Easter Weekend

This weekend I went to Bec's hometown of Bendigo, which is smack dab in the middle of Victoria. I didn't realize it until we were driving, but she lives RIGHT NEXT to HANGING ROCK!! This means absolutely nothing to most people (especially the Americans here who think kangaroos are the only cultural difference), but to me it's a big deal. In my freshman year Australian Outback Literature class we read "Picnic at Hanging Rock" which is this really eerie and fascinating story about a group of schoolgirls who go missing there. It was one of the scariest things I ever read.
Bec decided to play on my excitement/scaredness by telling me scary (and according to her, true) stories about all the supposed 'madmen' living near Hanging Rock. It was awesome! She said she'd take me there another time. Yay!
Anyway, we stopped at a rest stop on the way (it's about 2 hours from Melbourne) and low and behold....

How cool? I thought it was super nice. After sufficiently resting ourselves and having plenty of tea and biscuits, we headed to Bec's house for the night. Friday was Good Friday and the beginning of the weekend long Easter and Anzac Day Festival.

Me and some chocolate sprinkle gelato!

Giant lotus in Chinese District-- Bendigo has a HUGE Chinese Cultural Heritage Trust

Me in the wall!

Wacca the Koala drummer!

A traditional Australian breakfast Bec made me-- Vita Brits and banana

Dragon Procession at night. There were SO many-- and all my pictures are blurry : (

Bec and I at the Procession

 That's only a glimpse of all I saw-- it was probably one of the most uniquely Australian experiences I've had thus far. Melbourne's highly multicultural, but regional Victoria is very, very Australian. : )
Now I'm off to watch the ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day Footy Match -- Collingwood v. Essendon. I'm going for Essendon!

Floor Crawl

There are theme parties almost every week here, which is kind of ridiculous. However, as last night was the official beginning of my Easter Break and I had nothing else to do, I decided to participate.

I was given the theme "Princess" within the wider theme of "Twins".
That's about it. It was really nice to be a princess for a night. Bring on Easter Break! I'm going home with my friend Bec to her hometown of Bendigo, Victoria, and I get to play with her pet kangaroo! Then, I'll go to the Anzac Parade, and then Phillip Island! Stay tuned for pictures...

Melbourne Museum

I had the pleasure of visiting the local Melbourne Museum FOR FREE with my student card. They currently have King Tut, and luckily I've befriended an Australian who gets just as excited about museum exhibits as I do. On our way we went through Carlton Gardens, which reminded me of a mini

Central Park.

This is Bec. She's from Bendigo, Victoria, and she is my best Aussie asset! She's also a law student. Go figure.

Bec and I as ancient Egyptians

FOOTY!!

One of the coolest things about Australia is they have their own national sport. It's called Australian Rules Football (AFL) but it's known to everyone as "footy". After my floor started a footy tipping system, I decided to learn about it and play along. So far I've accurately tipped 8 games, but I'm getting better so the Aussies better watch out!
Footy is similar to soccer, but the ball is mostly punted or kicked to teammates, who catch and then pass it again. There are four goal posts, and to get 6 points you kick it through the two middle posts. All other goal posts are 1 point, and if it isn't kicked it's 1 point. Pretty simple, which is kind of why I like it :)
I've been watching every game on television, but my first attendance was at The Melbourne Cricket Ground April 9th, Richmond vs. Hawthorn

Seagulls would NOT leave the field--for the whole game. It was kind of funny.

Statue in front of MCG

Me in my Richmond jumper (sweater). I borrowed it from an Aussie.

Me at the MCG!

Richmond supporters

It rained ALL NIGHT. But it was still fun.

More pictures of the library because I'm a nerd.

Fair Dinkum

Hello, marvelous few readers.

Since my last post, many things have happened. They hardly seem blog-worthy to me, but I am not one to judge your tastes. So here goes:


I have been reading. A lot. Australian poetry, drama, short stories. Gough Whitlam. Tons of fieldwork on Aboriginals. Wikipedia!

My peace lily is miraculously still alive. The one I had in America died instantly. I think it's because I consider it my pet, and spray it with water every day. And talk to it to encourage its growth.

La Trobe Reading Room, State Library

I went on my first round of field trips. I got to go to the State Library of Victoria, which is beautiful because of course it is. The rest of the field trip was kind of lame, and mostly involved the professor trying to make deep insights about sociology and people living in cities. Who cares! (Me, a little).

Ned Kelly's death mask. Fun fact:  True History of the Kelly Gang is why I decided to come to Australia

Paper structures in the museum portion of the library.

Finally, I've been applying to more jobs. I recently missed an interview to be a babysitter because of my horrible skill at taking public transport. But I actually love getting lost and taking buses and trains, so I didn't really get upset. But if I don't get a job soon I will probably cry. It's expensive here!

Which brings me to the exciting part of the post: I'm going to Tasmania! I've decided to forgo Uluru because it's very very expensive, and instead spend time exploring rural Victoria with my Australian tour guide and new bestie Bec. She's offered to take me to her hometown, the Werribee Zoo, and the local cider fest! Hurray! She's also going with me to Tassie (as they affectionately call it) after school ends. The trip is actually pretty cheap since Melbourne is right next to Tasmania. We're going on a day trip to Port Arthur and a "ghost tour" of the supposedly haunted jail there! YAY!

Oh. I also turned 21. Don't worry, Dad. I'm not a flaming alcoholic.