Finally. O-Week is done and here comes SCHOOL!

The last days of O-week were full of formals and food. I wore my token green dress for the "Boat Cruise" formal which was held at a venue that was not water bound. Apparently, Christ College is forbidden from ever hosting a party on an actual boat. Hm. Go figure.

The boat tour was very fun. I met tons of Old boys and girls and mingled. Some boys were given extra fresher points for parading around the pub stark naked...the traditional nudie run. I was never so surprised in my life. One second, I was dancing to some very bad 80's music, and the next thing I knew, there were 30 naked freshers dancing along with me. Thankfully, the O-week photographer was kind enough to film the whole extravaganza. Translation: this footage will be replayed at the end of the year :)

After the boat cruise, we had a final exam session (the last time the lifers could publicly humiliate the freshers) and then concluded O-week with a bbq hosted and cooked by our lovely torturous lifer leaders. The rest of that Sunday was spent searching for lecture halls and for ice cream. Me and 4 other Americans decided that Maccers (McDonalds) was the closest area for the tasty treat and we each consumed the greatest McFlurries known to man.

The following day, today, was OUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! YAY!! I had two different lectures for Social Psychology. It's funny. It took me almost 3 years and trip to Tasmania to feel like I was actually at a real University. My class is in a huge lecture hall with a Professor at the front of the class and literally just lectures us. There are no participation points and essentially, there is one major exam and two papers. Yea, yea, I'm sure that class will be super hard and whatever, but I have to say, Whitman really kicks your butt with all the seminar style classes. Perhaps I will like this whole stereotypical classroom experience thing.

I finished my lectures and met up with my friends Tess, Bobby, Corey and Maddy. We started researching where the cheapest places during our Easter break to travel are and I think we decided Asia is actually way cheaper than flying to New Zealand. Our final choices are Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. I think Thailand may be a winner because it has elephants...we are an easy bunch to impress.

After our travel search, it started pouring. So naturally, we sought cover in the library but then gave up and started hiking up the mountain. I concluded my day with a DELICIOUS ice cream adventure with Jenn and Mardi. We found a place right by the Art building that is way better than McDonalds. The only problem is that it's super far away. I guess that's better because then we work off everything that we ate but still, it is far.

Tomorrow I have no class so I think Im going to do my social psych reading and take a treck down to the Art Building. It was really nice talking to you all on skype so hopefully we can do that soon. Sorry I had to cut off our convo Ben, I had psych. My professor talks slower than paint dries so I could have probably afforded to be a little bit later to class. Oh well. Until next time!

The Amazing Race

I cannot remember the last time I was awoken by banging thuds against my door with someone screaming "GET YOUR ARSE OUT OF BED". Ever. At 6:30am, lovely freshers were greeted by our generous O-week leaders and were dragged out of bed. Luckily enough for us, they provided free Red Bull for some energy. But remember, before we all left, we had to put on our name signs, our team color ribbons and some sun screen.

All decked out in our pajamas, 30 freshers left the safety of Christ College and ventured out into the city of Hobart; holding hands; in pairs of two. We looked like a school for "special" adults. I was set up with Victor, the Swedest Swede. We had to hold hands for the entire journey. On the way down the hill, there were one or two "Dead Ants" incidents but I was able to dodge them both :) Once down the hill, we had to see how many kids could fit into a phone booth (12 kids fit in case you were wondering) and we learned about past o-week legends at various land marks. Because it was early morning and we had a long day ahead of us, the lifers were so nice as to take us to Maccers (McDonalds). But of course, there was a catch...we had to sing our orders. The order taker lady didn't speak much English and looked as if she was about to get murdered. That poor poor woman. I sang my order to the tune of yankee doodle, while my friends tried out genres such as rap, hiphop and my personal favorite, death metal.

Following brekky, we freshers found ourselves walking down a steep hill. Before we hit the end of the hill, we were told to drop our hands and to race around the corner and stop when we hit the lifers. What they forgot to mention was that around the corner was a STEEP hill and at the top were crazy tall stairs. Thankfully, we all made it up to the top alive and without pukers. I was tempted, especially after two MickeyD hashbrowns but we all managed to hold down the food. Hands were then rejoined and we were escorted to the busiest corner of Hobart city during rush hour. The lifers told us "Alright! Get into the Frisk position!". So, we being obedient freshers, propped our heads against the wall and spread them. All the townies seemed so confused.

After the frisking position, we raced up 7 stories of stairs, learned some traditional Christ College hymns, and then commenced the Amazing Race. Each color team split up and competed against each other for a prize of 500 fresher points. Thankfully, my team, team blue, won. We ran the whole time. My legs HATE me. I feel like I was literally hit by a train.

After our scavenger hunt/amazing race, we had a break for 3 hours, and then jumped onto a bus and headed off to Port Arthur: home of the Tassy devils and crazy ghosts. The lifers bbq'd us some hotdogs and burgers and then had us run another race up and down stairs. We learned how to play crickett and how to drop dead from exhaustion. After we ate, the lifers gathered us into our color groups and told us we had one more race: a boat race. I groaned because if my legs had to run one more time, they would have amputated themselves off my body. The lifers sat us down at a table, team blue sitting across from team yellow, and glasses of goon were poured. Okay. A boat race isnt a physical race. Oh no. It's a drinking race. You line up your team and you each have to "skull" the drink in front of you and put your cup atop of your head before the next teammate could go. My team lost. What can I say? I am used to learning academic things in college...

Anyways. After the boat race that my team was massacred in, we headed off for a Port Arthur ghost tour. It was very fun, very haunted. I didnt witness any ghosts but if any place in the world had them, Tasmania seems like it would be the place with the most vicious.

So after the ghost tour, we headed home (finally) for some sleep. We got home at 1:30 Am and were awoken at 4:30 Am. Into another bus we went and up a mountain we went. We got to the top of Mt. Wellington (the highest mountain in Hobart) and watched the sunrise. It was beautiful. It was freezing. They fed us breakfast. But then, once we got back home, I passed out for 4 hours.

Temi and I then took care of some chores and prepared for the historic tour of Hobart. Yea. A historic tour my butt. It was a drinking tour of where old boys/girls currently live. We met all the people who used to live in Christ but have either graduated or left the dorm.

Today is the last day of o-week (for me at least). I have yet to do anything today other than sleep and start a load of laundry. The group of kids went to Salamanka market this morning and Im sure that some kids left for hte beach. It is a gorgeous day today but I will be spending it in bed. I have class on Monday and I do NOT want to be sick or over tired. Plus, tonight we have our final formal event for a long time. It is called "The Boat Tour". Christ College kids arnt actually allowed ON the boat due to past actions of the students, but it should be similar to the American high school prom...just minus the date thing.

As for now, I will be taking a nap immediately following this post and then changing my whites to the dryer. Later guys :)

Oi Oi Oy Vey for O-Week

Okay. Let me start off with: today I chose NOT to participate in most of the O week activities. This included: uni tours, faculty tours, and a brewery tour. I slept. All day. I finally had a day to myself and I loved every second of it. Now. Let me continue with what happened in the afternoon.

At around 4, I began to doll myself up for the first of many formal dinners. Though I thought that perhaps a nice dress and boots would suffice, I was incorrect. Apparently, formal dinners are actually FORMAL. You have to wear formal bat mitzvah dress-like attire: jewelry and all. However, I did not mind my lovely black and grey dress. I thought I looked just ravishing. Prior to the actual dinner, the GC (gentlemen's club) and the CLAS (college ladies are superior) groups met up and introduced various top secret traditions of Christ College and its' own secret societies. The ladies then walked into the dining hall only to be eagerly greeted by the awkwardly standing gentlemen. We were all to be seated next to these men and began our delicious fancy meal (cooked lamb, salad, and potatoes). I thought it was the most awkward part of O week thus far but I loved every second of it nontheless.

Following dinner came the Scribble party. Everyone was told to wear white and bring Sharpies. We had things written all over us. Mine included (but was not exclusive to) things such as "Sexy McSexerson", "Silly Fresher", "I heart Lifers", "Hug me" and "Hot Booty". We were all fed Goon (the cheapest wine in Australia--served in a box) and told to sing and dance to kareoki music. Of course my friends and I DOMINATED the kareoki. We sang classics like "Dont Stop Believing", "Wannabe", "Sweet Caroline", and of course, some Miley Cyrus. The lifers, being smart elderly students, video taped the entire night...including my awfully fantastic dance moves to Bohemian Rhapsody. I danced with everyone--rocking out and bringing out my bar mitzvah moves...sorry dad, no alligator, alligator, bear, falcons for this night. I have to actually keep these new friends I made. Perhaps later in the year Ill unleash my true dancing talents, but until I have my solid group of friends, I will be sticking to the classic "Uncle greg".

Oh! Side note! We freshers have our own dance!! It's the most ridiculous dance that you have ever seen and it includes moves such as the sprinkler, pelvic thrusts, the jumping on one leg jig, and the twist. Good fun, jolly ol show, super embarrassing but hey, Im ranked the lowest on the Christ food chain.

Tonight was super fun and I am glad that I partook in this event. Tomorrow is going to be quite the day. I have to wake up at 6:30am for a city tour in my PJs. If I decide not to wear PJs, then they will find something else for me to wear and I really don't want to find out what that is. I am mentally preparing myself for some Dead Ant action and possibly some other forms of public humiliation. As long as I get my coffee in the end, I will be fine. Go team blue! True Blue!

Oh! One last thing. You know how Americans on buses sing pleasant songs like "the wheels on the bus go round and round"? Well, Aussies have the same concept but like to spice up the lyrics with some more um, colorful? language. Just observing the cultural differences here...apparently, Americans are prudes (as I have been told a number of occasions here). HOWEVER! I dont see Kevin Rudd being a black man with a middle name like Hussein, so I think America wins with the Obama card. BAM.

Alrighty. Bed Time. If I survive tomorrow, I will be sure to update the blog. AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!

O(ooh that looks potentially embarrassing)-Week

I am in Tasmania. I am in Hobart. Welcome to the Walla Walla/Puget Sound of Australia. This place is breath-takingly beautiful, yet has the provincial feel of Eastern Washington. The people are possibly the nicest in the world and only the nature could rival their hospitality. Tasmania, thankfully, only has half the amount of poisonous creatures that are found on the main land! Yay!

Now, let's see. I have been living in Tassy for almost a week. I live in Christ College (feel free to laugh at the irony) on the top fourth floor. What UTAS tactfully leaves out of their travel brochures is that UTAS is built on the steepest hill ever. I walk up and down that thing twice daily (at least) and every time, without fail, I am left breathless and sweaty. I am sure that the Australians thought it a terrific joke to put me not only on top of this hill, but at the top of the dormitory so I could walk up the extra floors. This hill, though I love to exaggerate, is truly a pain in the butt. I am not looking forward to walking the 3 miles to the exquisite art building and then having to do that same treck back uphill. I kind of wish I had a car to avoid this beast, however, I can barely cross the street without almost dying, so I will stay a cheerfully complaining walker.

As I mentioned previously, I live in Christ College. This is a dorm in which all years of college students dwell. We have our own detailed history and traditions. Really, the only thing I could compare this place to is a co-ed fraternity. This week is our "O-Week"; a week known for parties, drinking and most importantly, hazing. I thought I was lucky that I didn't have to haze in Theta...well, Christ College puts American Frats to shame. Each fresher is given a card board cut out of a vulgar shape and is told to write her name on it in big letters. Then, we were sorted into colored teams. I am on team blue! True blue all the way! Currently, the Lifers (older hazing students) are having the times of their lives with us. During our Sex Ed session, we were forced to have a condom application race, along with reading awkward embarrassing facts about the human body. I felt really bad for all of the Asian exchange students who are very conservative and silent. This must have been quite the culture shock.

In addition to our "Sex Ed", we had a scavenger hunt and a trip to the beach. Instead of just letting us enjoy these activities however, we were given a new rule called "Dead Ant". Every time a lifer screamed out DEAD ANT, freshers MUST drop to the floor on their backs and flail their arms and legs. The last person down is given a massive, bright red dog collar to wear. The second to last person gets to hold the leash attached the collar. I have yet to be "collared" but I feel like my time is limited. We are also learning fun songs. For instance, the one I can remember is about the days of the week. "Monday is a good day, Tuesday is a whore day, Wednesday is a Wanker day, Thursday, aw thursday is a training day..." These songs, vulgar and offensive, are on the top priority lists things freshers must learn with proficiency.

So tomorrow we freshers are doing tours. We have tours of our classrooms and then a tour of a local brewery. Then comes the introduction to the GC (Gentlemen's club) and the CLAS (College Ladies are Superior) prior to our first formal dinner. Afterwards comes the "scribble party" where we all wear white shirts and write all over them in sharpie, and we conclude our evening with a night of karaoke.

I am exhausted and O-week may be the death of me, but I only live once. They say the "O" stands for "orientation" but I am no fool. It stands for "Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into?!" or "Oh holy Jesys". I am now part of a tradition that is longer than many at Whitman. The Dead Ant thing has been around for at least 40 years (insane I know). Whoever thought that tradition up must have bad back issues. Luckily for me, this week has helped me make friends. I feel as though I am only making my transition friends, but that is fine for now. I figure that I have two very good friends (Becky and Lisa) and I was lucky enough to have met them on day 1 of orientation. I love Tasmania. The sun never leaves the sky (sunset isn't until 8) and the water is potable (due to lack of pollution and lack of natural parasites). I do appreciate the need to walk everywhere and the fitness levels of everyone around me.

I am just super tired. The beach trip was lovely and I had a great time but I all I really want to do is go back into my fuzzy blanketed bed and cozy up to my laptop and watch an AMERICAN movie. Culture shock manifests itself in the worst ways: when I order my black coffee in the morning and the man asks if I want "to have here or take away" and I can never understand him; when I try to walk upstairs and I run into everyone because I'm on the wrong side; when I have a conversation with an Aussie and I have to lean in super awkwardly close because I have no idea what he is saying; when people try to actively kill animals (* that one isnt that bad, just weird). The massive hole in the o-zone is directly above Hobart, so I cannot leave the college without slathering on sunscreen. I have a heart attack every time when Bobby crosses the street and screams in a pitch that should be reserved for only the most trained opera sopranos due to the sneaky on coming traffic. Luckily for me, everyone here loves California. But I am just waiting for the really bad day to hit me, the day classes are in session and I am just missing home and then everything will hit me at once: the coffee, the language differences, the crazy aggressive spiders, and the fact that there are two flushers on the toilets, the television shows that are 4 episodes behind, the love of pranks that involve poop and showers (*that is truly disgusting, but Aussies think poop is the FUNNIEST thing ever, and they love to use it in pranks).

Alright y'all. All of my friends left to go party and I am going to watch a movie in my bed. I need at least one good night's sleep if I am to survive the rest of this nutzo week. Love and miss you all.

-Alie the Tassy

Orientation/Jet-Lag Camp

2/10/09

Welcome to the land of kangaroos, emus, wombats and cockatoos; welcome to the land of Oz! The 14 hour flight was super comfy and actually quite short. I think I slept for most of the flight but then watched classic movies like “Clowdy with a chance of meatballs” and District 9”.

When I landed, me and the 34 other IFSA Butler students gathered just outside Customs for the tour bus to take us away to a Northern suburb of Sydney Australia: Panoberra. We arrived at Sydney Sports Academy, a place where athletes and community members alike can train for footie sports, swimming and tennis. It’s the home of the “Manly Sea Eagles”. Yes, they are manly, and no, there are no women manly sea eagles. Anyways, I was bunked with three other Tassie girls! They are the nicest people. There is Becky, Temi, and Lisa (the UPS girl).

The first day spent in Sydney was filled with wild, exotic and venomous animals at the Torongo Zoo. It was a gigantic zoo with some pretty steep hills. My new group of girl friends and I toured around in the 80 degree, intensely humid animal park. We got so sweaty…well, okay. I got so sweaty. But we were tehn rescued because the second activity was a two hour cruise around the Sydney harbor! Though I didn’t throw up, I did feel a little woozy with the swell. Fun fact: Sydney harbor is the largest natural harbor in the world!

After the harbor boat trip (around 4pm) we returned back to the Sports Academy and my SSC (basically my Tassie camp counsler) Dara, suggested we go for a Bush walk adventure. I was foolishly and ambitiously curious what this bush walk would entail, so I enthusiastically signed up for the trip. Well. Let me tell you. Dara is like the enigizer bunny on crack. We hiked up steep hills, through water, over rocks, and my favorite, through poisonous spider/snake infested bush. Dara, our pack leader, walked straight through a massive spider web. I almost peed myself from laughing so hard. She shrieked bloody murder and threw off her shirt.

Mom and Dad, my instincts are fantastic. I should be afraid of spiders. Every and all spiders. Espcially here. American spiders have nothing on these Aussie babies. These spiders are at least 3 times the size of the average American spider AND bonus! They make MASSIVE spider webs that you only notice until you walk through them.

Anyways. After our epic 2 hour bush walk, we had some dinner and then watched a local Aussie band play for us. They were a blue grassy/cowboy band who taught us some very fun square dances. Thanks to my years of Israeli dance (haha) I could recognize and identify that most of the dances included variations of “Slide down the middle”. It was very fun, but my body had never been so tired.

I passed out only to quickly awaken to the sound of Lisa’s alarm. We devoured a delicious breakfast of watermelon, other various fresh fruits and cereal. We have the BEST food on this trip. Really, we get out money’s worth. Dad you would be happy.

This day was the day of the surfing adventure.. My group was the first to go. We had two surf instructors: Bryce and Shane. We hopped on some crappy foam boards and went through the ABC’s of surfing and dove into the water. The water was clear as can be. You could see the fish! (kind of nerve wracking just because there are Man of War jellies, Portugese Blue Bottled Jellies, sharks, sting rays, and snakes). I caught some waves. I am a very bad surfer. Sorry brothers. But I am a professional wipe-outter, and I am not scared of bigger waves. The water was so lovely and refreshing, I could not get over it. Plus, the instructor, Bryce, told me that my tattoo was the nicest tattoo he has ever seen. He said that he has seen many and that mine was his favorite by far. Really, it made my day.

After the beach extravaganza, my group had a meeting about Tassie, then went for another Bush walk adventure with Dara. This one was supposed to be our short one because we had a footie game (rugby) waiting for us at around 4. At 4, Dara noticed that we weren’t back yet. Oops. Short? Psh. Not with the energizer bunny. During the bush walk, Dara and I got into a huge debate over US politics and the Mexican US border and the drug wars. I think I may have upset her, but she promised me that she enjoyed debating and wouldn’t have continued voicing her opinions if she didn’t like the conversation. I think I won because the only thing she had to say to me at the end of the talk was that she loves how college students cant think outside the box and pigeon hole everything they learn in college into a single, narrow opinion. I countered back with: “Im an art major. I everything we talked about today was from me reading the paper daily and research.” Really? Narrow minded?

Oh! That reminds me! Dad, if you are reading this, this is very important for you! So, in Australia, insults and mockeries are just different ways of showing affection! So for instance, when one of the SSC’s told my friend Becky that she looked like a train wreck, smelled, and needed a shower, easily translates to the American: “Hi, Im Joe, you seem like a nice person, can I be your friend?” So that man who told you that your shirt was the ugliest he had ever seen? He was just demonstrating his affection. YOU probably hurt HIS feelings by not insulting him back. Stupid Americans ruin everything.

Following the debatably pleasant bush walk, we had dinner (it was Italian mmm) and then watched an Aboriginal dance. It was so awkward. I did not know how to act. It was very interesting and beautiful, however at the end, everyone wanted a group picture. I am not sure how, but I got stuck in the way front with the men. I did not want to be in the picture. I think it was because I felt that I was exploiting those men? I don’t really know. The whole situation just made me feel uncomfortable.

Honestly, I am very sad that I am leaving my orientation camp. I have made friends with so many people whom I really love and I cannot believe that it has only been three days. Part of it is that I don’t want to start all over in Tassie, but apparently, that place is so spectacular that I just cant pass it up. We Tassie students had a meeting about what to expect with out living accommodations and what have you…Christ College has hazing. We have an entire “O-Week” in which we have hazing activities which includes serious hikes, sunbaking (sunbathing but for me, sun burning), drinking, dancing, kareoking, and ghost hunting. IMPORTANT TASSIE FACT The entire island is HAUNTED. Really very haunted. Ghosts everywhere. This island is like a giant Alcatraz; a place where only the worst of criminals found themselves. During this entire weeklong initiation, we have an international student orientation. I do not understand where these Aussies get their energy! I am so tired and I am about to be exhausted.

Honestly, it is very reassuring to me that Lisa, Becky and Temi are all as anxious and nervous as I am about leaving our new safety net of Sydney and traveling to Tasmania. These girls are what keeps me sane and calm. We talk about going exploring and shopping together so we don’t have to find hangers for our closets alone. We live next door or across the campus from each other so we can dine together. It’s nice to have them as a support group. Though we have only known each other for three days, we have done so many trust building activities with each other that I feel as though we have been friends for years. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it is incredibly hard for the average person to dance, sweat, surf, and sing with random strangers. The girls told me that even if Dara forgets about the Shabbat dinner, that they would come with me to the Synagogue to have a good hearty meal and a fun night out. I know we may eventually find other friends but I have to say I am glad I have met them. I am only sad that I wont see my other friends that I have made at this camp. There is Allison and Judy and all these other wonderful people that I wont be able to be great friends with because they will be in different parts of the country. However, I will hopefully be given the opportunity to visit these girls and see what their new environments and schools have to offer them.

Family and friends, I miss you! You all come up so often in conversation. Ben, the sea urchin story is a hit. Dad, the “is crystal letting you down?” mugs is a personal favorite. Everyone knows that Sam is going to be the next president of the United States and just moved to DC and my friends love the fact that Mom bought the smartest fluffiest puppy in the world. I have yet to have time to get home sick but I am sure one day it will hit. I do love New South Wales, and Dad, I am all for us moving here. Just be prepared for some humidity. Hope you all enjoy the pictures! Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Alie the Tassie Aussie

On my way!

Well, today is the day! Finally! It has only been 2 months of a no school, winter-vacation break, and I am definitely ready to head off to Australia. With the incredible help of Aunty Susan, I was able to NOT over pack my bags and am traveling with a record two suitcases, one backpack, and a purse. I have got my camera all set up to be ready at hand for any and all necessary photos, and now I officially have my blog up and running!

I will miss you all and hope you have a great 6 months! When I come back, I expect to see Gus and Shanna double in size and I cannot be more excited.
Talk to you all later!