A semester in Oz winding down...

One week ago a friend/fellow exchange flew home. She had the earliest departure date of the exchange students from my group. Over the last few days, a couple more have headed home. Hours ago I finished my last final exam. Tonight I say goodbye to 3 of my 4 roommates. In 10 days I will be the one saying goodbye to Australia. I find this situation both intriguing and a little intense.

Saying goodbye after spending time with people is a weird feeling. This is not summer vacation where we will all see each other back at school in a few months. Some friends are much harder to say goodbye to than others, yet it is still a weird feeling to say goodbye to anyone who I have had a meaningful encounter with this semester. I will keep in touch with the close friends I have made this semester, but for the large majority I will probably never see again. It is an unsatisfying feeling to see someone regularly for an extended time period and then say goodbye with a quick hug as s/he heads to the airport. Still, I know I will be one of these exchange students giving the hug and heading back to my home university in a short while. I will say goodbye to friends which Macquarie University is their home university. I’ve been trying to put myself in their shoes (as one of these full-time Macquarie students). It must to be difficult to say goodbye to new friends semester after semester as each exchange group’s experience concludes. Here are some of my thoughts on encounters/friendships between full-time students and exchange students.

Throughout the semester I have felt two different vibes from full-time Macquarie students. Some students welcomed the exchange students whole heartedly and others were very stand-offish. At first I struggled to understand the stand-offish attitude, but I can now understand this stand-offish approach much more. If someone is going to leave in a few months, it is easy to think ‘what’s the point of getting to know someone?’ This prevents having to say goodbye to a growing friend after just a few short months. It’s much simpler to say goodbye to people who are not your friends.

USD does not have semester exchange students. (We do have international students, but these students attend USD for multiple years and most often their whole degree) Thus, this is my first time saying goodbye to a group of 5-month buddies. From the exchange student point of view and I can say how valuable those experiences are with the full-time Macquarie students who reach out to be friends with exchange students. A couple friendships I have made with Macquarie students this semester has left an impact on me and has led to a handful of significant events in my life over the past semester. These friendships and encounters have provided experiences for me to think, learn, and grow from. I am grateful for these students who are willing to overlook the chance of a tough goodbye for a growing semester and a global friend. I now recognize the value in getting to know someone, even if it may be for a short time. However, with the growing interconnectedness of the world, more and more past goodbyes are becoming today’s “see you laters.” I think it is valuable to make and to have friends from around the world. Don’t let the possibility of a rough tomorrow end a great today!

Random little happenings...

Below are a few fun pictures from the past week in Oz....I found these events fun, a little interesting, and a little entertaining. Hopefully you enjoy the pictures and captions as much as I enjoyed living through these moments.


Saturday morning I looked outside and discovered this surprise. It reminded me of my days in New Zealand as an astronaut :)


2 of my 4 roommates are also American. They wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner and were kind enough (or ignorant enough?) to let me help...

The dinner turned out delicious despite my bad luck in the kitchen...

Then the oven caught on fire the following afternoon while Megan was cooking spring rolls. I walked in just in time to see the fire and put it out with bowls of water....no joke....the case is still under investigation to determine whether or not my kitchen bad luck and helping cook on Thanksgiving caused the fire... (the picture is post fire)

This semester I had a small job as a basketball referee. $25/game on Wednesday nights. I may continue refereeing.

Macquarie University has an olympic size swimming pool. I have furthered my liking for swimming as exercise. Sometimes I try to swim in the fast lane :)

Milk purchased from Woolworths with an expiration date of December 6th was recalled for biological defects. This is milk from Woolworths with a December 6th expiration date!! Despite becoming a big milk drinker that past few months, I had yet to open this one...

MOVEMBER!!.....is that Tom Selleck?! I might keep the stache for a little longer :) Christmas??

Movember rolling on...

Me dressed as a lumberjack, sporting a weak handlebar mustache, and giving a hardcore look...

Fun facts: Any other man sporting a mustaches this Movember is known as "Mo Bro". Any lady friend not shaving is a "Mo Sista".

Why I will never be a chef...

Many explore and expand their cooking abilities when they enter college. The college student adds meals each semester to his/her cooking arsenal. Unfortunately, I was not one of these cooking gurus. Instead, I have lived the last 3 years on a meal plan at USD. Cooking was not a necessity when the caf was near with buffet-style meals. However, all has changed here in Australia where the meal plan is less common. I am without a mother to prepare delicious meals and I am without an "Oscar" to over-cook my burgers at the USD caf. Finally, the cooking has been up to me.

Overall, I have survived on the simplest meals...mac n' cheese, three-story peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cereal, etc....but there has also been glimmers of hope along the way. I have made a few different pastas with meat and even cooked a pizza or two in the oven. I acknowledge that these cooking achievements are small steps for most, but they are giant leaps for someone who aimlessly wanders around a kitchen like he has never seen one before. By exaggerating these glimmers throughout the semester I had been thinking maybe....just maybe....I will be able to be the next Food Network chef. However, last night all hope was shot down, run over, stepped on, and finally spit on. I hope you enjoy my embarrassing story...

It is currently final exam time. In the midst of studying, I decided to take a quick dinner break to make some mac n' cheese. I began by using a kettle-like tool to boil the water more quickly than in a pot on the stove. (this kettle is plugged in to the wall and not heated on a stove like traditional kettles) As I waited for water for the water to boil, I figured I would also prepare for the next step. I turn on the flame of one of the burners on the stove. I left the flame low and set the pot I would soon be using on the off-burner to its right. The kettle took a couple minutes longer than expected, but I finally heard the water boiling and was ready to pour the lava-hot water into the pot. This is where the incident occurred....I grabbed the metal handle of the pot with my left hand. However, the pot's handle was even hotter than the lava-hot kettle water! I thought I could overcome the heat and grabbed the handle a little tighter...I was wrong, it was waaay too hot. I flung the pot into the air and my right hand spilled the boiling kettle water all over the floor.

For the next 3 hours plus, I iced my hand. When the ice was on my hand, I felt fine. But within 10 seconds of removing the ice, the unbearable throbbing, hot pain would start again. As the approached 11 o' clock, I became concerned about about being able to sleep at night. I didn't want to toss and turn all night as the ice melted or fell off my hand. (keep in mind, the incident led me to forfeit an evening of studying for an exam and I didn't want to also forfeit quality studying time the following day due to lack of sleep...such a good student I am!) This is when I went into "College Student Survival Mode" (CSSM). Without the proper medication to assist in a situation like this, I needed a more feasible plan. My roommate then told me a similar story when she burnt her fingers on a Saturday night. The pain was great but she still went "clubbing" that night with ice on her hand. The alcohol from the evening soon took her mind off the pain and she was fine the next morning. After hearing this story, I decided this was a feasible option --not to go clubbing, but to use alcohol to take my mind off the pain. My other roommate Carlos jokingly handed me a bottle of wine. I ignored the line in Billy Joel's song "Piano Man", and started drinking alone for the night. By midnight I was feeling pretty tipsy and by 12:30 I was asleep with a bag of melted ice on my hand.

Here I sit the morning after....with blisters on my hand, a mustache on my face, and an embarrassing story of how I was injured by macaroni n' cheese. However, I am glad that my CSSM sunk in and the "bottle of wine strategy" was a success. I got a full night of sleep and I will be able to study all day. Still, I know the incident has severely hampered my dreams of becoming "Bobby Filet" or the next food network star. The kitchen is a dangerous place for me. I will just have to stick to my three-story peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the time being...

A rat tail with a mustache?!

In the United States and maybe other parts of the world as well, it is popular for men (and maybe some women?!) to partake in "No Shave November". Others may know this yearly tradition as "Novembeard". It generally is a fun way to bond with a few buddies and an easy excuse to avoid shaving for a month. However, in Australia November is all about the mostache! The month is known as "Movember". Movember was started back in 2003 by a fun group of doods looking to raise awareness about mens' health issues --primarily prostate cancer and despression. Their idea was initiated to bring back the greatness of the mustache, raise a small amount of money, and hopefully encourage men to talk about their health. (http://au.movember.com/)

As an exchange student, I have attempted to combine Novembeard and Movember. I grew a goatee beard for the first 15 days of the month and have cut into a mustache for final stretch. I also joined an online "Movember" team with a buddy for the commrodary spirit and to help me fight through those rough moments with a dirty stache. Below is a picture of my goatee beard. side note: I acknowledge the fact that I took this picture myself from my own web cam...for doing so, I am no longer in loser denial but now a card carrying member of the loser club. I encourage anyone who has never taken a personal pic via web cam to continue their fight...unless you have a good reason like growing a mustache :)

Goatee Beard

The mustache Godfather - Tom Selleck

Post.Script....although it is late in November now, it is never too late to grow a mustache. Grow a stache for the final few weeks if you dare. Ladies, no shaving those legs or armpits! :)

More photo updates to come!

And how good with a mustache have looked with my previous rat tail?!?!

A unique college weekend...

College life is an interesting environment. A college campus is filled with bright, young individuals full of goals and ideas. It is a special community with so many optimistic minds together in a condensed area. The learning that exists outside the classroom can be just as valuable as inside the classroom. Then there is another interesting side of college life. College weekend nights are often a time to cut loose and have a blast. These nights often include goofy mischief, drunken escapades, and funny stories. In other words, college life is an environment of two extremes –extreme intellectually and extreme in fun. This is a unique combination and one that I know I must keep in balance for sanity purposes. Too much of either can hinder a student’s college experience.

During my first month in Australia, it was easy to find the extreme fun college environment. I enjoyed these moments, but these friendships need be nothing more than superficial and the events can be enjoyed with almost anyone. I was looking for a little more of the first described aspect of college life from my abroad experience. The balance I wanted was a different balance than my earliest friends in Australia were seeking, and during that first month I grew frustrated as I struggled to find the intellectual outlet outside the classroom. I struggled to find a close group of friends who I related to enough to share meaningful and challenging conversations with (however, the situation did make me realize the value in a few friendships I built at USD over 3 years, and I am grateful for this realization). In September, I finally found a balanced friendship with my Australian neighbor Huey and two other friends named Brandt and Madison. Huey, Brandt, and Madison are at a similar place in life as me and look for a similar balance of fun and growth in friendships. Our friendship has provided me the piece I was struggling to find abroad. At least one of these three friends have somehow been involved in most of my meaningful moments abroad. I will share two of these moments in the following two paragraphs.

Recently I spent a weekend with these friends that most exchange students are not lucky enough to experience. On Friday night, they invited me to dinner at their mate PJ’s house. PJ has 4 roommates and they literally live in downtown Sydney, 100 yards from the harbor bridge. Their top balcony has the best view I have seen in Sydney, but I was unfortunately not smart enough to bring a camera. Although PJ’s pad is visually impressive, what was more impressive was what was going on at their house. Every Friday night, PJ and his roommates invite their friends over for dinner and to hang out for the night. Instead of the typical Friday night college party, these college guys show their love for one another through service. PJ and his roommates open their house and welcome everyone and anyone (I mean they let me come...so that's saying something) over for dinner. They pay for the food themselves and also cook the meal themselves. Nothing is asked for in return. Additionally, the evening consists of many laughs, a discussion of a random bible verse, and a few games of FIFA on playstation 3. Initially I believe this idea was started with the goal of brotherhood, but the boys also gladly welcome any female friends over to join. The guests are encouraged to invite additional friends as well. PJ and his roommates bring together a variety of people and create a community –a welcoming brotherhood to grow from and rely on when needed.

The following Saturday night, my three friends invited me to an authentic Australian BBQ. Brandt and Madison intern for a well-known company in Sydney and each live with an Australian family. The BBQ was at the home of one these families and its purpose was to welcome Madison’s father who had come to visit for the week. The BBQ was interesting not only because there were several significant Australian businesspeople there, but also because of the type of conversation that was had. Everyone sat in a circle around the table, and since Madison’s dad was the guest of honor, the majority of the questions were directed his way. One bloke described the evening as “Quiz the Guest” (I believe this may be the name of some Australian tv show). The first question asked to Madison’s father was an intimidating one. He was asked, “Tell us who you are. But tell us who you are beyond your age, what you do for a career, and your accomplishments. We want to know the real man. What can you tell us to really help us get to know who you are?” I found this question to be difficult, intriguing, and powerful. Madison’s dad answered the question well with a few significant stories from both his childhood and adult years. These stories shaped the character of the man he is today. The meaningful questions at the table kept flowing throughout the evening, but there were too many to summarize in one post.

Overall, this was a really special weekend for me. I cherish the weekends away from the routine that challenge me to think and grow. The dinner at PJ’s was a humbling example of living life with an other-oriented approach. Instead of looking for what they could receive on a Friday night, PJ and his roommates were focused on the brotherhood they could give to their friends and newcomers. Although unusual, I found it inspiring to see a group of college guys discuss a Bible verse on "a Friday night." And I liked that the discussion was brought back to applying the thought/lesson to today's society. The next house I move into with roommates, I hope to create a similar welcoming brotherhood environment. Also, the BBQ dinner was quite the experience. The evening was filled with intriguing conversation. I like to view myself as a thinker, but these guys blew me out of the water with their insight. I enjoyed this challenge to think deeper. Also, I later discovered that one of the men I had been speaking with was the reigning “Australian of the Year” for his non-profit organization’s work. I found it really cool that this man did not even mention this title to me. The night wasn’t about accomplishments and titles; it was about whom people are beyond this shell. I was at the BBQ for 3 hours, but I literally could have stayed all night. It is great to be in atmospheres where everyone is comfortable thinking and challenging one another. It was a unique college weekend that most students may not get to experience.

Tiger comes to Australia!

Yesterday Tiger Woods won the 2009 Australian Masters golf tournament in Melbourne. Despite still being in the early stages of my liking for golf, I was captivated in front of the television this weekend as I watched the 4-day event.

Tiger

James Nitties

The tournament was interesting to watch because I had competing interests --I was simultaneously cheering for the Australian players and golf's Goliath, Tiger Woods. At some moments I felt like I was watching an old friend compete in Tiger, but at other times I was cheering for my new Australian friends in Greg Chalmers and James Nitties. At the end of the tournament I perceived my competing cheers to be a good sign for my overall abroad experience. I have been away from the US for 4 months now. The beginning was a roller coaster of ups and downs, but now I'd like to think that I am as adjusted as a college exchange student can be in one semester. I definitely miss a handful of family and friends, but I also recognize that I am in a good spot in my life. Australia has accepted me and I have also accepted Australia. This thought inspired a fun list of 10 habits I have adopted this semester while in Australia...I hope you enjoy!

1. I instinctively now look "right and then left" when I cross a street.
2. Spiders are everywhere in Australia. I thought I was completely comfortable with spiders until I jumped when I discovered one crawling on my leg beneath the bed sheets this morning. So Australia has made me more comfortable with spiders and almost completely.
   
3. I walk around anywhere I can barefoot...definitely an Aussie way!
4. When neutral on a decision I say, "I can't be bothered."
5. I naturally spell words with their Australian/British spelling. For example, I spell the word "color" as "colour".
6. In 4 months I have not used the letter "z". Words like "organized" are spelt "organised". ("z" may very well be an unnecessary letter)
7. Occasionally I give in to the Australian fashion style and wear a "v-neck" shirt
8. Instead of growing a beard for "No Shave November", I am growing a mustache for "Mo-vember" (more to come on this tomorrow...)
9. Australians rarely enunciate words fully. I'd like to think I adopted this, but who am I kidding?! I have always been a mumbler!
10. Australians love the underdog. Minus the moments I cheered for Tiger, this totally fits my style. Chalmers and Nitties were underdogs in this tourney.
    

Cheers Mate!