Newsletter 3: Classes, Australians, and Slang
August 25, 1999

Hi there! This is going to be a short newsletter because I really don't
have that much new to report, but I figured it was about time for
another one, so here it goes. Life over here still is wonderful, in
fact, I couldn't be happier really. Life in my dorm is great and
everyone gets along just great. Our dorm does fun bonding things like
have a great Aussie BBQ in which everyone goes out and does silly relay
games and just fun stuff like that. It was a lot of fun and a great way
to meet even more people that live in my college.

Classes are still going well although my marine biology class stresses
me out a little because it seems like so much of my grade is based on
drawing and I'm just not that good at it!! Some of my labs here seem
absolutly pointless and I can't see the point in them having them excpet
for the fact that they have to have lab for that class. They just
really kind of put you on your own in your classes and don't give you an
assigned reading list or anything. The work you do you have to create
and do yourself without anyone telling you what to do. It takes a
little getting used to, but at the same time I kind of like it because
it makes life a little less stressful.

I've been hanging out with Australians a lot more and it's been a lot of
fun and an interesting and entertaining experience! For instance the
other night I went out with my tutor and some people from my college out
to dinner. I was the only American....it was a cool experience although
I did feel a little left out because I didn't understand a lot of the
Australia stuff they were talking about, but I had a lot of fun. We
went to a seafood buffet and it was an interesting experience. They
serve their seafood cold here. Not a single thing was warm! It was a
little odd. I tried prawns and they tasted more like crawfish than
shrimp. I also tried what they call bugs which look like smaller
lobsters but it tasted too fishy for my liking. I also tried octopus,
but found it to be way too squishy for me and I don't plan on trying
that ever again! It was gross!! That night we also went to the casino
and it was fun because I'd never been in a casino before. I couldn't
believe how much money some people were gambling with. One guy on a
table we were on won over $400 one time! It was crazy!

An interesting side note, I've been talking with Australians a lot
lately and we've been talking about differences in slang and what we
don't understand about each others things. One of the main differences
that each culture has problems with is greetings to each other. For
instance, here when Australians see you they say "Hey hows you going?".
For us it sounds like where are you going so it was a little confusing
the first time I heard it because I didn't quite know how to respond.
But, what's funny is that the Australians get so confused when the
Americans say to them "What's up?" They just have no idea how to
answer! I though that was so funny when I had a girl on my hall ask me
about that because she wanted to know what she was supposed to say in
return!

Well, I really don't have much else to say except of course for I guess
what is my biggest news of all. This may surprise some of you, but to
others it was expected but.....I'm seeing an Australian boy over here.
It hasn't been that long, just since Sunday, but I'm really happy about
it. He's really cute and really sweet and that's just about it!:-)

Well, that's all I have to say for now, but don't worry, I'll be back in
another 2 weeks. I hope to hear from all of you before now! Talk to
you later!:-)

Love, Michelle