things have gotten underway this week, which make me super excited.

It may be too blurry to read.
But yes, that is $22.07/hr. Holla!!

First, I worked my second shift at a cafe here. I think I would equate it to the Bistro at Clark (Speaking of which, I am really bummed that I don't get to try out the new stations with everyone - I'm going to be so lost when I come back in the Spring Semester). They have a make your own (MYO) sandwich bar, hot meals, salads, beefy nachos and veggie burgers among other things. Anyway. I got the paperwork today which I just finished filling out. After being stunned, of course, by my wage. 

Second, my internship officially started up this week. By that, I mean to say, I finally got to meet with my Parliamentarian (this would be closest to our representatives for state government) on Monday and I got this nifty badge and access to the Western Australian Parliament Library and Staff Cafeteria on Thursday. Say what? We (all the interns from local universities) also sat in on the opening remarks of both branches of Parliament. It was interesting to see the decor and hear the meeting be opened with a prayer. During morning tea I also got to try a sausage roll for the first time - which made me feel extra Australian and cool. 

I have also realized that I have yet to really talk about my average week, my classes, free food, etc. So I'll do that in a post hopefully soon! Oh! And I'll fill you in on some of the places I've gone - like on a prison tour, to play lawn bowling, and to an AFL game. So, get excited!!

Also, if you have any questions or things you want to know about life in Perth leave a comment below! vv

Until next time! :)

look here, here, here

So I went walking this weekend. Let me tell you. Western Australia is such a cool place - it is absolutely beautiful here. I have collected some pictures for ya, so take a look (hopefully you like flowers)! Once I figure out what everything is, I'll caption them. :]

It also got me thinking - how much is out there that we don't see, simply because we forget to look?

 Cool, right?! Anyway, Clarkies, have a great last few days of summer!!! :)