Australia Day!

Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788. This is a big holiday for Australians everyone gets the day off of work to hang out with friends and family, have bbq's, and drink lots of beer. It's similar to the Fourth of July in the states.

One of the big things to do on Australia Day is to play "Two-Up". "Two-Up" is Australia's national game, however it is illegal to play. You may only play this game on public holidays. Any other time of the year you can be ticketed for playing. 

Here is how you play:

smooth area of 3 metres diameter is used with any number of players participating. Here's a few terminology used in the game:

KIP       : Piece of wood on which the pennies (coins) are placed for spinning
RINGER    : Person in charge of the game
SPINNER   : Player spinning the coins
COCKATOO  : Keeps a lookout for the "Law" aka Police !

The RINGER will call for the "SPINNER" who will place a bet with the "BOXER". When this is set, side bets may be made, for either Heads or Tails. The "RINGER" will then call "Come in Spinner", the "SPINNER" will then walk into the centre of the RING and tosses the coins upwards.

If the coins land with 2 Heads facing UP, it is called "HEADS". 2 Tails is called "TAILED THEM", and when one of each is showing, then it is "ODDS". The coins must be tossed until a result is obtained.

The game is for the "SPINNER" to spin as many pairs of "HEADS" as possible. When 2 Tails are showing, the "SPINNER" passes the "KIP" to another person.The modern game is now played with three coins thus giving a quicker result i.e. 2 HEADS or 2 TAILS.

We would have loved to give this game a whirl but unfortunately I had a big test coming up and had to study. (Next Australia Day will be trying the "Two-up") So we did the next best thing, we went to a park!

Richie loved it because he could go bouldering

 

The Eliminator 

and I loved it because I could be outside studying

 

  

We brought a picnic with us!! Richie loved the peach!

 

Carnival Spiritual

So one of our main goals while in Sydney is to hit up as many cultural events as possible. So after the Sydney Fest we kept the ball rolling with a show that was just down the street. Its a worldwide traveling show that is based off of southern Indian traditions. We saw some sword spinning, crazy dancers, and some ridiculous drumming show... all wrapped up with some meditation chants by swami maharaja. It was a bit hipped out with a ton of white people wishing they were Indian but hey whatever floats your boat. The pictures were hard to get with a point and shoot and no flash.

 

 

A little taste of America

Our friend Micah came to visit and stayed in Hotel de los Crowders aka the plush futon mattress we have under our bed loft. Originally I was suppose to go visit Micah and another friend Jeff down in Melbourne last week. They were there to compete for team USA is a surf lifesaving comp but I got a job assisting and it fell through. Luckily Micah came by Sydney for a couple days. In Sarah's international student handbook it says its good to surround yourself with your own countrymen when you are feeling down. Thanks for the comfort Micah.

 

  

 

MTV Cribs

So we have our setup all fine tuned now. It took a while to find a flat but this one seems to be perfect. Yes, its a little small but a fully furnished (bed, 2 desks, 2 chairs, microwave, bar fridge) , free shared washer/dryer, all utilities included flat for $240 a week is a rare find in this town. Check it out!!!