Delightful Delirium

I need sleep. I have been up now for a total of twenty......yes, twenty-four hours. But the sun is up (it is 7 AM) and I have a smidge of energy left, and I have no idea how. Last night a group of us went into the city for a night on the town. What a trek. We took a bus, after the first bus passed us at the bus stop without a second glance, to the train station, where we got on a train into the city, switched trains to get to Kings Crossing, then walked to the bar, Tunnel, I believe it was called, to get a stamp and then go somewhere else cheaper. This cheap place (the name is not coming to me right now) actually served pizza for free. PIZZA. Brilliant, US bars should follow suit. So after the first, cheap, pizza bar, we walk back to Tunnel for some killer DJ beats. Fantastic music. Naturally, I danced so much I can hardly walk right now and my feet are blacker than night. Clubs here stay open til 4 AM. So we stayed groovin' til 4 AM, of course. Unfortunately, the trains don't start running again until 5 AM. So we hiked it over to Mackey's (good ol' McDonalds) for some much-needed energy recharge. Apparently every Australian and their cousin goes to Mackey's at 4 in the morning. It's normal. After waiting it out until 5, we head to the train to board. After getting off the first train and heading for the second, we witness a very near fist fight, and sit on the second train for a solid 25 minutes for it to begin it's morning run. Upon returning to Parramatta, after much sleep-deprivation induced delirious conversation, we hop on the bus back to the Village and everyone heads to their king-sized mattresses, which are definitely dorm-sized, twin extra long mattresses, except for me. For some reason I am a bit awake, but soon to pass I'm sure.

Before the big city adventure, which was actually loads more fun than I'm making it out to be (public transportation is just such a hassle), we had orientation for uni. Bright and early yesterday morning, all the international students, and there are A LOT, listened to a dozen or more speakers drone on about every aspect of life at uni you could possibly imagine, and a couple entertainers. The first was an Aboriginal man who performed his tribal dance in full attire and paint. The second, a sort of 'Crocodile Dundee,' played around amusingly with a massive python and cute little alligator. Or perhaps it was a crocodile. All the same when it comes to the size of the teeth. Made tons of friends at the orientation and over a Lebanese lamb and falafel lunch. Stoked for the next five months here in Parramatta!

The day prior, that would be Thursday, Fian from England and I went into the city for a very touristy day trip. We trained it in to the city, took a free bus to the harbors, and walked around the Opera House/Harbor Bridge area. It was quite lovely. Fian had me saying proper words such as 'quite,' 'rubbish,' and 'massive' by the end of the trek. We both ended up with multiple blisters after the 15 or so miles of walking, but spirits were high. The Opera House is something else to see in person. It's quite brilliant. And that right there is a phrase that would definitely come out of Fian's English mouth. On the way home, we took a ferry from the harbor straight up the Parramatta River, and were dropped off just a few minutes' walk from our flats. It was a completely lovely boat ride minus the fact of The Horrendous Family. They were straight awful, and rather ruined Australia for me for just a moment. The Horrendous Family started with a Wild Child, wearing no shirt or shoes, sporting a bleached-blonde rat's tail, a sort of beer belly on a 6-year old, and Play Boy boxers. Classy. We saw the Wild Child first, and then soon understood his upbringing upon spotting the remaining 12 or so members of The Horrendous Family. They were unreal. They belong in some po-dunk part of Missouri where outsiders will never have to see them. I don't know who was the mother and who was the father, but there were  about 3.5 adults and the rest of the children's ages ranged from what looked to be poor, extremely premature baby to around twelve. The twelve-year-old was making the most bizarre dingo noises, while the younger children were recklessly holding their baby brothers and sisters up way too close to the edge of the boat, the man was loudly threatening to beat his wife when they got home, the purple-haired creature was shouting out to anyone who would listen exactly what was on her mind, the only semi-normal looking girl was spitting abnormally large amounts of mucus off the bow, cuss words were flying left and right, and they were ALWAYS in the way of EVERYONE. It was way too bizarre to even describe. But know that Missourians aren't the only crazy ones. They come in all shapes and sizes, even (sigh) Australian.

Typical, but still super cool.

Lots and lots o' walking.

The Interesting Ferry Ride.

It's been an entertaining and jam-packed last couple of days. I am delirous and most likely exhausted. I'm going to take a nap before attempting Bondi Beach this afternoon. Happy Saturday!

Oh and the toilets here don't swirl at all. They flush straight down.