O'Week

So we "Freshers" have orientation. It's pretty much hazing. You're not required to do anything though, but you sure do get shit (aka yelling in your face) if you say no. So far I've had to run alot, to snow angels in the mud, roll, wheelbarrow, skull (aka chug) some awful soy milk, tomato sauce, soy sauce bbq sauce mixture. That I opted out of and jump in the now horrible pond. Did get some pretty gnarly grass burns on my feet that have started to puss... gotta get that checked out. But the afternoons have been more fun. Yesterday we got a drunken tour of college where they showed us what not to do and put on a little show and slip in slide and then hit the pub. AM SO TIRED. That is all.

Also there are a bunch of rules, like we have to wear a tie at all times and yesterday at the pub, you had to find the senior with your button lest you be ponded. Some of the rules are funny, but some are just quite annoying. Have met some pretty cool people though.

ADDITION:

Not all is grimy though. Last night at the pub had some great conversation and was treated to a meat pie (steak and mushroom)! There's a 24 hour bakery here. It was actually really tasty and one of my friends here instructed my on all the proper ways to attack a meat pie. It's pretty funny, that even though pumpkin is served year round Pumpkin pie is not a thing. The friend I was with was SUPER confused with the idea of a cream pie (aka coconut, key lime, chocolate), which was pretty amusing. Another amusing fact is that "Candy" here is like lollipops, hard candy and "Lollies" are what we refer to as candy.

Though all this running has left quite a bit on turmoil on my feet. I won't show you the ozzing but to give you an idea to the extent here are my dressings.

My AB!

So we went to pub yesterday and I had my first AB. Right across from the 24 hour meat pie shop, this burger place serves this.

Which pretty much is the go to for late night snacking. Which (LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE) has a ton of meat in it. Seriously, I don't think i've gone one meal without meat here. I brought it up and everybody looked at me like I was an alien. Anyways this concoction is lamb, garlic stuff, katchup and a ton of french fries. You eat it with a fork. Last night I was sober, and it was pretty damn good going down. A bit yucky later, but I heard it gets even better when you're drunk! Which I pretty sure will happen as there is Quite the drinking/fratty/jock culture here at St. Marks. (Matching polos, rugby shirts, formal academic gowns for dinner and constant footy out on the lawn) Also fun fact for the lawn, they just mowed it and next week they put up tennis nets (4 courts) and that's where we play. Pretty amusing.

Sydney with the Fam Day 5

So! Last day in Sydney. It's a beautiful bright sunny day (the rest of the days have been overcast and drizzly). So we hop on the bus and head off to Bondi Beach. Supposedly its the Venice Beach of Australia, but I think thats a rather wrong comparison. I guess there is a little graffiti , but thats it. White sand, sunny we walk from Bondi Beach to Cogee beach. It's so beautiful.

After the walk we head to Moo burgers for some GREAT Australian burgers (egg,bacon,beet, and pineapple)

We walk around the shops and finally decide to the Queen Victoria Shopping Building.

It's airconditioned and its SO HUGE. If you thought Topanga mall was big, you haven't seen anything. It was in this old building with paved roads and high ceilings. They even have a TopShop. Then we pass by The Great Synagoge. 

Tired we relax at our favorite coffe shop. Pie Face! Unfortunately haven't seen any in Adelaide.  

Hope you liked the summary. Will now be updating present time. :)

Sydney with the Fam Day 4

So on this day we decided to explore a different part of Sydney. So we took the ferry to Darling Harbor.

OMG Opera House and Harbor Bridge

So we walked around and ended up going the Chinese Garden of Friendship. We were all really hungry, but it was very pretty. They had different sections for the different elements and were even there for a Koi feeding. Which was actually pretty cool, I mean, those fish are pretty fricking big and look like aliens when they come out of the water.

Then we walked around Hyde Park.

After that we went to the Hyde Park Barracks, where we got to see the first jail ever built in Sydney and learn about all the uses the building went though (convict barracks, insane asylum for women and immigration lodging for orphan girls) It really stressed having several sections that talked about womens history and how it was like for girls at the time, normally you don't get much of that.

  And we went to the sandstone chair, walking through the botanic gardens. It wasn't really a chair, more of a ledge. One cool thing about it was that you got to see the opera house and the bridge! I'll spare you more pictures.

Sydney With the Fam Day 3

Today we start with a historical walking tour of The Rocks. They still have the cobblestones and everything. This is (now) a cutesy part of town where we went to dinner COUNTLESS times over the week. Historically though the Rocks is where the convicts who established Australia first landed and then it turned into a blue collar town and now a cutesy walk with shops and cafes. Well its a bit drizzly as we walk around the town (and through since technically all of the buildings are government owned, and are just rented out by businesses). It was super interesting. Here are some pictures:

Another view of the opera house from the ferry

Then we were off on a ferry to Manly beach, just 30 minutes out. A cute beach town with shops and a pretty walk through the mountains. We got Fish and Chips and sat by the beach, explored the suburbs, got a little lost, and got a major sugar fix.

From the ferry

from the ferry

Opera House and Ferry

more ferry pics