Let me welcome you to beautiful Newcastle. First off, I’ve laid out all the Australian loot. I like Aussie coin because it’s smart. Like every other nonAmerican currency, it’s different colors and different sizes (bigger means it’s worth more). This strikes me as just logical. Gundy, one of my house-mates, wouldn’t believe it when I told him the only difference in US bills are the numbers on the corners and the dead white guys in the middle. Also, Australian moola is plastic and untearable (I’ve tried). Legend says that this is so surfers won’t have to leave their wallets on the beach. They even have nifty slang for it: 10 = Blue Swimmer, 20 = Rock Lobster, 50 = Canary. Which is way cooler than 20 = Jackson. If you want some of this killer legal tender, let me know. I’ll even give you the best exchange rate you’ll ever get – a dozen donuts for every 3 dollaridoos. Finally, the guy in the hat on the Blue Swimmer is a world famous poet; the same guy that wrote Waltzing Matilda (roughly the Australian equivalent of Yankee Doodle Dandee).
The rest of Newcastle is pretty sweet, too. Those Jurassic Park looking pictures are my best representations of the Uni. It’s built right in a swamp-jungle. This means it’s always about 8 degrees Celsius hotter than the city proper. It’s the only downside to the place. I love my classes and I think I’ll be able to do okay in all of them, even with all my hiatusing about.
I live in the Hamilton suburb (Silverchair went to high school about three blocks from me), which is about 10 minutes from the beach and about 30 minutes from the Uni. I live about thirty seconds or three minutes from two bus stops, which is how I get around (whenever I can’t bike). It’s a pretty convenient house. I’m living with 5 other Americans (all East Coasters) and 5 Aussies. It’s not the Hilton and I’ve seen a few cockroaches (not too many), but it is AUS$120 cheaper than on-campus housing and I buy my own food, which means I can take it with me when I travel.
That big stack of books? That’s everything I want to read on the trains and planes. That big Australian map? Found it at the Salvation Army for four bucks. The highlighted red is everywhere I’ve been so far. The other markings are from the guy who had it before me.
Two-Fisted Death
http://fento.ath.cx/photos/2005/1_winter/newcastle1/index.html
PS – Got my Jack Johnson tickets. 23rd of March I’ll be rocking it with the locals. That’s the week right after my 20th birthday (I’m planning on spending that in Perth), which makes it even sweeter.