Yes, both of these things happened. Let’s start with my falling out with nature. Literally.
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| peace love and rock scrambling |
So two weekends ago I went up to the Cathedral Ranges with the Melbourne Mountaineering Club for a camping trip. It was probably a little over two hours away and we drove through wine country on the way up. I was very tempted to stop, but I wasn’t the one driving (like hey, who needs hiking when we can go drink wine?). We stopped at some sketch diner on the way up for dinner and ordered hamburgers, to which Rose and I had to ask “What is your burger made of?” We’ve had too many scary experiences. The woman’s response was, “Um. Cow.” Better safe than sorry! The burger came with a giant slab of beet on it, which I thought was going to be really weird, but was quite nice. By the time we got to the park it was getting dark out, and by the time I helped Rose set up her tent it was pitch black out and I was really wishing I had invested in a higher quality flashlight than my $6 Big W purchase. I was staying in a tent with Kiran who goes to SC and a 30 –year-old random woman who offered us spots in her tent at the trip meeting. There are a lot of older people in the clubs on campus, it makes no sense to me, but I would say this trip was about half undergrad students, half “other.” I got her age out of her on the last day when we were packing up the tent because I told her my 21st was the following weekend and she started talking about her 21st, then her 25th…and I said “Oh, was that last year?” Her reply was, “You’re sweet.” Then it took her a strangely long time to calculate in her head that “that was five years ago.” Bingo! 30. Anyway, the first night we star gazed and had a bon fire and hung out and it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed my first camping experience. Minus what happened the next day.
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| Scene of the crime |
The club was running three activities that weekend: bushwalking, rock climbing and kayaking. Everyone was supposed to have a chance to do each of these, but since the trip was changed up at the last minute, something went wrong and they didn’t have enough kayaks and they wanted to try to get people to not kayak. So they planned an all-day bushwalk for Saturday, which I signed up for. After hearing Rose’s kayaking horror story from the weekend before, I was okay with skipping out. Well, this was supposed to be a “beginners” mountaineering trip. These people are intense. We all were joking that this was no bushwalk. It was a bushSPRINT. They were actually running up this craggy mountain, and the rock wasn’t exactly completely stable. We also legitimately rock climbed at one point, and then “rock scrambled” a ton. About an hour and a half into this, I was enjoying myself, I was at the front taking breaks and waiting for people to catch up, feeling pretty full of myself and my hiking abilities. Then, while rock scrambling, still not sure of the exact details, but I was suddenly free falling. Okay, I probably only fell for like a nano second, but I feel like I somehow had the capability to think all of these things: “Shit. Just don’t hit a bunch of rocks on the way down. Do not break your neck. Wait, I better not die a WEEK before I turn 21. That would suck.” I do not know the exact details of how I fell or how far, it all happened so fast. Obviously it wasn’t too far or I wouldn’t be alive, but it was still terrifying. I just remember opening my eyes being like “Wait. I am alive? Nothing’s broken? Cool!” Then I sprang up and said “I’m good!” I think the leaders took this a little too seriously because they looked at me and saw I was barely bleeding and then kept walking. I was like wait a minute. I just fell off a ledge onto a slab of rock onto my butt, which I have to keep sitting on to propel myself off rocks. This does not feel good. These fools did not stop for anything though. We stopped for lunch maybe twenty minutes later, during which time I pulled up my leggings and found a giant gash that had already clotted itself (sorry for the pleasantry). I busted out this really ghetto first aid kit I bought but all the bandages just kept falling off. After lunch, I slowly but surely drifted to the back of the line, struggling quite a bit. The problem is the people at the front take breaks until the stragglers catch up, and then it’s off again. So when I caught up, there was no break. Finally I made this girl stay back with me because I was like “Hey. I just fell off of a mountain. Can I take a break for five seconds?” Did not actually say that, but my god these people had no sympathy. Hardcore. I made it down the mountain again, but was paranoid from there on out with each step. Not the most fun I’ve ever had on a hike. I was pretty bruised up on my shins, ankles, and butt, and have some scary scabs still, but it could have been much, much worse. I was very lucky! I was scared to tell my parents about this incident. My mom of course was freaked out. My dad’s reaction: “Now you have a story for your blog!”
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| fireside chats |
That night we had a huge bonfire and drank some goon and hung out. I actually sat in one chair in front of the fire without moving for about two hours. It was so fun though! Love the bonfires. We tried to roast marshmallows, but they taste freaky here, so instead we had a marshmallow fight. And they have no idea what s’mores are. A true travesty. I met so many cool people that weekend, but don’t know if I will be mountaineering again any time soon. My tail bone is still too mad at me.
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| please note my face |
The following day I went with the rock climbing group and attempted to climb, but my legs hurt like hell and I got stuck straddling this rock that was jutting out and I could not figure out for the life of me how to get over it. So of course I blamed it on the fact that I was injured. I took lots of photos of other peoples’ triumphs though! It was a good weekend, minus the one small detail.
Last weekend was the moment we’ve all been waiting for: I turned 21! FINALLY. It was always so awkward calling up restaurants to see if under 21’s were allowed in after a certain hour so I could go to dinner with my sister. My god. Now I can go wherever I want woo! And I am most looking forward to sangria Sundays at Postino this summer. Mmm.
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| puggs night |
The weekend started off Thursday with a trip to Pugg’s. It was actually pretty dead, but we sat in front of the cover singer who is there every Thursday and rocked out. He sings Mumford and Sons and acoustic versions of songs like “Forget You” (except uncensored…). The only problem is, he sings the same songs every week. So, there comes a time when we start yelling out requests. But he uncomfortably ignores them. Still, it was a fun, low key night! And I got a $5 cider so I was happy.
Friday night I went to my first footy game, St. Kilda vs Richmond. MUSEX hosted it as an event, so a ton of exchange students went. It was only $13 for a student ticket, and I really enjoyed myself! I haven’t picked my “team” yet, but decided I was going to “barrack” (never say root here, means something inapprops) for Richmond during that game because I liked their theme song the best. All the teams have these old fashioned songs they play before the games start, but St. Kilda’s was just “When the Saints Come Marching In.” So not as cool as “Tiger Man” or “Tiger Land.” I actually can’t tell what the song says, but take a listen.
At first I had no idea what was going on, but I figured it out really quickly and it turned out to be a very exciting game. One of my friends went the week before and told me that the final score was separated by about twenty points and that was supposedly a close game. Well this game was back and forth within a few points the whole time, and ended up being a tie! They don’t do overtime here, so no one wins. It’s kind of unsettling. Afterwards we tried to go to 90’s night at Perseverance as a group, but it didn’t really work out. I got in with a few friends, but it was overcrowded as usual.
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| dinner at campari house |
Saturday was not actually my real birthday (which was a confusing situation altogether…since I was born in the U.S. I guess I technically wasn’t twenty-one until it was April 3rd in the U.S…), but that was when the funtivities went down. Anyway I didn’t really have a plan of what I wanted to do until that afternoon. I found a restaurant and club online. For the clubs you can create an online “guest list” that allows you and your friends to get special cover charge deals. So I did that. I went out to dinner with some friends at a place called Campari House down one of the laneways. We had a very early dinner, so we ended up being the only people in the restaurant, but that was okay. I ordered myself a fancy schmancy cocktail to kick off the evening. Everyone pretty much ordered pizza, which is what I should have done, but I decided to go all out and order a pork loin (pork slut!). Should have gone with the pizzas, they looked amazing. Next time. Then we walked down the rest of the laneway (Hardware Lane) and passed all these cute restaurants that were way more poppin’. Oops. Well, now I know where to go for food!
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| dear mom and dad, now you know why there were so many champagne bottles on my desk when we were skyping |
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| birthday princess |
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| at loft (the club) |
We went back and had a little celebration in my room. Who knew this little baby could fit so many people! I wound up with two birthday cakes and a bottle of champagne that friends bought me. Then the giant group (if you count 30 as giant) rolled out from the Village and to the club. I somehow managed to get us all in without cover charge even though we got there past 9:30 when the cover charge started. We were the only people there at first though, so they needed to let us in to start the parrrtay. I must say I had a really fun night because the DJ played really good dance music and I just danced the night away as people bought me drinks. I was also given a $70 bar tab from the club, but I’m pretty sure I lost the ticket and did not spend it all. I don’t know how much I drank to be honest, but I did not vom. So I would say it was a successful night. Although, I don’t really remember paying for the chicken sandwich I got at Mackers afterwards. I also have a hazy memory that when I got back to my room, a few of my friends came with and were having a conversation, while I was eating cake and not talking in a corner. Maybe that is how I avoided the hangover?
So I had my crazy Aussie 21st celebration and lived to tell it! Thank goodness.
A few other updates: a few of my friends and I have been having girls’ dinners where we take turns cooking for each other and it has really upgraded my meal time. This week Tessa made us pizza in her toaster oven and it was amazing. My contribution was making the pudding my Mom sent me in the mail and crushing up oreos and making a fake crust. I am not certain, but I think it’s fair to say I am gaining weight here. So much food. My turn is coming up, and I am making fish tacos! Let’s hope that turns out well.
I went to a free concert tonight in Fed Square. The weather was beautiful, and the band wasn’t so bad either. Check them out:
My friends from USC who are studying in Brisbane are here for the weekend, so I get to be a tour guide finally. So excited!
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| one of the many ridiculous photos of me dancing |
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