The Beginning
It’s my dream to turn this blog into a book but I’ve long struggled with a beginning. As I’ve laid here tonight, stressing over my midterms in organic chemistry, biology and South Asia studies, I began facebooking my guide from the Red Center, Kate. That inspired me to read my Enter the Red Center post, which got me thinking about the blog and wishing I had time to finish it. Laying in bed at 2:00am spawned this. I think I like it.
“There you go,” the driver grunted, handing me my luggage. “Follow this pathway around the corner, take a left up the steps. Your doorway is the third on your right. Take the stairs to the top, apartment 61. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No, I think I got it,” I muttered exhaustedly. I thanked him and he drove off.
I started rounding the pathway, stopped to look about and was hit with a 100-lb ball of reality to the chest. It was as though I was watching myself on a camera. It slowly began to zoom out, picking up speed. First a view of myself slumped over my luggage, then the apartment complex, the suburb of Marsfield, then city of Sydney, and finally Australia as a whole. I started to feel the 7500 miles of ocean between myself and those I loved-heck, those I knew.
Goodbye
Less than an hour ago I said goodbye to Reese, and just a handful of hours ago I hung out with Kel for the last time (for a while). Later on tonight I’m heading to my final game of Ultimate.
Today was a good day, full of weighty goodbyes that set a slightly somber tone. I met Kel at the Mac Centre, as she was shopping for a few books for her trip to America. It was a most unceremonious goodbye; she rushed for the train, gave me a wonderful hug, too quick for emotion, and hopped on the carriage. She remarked that I would see her soon, and I believe her. I waved at her as the train lumbered out of the station, but she missed it, gazing at the floor as she rummaged through her things.
On the heels of her departure I caught a train to Epping, where I met up with Reese and his friend (now mine as well) Andy. They both ride trials, a bike riding sport that involves ‘navigating man-made and natural obstacles’ using only the tires of the bike. Reese wanted to get one last ride in before heading off to America tomorrow, and as time was running out for us to chill, invited me along.
He brought a bike along for me, and after departing the busy train station lugging that beast around, we road along the busy sidewalks, weaving in and out of business men and tourists alike. Over the Anzac Bridge, down into beautiful, clean Darling Harbour under a blazing sun, stupefying the notion that it was winter. The guys messed around on some concrete blocks, then proceeded to a wonderful area full of flowing water and fountains that they were promptly asked to vacate.
We ditched Darling Harbor for a park near Hyde Park, a ‘water garden’ beneath the spires of St. Mary’s Cathedral. Reese was determined to drop from a 15-foot rock fountain onto a metal electrical box, but due to the fact he was flying out to America the next day, smartly decided against it. We grabbed slurpees, then elbowed and pushed our way onto a train carriage at peak hour, bikes and all. I had a man pinned to the wall with my handle bars, it was quite the awkward experience.
The carriage began to thin out as we got further and further from the city. It was difficult to comprehend that this would be the last time I would be seeing Reese for an indefinite amount of time. As the train lumbered to a stop at the Eastwood Station, I knew I had less than five minutes remaining. Standing up, I reached out to Reese, shaking his hand. I thanked him for showing me around Sydney and all he had done for me. Then, reaching Epping, I gave a half-wave and disembarked, the train leaving me behind. And that’s my last memory of Reese Toase.
–ζ——δ——ζ–
These two people, Kel and Reese, were absolutely instrumental in my happiness and broad range of experiences in Australia. I met a multitude of friends through them both, and they led me on many wonderful escapades. They helped me achieve my true goal of this experience-assimilating with Australian culture.
Homecoming
Tonight is my last night in Australia. I’m all out of my room, with all my stuff in a corner. My flight takes off tomorrow at 2:45pm on July 10th, and arrives in Eugene, Oregon at 2:45pm on July 10th. No joke. Tonight should be chill, after last night: a chill free dinner with Ashleigh, then going to a little party at a gallery in Newtown.
Last night was a doozy. Tiger held a little going-away party at his place in Newport. Way too much alcohol and a crazy drinking game that I lost, but good people…great people. I’m going to miss them all. Ugh, and I missed Mona today, no face-to-face goodbye…
Ok, here’s a NOTE-
The blog will not end when I get back in Eugene. I have many things to write about that I haven’t had time to finish…trip to Melbourne, goodbyes, hang out at Reese’s, and a few others. Also, I’m kinda serious about putting together a photo/blog book with big glossy pictures and a few stories. I don’t know where that will go, but you should always dream. Alright, this is my last physical post from Australia (though I have many partial posts that I will finish when in Eugene.) Alright, I don’t really know how to sign off here from Australia for the last time…so here’s my usual…
I’m OUT
…
This blog needs to turn away a bit from the whole ‘Travel Log’ thing that it has become. Those posts take me so long and consume me; it keeps me from writing anything else. At the moment I’m sitting on the couch in a quiet, sterile apartment, my head in a haze from over-sleeping and under-exercising. Finals are coming up for me and I literally haven’t gotten as far as checking the due date of my first paper, which is either this Monday or the next. When studying is on my plate, inevitably depression is as well. Studying feels like such a waste to me. I know, that’s such a teenage-angsty way to look at it, but it really feels that way. Jumping through these irrelevant hoops just seems ridiculously trivial, and just acts as a catalyst to plummet my seemingly-fragile wellbeing.
Also constantly on my plate and mind is the reality that I will soon be leaving the dear and close friends that I have made here. For some reason I never thought I would form such incredibly intense bonds during this time, but for some reason inexplicable to me I have. They are like brothers, sisters, and my roommates aunts, uncles, even parental figures. The thought of never seeing many of these people ever again is one that I cannot grasp, but one that rationally I know is based in fact. I will see many of these people again, but many others, I know, will only remain a memory.
I haven’t seen Mona in two weeks due to school sputtering to a halt. Reese and I see each other sparingly, and a few days that we had been talking about spending at his place before he flew to America in late June now seem like they might not come to fruition. I haven’t seen Dulce in a while, and Ryan and I are for some reason relegated only to conversing around class periods. It is as if the transition has already begun.
However, thankfully but also prospectively painfully I have made two new friends, or rather gotten closer to previous acquaintances: Ashleigh, a close friend of Reese’s, and Kel, a friend from frisbee. Ashleigh and I have been hanging out pleasantly frequently in the past two weeks, taking in Angels and Demons and going to the city for an art exhibition, among other things. Kel and I have been hanging out between and after school, and she’s been planning on taking me on a bush walk and a tour of a few northern beaches. Why these relationships had to begin a month before I was to leave the country I will forever be curious of.
People ask me if I’m excited to go home, and its a question that can’t really be answered by a simple, ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I’m excited to get back to see the friends and family that I’ve desperately missed, to congratulate and rejoice with a future cousin and meet my new ‘nephew’. I’m excited to move back in with the BUX307 boys and virtually live with the Corvallis girls again. I’m excited to talk and take in football and basketball with Dad, and help Mom in the garden. I can’t wait to cuddle Charlie and be enthralled with his exploratory personality. And I have wildly missed the family parties and gatherings, a place where I can truly be at ease.
All of this comes, however, with the trading in of my present life, the life that I have come to form here in Sydney. I feel as though I have swashbuckled my way into these people’s lives, and I will soon swing back out, leaving a hole of ‘what once was’. And along with me leaving a hole, they will keep parts of me, an act that will undoubtedly force me to return and continue to carry on with people who at this point, and undoubtedly more intensely in the future, seem like dreams, a reality that just could not, cannot be true.
In short, I’m excited to go back, yes. I’m excited for the friends and family and comfort of home, but I’m not excited for the monotonous life that I fear will resume mere months after I land in Eugene. And I fear going back because I fear that I may not return whole, that I’ll be caught between this dream I’ve been living these past four months and the reality that is Oregon.
This post was supposed to help me get everything out there, all on the table, and make me feel better. It’s just left me more unsettled than before. Oh, and I’m sure it will just read like a bunch of melodramatic crap that some whiny twerp sitting in his apartment in Sydney threw together in a desperate attempt at attention. But it’s what’s inside of me. Take it or leave it.
A Night with the Socceroos
The major post previous to this, titled “An Unexpected Relationship” has raised an unexpected amount of emotion and comments/feedback from (wow, how pompous is this gonna sound) my readers. It caused pain for a couple of people whom I care deeply about, and that was the absolute last thing I wanted to do. My ignorance in all of this was that by being open the only person that could be hurt would be me; I forgot how all of our lives weave and intersect with each other. I apologize to those people I hurt.
Also, one of the most common questions I’ve received is, “So what did that girl think when she read your blog?” I just kind of chuckle at that and feel a tinge of frustration at people’s assumptions of me. The subject of that blog post proofread that post before it was made public, and I made sure to have her permission about posting it before it went public. It may sound weird to most, but that’s just how our friendship is, incredibly open.
I’m not going to change the way I write because of the fallout I received from that last post. It seems as though that would be…lying to myself, compromising myself. I cannot do that. I will not do that. And I don’t think I need to do that. Just know that from here on out I am going to continue to be open, but I NEVER EVER intend on hurting anyone. This is somewhat of a flaw of mine, if it can even be called such. If I think I have hurt somebody, I feel terrible about it until I feel I have rectified it. Which is why I had a half-hour phone conversation with one of the persons I hurt, as well as an internet conversation with another. Please know my motives are not negative in any way, and if I hurt anyone in the future it is due almost undoubtedly to ignorance.
Alright, now read on to some light-hearted recollections. Below is one of my proudest blog posts to date. Enjoy!
School on Wednesday was a routine day with Bio lab for four hours with my friends Ann, Mina, Derrick and Reese. The only difference was that Mina and I were yelled at by the instructor for talking as we came in late from break. I believe her exact words were “Shut up. Just SHUT UP and SIT DOWN” yelled in the most exasperated, Eastern-European-tinged voice possible. Ugh, slightly embarrassing. But we are known as the “loud” table, so it wasn’t all that surprising. Following that was GEO 262-Australians and their Environment; a class that I attempt to stay awake in, but it seems as though this becomes more difficult as the weeks pass by. On Wednesdays I have a tutorial (recitation) followed by a lecture in that class.
It had rained on and off and was powerfully and ominously overcast. Towards the end of the school day, however, it seemed as though the sun was attempting to poke through. This greatly excited me, and is yet another piece of evidence of God’s existence; it was, of course, the day of the Australia-Uzbekistan World Cup Qualifier game at Stadium Australia, the Olympic Stadium! I didn’t know it at the time, but this was a HUGE game for the Socceroos. If they won and the Bahrain v. Qatar game the following morning resulted in a draw, Australia would be the first team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
After my GEO lecture I raced back to the apartment to get ready. I had bought tickets for two friends, Ryan Priest (from now on referenced as “RP”) from Chicago and Ryan Doucette (referenced as “RD”) from Wisconsin. I took a power nap and waited for a call from RP letting me know that RD had arrived at his apartment. I received the text much later than I had hoped, at around 6:00. The game started at 8:00pm, and I had hoped to leave at around 5:30. It takes about an hour to get to the Olympic Park, so that would have given us some time to chill and casually get some food. Whatever. I met them at the station around 6:20 or so.
I love RP and RD. I’ve talked about RP before, he’s the first guy I met and actually had a legitimate conversation with here in Australia. We became friends from day one. RD is in our group of American friends as well, and he is on the Macquarie soccer team. It was good having him at the game in case I had any questions. (That’s of course in addition to his coolness…haha.) We had gone out the night before to see Watchmen, a ridiculous movie, but still my first movie in Australia. It was a surprise for me to be invited because they had been doing things without me, so that helped my confidence a bit.
Man where we pumped! We took group pictures at every train station.
Train Station 1
Train Station 2
Our excitement level seemed to increase at the same level as the Australia Socceroos fans that we came upon; at each stop the throngs of yellow-wearing ‘roo faithfuls increased exponentially.
We had a lot of fun on the train, let me tell you! We made fun of one another, and I made myself look somewhat like a racist pig, much to the delight of the Ryans. To explain this I first have to give you some back-story. This past week I was hanging out with Mona (like always 
), and I met two of her guy friends from her high school. I hadn’t shaved in maybe a week or a week and a half, so I was kinda hairy/dark in the face. (Oh, guys, I’m starting to be able to connect my chin and jaw facial hair with my mustache! THIS IS HUGE!) We were talking about gangs or something in America, and one of the guys jokingly asked me if I was in a Hispanic gang. I’ve gotten this before; apparently I look Hispanic when I don’t shave for a while. Now, this frustrates me, but not because I don’t like Hispanics. It frustrates me because I am proud of my heritage and my ethnicity, and I don’t like being misrepresented. I don’t know…is that racist? I also find it funny.
So I was on the train recounting this story and talking about how people think I’m Hispanic when I don’t shave. I thought they’d find it funny, which RP did. But RD saw who was sitting next to me, and just said, “Peter!” kinda motioning to stop talking. I didn’t care, and kept on with the story, until he kinda made me feel stupid and I stopped. I looked over my shoulder and saw a group of Hispanic young men. Wow. Felt like an idiot. But was I being racist? It was a bit awkward as we disembarked, although they didn’t look at me weird or say anything. We had a bunch of laughs later about it though…
We finally arrived at the Olympic Park Station and followed the sea of yellow, coming upon Stadium Australia.
Olympic Park Station
We snapped a few photos and walked around a bit. At this time it was a 7:20 or so. It was a carnival-like atmosphere, only saturated with alcohol. Mardi Gras is a good way to describe it, sans flashing. Many food stands were set up, the night clubs were blaring music, a live band was playing, and people were EVERYWHERE. I would come to learn later that there were 67,000 of us there…whew!
The throngs of fans with the stadium in the background.
We headed over to get some Makkie’s (McDonald’s) but the line was literally 100 feet or so long. We high-tailed it back to a burger place we had come across earlier, which was much less crowded. It was at that point, running through the park to the burger place, that it began to rain. Well, rain is a bit of an understatement. Thirty seconds in this rain left parts of my jeans wet all the way through. UGH. So much for the rain holding off!
The burger I had was epic, let me tell you. An Australian beef pattie with fried egg, beetroot, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and I think bacon if I’m not mistaken. And hot chips of course. We hurried through our burgers, but at one point we just resigned to being late to the game and decided to enjoy our meals. However, when we neared the end of our massive burger-consumption experience we realized that it was 7:51pm and we might actually be able to make it to the stadium on time. We finished and began to jog towards the stadium.
Cheers began to emanate from the stadium so the jog turned into a sprint through the ever-increasing rain. We made our way through the turnstiles and RD exclaimed, “This is us! 123!” We were on the ground level, which surprised me. I thought we had good seats, but not THIS good! It was comparable to going to a Blazer’s game and sitting three or four rows back; we were about 50 feet from the beginning of the field, in the corner. Best seats in the house. And for $44AUD apiece!
This is how close we were. That's my knee on the right...
We arrived just in time for the national anthems. What an atmosphere, people all jacked up and excited to see their teams play. The rain ceased as if on cue, and we took in the scene that was about to consume us.
The Crew. Ryan Priest, Ryan Doucette and myself
I just kind of sat there in wonderment and amazement throughout the game. The highest level of soccer I’d seen was college women’s, and I’ve been watching the World Cup additively the past two tournaments. To see players of this caliber (even though they weren’t European or South American) was just incredible.
Also, the crowd fascinated me. I kept on coming back to the metaphor of the crowd as an organism; an amoeba that encircled the playing field. You could hear it collectively get restless, excited, frustrated, and angry. When the excitement rose it literally felt like water gathering to form a tsunami; it kept on getting bigger and bigger, louder and louder, and when the first goal was scored it was as if the tsunami had made landfall. You could almost feel it breathe…it was amazing.
This video is from the second half, but illustrates pretty well what I’m trying to describe…
The first half ended scoreless. We were pretty jacked up, and there were some close calls, but the Socceroos were attacking the goal opposite to us so we knew the best was yet to come. I ran outside into the concession area trying to beat the crowd, and came upon the memorabilia store. Those who know me know that I love to buy memorabilia at special events such as these; for some reason I feel like it will legitimize the experience and memory even more if I have something that I can look at that reminds me of the event. I know this is flawed thinking, but it’s how I am.
I bought a cool Socceroos flag attached to a pole to wave around (for only $15!!!), as well as a special gift for someone who doesn’t yet exist. (So, if you exist, I’m sorry…) I really was looking for a scarf but they were sold out at the two locations I checked. Oh well, if I see them play Bahrain June 10th I’ll have one before then.
I made my way back to my seat a tad late, again missing the Socceroos come out of the tunnel. Whatever. Turns out that both Ryans had decided to get the large Soccerroo flags. Pretty funny! The rain started to pick up again, so RD broke his out and we used it as a shield. Not that it helped, being made out of cheep nylon. But it was fun anyway, draping ourselves in the Socceroos’ flag.
The ‘roos kept on getting closer to scoring with each passing minute. It seemed as though they kept sophomoric-ally screwing up on their attacks, frustrating the crowd to no end. They got a few corners, which was incredibly exciting. It was on our side, and as we were next to the crazy cheering section the place just went wild. Everyone stood up and got loud and cheered, then held their collective breaths. When the attack went awry the previously-described amoeba let out a short scream/whimper of pain and took its seat at once.
The first goal came off a cross, a header by a streaking forward who entered the game a mere few minutes previous to his heroics. (I’m such a newbie with soccer that I actually had to google “soccer positions” to come up with ‘forward’…) Man was it tight! I think I might have been caught behind the camera for that one, maybe not. It was just kind of a blur. The place erupted with cheers, and the forward ran to our corner, in front of us, and wiped off the rain/sweat from his brow with the corner flag.
Thanks to Ryan Doucette for the photo.
Thanks to Ryan Doucette for the photo.
We all yelled in ecstasy, maniacally waving our flags. It was my first legit, high-level goal, and man was it memorable. So much fun. To be a part of a crowd erupting with such glee and euphoria was intoxicating. What a moment!
I know, ridiculous. It was such an incredible moment!
Seven minutes later Uzbekistan committed a foul in the box, yielding a penalty kick for Australia. And, in turn, another goal. Do you guys think it was a foul? RD, whose playing soccer for Macquarie, said it was a bogus call…check it out below.
Setting up for the penalty. Thanks to Ryan Doucette for the photo.
After this it was pretty much game over. There were a few scares from Uzbekistan, but as the game entered its 90th minute all was joyous. We left about two minutes early, something that I regret. I really wanted to see the Aussies celebrate their victory and erupt into chaos, but we had to get to the train station before the other 66,999.
As we exited the stadium the downpour began. The weather was quite amazing during the game itself. We were so close to the field that we weren’t under the cover, so it could have been miserable. The soccer gods kept us dry, though, and there were only a few instances of rain, which we somewhat joyously endured; it added to the atmosphere! (And gave us a reason to cover ourselves with the Socceroo flag!) It was as though water was sloshing out of a cistern, and at the end of the game it was overturned. (Too much of a metaphor? haha.) It was somewhat comical to see thousands of people reach for their hoods/parkas at exactly the same time. How lucky we were to have the weather behave! It was probably 68º throughout the match. Perfect.
I sound EXACTLY like my dad on this. EXACTLY! It’s kinda eerie…
We began to sprint through the rain, only stopping to take a few pictures of ourselves with our flags. As I ran I held the flag up, as if I was running to claim land for the motherland. I felt like such an Aussie!
After a little while we figured out we were running the wrong way. What a bummer that was! We left early for no reason!!!
Anyway, after about half an hour we finally pushed our way onto a train, made it back to Strathfield, then took the train to our pseudo-home base of Epping Station. We waited for a bus there, all the while joking about a certain person’s flatulence on the train, my ridiculous Hispanic story, RP looking like a gangster in one of our group pictures, and RP mistakenly refusing a guy a dollar that he actually had, even though our ticket got us free transportation. (Had to have been there. We were giddy and all that was absolutely hilarious.) The night turned out to really be a good bonding time for all of us, it was wonderful. I’m looking forward to doing more stuff with them in the future. I departed the train at my stop, entered the apartment, conversed with Vasya about the game, and proceeded to end my magnificent night.
This has nothing to do with the night, but it’s interesting. For the Easter Break RD and RP have rented an RV and are driving through New Zealand by themselves with three other guys. They are going to a place they’ve never been, driving on the other side of the road, and have no plans for food. And man, I wish I was doing it with them! It was disappointing to not be invited, but I think it was a spur-of-the-moment thing with other friends. And it wouldn’t have worked out anyway because my parents are coming and I want to show them around SYD. Anyway, thought that was quite intriguing. What memories they’ll make!
Just a quick note…Bahrain did defeat Qatar 1-0, so the Socceroos have not officially qualified for the World Cup. They need one more point. The day after this game I got tickets, along with Vasya and Heat, to the game versus Bahrain on June 10th. I am so pumped for it! Now I HAVE to get a scarf!
Classes
Well, today I moved completely out of the Corvallis apt, so glad about that. I’m gonna miss the guys a lot, but that was a TERRIBLE apt, a freakin’ damp and dark cave.
Alright, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about what classes I’m gonna be taking in AUS, so here they are…
PHIL137: Critical Thinking |
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This unit aims to teach the fundamentals of critical thinking and reasoning. Students will learn how to construct, analyse and critically evaluate arguments, how to detect common fallacies in reasoning, and how to think both logically and creatively. We teach these skills by way of looking at arguments from business, law, science, politics, philosophy and articles from newspapers and journals. These sorts of critical thinking skills are an invaluable background, not just for those working in philosophy and the humanities, but for students in any area.
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