Rattails, Singlets, and Jhorts Oh My!

Dear Readers,


   The results are in! The voter speaks! And the topic is... "Australian Clothing Style and Culture"!  Too many exclamation points? Yeah, I thought so too.  But, how else can I have you readers start getting involved in my blog considering the voting poll was not the sensation I thought it would be; limited participation between both the Americans, people who should cherish the ability to actively participate , and the Australians, people who are required to vote by their government during elections.  Shucks, but a warm thank you is owed to the whooping 11 votes casted.  Times like these, I need to search within and see what I am doing wrong as a blogger.  I consulted the social media experts Roominate Marketing and the answer may derive from Charlie's most recent blog "Top 10 Social Media Mistakes" for you small businesses out there.  Holla O'Bro's. The mistake I am committing is that I am 'blogging too little' or even more likely, 'not listening' since I have rambled on for a paragraph even mentioning my friend's marketing company instead of blogging about my Australian Chase.  Well let's go, or for you spanish linguists, VAMOS!

    You may wonder why I have a bizarre alteration of "Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My" as the title and I will explain in three words: the Australian Guy.  ->Disclaimer: I am not speaking of all Australian men or even for Australian men outside of the state of Queensland but I am calling how I see it here in Townsville.  I have seen far too many young adult males rocking the rat-tail in the finest way it can be rocked complemented with a graphic singlet or what is known as a tank top.

 

     Whats wrong with a collection of significantly longer hairs hanging off the back of your head? Oh yes, that reminds me, I have seen a few mullets and they are astonishing as always.  The singlet makes sense because the temperature is upwards of 80 degrees Fahrenheit and come on, who doesn't want that singlet tan line? The next piece of clothing is up for a heated debate and it depends on who and when you ask to determine whether this item is acceptable.  Jhorts, for those who do not know, is a colloquial term coined by fashion connoisseurs that capitalize on the smooth nature of this contraction between jeans and shorts.  Background, I wore jhorts for the majority of my adolescence because in Hull they were the bee's knees and I did not know otherwise.  After arriving at Colby College, I soon discovered that jhorts were not socially accepted in the college arena unless you had some city roots or had the style and swagger for them.  However, you can be seen wearing them to a themed party in any of the following categories:  white trash, hoedown, cowboy/cowgirl, or a party that you just don't have the costume for and your go-to are the jhorts.  Or another favorite, as pictured below, you want to cheer on your college athletic team at a sporting event:

    Here in Australia, the jhorts are as common as cargo or plaid shorts seen in suburbia America.  They tend to be much tighter than I would have imagined and they have the length comparable to the Colby kid pictured with the red cowboy hat.  A little different but they sure do love them jhorts.  My Hull Kid does not allow me to hate on the jhorts and in fact, I think they are durable and a comfortable fit but I cannot wear them again due to this mishap.

     Rachel Bellew, Hingham Mite crying above, could not handle the jhorts with the excessively long white football belt.  Most Can't.  There are a variety of differences in the clothing style between Australians and Americans but sure do have similarities.  They are a few more I'd like to mention but I think I will re-visit them in a later blog.  Thanks for reading and post comments or inquire about other differences through the comment box below.


If you wear them, they will cry,

-Alex

Who is a Seppo? And What is a Seppo?

Dear Readers,


            Sorry for my lack of blogs but you'll have to excuse me because I've been up to my neck in work.  Just kidding, I've been lazy.  Seriously, it takes effort to write these blogs because I need to fine-tune my writing to accurately capture my experiences here as well as entertain you, the readers, to accrue a following on this online journal.  I appreciate the positive feedback and I welcome all comments and criticisms.  Away we go:

          After arriving in the Townsville Airport and making way towards James Cook Univ.,  I recounted my adventures in Sydney and tried to convince myself that Australia isn't a figment of my imagination.  I think being home for about two months and the lack of traveling conjured an idea in my head that home wasn't too far away and I'll hop on another plane to head back.  Oops, 10,000 miles away erases that thought.  Time to focus on Australia.  I arrived at my dorm to be greeted by the RA's and let into my suite where I would reside the following four months.  There are three singles inside of this suite with a common room and a shared bathroom/shower.  My two roommates are a girl named Bronte and a guy named Glen, both of which were fossils or returning students.  Yeah, you read that right: a girl roommate.  Guy and girl roommates just seem like a bad idea and I wasn't too pleased about that for some obvious reasons but after meeting her, she seems fun and entertaining.  The only people on campus the first few days were Americans or Aussie students who elected to take an intensive course right before the semester so that left us Americans to entertain ourselves.
        
      Once the Australians started to arrive, campus began to look a bit more lively yet there was a lot of clean up work to be done due to the disastrous effects from Cyclone Yasi.  Uprooted trees and branches lying everywhere:

       Blending with the Aussies is quite the undertaking.  They speak in a quick tongue, shorten most words, and the accent distracts you from actually listening to them.   They have a variety of differences in terms for instance instead of "mandatory", they tend to use "compulsory" or  they'll say "piss" or "grog" as opposed to "alcohol".  It's like the 1800s sometimes.  Many of the differences likely stem from their relationship with Great Britain.  Only speculating here, but Aussies are predisposed to their culture and mannerisms far greater than Americans (we fought for our independence).  However, they have developed their own jargon for sure; another word for an American is a "Seppo".  This is short for septic tank because they feel as though Americans are full of it.  Pshhhh outlandish, I tell them.  Nahh, I suppose there lies a derivation of truth but my American in me refuses to acknowledge it.  They call that a paradox.  Other terms are alluring and I have since tried to incorporate them into my everyday vocabulary.  If you are "keen", then you are excited, stoked, psyched, or down for the aforementioned activity.  Many others are actual words but only shortened yet supplemented with a 'y':  sunglasses are "sunnys" and the city of Brisbane is "Brizzy".  There are copious amounts of derogatory terms but I do not want to ruin your virgin eyes.  Those Aussies have a potty mouth. 

      Integrating with the Aussies became quite easy when everyone's favorite social lubricant is introduced: alcohol.  Turns out alcohol is expensive here and they do not have Natty Light thirty's for 16 dollars.  In fact, a thirty of a decent beer is upwards of 40 dollars and the only American beer I could find, Budweiser, is 55 dollars due to importation.  Luckily for the broke college kids, they have a boxed-wine similar to Franzia (except many more types) for only 9 -15 dollars depending what kind.  As I digress....  Our orientation week at James Cook, or o-week, began with a tremendous showing of a time-honored, college tradition -  a campus-wide TOGA party.  Pretty Epic all around and let's just say the Colby Mules (pictured right Caroline Maguire '12) came to show Aussies a thing or two:

  You may wonder why I have a yellow head band that displays "CHASE ME" on it.  Oh that's because they openly haze here in Australia .. forgot to mention that.  George Roberts, the dorm I live in, gave everyone of their freshmen and new internationals a head band with their name on it and the dorm president elected to write "Chase Me" on mine.  If found without the headband, then the fossils are obliged to write anything on your forehead with a permanent marker.  Luckily this was the only item of hazing I encountered because for one, I am not a fan of being made to do something I don't want to do, and two, I am older than most of the returning students at George Roberts.  Hardly anyone on campus is 21 or has been to college for more than 2 years, both of which I have achieved.  Anyways, when in Rome.  The rest of o-week had themed nights at bars including dressing up in hideous attires; I have never seen so many drag-queens in my day.  Aussie's have some crazy style here.


   That topic would be a great one to explore in a blog or maybe, I should write about my adventures in the o-zone free sun here in Aussieland.  I have a genius/American idea.  You, the readers, can vote for my next topic.  Give me freedom or give me death.  Give the people what they want.


Vote or die,

Cheers,
Alex

Hey, It's a Post About Australia on an Australian Blog

Dear Readers,


       I made it.  Australia seemed so intangible for many cold months at Colby College; stuck in my two doubles a.k.a. forced quad a.k.a the bunkhouse and the boom boom room but I finally made it to the land down under.  I believe when I signed up for Aussieland, there simply was no alternative country I wanted to go to after reading Judy Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day  every miserable day I had when I was a kid.  Summation of the story: Alex sees Australia as an escape from his problems.  Parallels can be drawn with the name, plot and motive.  Colby College, or better yet Waterville, Maine, could not suffice my adventurous ambitions so I decided to take off.  I landed in Sydney after traveling a little over 10,000 miles or, for the rest of the world, 16,000 kilometers from my home land.  We were met by our study abroad advisers and hopped on a bus to the camp ground we were staying at for our "Australian Orientation".  Pictured below are two shots where we were staying.  The first one is a photo taken from atop of a hill near by the dorm and the bottom is the view I had from my backdoor patio. 

    Over the course of three days, I managed to only know around six to eight names of the forty or so people attending the orientation.  Listen, they didn't play any name games and that's where I thrive.  Notwithstanding, I had a lot of fun over those few days.  We all received these pre-paid Noika cellphones to use during our stay here that were easily made in 2002 .  Best features: a flashlight, a converter from the American system to the metric system, and everyone's favorite game Snake.  Not to mention the battery life last for about five days.
   The first full day we were there, it was filled with exotic animals at the Zoo and touring the beautiful city of Sydney.  I don't remember the last time I went to the Zoo but it's a great place, filled with all things that can kill me if I caught them out in the wild.  The kangaroos were pretty hilarious because they all seemed doped up and the photo of the gorilla only strengthens the evolution theory.

    After, the zoo we took a ferry into the city of Sydney where I met this guy.

     Great guy.  We toured the city for a few hours but I became thirsty as did my fellow companions.  We asked a local on the street where the closest bar was to have our first beer in Australia and for many of my amigos, it was their first legal beer.  We wandered for much longer than we should have and I must add we were strictly forbidden to drink any alcohol during this orientation (probably the softest thing I've heard).  To our surprise, we found this gem:

     During the last full day, we went surfing for the majority of it and it was a blast.  I found it quite difficult and only able to stand up twice but I do plan on trying to surf more in Hull because up in Townsville, there is no surf due to the Great Barrier Reef. I guess you trade tit for tat. I was able to call my friend Trevor Jones and Tommy Kimball who were making their long expedition along the coast of Australia lasting nearly a month!  They rented a ridiculous van and started driving from North of Cairns all the way to Sydney.  Little hope existed for us to rendez-vous due to the lack of internet usage at my orientation but because I called home and asked my mom to check my e-mail, I was able see them.
    What an incredible story, three roommates end up in Australia and happen to be in the same place at the same time.  I highly doubt that my study abroad advisers would of allowed me to see my two friends from Colby so I did what any sane American would do: gave my roommate a cover story and took off at the drop of a hat.

     We went to a fancy hotel bar where we had a few beers over their colorful adventures in our new country.  Pretty jealous of what they have experienced in Australia because they had wild stories that are not permissible to be read on this viewer friendly blog.  For dinner, we went to a Thai restaurant in search of some PAD THAI.  A Colby favorite is to eat our weight in pad thai from the infamous Pad Thai 2 located in Waterville.  You wouldn't think that Maine would have the best pad thai but it does.  Believe me, it does.  Our meals were tasty but still short of Pad Thai 2 yet given the proximity of the two countries, I'm sure I can find a place up to par . Tommy and Trevor planned on staying in their ghetto van one last night before the end of their hippie traveling days  and get started on their own orientations however, they did not know that I had an extra bunk bed ready to roll for them back in my room.  I informed my roommate that I had two hippies on their way to stay with us and then proceeded to sneak them in.  They were gone as soon as the sun rose and a few hours later I hopped on a plane to Townsville. And once I walked off that plane,  I will never forget the humidity and heat that slapped me in the face.  Not as welcoming as the air in Sydney.  I guess play time's over. 

Clear eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose.

Cheers,
Alex

First Post and Hopefully Not Last Post

Dear Readers,

        Today, I started my first blog.  Pretty impressive I'd have to say.  I've been in Australia for about a month now and I figured if I hadn't started to write one in the first two weeks, my blogging would cease to exist.  Then, I surprised myself and you the viewers by signing up for yet another Google product.  You're welcome Google you crazy S.O.B. Anyways, maybe more than a week ago, Julia Ingoldsby began to inquire when I was going to finally start one and I gave her a classic vague answer any procrastinator would give to buy some time and that was: "soon".  She asserted she was not going to ask again with hopes of me taking the initiative with her last straw bout.  Little did she know that I have a full list of tasks to accomplish that I told myself I would start "soon" but similar to the blog, those tasks were unfinished or better yet, never started.  Some of these tasks I should have finished the first few days like "Figure out Financials" or "Get Card for Health Insurance" and there are also tasks on there that I'm likely never to do i.e "Buy Textbooks" (sorry mom). Today, I decided to be motivated and I started this blog.  It's more complicated than you think because they provide you with so many options for every setting possible that I actually became sidetracked setting up both a Flickr account and yet another google service- Picasa.  Both are sweet and I suggest either option if you need to organize your photos.

      Starting a blog a month into my expedition is bit of a disadvantage but I'll do my best to remember the highlights.  I decided to stay at my friend Tory Lam's apartment in Boston because my mother would not have to drive me all the way to the airport at 6 a.m and it would have been an easy trip for me in the morning or so I thought.  Eugene, Steve, Tory, James Chin, and I ended up getting hammered into the late hours of the night and before I realized it was 2 a.m.  Tory, being the kind soul he is, offered his 8x6 jail cell of a room to sleep in being the most comfortable sleeping situation.  I couldn't fall asleep because Steve, in his drunken stupor, could not navigate his girlfriend to Tory's house to pick him up.  He started to state the most ridiculous and humorous things that I've since forgotten but after he left, sure enough I caught some shut eye. I thought I was in a nightmare of pain when I finally became aware that Tory's crazy ass alarm clock was going off.  I leaped out of bed in a drunken haze with sheer animosity towards life and turned off the damn alarm clock.  He configured an alarm clock that has a vibrating attachment under his pillow coupled with a screeching noise to ensure his arise out of bed.  I don't understand why Tory needs such a thunderous wake up but no one knows why Tory can't pee without sitting down at age 20.

     I arrived at the Logan, said goodbye to my friends, and away I went into the airport --one of the craziest places.  I walked around hung over and unsure of most decisions I needed to make to board the airplane to L.A.X.  Tory dropped me off at around 5:30 for a flight at 7:15.  He wanted to make sure I wasn't going to miss my plane, God bless his soul, but I had to wait around for so damn long.  Boarding my first plane with Caroline Maguire (a fellow Colby Mule), I was a bit anxious being my first commercial flight and all.  The first feeling off taking lift off the ground is a monumental experience and it's particularly breathtaking.  Don't worry, I had my vomit back ready to roll if that were the circumstance but I was intrigued by flight, almost as a little kid would be.  People take for granted what we have discovered as a human race in the science of flight (thank you Wright brothers).  It is an enormous flying boat in the sky with hundreds of people on it.  Are you kidding me? Incredible stuff.   I touched down in L.A.X and the landing is the more terrifying part because the whole time I am thinking he's going to ride this puppy right into the side of building or another plane.  I discussed with my friend Peter Hortaridis, who lives in Hollywood, that I would visit him given my 13 hour lay-over at the airport.  I took the Metro from L.A.X all the way until Western Hollywood and let me just tell you there are some tough neighborhoods in L.A and saw some hood thugs out there hustling hard.  Some neighborhoods seemed to be in a regressive state but then one stop, the doors opened and there was the Staples Center.  Once I made it to Pete's apt., it was nice seeing how a Hull Kid lives out in Cali.  He is doing well and has great ambition, an admirable feature in any person.  We dined at some fast food place straight out of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and later, we went up the hills of Hollywood and saw the city from a nice peak.  At nightfall, I wished him the best but I needed to catch my flight to my new country for the next four months.  I boarded the plane and sat next to fellow Americans making their voyage to a new home.  We departed L.A.X on Feb. 5th at 11:45 p.m and reached Sydney on the 7th at about 9:30 a.m. We jumped into the FUTURE and I lost a whole day basically.  The flight took about 15 hours and my body started to deteriorate on the inside from all the airplane food.  The quiche was surprisingly tasty but couldn't say the same for the bourbon and Canada dry I ordered at like 3:00 a.m to go with it.  When we stepped off the plane, and I felt the warmth of Aussieland.  Something I will never forget.

Your destiny is in your hands.


Til next time,
Alex Chase