An Update :-P
So it’s been long enough that I feel that I should probably write a small (or not so small) update on my life. So that’s all behind the upcoming cut. If you want to read about Australia, this will be an easy way to do so. Here goes...
So basically, life has been pretty fucking amazing. I say basically because it could be better in some respects, but in others, this is the best time of my life! Let’s start from the flight to Australia.
So here’s what happens... Monday night, Maggie and I go to Sam Diego’s (equivalent to Tortilla Sam’s for you Worcesterites) for a fried ice cream. We got an appetizer (btw, called an entrée here... yes, that’s right, an appetizer is what we call a main course) and the fried ice cream and everything seemed good. Tuesday, Maggie ends up with food poisoning somehow and I’m feeling fine. So instead of doing breakfast like we had originally planned, we didn’t really get to see each other on my last day in the States. Add on to this that my flight from Boston to Los Angeles got canceled! READ! CANCELED! So Adam and I were scrambling to find a flight to get to LAX before leaving for Australia. What ended up happening is that we went from Boston to San Diego and then took a short flight to Los Angeles. So we made it to Los Angeles and Australia on time.
The first week that I was there, I walked a lot (exploring Melbourne is a difficult task) and just hung out with everybody. The Thursday we (Adam and I) got there, we went to dinner with the entire group just as a fun little thing (we also had a meeting beforehand, but that was like 40 minutes long) at an Asian place. It apparently cost Barnett around AU$400 (equivalent to ~$325) but it was pretty damn good. That Friday, a bunch of us went clubbing (you have probably seen some pictures on Facebook if you’ve looked) and that Saturday we went to a beach (yes, a beach in March). The weather was amazing and I was probably one of the only people that did not burn (although I AM naturally tan). That Sunday was Future Music Festival... probably one of THE best concerts I will ever go to. I don’t remember off the top of my head who I saw, but I got tons of pictures with Tom Novy (Your Body) and I got one with Ferry Corsten and I was trying my hardest to get one of Carl Cox, but he didn’t do anything (*tear*).
After all that, most of everything blurred together, so I’ll just say some of the highlights:
-Beiruit: Amazing game, as we all know. We were making crazy rules up. I also managed to (three times total, only twice while playing) sink the ball into a cup after a rebound off the wall. Now THAT was fucking hilarious. Also, Australia doesn’t have Solo Cups (I know, seriously... who does that?!) but we’re having some shipped from the States to us.
-The Fucking Scholar: It’s actually called the Oxford Scholar, but it’s an amazing AMAZING place. So if I randomly ever say, “Meet me at the Fucking Scholar,” you know what I mean now. Their wedges are so tasty... Speaking of tasty...
-Sweet Chilli Sauce: Now THIS stuff is great. They put it on almost everything here. They even have sweet chilli and sour cream potato chips (which I need to eat tomorrow, btw). The wedges from the FS (Fucking Scholar) have sour cream and sweet chilli on them. Basically, this stuff is great and we (the US) need to get it. I’m going to try to bring a bottle home with me.
Work at FPA Australia (don’t say FPAA or FP-double-A because that’s not what they call themselves) is pretty good. I’m feeling really good about our project and even though it may not be solving a world issue, I feel as though FPA Australia’s going to be getting something good out of this that they’ll use for a long time, which is better than I can say for some of the other projects that have taken place at FPA Australia, and even better than some of the ones being done this term in Australia. We’ve made lots of friends at FPA Australia, mostly Julie, the membership liaison, Bob, the other membership liaison, John, the head of the O-Zone committee, and Lucy, the communications director. Everyone is very chill there and just so fun to be around.
Speaking of chill... Most Australians so far seem very friendly. If you need any help, they’ll try to help you to the best of their ability. This place is very fun to be at. But at the same time, I also can’t wait to get home to Sandwich and Worcester to see all my friends and be with Maggie. Just over 7 weeks left til I leave.
Some key phrases that I may say when I get home:
-“Good on ya”: Good for you
-“Dodgy”: Sketchy
-“No worries”: It’s all right. No problem.
Anyway, that’s my life so far. Friday we’re doing some more beiruit. Saturday is Philip Island. Sunday is... Sunday. Easter (Good Friday → Easter Monday) is Great Ocean Road. I’ll write about that later.
So basically, life has been pretty fucking amazing. I say basically because it could be better in some respects, but in others, this is the best time of my life! Let’s start from the flight to Australia.
So here’s what happens... Monday night, Maggie and I go to Sam Diego’s (equivalent to Tortilla Sam’s for you Worcesterites) for a fried ice cream. We got an appetizer (btw, called an entrée here... yes, that’s right, an appetizer is what we call a main course) and the fried ice cream and everything seemed good. Tuesday, Maggie ends up with food poisoning somehow and I’m feeling fine. So instead of doing breakfast like we had originally planned, we didn’t really get to see each other on my last day in the States. Add on to this that my flight from Boston to Los Angeles got canceled! READ! CANCELED! So Adam and I were scrambling to find a flight to get to LAX before leaving for Australia. What ended up happening is that we went from Boston to San Diego and then took a short flight to Los Angeles. So we made it to Los Angeles and Australia on time.
The first week that I was there, I walked a lot (exploring Melbourne is a difficult task) and just hung out with everybody. The Thursday we (Adam and I) got there, we went to dinner with the entire group just as a fun little thing (we also had a meeting beforehand, but that was like 40 minutes long) at an Asian place. It apparently cost Barnett around AU$400 (equivalent to ~$325) but it was pretty damn good. That Friday, a bunch of us went clubbing (you have probably seen some pictures on Facebook if you’ve looked) and that Saturday we went to a beach (yes, a beach in March). The weather was amazing and I was probably one of the only people that did not burn (although I AM naturally tan). That Sunday was Future Music Festival... probably one of THE best concerts I will ever go to. I don’t remember off the top of my head who I saw, but I got tons of pictures with Tom Novy (Your Body) and I got one with Ferry Corsten and I was trying my hardest to get one of Carl Cox, but he didn’t do anything (*tear*).
After all that, most of everything blurred together, so I’ll just say some of the highlights:
-Beiruit: Amazing game, as we all know. We were making crazy rules up. I also managed to (three times total, only twice while playing) sink the ball into a cup after a rebound off the wall. Now THAT was fucking hilarious. Also, Australia doesn’t have Solo Cups (I know, seriously... who does that?!) but we’re having some shipped from the States to us.
-The Fucking Scholar: It’s actually called the Oxford Scholar, but it’s an amazing AMAZING place. So if I randomly ever say, “Meet me at the Fucking Scholar,” you know what I mean now. Their wedges are so tasty... Speaking of tasty...
-Sweet Chilli Sauce: Now THIS stuff is great. They put it on almost everything here. They even have sweet chilli and sour cream potato chips (which I need to eat tomorrow, btw). The wedges from the FS (Fucking Scholar) have sour cream and sweet chilli on them. Basically, this stuff is great and we (the US) need to get it. I’m going to try to bring a bottle home with me.
Work at FPA Australia (don’t say FPAA or FP-double-A because that’s not what they call themselves) is pretty good. I’m feeling really good about our project and even though it may not be solving a world issue, I feel as though FPA Australia’s going to be getting something good out of this that they’ll use for a long time, which is better than I can say for some of the other projects that have taken place at FPA Australia, and even better than some of the ones being done this term in Australia. We’ve made lots of friends at FPA Australia, mostly Julie, the membership liaison, Bob, the other membership liaison, John, the head of the O-Zone committee, and Lucy, the communications director. Everyone is very chill there and just so fun to be around.
Speaking of chill... Most Australians so far seem very friendly. If you need any help, they’ll try to help you to the best of their ability. This place is very fun to be at. But at the same time, I also can’t wait to get home to Sandwich and Worcester to see all my friends and be with Maggie. Just over 7 weeks left til I leave.
Some key phrases that I may say when I get home:
-“Good on ya”: Good for you
-“Dodgy”: Sketchy
-“No worries”: It’s all right. No problem.
Anyway, that’s my life so far. Friday we’re doing some more beiruit. Saturday is Philip Island. Sunday is... Sunday. Easter (Good Friday → Easter Monday) is Great Ocean Road. I’ll write about that later.