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.