Day 50

Day 50 seems like a milestone. I write this on a lazy Sunday afternoon having been to the gym and looking forward to some Volleyball later and a trip to the cinema to see the brilliant Inbetweeners.

I did, however, reached a proper milestone yesterday. I went to my first house party outside of England. It was pretty cool. It was not like the ones I am used to back home. Normally back at school someone would have (or more accurately get) a party when their parents were out of town. There are always quite tense affair as everyone knows that at any moment it could turn nasty as the parents come home to find someone vomiting into their plant collection. No this party was cool, it even had the mythical red cups (below) that I had only ever seen before in American films and TV shows.



Things got a little bit scary on the train back home when a man, holding an empty vodka bottle,  was adamant on having fight with someone and shouting his hatred of the English for the whole carriage to hear. Thankfully he kept his distance from me and did not ask where I was from ( like he was doing to everyone else). I probably would have had to lie and not admit that I am an English gentleman from the fine county of Yorkshire who enjoys nothing more than a Sunday roast and a nice cup of tea.

In more exciting news, this Thursday I am going to Sydney for the weekend. I am so excited. So the next post will be a bumper Sydney special!

Day 44

It has been a while.

I have to apologise. I have been caught up in my student life out here in Melbourne that have failed to post on this blog for ten whole days. The weather is still not great. While I am writing this, I can hear the rain falling on the roof above with my light on as the sky is miserably dark and grey. Yet it is going so well.

Since I last posted, my trails around Melbourne in search anything remotely hip or cool have died down. The work load for my course has started to pile up. That has not stopped me, however discovering the odd new bar or two, some in better condition than others!

one of Melbourne's many laneways full of "cool" bars.

Unlike the previous 20 years of my life, I have spent a fair bit of time in the gym while I have been out here. That is in large fact due to the cost of my gym (below) membership being covered by my college fees. One thing I have noticed straight away was how busy it is. It seems like exercise is a way of life out here, far more so than back home in England.


Even those who don't claim to be very sporting all head down to the gym at least twice a week, something I am sure does that happen that often back home. The other things that is completely different is the attire of those who attend. I feel like the odd one out in my standard shorts and fairly old football top while the majority of the gym goers strut (and yest strut is the right word) with their vest on and the full length and very tight leggings. I think it just sums up the total commitment that the Aussies have to sport. Or maybe their weird taste in fashion. Yeah lets go with that!

Day 34

The word routine is often seen as a negative. It has connotations of being stuck in a rut or not making the most of situations. I can proudly say that I have settled into a routine out here and in now way is that a negative.

I have now been to all my classes. Like I said last time, the Nerd inside me is loving it. I am now not getting lost on campus (pictured below) every time I set foot there. I can see why the university has such a great reputation and I am in no doubts that my year here will be great.





Before I came to Australia I had heard a lot about current Prime Minister Tony Abbott. I had seen the videos of him talking very slowly (below). But I never realised until the last couple of weeks just how lowly he is regarded by his own people. I must stress that the majority of people that I have met since coming here have been young people of a similar age to myself and thus probably not his target audience. Even so it has amazed me that he is the butt of pretty much every joke. If someone is clumsy they are referred to as Abbott, if they are slow they are referred to as Abbott and so on and so on. Often there is no joke, but a minute or so of ranting about him. Politicians have a pretty awful reputation in the UK, especially among younger people. Yet I know people my age who support all of the major parties and like (at least) one of the leaders of these parties. Even Nigel Farage has some followers. I am pretty sure I know why Abbott is regarded the way he is. Like their counterparts in the UK, the Australian government have increase tuition fees. If there is on things that students care about, in terms of politics, it is tuition fees. I will endeavor to find someone (hopefully around the same age as myself) who likes Abbott. I will let you know how I get on.