Traedogg Down Under

Australians do not celebrate Halloween, although I have done my fair share of candy-eating in the last week regardless, but have boycotted all costume parties thrown in our American-Based city of Coogee. To me, the costume dilema has always been more stressful then fun, as creativity is not my thing;) So I happily opted to spend my Halloween weekend at an infamous Pancake House in the Rocks (an upscale area of down Sydney) on Friday night, and at an NBL game on Saturday night to see the Sydney Kings take on the West Sydney Razorbacks (little cross town rivalry!).

The Pancake house was AWESOME! I met two of my roomies Jen and Bree downtown after a long day at the internship for a fabulous dinner? well, breakfast, as I got pancakes and hashbrowns! I did not, however, get one of the “Dessert Pancakes” the place is famous for… they were just a little too intense for me! (Check them out here! http://www.pancakesontherocks.com.au/desserts.htm ) Afterwards, we were all tired and full so we bused back to Coogee for an early friday night!

Saturday, after a productive day of cleaning my filthy room (mom you would have been proud!) I watched Good Will Hunting with Anna, then headed to the NBL game with Jen and one of my Co-workers Shenton. Although it was a cross-town rivarly (so excitment was high) it just so happens to be the best team in the leage (Sydney Kings) vs. the worst (the West Sydney Razorbacks) and the game was a complete blow out (Kings by 32), yet it was fun to get out downtown none the less, especially when the tickets were free! (Perks of the job!)

This coming week is my last official week of school before a 5 day study week and 3 week exam period. I officially finished the 10 paged paper I have been whining about for the last month, but still have one more 8 pager left and a final on the 23rd of November-the day before I fly out! November will be GREAT because if i ever get this paper out of the way, I will have a lot of freetime to hang out with my roomates, meet various family members of friends/roomates that are coming in and out of the country, hopefully tan a bit (although its been SO rainy lately), and relax! (Although other then October, I still feel like I’ve been on a 3-4 month vacation… next semester at Madison is going to be a slap in the face!!)

One downside to summer coming in Australia (so you all aren’t too jealous) is THE FLYS! I dont know how i came to Australia not having heard about them! Some days I seriously think I am in the midst of the second plague experiencing the wrath of God first hand! These little annoying flies just SURROUND you the second you step outside and you go to swot them away, and they come right back in your face (literally). It is SO irritating feeling constantly violated by something the size of a pea! I asked my Australian classmates if it got better as the summer went on.. and they scoffed: “Better!? This is only the beginning! Just wait for the bees and the wasps!” Oh yippie. All I know is, a few blasted bugs aren’t going to keep me from enjoying the warmth in my final few weeks in Sydney, Australia… they just better stay the hell out of my way;)

October Showers bring November Flowers? The Rhyme certainly doesn’t work as well here, but lets hope the meaning behiend it still applies! Its been one rainy week in Sydney! It has literally rained 6 of the last 7 days, but thankfully my mood hasn’t matched the weather!

Despite a homework-filled month and plenty yet to finish with just 2 weeks of class to go, this last week was a fairly decent one. I was extremely productive and not only knocked off a 20 minute seminar and 15 paged marketing plan, but made significant progress on my 10 paged paper. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel where school is concerned, and lets hope this “light” is a very sunny November so I can return home at the end of it with a great tan before getting slapped in the face by a Wisconsin winter!

One thing I also have not mentioned much about lately is my internship. For a while, I absolutely despised going and that was not only due to the fact that I have a 3 hour commute (1 1/2 hours there and 1 1/2 hours back by bus and train), or that I have to wake up at 5:30am on internship mornings, but because I felt under-utilized and usually bored. And although not much has changed in that sence, there have been many positive things that have resulted from my experience. First of all, I really enjoy the majority of my co-workers. I work with two other interns from the states, Elizabeth and Patrick, who are both great people, and are just as bored as I am most days, so we find ways to have fun! Also, I do have an Australian co-worker I am good friends with, Shenton, and not only does he get me tickets to NBL games, but he finds ways to take the interns out of the office to “run errands” and always answers my questions, not only about the job, but about the culture and life of Australians. He also offered to drive me to the airport before spring break so i didn’t have to take the train!

One of the “errands” he took us on was a trip to the Sydney Kings practice because he needed a photograph of the star player, CJ Burton, who just won the player of the month award. CJ also plays for the Australian Boomers, which is Australias national team, which would play against the Dream Team in the Olympics and there is rumors circulating around Australia now that he may have a shot at the NBA. So anyways, we show up to this practice and of course we get to meet CJ and the other players, which was obviously pretty sweet, BUT what was even more crazy was seeing their practice facilities! They literally practiced in an old-run down shack of a gym with grafitti on the outside, a ransacked two-court playing area on the inside (with a pick up game going on the other court) in a random no-name city. I was shocked! This is their national basketball leage.. and not only that, but the Sydney Kings are the three-time defending champions! It really put it in perspective for me how small-scale basketball is in Australia and how little money the league and teams have. The salary caps for all of the teams cap off at a 736,000 max.. so divided amongst 10-12 players isn’t all that much;) you do the math! It was really an eye-opening experience. Also, on average, the kings get between 3000 and 4000 fans at their games, and, the 5-6 free-to-air television stations (so not cable) dont cover/air the basketball games! So how is anyone going to get excited about/follow the sport and their home team if the games aren’t even aired on public television… especially since only 20 percent of the population (or less) has cable! It just has really got me thinking critically about how crucial media is to the success/following of sport (good thing too.. b/c thats what my 10 paged paper is on!) So.. despite not learning a lot in the office, it has opened my eyes to truths I probably never would have recognized had I not worked there!

So all and all, even though I dont have any fun excursion to report on, life in Australia is good! 2 weeks of school left, 3 days of the internship, 4 years with the boyfriend (our anniversary was Oct 20th) and 33 days till thanksgiving, when my 5 flights and 48 straight hours of travel will hopefully land me safely on the ground in Milwaukee!

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