Aussies sell beer at Parliament House

I have no way of knowing whether or not there are cafeterias in the United States Capitol building, but I do know that the Australian Parliament house does, and they sell beer there. I get the feeling that this wouldn't go over well with some members of Congress if this were to happen in the States.

We're in the midst of RSO week down here at the University of Canberra. That means that each night, the Residential Students Organization has an activity for the people living on campus. If this were to happen at UT, it would be met with marginal interest at best and would probably include such activities as "Library Orientation and FREE PIZZA!" or "Campus Cleanup and FREE PIZZA!" Instead, the Aussies decided to arrange events that we'd go to and enjoy, such as "Beer Bingo" and "The Punch Party." I might have mentioned before that alcohol consumption seems to be engrained into the culture down here, although they always emphasize the importance of responsible drinking.

The exchange kids (there are about 30 of us, mostly American and Canadian), were recently introduced to "Goon," which is cheap boxed wine, reminiscent of Franzia, but cheaper. It equals out to be about five bucks per four-liter box, and is plenty worth the money, considering the price of beer is outrageous (25 bucks for a case of cheap beer, and, get this, 17 bucks for a six pack of Corona). Beer at the bar is even worse, so it's pretty common to "Pre-Game" for most things in the dorms.

Speaking of games, a group of us decided that we should go catch a football game. Understand that "football" can pass as any one of five sports down here, I'll try to explain. There is Rugby League, Rugby Union, AFL (also known as Aussie Rules), soccer, and "Gridiron" (American Football). We wound up at a Rugby League game, because it's in season, and let me tell you, those guys are tough. No pads, full contact and very few penalties called.

Oh, and classes started this week. The atmosphere places more emphasis on individual responsibility than in the States. I have been given the course outline and assignments to be completed by the end of the semester, and it's my responsibility to get it done. Also, we're graded, or "assessed" only a few times per semester. Here's an example of how my grade will be figured for one of my classes:
Project #1 - 30%
Project #2 - 50%
Participation - 10%
Attendance - 10%
I guess I won't be procrastinating and sluffing off projects that are worth half of my final grade. Although most of my lectures are videotaped and online... I like being a pass/fail student.

One question I get quite a bit is "How did you wind up in Australia?" and it's one that I have not been able to answer very eloquently, as I don't completely know myself. I do know that I wanted to do something fun and exciting before graduating, but I didn't know what. My brother, Adam, took a semester off to hike the Appalachian Trail, which was cool, but not exactly something I was looking to do. Study abroad was something that had been brewing in the back of my head since my friend Jack Jenkins told me about his experience in New Zealand. I knew it was something I wanted to do, but wasn't sure that I would ever follow through with it. Study abroad wasn't something I wanted to let slip through my fingers, so I made a point of getting the paperwork together and applying. I think my parents were as surprised as I was when I told them I'd been accepted into the exchange program.

I would stay and type some more, but I think I've written enough as it is, plus its Beer Bingo and Two-for-One drink night.