Being Adventurous

I am not an adventurous person.
No, really, I'm not. I'm VAL. I think my name means brave but I have not been known to do crazy things.
You're probably thinking "but...she's in AUSTRALIA."
Well, yeah, I'm in a different country technically, but Australia is hardly foreign. I chose Australia because I knew it'd be similar, and I spoke the language and knew how to act in this culture, etc etc.....
....Or so I thought.
The other day one of my American friends described Australia as "exactly different" from the US. Everything is allllmost just like in the states, but then it's slightly off. Some examples....

THINGS THAT ARE THE SAME IN AUS AND USA

1. Everyone is obsessed with coffee. Coffee culture is HUGE here. Which is great, because as a college student, I need the caffeine. But I've only seen like 2 Starbucks since I've been here, allowing more opportunity to try local coffee shops and order different drinks.

2. The language. Like I said, everyone speaks English here! Sure, they all have accents, but it's still English. Sometimes when I forget that I'm the foreign one, I'll hear someone speaking with an Australian accent, and I'll think to myself "Wow an Aussie! What a cool...oh wait..." I'm the one with the weird accent here! Except it's interesting, most people can guess I'm from California right away. They say it's because I'm blonde-ish (fake) and tan (real), but I really think it's because of my lack of accent. Or because I actually say things like "bro" and "for sure" and other words people associate with SoCal. Who knows. The other day some guy guessed I was from southern California, and when I asked him how he knew, he said it was because I was acting like I was too cool to be talking to him. So maybe that's how they all know.

3. The weather. It's winter here, but it's really similar to winter in San Diego, aka NOT WINTERY. It's like 70 degrees daily, but it does get pretty cold at night. Spring is supposed to be beautiful here, so I'm looking forward to that!


THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT IN AUS AND USA

1. The things they order when getting coffee. What is a long black? A flat white? A chai latte literally comes as a pot of hot chai tea, with your own milk to pour in, not the foamy sweet drink Starbucks serves. I've ordered a lot of coffee since I've been here, but I still can't figure it out. Also, when making coffee at home, everyone does instant. It's so much more wallet-friendly to buy a massive thing of instant coffee then some grounds. And it pretty much tastes the same since I can't afford the fancy grounds anyway.
(For the record, a long black is espresso over hot water, like an Americano, and a flat white is steamed milk over an espresso, like a latte but BETTER.)

2. The language. WHAT IS A JUMBUCK?!?! WHY IS A PUB CALLED A HOTEL?!?! Why does everyone say "good night Irene," why is cotton candy fairy floss, why is a group of kangaroos a mob, why is Brisbane referred to as Brisvegas?!?! (Actually I find that last one hilarious. No one can escape tourist America, even across the ocean.) Australian's seem to have slang for everything and none of it makes sense.
(For the record, a jumbuck is a sheep. I've only heard this used in reference to New Zealand and how they all marry or befriend sheep. Weird.)

3. The weather. It's sooooooo humid. Doing anything to my hair is pointless. Also, 70 is cold for them. I am terrified for when it gets to be summer. People are walking around in sweaters and boots and I'm sweating in shorts and a tank top. Running outside is really difficult because it can be like swimming. At ultimate last week I was drowning in both the air and my own sweat. Super attractive. I really don't understand why the ulti boys kept their distance.
(Just kidding, they desperately need girls, so I could show up in a chicken costume and high heels and they'd be like OMG SHE KNOWS HOW TO HOLD A FRISBEE THANK GOODNESS)

4. The clothes. In Australia, guys wear short shorts and it's totally normal. I kind of love it. QUADS. QUADS EVERYWHERE. BRING THIS TO AMERICA.
(I already miss Nordstrom. Thanks Mom, for raising me with excellent taste, but there is actually nothing like it here. Waaaaa.)

5. The toilets flush the other way. Or do they? I don't know. I can't remember how they flush in America. Sorry, can't bust this myth.

So, as you can see, I'm not being super brave or anything by coming all the way out here. Which is why I'm adopting the phrase "why the heck not?" Taylor, if you're out there, you're probably laughing and grinning because you know you inspired part of this. But really, what do I have to lose besides my life savings and maybe a limb? I'm saying yes to most things (don't worry Mom, I'm still saying no to the creepy guys at parties.) and it has made my trip so far an amazing experience.

This week, I said yes to a crazy pub crawl and a trip to the Australian zoo.
The pub crawl was really fun, but really long. It started at 4pm and we got to the final place at 11:30pm. My good friend Reina and I were in the same group, while all of my roommates were in the other. It was really fun to wander through the city at night and meet other international kids and Australians.
Hahaha. I'll illustrate the night with pictures instead.

Reina and me taking a dinner break

Martha and I spent our #oneclassWednesday in the city! We found a super adorable cafe in an creepy little alley and had a really delicious lunch. It had a massive open window looking out into the alley, and it was pretty funny because we were up in this lovely clean space, and in the alley you could see all the high school kids in their uniforms smoking cigarettes.

Felix Espresso and Wine Bar in the CBD

After lunch we walked through a great farmers market, splurged a bit on some tea in cute jars-which we can bring back at any time for TWO DOLLAR REFILLS WHAT A STEAL-and wandered over the bridge into South Bank.

noms

SOUTH BANK

That night I went to frisbee! Gosh dang I seriously love my sport. It's so amazing to have found a community and a game that I miss immensely when I'm away from it. I can't recall ever feeling that way about soccer even though I played for 10 years. I've been playing ultimate for 2 years, and I don't think I can stop...I'm playing in a tournament in about two weeks and I can't wait!
Friday afternoon my friends and I went to the science museum in South Bank and a free comedy show in New Farm. The science museum was nice! There was a coral reef exhibit and a dinosaur exhibit, as well as a bunch of kids stuff that we really enjoyed.

The comedy show was hilarious. We were a bit nervous we wouldn't find it funny because we wouldn't understand the jokes, but it was great! There were definitely some Aussie stereotype jokes that went right over our heads, but we were close to the front so the comedians picked on us a bit and it was really funny. The show was at The Powerhouse, which is literally a converted power station where they now do art-y exhibits and plays. It's really hipster. We walked in and instantly felt like we weren't cool enough or dressed well enough to be there.

Saturday I said yes to housekeeping and homework, so I'd say that's the most adventurous thing I've done here so far.
Sunday I said yes to the Australian zoo! We went with the international student group, QUEST, and were there from like 930 till 330. It's an amazing zoo, but that was just forever.
The Australia Zoo was started by the Irwin family, so it's main goal is conservation and preservation of wildlife. They had a massive 24 animal hospital with a "koala trauma" wing. LIKE WHERE ELSE DOES THAT EXIST. NO WHERE.
Of course we went to see the croc show, where they get a massive crocodile to snap at trainers and put their  lives in danger and what not. Since crocs were Steve Irwin's thing that was definitely the highlight of the zoo.

WOMBAT

Also WOMBATS ARE THE CUTEST THING EVER.

So that's my adventure for this past week. This week promises to be pretty eventful, with a holiday/no class on Wednesday for the Ekka (basically like a more hick version of a county fair) and a trip to Byron Bay on the weekend!
Hope you're all enjoying my blog as much as I'm enjoying writing it!