I think I'm the only person who reads this blog anymore so that gives me the invincibility to say ANYTHING I WANT regardless of how stupid it sounds!
1. I hate mayonnaise. It just tastes like pure fat...
2. An eating competition involving chocolate and some type of vodka paste will hit the world by storm in about a year.
3. I personally think rats are heaps cooler than mice. Just sayin'
Alright, where was I? Moving out! So I'm moving into my new dig tomorrow! It's with 4 Aussie blokes and a friend of mine from the village. This should be cool as hell! They're older than I am, and most of them are working full time so I don't expect it to be a massive party house, but it will be social and that sounds very appealing to me. I'm also living about 20m (44ft?) from the Reege (a semi awesome bar) and 30m (66ft?) from Maccas (McDonalds). So I'll be releasing the inner obese alcoholic within me.
UNSW, my Uni, is starting next week. I'm excited for it. I've had enough time off and I'm ready to get some studying done. I'm also very keen to meet new people around uni and socialize on campus a whole lot. I know that sounds almost sarcastic because my Uni is very antisocial compared to other campus's, but I'm completely serious! I want to chime into other social groups, make new friends and get more involved in different activities. I'm also doing my Thesis this semester, so it'll be good to have a refreshing social life to support me through it :)
Speaking of activities, ROWING WTF!? Every training sesh starts at 5:30am and about 1 hour drive away. This means I'd have to get up at 4:00am every morning to get a lift down to row. I want to row, but I don't want to put that much effort into it! I think it'll be so much easier if we just create an artificial river flowing through the middle of campus. Muay Thai is looking like a bad alternative too because UNSW doesn't offer it and there aren't any places which practice it nearby Uni. Why does my Uni not want me to get involved in sport!? :( I'm contemplating taking up boxing, but I don't want to graduate Uni with an IQ lower than 40 or a noticeable dent in my forehead - so maybe boxing isn't for me. Running is an option, but I was hoping for a more physically active and partially team based sport. I'm leaving myself with two options; volleyball and gymnastics. Gonna do some research into them later on today.
I've been practicing guitar a bit too. I'm so awful at it that I think someone calling me "bad" would be sugar coating it to spare my feelings. Still, I'm gonna persist, I think I'm getting better (well, I certainly couldn't get worse!).
I did it, I tried goon the other day. I couldn't resist the sweet texture and beautiful scent. Jokes. I wanted to get drunk, and that was the only alcohol the house had left. I did not miss Goon one bit while...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Treason
I'm stealing from the Government.
I'm applying for 'rent assist' from centerlink - the Australian welfare office. If I get it, which I should, I will be eligible for 100 $/week which will be very helpful for when I move out of home.
I tried tutoring Uni level Physics yesterday. I'd never tutored something of this level before. I loved the challenge! The bloke I tutored was smart and willing to learn which made the session very enjoyable. To be honest, I probably would have done the 2.5 hours for free. But the mum thought I did such a good job that I got paid 80 dollars from it! That's almost two cases of beer...
I talked to Heather today - a good American friend of mine that is now living in Australia. We bored Dave to death by reminiscing on US cultural norms and comparing them to Australia. Good times.
Dave and I have invented a new phase in our social group. At 2am, if we're still awake, we'll get changed in our dressing gowns and ugg boots and go walking around the neighborhood sipping tea. Two others have already gotten in on this! I love it. My brother thinks i'm retarded for doing it :p
Uni starts in a week and a half. I looking forward to it mainly for the intellectual challenge and so that I can meet new people :)
Finding a sport is turning out to be harder than expected. I may have to settle for a really dumb sport like bowls or something. It's a shame too because I really wanted to be physically active this semester.
I'm applying for 'rent assist' from centerlink - the Australian welfare office. If I get it, which I should, I will be eligible for 100 $/week which will be very helpful for when I move out of home.
I tried tutoring Uni level Physics yesterday. I'd never tutored something of this level before. I loved the challenge! The bloke I tutored was smart and willing to learn which made the session very enjoyable. To be honest, I probably would have done the 2.5 hours for free. But the mum thought I did such a good job that I got paid 80 dollars from it! That's almost two cases of beer...
I talked to Heather today - a good American friend of mine that is now living in Australia. We bored Dave to death by reminiscing on US cultural norms and comparing them to Australia. Good times.
Dave and I have invented a new phase in our social group. At 2am, if we're still awake, we'll get changed in our dressing gowns and ugg boots and go walking around the neighborhood sipping tea. Two others have already gotten in on this! I love it. My brother thinks i'm retarded for doing it :p
Uni starts in a week and a half. I looking forward to it mainly for the intellectual challenge and so that I can meet new people :)
Finding a sport is turning out to be harder than expected. I may have to settle for a really dumb sport like bowls or something. It's a shame too because I really wanted to be physically active this semester.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Adjusting to Oz
The most interesting thing happened today!!
Now that I've got your attention you can read about my day.
I've been apartment hunting a little in the last few days and came across a gold mine! It's a gold mine in two senses. In one way, it's bloody good - it's with 4 other Aussie blokes and a good mate of mine, it's right next to Uni and it's got a lot of good chill out furniture & space. In another sense, it's bloody expensive - It'll cost $200/week not including internet or food. And even though that's not too expensive compared to a lot of other places, it's only just within my budget. I'll probably move in to be honest!
To my surprise, I've been drinking a lot in the last 5 days. Every night there is a party in the village (college at my Uni). It's quite rewarding to know I still have good veteran friends at the village who will invite me to parties or small gatherings and will supply me with food/alcohol. I purchased two Vodka bottles from the airport on the 19th, and I went though 1 on the 1st Uni party. I'm trying to savor the 2nd one.
Two friends of mine in the village which I met about a week ago are actually American! One of them, Jamie, is from California and she's the most social person ever! It's such a relief to experience the energy from America. The other friends, Jada, is from Huston, Texas - she's super friendly and great to be around. They've both been here for 6 months on Exchange and they're preparing themselves to leave Australia tomorrow. We've been clubbing a few times though and that has been great fun. We can't help but let every conversation melt down into a reminiscing session about Texas. I told them that if I ever end up going back to the States I would 'see them if I see em' :p.
The economy is fucking up more and more here. My internship is in jeopardy. I work for Transfield Services in the Water department, but it looks like they're gonna loose their contract with Sydney Water which means I will be made redundant. Anticipating this I'm applying for other internships elsewhere. I'm even willing to work in Coles (crappy supermarket) or Woolworths (crappier supermarket)...
Spotify only got to Australia about two weeks ago. I've been listening to it non stop. I've got an American section on both my ipod and on spotify. It's such a diverse range of music. Half of it is relaxed country music. The other half is fast beat, misogynistic rap.
Slowly but surely I feel myself falling back into the shell I broke out of. I'm rediscovering old habits and getting comfortable being lazy. There are some things I'm doing more like; running, meeting up with different groups of friends etc etc. But it's not enough. I want to be a different person, but it's seeming like an impossible leap. To make things worse, I've still got certain people that I've met on my international journey plaguing my mind all the time, even though I'm sure they've probably forgotten about me...
But I don't want to end this blog on a pessimistic note! I've contacted the UNSW rowing group. I want to row competitively. I think it'll be great to get fit again and be part meaningful club.
Now that I've got your attention you can read about my day.
I've been apartment hunting a little in the last few days and came across a gold mine! It's a gold mine in two senses. In one way, it's bloody good - it's with 4 other Aussie blokes and a good mate of mine, it's right next to Uni and it's got a lot of good chill out furniture & space. In another sense, it's bloody expensive - It'll cost $200/week not including internet or food. And even though that's not too expensive compared to a lot of other places, it's only just within my budget. I'll probably move in to be honest!
To my surprise, I've been drinking a lot in the last 5 days. Every night there is a party in the village (college at my Uni). It's quite rewarding to know I still have good veteran friends at the village who will invite me to parties or small gatherings and will supply me with food/alcohol. I purchased two Vodka bottles from the airport on the 19th, and I went though 1 on the 1st Uni party. I'm trying to savor the 2nd one.
Two friends of mine in the village which I met about a week ago are actually American! One of them, Jamie, is from California and she's the most social person ever! It's such a relief to experience the energy from America. The other friends, Jada, is from Huston, Texas - she's super friendly and great to be around. They've both been here for 6 months on Exchange and they're preparing themselves to leave Australia tomorrow. We've been clubbing a few times though and that has been great fun. We can't help but let every conversation melt down into a reminiscing session about Texas. I told them that if I ever end up going back to the States I would 'see them if I see em' :p.
The economy is fucking up more and more here. My internship is in jeopardy. I work for Transfield Services in the Water department, but it looks like they're gonna loose their contract with Sydney Water which means I will be made redundant. Anticipating this I'm applying for other internships elsewhere. I'm even willing to work in Coles (crappy supermarket) or Woolworths (crappier supermarket)...
Spotify only got to Australia about two weeks ago. I've been listening to it non stop. I've got an American section on both my ipod and on spotify. It's such a diverse range of music. Half of it is relaxed country music. The other half is fast beat, misogynistic rap.
Slowly but surely I feel myself falling back into the shell I broke out of. I'm rediscovering old habits and getting comfortable being lazy. There are some things I'm doing more like; running, meeting up with different groups of friends etc etc. But it's not enough. I want to be a different person, but it's seeming like an impossible leap. To make things worse, I've still got certain people that I've met on my international journey plaguing my mind all the time, even though I'm sure they've probably forgotten about me...
But I don't want to end this blog on a pessimistic note! I've contacted the UNSW rowing group. I want to row competitively. I think it'll be great to get fit again and be part meaningful club.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Australier
Back home! Back to eating Weet Bix for breakfast, Vegemite on Toast for lunch and Kangaroo for dinner!
My body is physically rejecting the change. I'm still jet lagged. I feel super awake during the night and drowsy during the day. I crave Tex Mex food everyday and I think I have withdrawals from Whataburger. I'm also trying to see how long I last until I inevitably end up drinking goon.
The adjustment to Australia has been easier than expected, but still pretty tough. I'm so glad I had a welcome back party - that was a good ice breaker. At the moment I'm searching the web to see if I can find a cheap place to move out to and I think I'll also start looking for job opportunities in the US soon.
I've been to two parties in the last two days and they've been fun. Although I miss the energy and Southern Hospitality that was so obvious to notice in the States. For example, I introduced myself to a small group that were talking to some of my mutual friends in a party last night. I approached them and got introduced by a mate of mine. Despite polite words on the outside, I was picking up on a 'who the fuck are you? Leave me alone' vibe. I really miss being able to go up to anyone in a party and have a good convo with a complete stranger. On the bright side though, I have some really good friends here that have made my adjustment to Australia much much easier. Specifically, I think I owe a shout out to Lauren Rose, Emma Boyce and Alex Kaye.
I find it so sad that I end up looking at pictures from the States about 4 times a day and end up listening to 'shes like Texas' by the Josh Abbott band about 12 times a day.
My body is physically rejecting the change. I'm still jet lagged. I feel super awake during the night and drowsy during the day. I crave Tex Mex food everyday and I think I have withdrawals from Whataburger. I'm also trying to see how long I last until I inevitably end up drinking goon.
The adjustment to Australia has been easier than expected, but still pretty tough. I'm so glad I had a welcome back party - that was a good ice breaker. At the moment I'm searching the web to see if I can find a cheap place to move out to and I think I'll also start looking for job opportunities in the US soon.
I've been to two parties in the last two days and they've been fun. Although I miss the energy and Southern Hospitality that was so obvious to notice in the States. For example, I introduced myself to a small group that were talking to some of my mutual friends in a party last night. I approached them and got introduced by a mate of mine. Despite polite words on the outside, I was picking up on a 'who the fuck are you? Leave me alone' vibe. I really miss being able to go up to anyone in a party and have a good convo with a complete stranger. On the bright side though, I have some really good friends here that have made my adjustment to Australia much much easier. Specifically, I think I owe a shout out to Lauren Rose, Emma Boyce and Alex Kaye.
I find it so sad that I end up looking at pictures from the States about 4 times a day and end up listening to 'shes like Texas' by the Josh Abbott band about 12 times a day.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Ends and Beginnings
I'm writing this last post while I'm on the 11 hour flight from London to Shanghai. The dark cabin, anti social Asian woman next to me and the babies crying in the distance is actually turning out to be a perfect motivator to write this thing. I arrived at the airport at about 7:00pm London time, lined up, and passed through security just fine. Although, I was briefly stopped by an elderly black security guard after he discovered that I had edible underwear (Irma's farewell gift) which was technically considered food in my backpack. I negotiated my way out of the situation by claiming it was candy :).
Ok, there is a female Asian flight attendant asking every passenger if he/she wants noodles or lamb & potato. She passed me and just gave me the lamb and potato meal. Am I really that white? Well, yeah, probably, but I'm reasonably tanned from Spain so I was hoping that I could at least look Hispanic.
Oh shit! Spain! Let me fill you in. From what I experienced, it's amazing. The architecture is so beautiful and unique. Their history is incredibly interesting (violent), their drinking culture is awesome and every Spanish person is nocturnal. Africa has a country house called lksd;fjal;khg (San-grove-ee-ya) which is totally awesome - in every way it lives up to the stereotype of any Spanish country house. We also drove via a giant Roman built aqueduct which is now redundant, but still serves as an impressive feat of Roman Engineering. Two days before I left Spain, I found myself chilling out with Pablo and Afri in an awesome Spanish pub. Unfortunately for some reason the pub closed at midnight (which is extremely and unusually early for Spain) so I was forced into an interesting dilemma. I would either abandon 2 liters of Sangria I just purchased or I could drink it right there and then with Pablo & Afri providing me the necessary emotional support (peer pressure). Afri filmed me skull it. At 7:00am, Pablo and Afri took me to the airport to say their goodbyes. I offered to buy their breakfast but my credit cards got declined so Afri was forced to do it - whoops! I'll see if I can repay her somehow. The plane ride to London from Madrid was AWESOME! We had the most armature/ drunk pilot ever. The plane was swaying sideways so sharply that at times it was tought to believe the plane wasnt in a tail spin. Half the passengers were screaming, two fifths were shouting out enjoying the ride, and one tenth were just awkwardly silent. Even though the flight attendant was trying to control the passengers, you could tell they were shit scared too. Long story short, I lived.
Ok. Now where was I? Oh yeah, my overcrowded Asian flight. There is this elderly Chinese couple just behind me who keep shaking the back of my seat and shouting something at me which I'm sure translates to "Hey, spoit white kid, move your seat up!" I've already told them now that my seat can't be moved further up and I've illustrated it by trying to pull it further up, but they still keep shaking my chair! This calls for a typical teenage temper tantrum! I'm reclining my chair slightly.
Ok, back to my final moments in England. I spent my last night with Kiran after my plans for that night fell through. We went to a bar, met his JIS friends, then went to a club - it was good to end 6 months of constant drinking with more drinking. I spent my last morning with Alex and Laura and I spent my last afternoon with Andrew. Alex and Laura were pretty preoccupied, but Andrew and I took a nice relaxing walk though the Wimbledon Common where he gave me some valuable advice about how I should approach future life problems when I get back to Australia. Oh yeah, he also paid for a taxi to drop me off at the Airport at terminal 4. The conversation with Persian Taxi driver was pretty dull until I realized he was a professor of Mechanical Engineering! IT turns out he owns a cab company privately and drives around passengers for a little extra cash!
Back to the Asian flight. WTF! this baby in the isle adjacent to me is going crazy - the thing won't stop crying, and the mother is just watching it cry. Also, the yogurt is expired! Not cool China, not cool.
Back to reminiscing on fond moments of my trip: I'm catching myself having flashbacks of; passing out Ettienes welcome rug, doing beer bongs, getting accepted into exclusive frat parties just because I'm Australian, skiing on Colorado, watching human centipede with Collin and Christian, hiking with Kelly, Chilling with Kiran, doing Mi Thai with Pablo, blasting Sail by Awolnation from my obnoxiously loud speakers, and listening to the overly formal automated messages on London trains. When I get back to Australia I want to be a different person. I want to be social, independent and productive. I'm really going to try and pull a 180 in my life by insisting on being completely financially independent, cooking my own food every meal, getting a gym membership & running everyday, working at my internship, doing more math tutoring, focusing on my grades a lot more, perfecting my knowledge on linear algebra and statistics by watching Khan Academy, reading, joining a sport at Uni (probably Rowing), changing my bedroom, continue writing my blog, looking for job opportunities in the US, learning an instrument or language, and making new groups of friends
OK! That's it! What the hell China! The Asian woman behind me has given up shaking my chair and now she's adjusted herself so that her feet are placed in the middle of my chair, and she's pushing with all her might.
Back to it: I think the hardest thing to accomplish out of everything is getting independence and revolutionizing my social life. Whilst I know my parents love me and I know that their almost patronizing advice comes from a good place, I really want to emphasize that I want to be completely financially self sustainable and I want to be in charge of my own decisions regarding Uni, work, lifestyle choices etc. I think this will be hard because I can predict my parents viewing this strive for independence as being ungrateful for their help & support. Lastly, revolutionizing my social life will be different because my current friends have certain perceptions of me that are set in stone and I feel that the pressure to live up to those expectations will be very hard to overcome. I think this is the case because the US and the UK has given me a sense of social invincibility, but I won't have that when I go back to Australia. For example, I think the only reason the Asian woman is still kicking the back of my seat is because I have a very concrete impression that she is a bitch, and now she feels pressure to live up to that social standard.
Back to my Asian flight again. Alright, the racist flight attendant just assumed that I wanted an omelet and sausages instead of 'Fish noodle'. She was in the motion of handing me one of the meals when I stopped her and asked for the Chinese meal instead just to spite her. I also asked her for an extra 'white thingy' that came with the meal. I even pretended to enjoy the meal just to piss her off more. Take that China! USA! USA! USA!
Well, that's the end of my trip. I'm probably going to continue writing on my blog, but not as often, and it won't be about traveling or anything that interesting so I'm gonna say thanks to all the people who have been following my life. I think I'll reward you with an invaluable life lesson:
Ducks look like they are wearing dog masks when you look at them from an angle. It's true.
Ok, there is a female Asian flight attendant asking every passenger if he/she wants noodles or lamb & potato. She passed me and just gave me the lamb and potato meal. Am I really that white? Well, yeah, probably, but I'm reasonably tanned from Spain so I was hoping that I could at least look Hispanic.
Oh shit! Spain! Let me fill you in. From what I experienced, it's amazing. The architecture is so beautiful and unique. Their history is incredibly interesting (violent), their drinking culture is awesome and every Spanish person is nocturnal. Africa has a country house called lksd;fjal;khg (San-grove-ee-ya) which is totally awesome - in every way it lives up to the stereotype of any Spanish country house. We also drove via a giant Roman built aqueduct which is now redundant, but still serves as an impressive feat of Roman Engineering. Two days before I left Spain, I found myself chilling out with Pablo and Afri in an awesome Spanish pub. Unfortunately for some reason the pub closed at midnight (which is extremely and unusually early for Spain) so I was forced into an interesting dilemma. I would either abandon 2 liters of Sangria I just purchased or I could drink it right there and then with Pablo & Afri providing me the necessary emotional support (peer pressure). Afri filmed me skull it. At 7:00am, Pablo and Afri took me to the airport to say their goodbyes. I offered to buy their breakfast but my credit cards got declined so Afri was forced to do it - whoops! I'll see if I can repay her somehow. The plane ride to London from Madrid was AWESOME! We had the most armature/ drunk pilot ever. The plane was swaying sideways so sharply that at times it was tought to believe the plane wasnt in a tail spin. Half the passengers were screaming, two fifths were shouting out enjoying the ride, and one tenth were just awkwardly silent. Even though the flight attendant was trying to control the passengers, you could tell they were shit scared too. Long story short, I lived.
Ok. Now where was I? Oh yeah, my overcrowded Asian flight. There is this elderly Chinese couple just behind me who keep shaking the back of my seat and shouting something at me which I'm sure translates to "Hey, spoit white kid, move your seat up!" I've already told them now that my seat can't be moved further up and I've illustrated it by trying to pull it further up, but they still keep shaking my chair! This calls for a typical teenage temper tantrum! I'm reclining my chair slightly.
Ok, back to my final moments in England. I spent my last night with Kiran after my plans for that night fell through. We went to a bar, met his JIS friends, then went to a club - it was good to end 6 months of constant drinking with more drinking. I spent my last morning with Alex and Laura and I spent my last afternoon with Andrew. Alex and Laura were pretty preoccupied, but Andrew and I took a nice relaxing walk though the Wimbledon Common where he gave me some valuable advice about how I should approach future life problems when I get back to Australia. Oh yeah, he also paid for a taxi to drop me off at the Airport at terminal 4. The conversation with Persian Taxi driver was pretty dull until I realized he was a professor of Mechanical Engineering! IT turns out he owns a cab company privately and drives around passengers for a little extra cash!
Back to the Asian flight. WTF! this baby in the isle adjacent to me is going crazy - the thing won't stop crying, and the mother is just watching it cry. Also, the yogurt is expired! Not cool China, not cool.
Back to reminiscing on fond moments of my trip: I'm catching myself having flashbacks of; passing out Ettienes welcome rug, doing beer bongs, getting accepted into exclusive frat parties just because I'm Australian, skiing on Colorado, watching human centipede with Collin and Christian, hiking with Kelly, Chilling with Kiran, doing Mi Thai with Pablo, blasting Sail by Awolnation from my obnoxiously loud speakers, and listening to the overly formal automated messages on London trains. When I get back to Australia I want to be a different person. I want to be social, independent and productive. I'm really going to try and pull a 180 in my life by insisting on being completely financially independent, cooking my own food every meal, getting a gym membership & running everyday, working at my internship, doing more math tutoring, focusing on my grades a lot more, perfecting my knowledge on linear algebra and statistics by watching Khan Academy, reading, joining a sport at Uni (probably Rowing), changing my bedroom, continue writing my blog, looking for job opportunities in the US, learning an instrument or language, and making new groups of friends
OK! That's it! What the hell China! The Asian woman behind me has given up shaking my chair and now she's adjusted herself so that her feet are placed in the middle of my chair, and she's pushing with all her might.
Back to it: I think the hardest thing to accomplish out of everything is getting independence and revolutionizing my social life. Whilst I know my parents love me and I know that their almost patronizing advice comes from a good place, I really want to emphasize that I want to be completely financially self sustainable and I want to be in charge of my own decisions regarding Uni, work, lifestyle choices etc. I think this will be hard because I can predict my parents viewing this strive for independence as being ungrateful for their help & support. Lastly, revolutionizing my social life will be different because my current friends have certain perceptions of me that are set in stone and I feel that the pressure to live up to those expectations will be very hard to overcome. I think this is the case because the US and the UK has given me a sense of social invincibility, but I won't have that when I go back to Australia. For example, I think the only reason the Asian woman is still kicking the back of my seat is because I have a very concrete impression that she is a bitch, and now she feels pressure to live up to that social standard.
Back to my Asian flight again. Alright, the racist flight attendant just assumed that I wanted an omelet and sausages instead of 'Fish noodle'. She was in the motion of handing me one of the meals when I stopped her and asked for the Chinese meal instead just to spite her. I also asked her for an extra 'white thingy' that came with the meal. I even pretended to enjoy the meal just to piss her off more. Take that China! USA! USA! USA!
Well, that's the end of my trip. I'm probably going to continue writing on my blog, but not as often, and it won't be about traveling or anything that interesting so I'm gonna say thanks to all the people who have been following my life. I think I'll reward you with an invaluable life lesson:
Ducks look like they are wearing dog masks when you look at them from an angle. It's true.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Madrid Spain
I said my goodbyes to Kelly and her roommates on the 8th in the early evening. It was really nice visiting Scotland, its a very lively place. Unfortunately however, because I ran out of Pounds on my second last day there, I think Kelly must have been fiscally burdened to have me with her for a few days. I´ve decided to send her a present from Spain (probably a bottle of wine or something) just as a parting thank you gift. When I got to the airport I ended up sneakily wearing 4 layers of clothes to reduce the volume of my back pack so I could still count it as hand luggage - it worked.
I arrived in Madrid on the 8th at 11:30pm. I was greeted warmly by Africa, Pablo and a close friend of theirs - añlgabwu (pronounced pa la yo). Because Afri and Pablo finished their exams earlier that day, they were very exited to go out. Consequently, we got into the car and started driving to a club straight away. It was a 7 leveled club that was infamous for it´s expensive drinks and its attraction to international students. I thought it was cool. The bottom level and the top level were the best (which meant a lot of walking) because they had live ´dancers´ (models which can only do the most basic moves) and a machine which blasted out a wave of smoke into the crowed during the best parts of any song that was playing at the time.
Africa´s parents are just as cool as I remember them. Also, her friends are very nice too. They all speak fluent English which is a big relief for me because I had fears that I would be unable to communicate with people here. My fears aren´t fully put to rest though because I still find that in group situations everyone will still speak in Spanish and pretend I don´t exist. Pablo is a legend though, he really makes an effort to try and keep me in the loop despite the language blockade. He often attempts to redescribe the topic of conversation in English after the conversation is over. Whilst this is an interesting social dynamic, I still feel relaxed with the people around me, and I can easily socialize with Afri, Pablo or any of their friends when i´m talking o them 1 to 1.
i went to a place today called 100 montaditos. It´s famous for having 1 Euro meals and 1 Euro 0.5 pints of beer. Needless to say I still spent as much money as I would have if I went to a bar, but I just drank 3 times as much.
i´m going to Africas country house tomorrow. That should be a lot of fun.
I arrived in Madrid on the 8th at 11:30pm. I was greeted warmly by Africa, Pablo and a close friend of theirs - añlgabwu (pronounced pa la yo). Because Afri and Pablo finished their exams earlier that day, they were very exited to go out. Consequently, we got into the car and started driving to a club straight away. It was a 7 leveled club that was infamous for it´s expensive drinks and its attraction to international students. I thought it was cool. The bottom level and the top level were the best (which meant a lot of walking) because they had live ´dancers´ (models which can only do the most basic moves) and a machine which blasted out a wave of smoke into the crowed during the best parts of any song that was playing at the time.
Africa´s parents are just as cool as I remember them. Also, her friends are very nice too. They all speak fluent English which is a big relief for me because I had fears that I would be unable to communicate with people here. My fears aren´t fully put to rest though because I still find that in group situations everyone will still speak in Spanish and pretend I don´t exist. Pablo is a legend though, he really makes an effort to try and keep me in the loop despite the language blockade. He often attempts to redescribe the topic of conversation in English after the conversation is over. Whilst this is an interesting social dynamic, I still feel relaxed with the people around me, and I can easily socialize with Afri, Pablo or any of their friends when i´m talking o them 1 to 1.
i went to a place today called 100 montaditos. It´s famous for having 1 Euro meals and 1 Euro 0.5 pints of beer. Needless to say I still spent as much money as I would have if I went to a bar, but I just drank 3 times as much.
i´m going to Africas country house tomorrow. That should be a lot of fun.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
London, Leeds, York and Scotland
Just before I start this post I feel I should warn you since this computer doesn't have a spell check option. Continue reading at your own risk.
I spent 3 nights with Kiran in Elephant and Castle. It's an interesting place! The whole area looks quite run down and shady except for the round about which is a literally a small tropical paradise island surrounded by traffic and polution. Every night I have been in the UK I have forced myself to get at least tispy and ofcourse Kirans was no different. We went to a series of pubs, clubs and bars every night I was there where we met some very intersting and nice people. I'm glad to say that we've generated a few exciting stories that I think parallels Tom's crazy adventures throughout London. Sorry for not elaborating, this is a PG blog afterall. At the end of it all, I left Kirans place to go to Leeds leaving behind only a couple of beers, some cerial and about £40 of debt.
Four hours and £26 later I found myself getting off the bustop in Leeds station meeting Dave - a family friend from way back. I had heard rumours that Leeds was a party town, but my experience there vastly exceeded expectations. The place looks like a shithole. There is trash everywhere, criminal looking people on every street public drinking, the ATM's and ticket boothes are smashed in, and liquor stors are booming with business. However, once I started talking to Dave and his friends, I realized just how friendly and nice the place really is. He lives in an small, run down place housing 8 of the most social and talkative people you can imagine. I think I'll always remember going up to Dave's house for the first time and attempt to shake his hand and being greeted with a 0.5L cider instead. That says it all doesn't it? Oh and minor side note, Cider here is amazing! It's nothing like the crappy strongbow shit we have in Australia. Back to Leeds! Ok, so, we went to a house party on the 1st night (oh yeah, did I mention I was there for 2 nights? I'll get to that) and it was insane! the paint on the walls had been stripped down and replaced with wild graffiti and the bottom level of the house didn't have floorboards, just concrete. There was also a permanantly set up giant speaker system in two adjacent rooms which just blasted out tunes all night. This didn't seem like a house party at all, it was a filthy (but awesome) club! I saw people doing a huge amount of drugs there too. I walked into a room accidently just in time to find two people snorting a line. Balloons filled with laughing gas were everywhere too. There was even an ambulance (but no cops) waiting outside the house party in pure anticipation that someone was going to get serioulsy injured or overdose. If I can describe Leeds in 2 words it would be 'fun anarchy'.
The next day I headed up to York as planned to meet Katie - another family friend. This was a polar opposite experience to Leeds. IT was clean, lively, filled with toursity things, and boring (in the sence that there were no parties). We toured the place taking serveral photos and entering a few different galleries and museums. I also met up with Katies friends and roommates in a pub too. They're nice people, very friendly, but not to talkative. Most of us ordered food. I had a steak while one of Katies friends, a vegetarian, ordered a vege burger. Upon seeing my dish, the vegetarian started having a sarcastic (but secretly not sarcastic) go at me about eating meat. I silenced her half way through her rant by claiming that the most innocent looking animals were always the most delicious. Overall though, it was a good lunch and I'm glad I experienced it. Before I knew it, I was on a train heading back to Leeds to meet up with Dave again. This was unplanned, but I had made a commitment to go to Dave's end of Uni party the night before, so I had to head back. There were carnival rides, alcohol, gambling and even live bands performing to entertain the 2000 people (I'd guess it was 2000, although I didn't count them all) that were there. For all those who know me, I'm not the biggest club fan. I find that it's much nicer to talk to someone rather than awkwardly communicate with someone you don't know by shouting in their ear or use some strange form of body language. I found out that people in this huge party werne't as social as Dave or Dave's roommates which made it tough to socialise with new people. Regardless, I had great fun jumping up and down to the live bands that were performing.
The next day I grabbed a £47 bus from Leeds to Edinburgh (God, I hope I spelled that right). I didn't sleep the night before, so I was thankful that the trip was 7 hours long. It also gave me a good opportunity to read the new book I bought - the moral landscape by Sam Haris. I greeted Kelly at the bus station with open arms. She's a great friend of mine from Australia. She was pretty new to Edinburgh (I'm going to call this city Ed, to avoid the embarissment of mispelling it over and over) dispite being there for 3 months for work. Consequently, we both acted like lost tourists wandering around the place aimlessly. We went to a few pubs, took a few photos, and watched a lot of really great street performances. Ed is such a beautiful city, it's not a run down, alcohol infected city which is what I was expecting. The views are amazing. By the end of the day, we ended up staying in Kellys sisters flat which had a really nice cozy feel to it. The next day, we made food and headed up to Arthur Seat (a giant fucking mountain) for a picnic. That was perfect. The wind was blowing, the sun was shining, and small birds were chirping soothingly in the distance. To end the perfect expereince, we ended walking to a Whisky shop where we feigned interest to get 6 free tasters of different Whisky.
The next day we headed to Glasgow (yay, a city i'm confident I can spell!) to stay in Kellys new flat. Her roommates are awesome! But they're also very tough to understand. If someone is speaking in a Scotish accent, I really don't think it should be concidered English. They use so many strange colloqualisms and no emphasis on the letter "t". Despite the agony of barely clinging onto any conversation I have with people here, Glasgow is still amazing. The rain is plentiful and the alcohol is expesnive (not as much as Ed, though), but the ambiance about the city is the perfect blend of social and friendly.
And now I've got nothing left to write about. Except for the fact that I'm sitting here right now typing. I could describe to you the words I'm typing on my blog, but that would oepn up some strange paradox which I'm not too keen to do. So I think I'll just end up saying my trip to the UK is great! My wallet is empty. And I'm really looking forward trecking to Spain in a few days.
I spent 3 nights with Kiran in Elephant and Castle. It's an interesting place! The whole area looks quite run down and shady except for the round about which is a literally a small tropical paradise island surrounded by traffic and polution. Every night I have been in the UK I have forced myself to get at least tispy and ofcourse Kirans was no different. We went to a series of pubs, clubs and bars every night I was there where we met some very intersting and nice people. I'm glad to say that we've generated a few exciting stories that I think parallels Tom's crazy adventures throughout London. Sorry for not elaborating, this is a PG blog afterall. At the end of it all, I left Kirans place to go to Leeds leaving behind only a couple of beers, some cerial and about £40 of debt.
Four hours and £26 later I found myself getting off the bustop in Leeds station meeting Dave - a family friend from way back. I had heard rumours that Leeds was a party town, but my experience there vastly exceeded expectations. The place looks like a shithole. There is trash everywhere, criminal looking people on every street public drinking, the ATM's and ticket boothes are smashed in, and liquor stors are booming with business. However, once I started talking to Dave and his friends, I realized just how friendly and nice the place really is. He lives in an small, run down place housing 8 of the most social and talkative people you can imagine. I think I'll always remember going up to Dave's house for the first time and attempt to shake his hand and being greeted with a 0.5L cider instead. That says it all doesn't it? Oh and minor side note, Cider here is amazing! It's nothing like the crappy strongbow shit we have in Australia. Back to Leeds! Ok, so, we went to a house party on the 1st night (oh yeah, did I mention I was there for 2 nights? I'll get to that) and it was insane! the paint on the walls had been stripped down and replaced with wild graffiti and the bottom level of the house didn't have floorboards, just concrete. There was also a permanantly set up giant speaker system in two adjacent rooms which just blasted out tunes all night. This didn't seem like a house party at all, it was a filthy (but awesome) club! I saw people doing a huge amount of drugs there too. I walked into a room accidently just in time to find two people snorting a line. Balloons filled with laughing gas were everywhere too. There was even an ambulance (but no cops) waiting outside the house party in pure anticipation that someone was going to get serioulsy injured or overdose. If I can describe Leeds in 2 words it would be 'fun anarchy'.
The next day I headed up to York as planned to meet Katie - another family friend. This was a polar opposite experience to Leeds. IT was clean, lively, filled with toursity things, and boring (in the sence that there were no parties). We toured the place taking serveral photos and entering a few different galleries and museums. I also met up with Katies friends and roommates in a pub too. They're nice people, very friendly, but not to talkative. Most of us ordered food. I had a steak while one of Katies friends, a vegetarian, ordered a vege burger. Upon seeing my dish, the vegetarian started having a sarcastic (but secretly not sarcastic) go at me about eating meat. I silenced her half way through her rant by claiming that the most innocent looking animals were always the most delicious. Overall though, it was a good lunch and I'm glad I experienced it. Before I knew it, I was on a train heading back to Leeds to meet up with Dave again. This was unplanned, but I had made a commitment to go to Dave's end of Uni party the night before, so I had to head back. There were carnival rides, alcohol, gambling and even live bands performing to entertain the 2000 people (I'd guess it was 2000, although I didn't count them all) that were there. For all those who know me, I'm not the biggest club fan. I find that it's much nicer to talk to someone rather than awkwardly communicate with someone you don't know by shouting in their ear or use some strange form of body language. I found out that people in this huge party werne't as social as Dave or Dave's roommates which made it tough to socialise with new people. Regardless, I had great fun jumping up and down to the live bands that were performing.
The next day I grabbed a £47 bus from Leeds to Edinburgh (God, I hope I spelled that right). I didn't sleep the night before, so I was thankful that the trip was 7 hours long. It also gave me a good opportunity to read the new book I bought - the moral landscape by Sam Haris. I greeted Kelly at the bus station with open arms. She's a great friend of mine from Australia. She was pretty new to Edinburgh (I'm going to call this city Ed, to avoid the embarissment of mispelling it over and over) dispite being there for 3 months for work. Consequently, we both acted like lost tourists wandering around the place aimlessly. We went to a few pubs, took a few photos, and watched a lot of really great street performances. Ed is such a beautiful city, it's not a run down, alcohol infected city which is what I was expecting. The views are amazing. By the end of the day, we ended up staying in Kellys sisters flat which had a really nice cozy feel to it. The next day, we made food and headed up to Arthur Seat (a giant fucking mountain) for a picnic. That was perfect. The wind was blowing, the sun was shining, and small birds were chirping soothingly in the distance. To end the perfect expereince, we ended walking to a Whisky shop where we feigned interest to get 6 free tasters of different Whisky.
The next day we headed to Glasgow (yay, a city i'm confident I can spell!) to stay in Kellys new flat. Her roommates are awesome! But they're also very tough to understand. If someone is speaking in a Scotish accent, I really don't think it should be concidered English. They use so many strange colloqualisms and no emphasis on the letter "t". Despite the agony of barely clinging onto any conversation I have with people here, Glasgow is still amazing. The rain is plentiful and the alcohol is expesnive (not as much as Ed, though), but the ambiance about the city is the perfect blend of social and friendly.
And now I've got nothing left to write about. Except for the fact that I'm sitting here right now typing. I could describe to you the words I'm typing on my blog, but that would oepn up some strange paradox which I'm not too keen to do. So I think I'll just end up saying my trip to the UK is great! My wallet is empty. And I'm really looking forward trecking to Spain in a few days.
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