Wen: Australian Things

So, I've compiled a list of "Australian" things that I've seen here.

This drink is called Berocca and apparently it's just a bottle of water, except there's a tablet with vitamins and orange flavoring.  It's carbonated so that when you twist open the bottle, it drops in the water and dissolves.  Pretty cool, I guess.
I haven't seen it before in the US, but maybe I'm just not cool enough to be familiar with all the current drink varieties.










So, Dane and I got take out last night from this place called the Noodle Box.  Apparently it's quite popular with youth and adults here.  I've seen ads for it on TV.  I'd say that it's similar to ummm.... maybe Taco Bell?  But probably like 90% less processed and 99% less carcinogenic.  Oh, this food is also not a laxative.
It's basically noodles stir-fried with meat and "Asian" veggies.  Haha... this little baby, which was probably around a pint, was 8+ dollars. Wtf.. yeah so at home it might be 5+ dollars.  Yes, people, food is much more expensive here.





I also thought I'd talk about the Go Card... just because all students pretty much need one when they get here.  Public transportation is so important.  Of course, I'm not really used to it, because even the hobos of CT have a car... jk.
But, I'm glad they rely so much on public transport!  Not glad that it's $1.30 one way to UQ!
Their buses run on natural gas, so emissions are quite clean and don't eff up the environment.




I'm sure many people have heard of Australian "Vegemite".  It's made by Kraft, with was surprising, because I never see it in the US.  And apparently when it is sold in the US, Kraft takes the logo off.  I now understand why.
I blogged before about it and how it tastes like solid soy and I started gagging... well anyway, it's potent.
It's made from "brewer's yeast extract" so basically all the stuff that was leftover from making beer, they made into Vegemite.  Cool!
Haha... fantastic.  Maybe I will learn to love this stuff.  Probably not.

Wen: Hanging out at home

Wow. so I didn't do much today, just cooked a lot!

  I boiled pasta and made pasta sauce with base, mushrooms, zucchini and chicken.  I think it turned out alright, although I only took a few bites.  The rest went into the freezer.  I did some research online, and apparently there are a great deal of recipes called OAMC which stands for "Once a Month Cooking".  Apparently you just spend a lot of time cooking it and you make a ton and just freeze it all.  Yeah, so that's very convenient.. and I'm not really used to it because at home my mom and dad make all the meals on the spot.

Anyway, Judy made ice-cream this evening with an ice cream maker!  I had never seen one of these before!  It's vanilla flavored, and you can see that the ice cream is about to come out because it has so much air mixed in.  I believe it was made with condensed milk, cream and vanilla flavoring.  Pretty cool.  I tasted some and it was really good!




This Koala bear clip on was something I got from Market Day and it was probably my favorite freebie.

It's super adorable and it clip well.  it's currently on my purse, and I hope I don't lose it!

Apparently it's very Australian, and kids like to clip them to their backpacks or something.  I have the same idea as Australian kids... I think I'm assimilating very well.

Wen: Market Day

Wow, so Market Day was intense.  I took the bus this morning and got there around 10am, and there were already hundreds of people there!

I thought it was going to rain because the forecast predicted it, so I brought my umbrella.  It ended up not raining, so I was cool with that.  I did notice that I got tan, borderline burnt after walking around today.... note to self, use sunscreen!

Anyway, as mentioned before, Market Day was intense... they gave out a great deal of stuff.  Lots of literature and lots of freebies.

I joined Quest today, a group that organizes trips and activities for international students.  I think I see a trip to the zoo in the future!

I also got some hats and some drinks.  One of them being a RedBull shot... not sure if I'll be using that in the future!  Also, one of my favorites is probably the huge bumper sticker that says "Caution, driver may be nude".  Very funny.

I also got an assignment pad, which is called a diary here.  Since travel is so long and I don't want to be hauling my heavy laptop around, I think I will have to rely on the diary to remember things etc.  I've been out of practice with using one of these though!

Wen: Mosquito Bites

Wow.  I have like five mosquito bites on my legs from the BBQ and I want to scratch like no other. I've found that Australian mosquitoes have a bite that not only itches but also hurts.  I have to remember to wear long pants if near tall grasses or to apply repellent.  This is sooo uncomfortable!  Well anyway, I'm off to Market Day! 

Wen: Dinner attempt #3

Wow, I've become so self sufficient it's ridiculous. Just kidding, but I am pretty proud of the fact that this is dinner #3... the third of many dinners I will be cooking for myself.

I can't believe how much I've learned about living on my own since coming here! Less than a week ago, I didn't even know how to stir-fry, now I'm making random concoctions that I think are taste pretty delicious!

Judy showed me how to cook rice tonight and that was so helpful! I'm going to end up cooking rice then freezing small portions. This way, I won't have to keep going back to boiling rice etc.

I cubed the chicken (which was previously frozen) and browned it in the pan, making sure to add some water so the chicken breast (which I bought on sale) wouldn't dry out. Then I put it aside in the bowl. Next was the garlic, then the 1/3 of a tomato then the diced up red bell pepper, which is called "Capsicum" (more accurate scientific name) here and sauteed it for a few minutes. Then I added the chicken and "voila"!

As I write this blog post, I am eating this delicious dish. Yeah, so nice balance of carbs and protein! It takes a while, but it's so good... and healthy!

Enough about food. So, I went to UQ today to get my schedule sorted out. I took the bus this afternoon and the bus driver seemed okay. But on the return trip, the bus driver was sort of nasty and rude. So, I've realized that Australians fall on two ends of the spectrum... either they're really nice and friendly or they seem to be pissed at you. Anyway, I went to get my classes straightened out but maybe I'm used to being at UConn where they hand everything to you, but I felt like I was really lost! Hopefully I've figured everything out for Monday.

In the meantime, I'm excited for tomorrow's Market Day, which is like UConn's Activities fair for campus clubs and organizations. Hopefully I can meet more people!

Wen: Conclusion of First Orientation Day

This was a big lizard at the UQ Lake... it was pretty cool looking so I decided to take a picture. 













There was a huge spider web in the tree... one probably can't tell because the picture is so small, but trust me, it was a big spider web.  Also that little dot in the middle of the blue sky is not a blemish on your screen, it is, in fact, a spider!







Here's a cool action shot I took on the bus ride home.  Yes, to all of you who have not experienced driving on the left side of the road, I can tell you it's weird at first.  Also, I sort of think Australians drive pretty quickly for such hilly and curvy terrain!








So, I go to take a shower tonight and I come back into my room and find A HUGE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER!
Jk, because it's actually plastic and was placed on my UConn T by none other than Dane.  Good one... because I did mention that I was concerned about deadly Australia spiders (among other deadly Australian creatures).  I guess this goes along with what we learned about Australians today in Orientation.  If you don't like it, and they know you don't... DON'T SAY ANYTHING!


Lol, good laugh.  I definitely think the crash course to Australian culture was very useful and very funny.  I like the intro to Australian sweets, although I will try to avoid delicious Tim Tams and those coconut things that I can't remember the name of.  I'm gonna try to learn the perfect mimic of an Australian accent.  Dane thinks I'm crazy, but it's gonna happen... for sure.

Wen: The Lake Continued

A lizard... they just randomly chill anywhere... very cool.












Bam... here's a turtle AND a pelican for you. Yeah, the pelican is cool looking, apparently they're actually quite large. I also saw it eating fish before, but unfortunately my camera retrevial instincts are not well refined.










This bird was cool looking because it was jet black, had a beautiful midnight blue breast and had a scarlet red head.











Wow, turtles AND eels?!?? I know, it's amazing. The turtles were pretty interesting. Apparently some have tracking devices on their backs!