Warning: May contain rocks

'This is a feldspar-rich glaucophane schist'. Huhh?? 'As you know, the mineral content of a basaltic rock includes....' Ehhhh?? I don't know, or at least I didn't know.

Geology. One of the most strenuous units I have taken at Macquarie. Not only did it expect 20 pages for 5% of the final mark, but it was another reason for my flatmates to take the mickey. 'What do you study Rose? Oh yeah, rocks. Boring and weird. People who study rocks must be odd. Rose what kind of rock is this? Don't answer that, I don't actually care.' Haaaa. Whatevs. I have my own rock buddies.

My first geos friend was fellow sufferer Luke. I think we were the only ones in the room who had no clue what our lecturers were talking about ... particularly Dick, a lovely wise old man who was obviously extremely clever but came out with the strangest jokes that you laughed at even if you didn't hear them.  It felt good knowing that someone else was just as clueless as I was. A normal practical would be something like:

Nathan (lecturer): 'So draw a dot on the stereonet at 30 degrees .......turn to the north point ......'
Me: 'What did he say? I don't understand'
Luke: 'Neither do I, let's wait until they put the answers up'

We did try, honest. Its just sooo hard. It got better when we found other geos friends. More experienced students whose major was actually in Geology. Cameron who would pretend that he knew what he was doing (with his 'geowinning and bad boys) and Elise who actually did know what she was doing (with her scarily detail-noticing eyesight 'did you see that 1mm long spider back there?' Err, noo). During our never-ending assignments we would spend hours in the labs staring down microscopes trying to discern one mineral grain from another. I don't know why or how it happened, but geology become one of my favourite subjects, even if I had very little pre-knowledge and at the time it seemed like the hardest thing on Earth.

The Geos trip to Hill End was..interesting. The best bit was sleeping in an 1800's train cabin stationed permanently in a garden. The days were crammed with taking 'strike & dip' measurements and following quartz veins ready to produce our geologic maps and histories. Urghhh. But yeah, it was kind of fun too...I bonded with new people and got sunburnt! Yess!

It was on this trip that I met Denise with her amazing Irish-Australian accent and Loretta, a girl so clever, inspirational, soo interested in her uni work and forever moving countries..I think she's in Iceland now? I was so happy that my group members had the patience to explain things to me and were willing to help me whenever I was lost (Lianna, Ben, Tony in particular). I don't know how I passed that assignment, but I know that if it wasn't for them I would certainly not have. Oh, and we got to smash up rocks with hammers. Great for anger management. I WANT A ROCK HAMMER!!

Okay, I'm a freak, but in my opinion the best part of the whole course was cutting a rock into quarters. We used a rock grinder/saw thing to chop up chunks of rock. Afterwards we had to polish it, thin it down and identify the minerals, but forget that. I WANT A ROCK SAW!

Marmite vs Vegemite

International Orientation. 

'So, who has tried Vegemite yet? We want five volunteers. The first one to eat a whole piece of toast wins...and just to make it more difficult we've smothered the toast with abnormal amounts of the stuff.'

Sooo...Vegemite. The Australians are obsessed with it. They eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, as a snack and also as an infamous hangover cure. It is Australia..apparently.

However, in the UK we have an alternative 'love it or hate it'..yes, its Marmite. And personally I love it. You think Vegemite is strong and salty? Try the original. Its sticky, salty and sooo soooooo strong. It would definitely beat Veg in a crazy Harry Hill fight (the brits know what I'm talking about). How can I not be patriotic and not stick up for the yeasty original?

On the other hand the Aussie's are so protective of their Veg that I have been threatened with expulsion from my own flat by my own Aussie flatmates if I ever brought back a jar of its rival. After buying a very expensive tiny jar of UK produced Bovril (Marmite's cousin) the boys hands down refused to try even a bite. Perhaps I must conclude that even if Marmite was created first and is definitely a UK thing, the Australian version is a lot more popular and forms another part of the stereotypical Aussie character..much like scones and jam do for England. Who really thinks of Marmite as a national attribute for the UK?

Similar international food rivalry includes Weet-bix vs Weetabix and Timtams vs Penguins. Unfortunately Australia wins on both accounts, no arguing. Weetabix was copied by the UK from Aus and Penguins are tasteless cardboard rectangles compared to Timtams which are so good they literally make you drool. Timtams have so many varieties I cannot even count them, ranging from the tasty original to the delicious double-choc caramel Sweet Dreams or Turkish Delight. What do Penguins have? Last time I looked pictures of penguins on the front playing different sports. Nice.

So, it is with my regrettable displeasure that I have to announce that Australia wins this food contest. However, Even with its Kangaroo bangers it will never beat the UK's roast dinner, fish n chips or homemade scones, cream and jam.

Hola! Es un lunes.

Burritos. Before coming to Australia I had never come across this tasty phenomenon. The first time I tried one was on a group trip to Manly..the yummiest savoury bread-related meal I have ever eaten. The young Aussie guy serenading us on his guitar may have helped there though..

At Parklands, after getting to know our neighbours, we soon established the tradition of Mexican Mondays. Every week a group of us would go down to Woolies and collect the essential items for a cheap but mouth-watering meal.

For the English out there it is kind of like a wrap but with meat, sour cream, guacamole, salsa sauce, lettuce. tomato, cucumber, jalapenos, and cheese all stuffed into a circle of thin pitta-bread-like bread.

Of course, being students, we would immediately head for the 'reduced meat' section, buy 'homebrand', and generally be as cheap as possible; usually including excluding the guac much to MK's displeasure. After 20 minutes of price comparisons and a stressed Jeremy we would reach the check-out where we would immediately hit the question...who is going to pay this week?...

Buying food at the supermarket may seem an odd topic to write about, but it soon became one of our integral parts of a monday. It was expected. I would often walk back after class and hear a 'turn around Rose' before I even saw the gang (Matt, Ben, Jeremy & Dean) making their way to Woolies. It is our 'Family Dinner'.

Gradually, our tradition became larger and more and more people began to join. If any outsider wandered into Flat 9 7.00 on a monday they would come across a large group of teenagers/twenty somethings immersed in heaven. Our last had at least 20 people.

We became so organised with this tradition that we all knew our roles as soon as we returned from shopping. Matt and Ben would chop the veggies, Jeremy and I would cook the meat and Dean would suddenly have something very important he had to immediately attend to.

With burritos came banter and other traditions. Dean would tell his depressing stories, Jeremy would play his guitar and MK would wander in at 8.00 every monday and exclaim 'I didn't know we were having mexican tonight!' when we had it every monday without fail. There was also the debate on 'how to fold a burrito properly'. My method obviously did not work..I'm positive the rest of the group would wait, watch and laugh as my burrito slowly fell apart in my hands. 

From now on, I look forward to every monday evening. I will take the tradition back home and establish it at my home uni whether my new flatmates like it or not. I don't know how any of us will cope without it..we will suffer withdrawal symptoms; particularly as this meal provides, for most of us, our weekly intake of vegetables, minerals and any inkling of food with nutritious value.

OMG! Aussie boys!

'Hi, I'm Jeremy'

Oh god, the occupier of the room of requirement. What do I do? How do I return the stuff I took without him noticing? The Stats170 textbook; the blankets; the duvet cover?!

'I'm Dean'

'Sorry? Did you say Dane?'

'No, Dean'

Oh My God. They have weird accents. They are Australian. ARGH!!!!!

First impressions are always interesting. I immediately got this vibe that Jeremy was a bubbly, live for the now kind of guy. Laid back, but in control. I can say now I think I was pretty much right. Dean on the other hand: quieter, polite?? Haha, noooooooooo. How wrong I was. He was definitely much more difficult to read.

Later that night the boys sauntered over to mine and MK's room. 'You're not clean freaks are you?'

'No'

'Good, otherwise we won't get on'

Over the next few days I discovered the joys of living with boys. Climbing corridor walls was fun.

However as anyone who lives with boys probably knows..with boys comes mess..and beer.

MK and I soon discovered the futility of clearing up after boys. Especially after 'a chat' with them ('this is serious!') about it that ended up with them snorting in our faces. So, instead, on my part anyway, we began morphing into one ourselves. This way we could turn a blind eye to the food on the carpet or the beer infested coffee table. Thank god that the dishwasher resisted breaking until the end of the semester.

I could go on about these messy kids for yonks, but the fact is they have grown to be like brothers to me. No matter how much I moan at them or about them..they are a massive part of my Australian family. 

Flat 9:

MK: Alcoholic Chicken Mum.

Me: Responsible Older Sister.

Dean: Irresponsible, Argumentative Depressive Maniac of a brother who loves telling everyone how he nearly died twenty times although we've already heard the story before.

Jeremy: Irresponsible, Dubstep, 'Street-Art' Obsessed brother who also has a penchant for Chai tea.

Hasn't Woolies gone bust?

Following my arrival in Parklands I slowly and then very rapidly began meeting future friends.

Karima and I decided to go and buy bedding so we at least had something to sleep on the first night. After making our way to Macquarie Centre we soon discovered the existence of Woolworths; not just a bargain high street shop, but a WHOLE supermarket..AND.. Woolies has a big sister in Oz too..Big W. I don't know how shocking this is for most people, but in the UK Woolworths had just gone bust and is known as a typical retail store selling water pistols, pick n mix and £2 out-of-date books in dingy town high streets.

Also for me, I had never come across such an array of shops under one roof. I mean we have shopping centres in England, but Mac Centre has Supermarkets, a Food Court, electronic stores, donut stalls, a fish market, a shop called 'Athlete's Foot (???) and a teahouse which I would become a lot more familiar with later on. Definitely beats my Derby local, the Westfield. At this point we soon realised how expensive Sydney is. This resulted in buying Kiddies' bedding on offer..it does the job.

Over the next few days we met up at the International Office to meet with other new Internationals and go see the famous Sydney Sights. This included trips to Manly Beach, Bondi Beach, the Sydney Opera House and the Botanical Gardens. Having never been much of a city person I had had very mixed feeling about moving to Australia, but as soon as I began walking through this multicultural city I fell in love. 

During this first week I met Katya, Amy, Sarah, Joey, Martina, Amandine, Dan, Lindsey, Ryan, my amazing room mate MK, and, of course, Breezy.

I distinctly recall sitting on Karima's bed watching Tropic Thunder when this tiny, blonde American girl comes in and starts talking to me. My first impression was 'Oh god, if she's not American I don't know who is'. Little did I know this would be the beginning of many disastrous baking sessions and a friendship that I hope will last forever.

MK. Chicken Mum. Possum. 'The responsible one' of Flat 9. When I first heard MK speaking norwegian (Eriiikkkkk!!!) I thought it was the weirdest language I had ever heard..and still do. It's all clicking and tongue rolling. The first night out MK came back hammered; a preview of what was yet to come.  Having established her reputation as an alcoholic (:P) early on in the semester, she preceded to announce that she is responsible and therefore should be the Chicken Mum. We soon realised she had actually meant Mother Hen, but the name stuck.

Having met most of the Parklanders it was a few days before Uni started. However, my flat still had two empty rooms. well..almost. One was full of 'junk' which turned out to be my future flatmate's possessions. However, Karima, Katya, MK and I had decided that no one must be living there..it was simply a store room for previous Parklanders' unwanted junk. So....we decided to have a rummage through. I found a couple of letters (sorry for reading!) addressed to someone called 'Jeremy' and I figured that the previous owner of the room must have been this ' Jeremy'. Anyway, we confiscated some useful items from this aptly-named 'room of requirement'.

A few days later I left the flat to go to the shops. When I had left MK had put a large bowl of liquorice allsorts on the lounge table. I resisted the temptation to eat even one them. Later on, I entered Block 2 of Parklands and heard music. Where was this awful thumping noise coming from?? I climbed the stairs, nervous because I was already guessing the source of the 'music'. The door of Flat 9, my flat, was propped open. Entering, I immediately noticed the absence of any liquorice in the bowl. I turned to the kitchen and came face to face with two tall, lanky boys. They were giants. One had crazily fluffy, curly hair and a massive smile. The other was wearing black and was even skinnier than fluffycurlyboy.

Meet Jeremy and Dean...

Parklands! Semester One

When I first arrived in Oz the first Australian I met, like for most people, was at customs. He checked my passport, saw I was British, and promptly stated 'You've brought the weather with you haven't you?'. Haha..stereotyped much? Well, that was nothing..the stereotyping abuse was about to get a lot worse.

Having found the Meeting Point (it actually has a big sign in the airport saying this) I met other International students about to start their first semester at Macquarie University. I recall talking to this tall American boy called Billy who looked like he'd come straight from a typical American high school movie. As the first student I met I have always recognised him out and about..particularly at the Ranch where he raves drunkenly. On the minibus to Parklands I met, amongst others, Luca and Karima, two fellow Parklanders. Here is a lowdown for each of them:

Luca: An extremist Italian Stallion who apparently makes amazing carbonara and coffee. He is always smiling and pats everyone's heads when he is drunk. He offered to strip for me on my birthday which I politely refused and has proposed to me several times (when drunk so I am assuming he has no recollection of this).  He has strong views on many subjects, especially...wait for it...cooking.

Karima: An amazing American friend who works so so hard and is part of the Stats170 Trio. Enjoys drawing on Anne-Sophie's arms when bored in our 2 hour stats lecture. She has the best hair I have ever seen when her straighteners are broken (I am serious Karima..no joke!) and is great to have a moan with over workload or exams, and to generally chat about anything.

After getting stuck in traffic and it taking 1 1/2 hours to reach my new home for the next year we eventually arrived at Parklands. One of my lasting memories will be walking down the steps in the pouring rain, dragging my ginormous suitcase behind me and then dropping it in the mud. Entering my flat for the first time, my initial thoughts were 'its blue and empty..and Australia is wet and cold..what have I done? I want my home'.

Thinking about that now I am soooo glad I didn't spontaneously buy a ticket home. I was about to meet some of the craziest and most amazing people I know and make some fantastic memories.

Bleurgg

Okay, so its halfway through my year in Australia and I'm starting a blog. Why? Well, today many of my Parklands friends headed home and after all the amazing memories we have had together I don't want to forget any of them. This way I can record memories for myself, friends I have made in Aus and for friends and family at home. Sooo...here goes!!