Thursday, Feb. 24
G'Day, mates! Today is the second to last day of orientation week at Whitley College. Yesterday was filled with plenty of competitions including a scavenger hunt through the university, a fashion show and a battle of the sexes. The individual event I did was holding fizzy lemon-flavored stuff mixed with water in my mouth for as long as I could. I didn't win because they sprayed me with a hose and I choked. Other events included passing an orange by chin, hitting leaders with water balloons, Jell-O wrestling and the grossest-trying to answer impossibly difficult questions and having to eat baby octopi if I got one wrong.Friday, Feb. 25
In terms of study habits, Australians are similar to American students. If you are participating in the arts course (akin to liberal arts or the humanities) you tend to have very few assignments, usually only two major papers. You are required to attend a tutorial, which is like a discussion section, and you are supposed to keep up with the weekly readings. People studying science or commerce usually have more frequent, smaller assignments and exams. Just like in the United States, it varies from student to student. While people at my college take their work seriously, they are much more laid back than people at Brandeis. People tend to go out more during the week than I've discovered in my experiences at Brandeis.

Anyway, here is the list of slang words I promised; the Aussie word followed by its American equivalent:
n Bloke: guy
n Sculling: chugging (as in beer)
n Knackered/stuffed: tired
n To pick someone up: hook up with someone
n Dodgy: sketchy
n Jumper: sweater

Sunday, March 6
I just wanted to tell you all about my really awesome weekend trip to the Great Ocean Road. Although the weather wasn't ideal-it was cool and rainy the majority of the time-the ocean drive was breathtaking. The first thing we did was surf. I never managed to stand up fully on the board, but I still had fun. Next, we went to Erskine Falls and walked through the rainforest. The vegetation was lush and beautiful .

Afterwards, we headed to the hostel in Apollo Bay. After having dinner in the small town a bunch of us headed to a local pub. There was this fun band playing covers of old songs by North American artists like Alanis Morissette and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Australians listen to a lot of American music. There are several popular Australian musician, too, like Kylie Minogue and Powderfinger.

Sunday, March 13
My college had what's called a common room dance which is a themed party for everyone in the college (my dorm) with free alcohol. Everyone gets really into it and dresses up. The theme for this dance was what you wanted to be when you grew up. I dressed up as a movie star. There were a lot of fairy princesses and army guys-the best costumes had to be the McDonald's worker and the Hooter's girl.

Yesterday, the boys from my college played in a cricket match against another college. Cricket is kind of like baseball, but much slower and more confusing. We went out to a pub to celebrate the victory. We are all poor college students and alcohol is expensive in Australia. I've basically been drinking cheap wine, beer, vodka and Bacardi Breezers.

Tuesday, Mar. 22
This past Sunday we went to a koala sanctuary. Fun fact: Eucalyptus leaves contain hallucinogens so koalas are permanently stoned. But don't get any ideas, the leaves are poisonous to humans.

Although Australia is very westernized, there are minor differences, mostly in English vernacular, food, drinking culture and social interaction. I have learned to be aware of the unconscious egocentrism that comes with being an American. This was especially pointed out to me during a viewing of Team America: World Police with some Australian friends. Here, I am the one with the accent. The main thing I have gotten out of my experience so far is discovering what it is like to be the foreigner and having to acclimate myself to local culture.