Right, time for another update from the land Down Under! Most important story since my last blog: I made the bargain of the month… or even the year (or perhaps even the century!), when I found myself a pair of brand new football/soccer shoes, socks and shin guards for the insignificant price of 60$/300 kr. Now everything is set for the practice next Friday and Saturday, which I am really looking forward to.

After a couple of relaxing and interesting weeks with sightseeing and exchange student introduction, everyday life has found its way to Erica Underwood. Last week classes started, and they have taken their toll on me - mostly because I had decided to go to six classes the first week (of which four were from 18 to 21 in the evening…) before deciding which four classes I would take. Now I am down to four in total and only two evening classes. My schedule leaves Monday and Wednesday open for a nice long weekend and non-school related activities. So far the classes seem interesting, but I will leave it to a future blog post to tell you a bit about them. I have also managed to catch a cold due to the ever-changing temperatures here, ranging from 3C to 23C most days.

The wine tasting tour with the other exchange students was a great opportunity to meet even more people and have fun in a relaxed environment. We headed to Swan Valley to taste numerous wines on offer at three different wineries. I had the prior belief that Australian wines were among the best in the World… Apparently, those are from a different region…(!) Out of a total of 20 wines, I think two or three were drinkable… One of those was a sparkling wine with gold pieces in it - now, that is something you don't see every day! (Unless, of course, you work at Jane Brook Winery…). On the trip we were accompanied by Julie, her adorable, 2-year-old daughter Trinity, and Daniel. Trinity was the center of attention most of the day and seemed to have found a new best friend in me. The trip also included a brief stop at a chocolate factory with free samples… Mmm…chocolate…

The next big thing here in Perth will take place next Saturday when me and a bunch of other exchange students are attending the "aussie rules football (AFL)" game between Fremantle Dockers (a local team) and Sydney Swans. I have no idea how the game is played, but it promises to be fun (it is what Australians do for a good time out) and the stadium housing 43,500 people should be sold out.

I will finish this blog with a number of observations, I have made in the last couple of days:

-Australians don't know what art is. Sara (from CBS) and I went to the Art Gallery of Western Australia and struggled to find a single piece of art we liked… Except, maybe, for her self-portrait she drew looking in a mirror. The point was further proven today during my visit to John Curtin (founder of the uni) Gallery on campus… One original piece of art was all that caught my attention: A Weber Grill/BBQ where the lid had been lifted slightly and the gap filled with a swollen stomach to symbolize the effect of using the grill too much.

-Australians don't care about news from the rest of the World, and we have little reason to care about their news. The only story which concerns media is the upcoming election featuring numerous TV-appearances by red-head Julia Gillard, the current (and somewhat scary) Prime Minister of Australia. Google her if you dare…

-There is, however, one exception to the rule above: The recent announcement of Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary expecting twins. This story seems to gain almost the same amount of coverage as the election…

-Campus is quite a boring place outside class hours. There is the weekly pub night at The Tavern on school, but I am missing an aquatic centre to go swimming as I could at UBC in Canada. In the weekends it is even worse… though this should change at the end of this week when soccer practice starts.

The countdown to Bali has begun… 19 day to go!

Michael

PS: If you have any questions, prejudices, thoughts regarding Australia, Australians, kangaroos etc that you want to confirm/reject or which I can write about in my next blog - just let me know