Quick Post before a Big Weekend

I just wanted to get in a quick post, because I'm going to be in Sydney all weekend, which I'm sure will be filled with stories. The weeks been going well, and I just find myself very tired today. We've been partying most of the week, with some more welcome events on campus, and my friend Phil's 21st birthday. All my roomates are here, and they are all great. We have Emma from Rochester, NY, CK from South Korea, Val from Mauritius (an island off the cost of Madagascar and Africa), and Corrinne from Malaysia. Quite the lineup, but I do live in International House so its expected. They have all been wonderful and I think I'm really going to enjoy living with them.

We had the start of classes on Monday, and although I am studying abroad, I have a rather hard schedule in order to still graduate on time. Fortunately, everything is pass/fail, so I simply need to pass, and it will have no affect on my GPA. My Introduction to Aboriginal Studies class is definitely the most interesting and my teacher seems like a cool, large aboriginal.

We went out for Phil's 21st celebration, which ended up being a 3 day festivity. I had converted $150 into Australia money on Monday, and I returned today (Thursday), to get more. The teller said, you spend all that money already? Well yes, unfortunately I did. Now I'm off to Sydney for the weekend, which will be another spend-fest.

The country of Australia lacks one major attribute that fills the souls of all Americans, a thirst for money. There is no element of money-hungriness to these people. The minimum wage is extremely high, and goes up with how old you are. So most 21-year-olds make around $20 per hour. With no regard for education, this number is based simply on age. For the most part, this means that everyone is fairly equal, and people are content, they don't even think about it. Of course, this negatively inflates their dollar, makes construction prices extremely high (no cheap labor), and basically kills any chance of getting good service. They also, don't tip bartenders/waiters or anyone in such a service industry. This means that the quality of service is poor. Plus, money gets you nowhere. The other night, we we're the only group in the bar, and spending a lot of money, so you think the service would be impeccable. But no, they would rather have us leave the bar so they can go home, than to make more money. A big difference and sort of the main issue I'm struggling to adapt to. The moral of the story: I need a job.

A quick story about Phil: an example of true Australian culture. So Phil wakes up to find that his cell phone, which he has only had for a few days, is now in all Chinese. He walks over to the store where he bought it, to ask an employee for help. When he gets there, the employee is astonished by the fact that the phone is in Chinese, and tells him he has no idea how to help. Phil looks at him puzzled, and replies, but you sold me the phone, you're a technician, if you can't help what am I suppose to do? The employee replies, well of course, just find a Chinese person to translate it for you. Mind you, this was an employee making probably around $25 an hour. So here is Phil, the hungover American walking the streets of Australia, looking for someone who speaks Chinese. After two Koreans, and a Japanese person was unable to help, he found a Chinaman to fix it. Only in Australia.