Kangaroos, koalas, and Germans... oh my

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Hey everyone,

Yay for fun stories (well they were fun for me, i don't know how exciting they will seem to you)!

Two weekends ago i went to an apartment overlooking the beach with some friends for a nice little bbq. it quickly turned into a very large dinner party (without all the fanciness). lots of great food being cooked up and good people to talk to. i think all but 2 people there were internationals. Mostly from germany and france. Its funny how easily you can get lost in a conversation when everyone is speaking a different language. I found it funny how many people i knew at the party from classes.
Well at the bbq (okay, it wasnt a real bbq b/c the grill was broken) i got to try kangaroo! I have been trying to find it since i got here. Turns out that they sell it at my local market, i just didnt know where it was. I wasn't that impressed by the meat. It was a little tough. Though i was told that roo meat is done best on a grill. I also think it needs to be marinated in something first. I bought some last night so i will try out some different ways of cooking it.

Well the next day seven (six germans and I) of us drove over to Noosa Beach. its about a 45 minute drive and man was it packed in the car. The backseat didnt have room for legs. It was like sitting on the floor against the wall but not being able to stretch out your legs. Oh yea, and the roof of the car prevented you from sitting up straight. but we made it work.
Spent part of the day at the beach just relaxing then we travelled to the dunes and walked there for a few hours enjoying the view and a few beers. We saw a koala! And not a koala in the zoo, but a wild one. Now it was probably placed there by park officials, but i dont care. I got some great pictures and a pretty good video.
That night five of us (four germans and I) headed off to a party. And by headed off, i mean we walked. And walked. and walked. For about an hour. Not cool. Eventually made it to the party and met up with more people.
Now there was this guy wearing a very stereotypical french outfit. i mean the full getup- blue jacket, white stripped shirt, red scarf, beret. the whole deal. i of course think this guy is the biggest tool at the party and make it a point to go talk to him just to see how much of a dork he is. As i get closer i notice he has the very thin french moustache going on too. Once we start talking i realize how wrong i was. He is an Aussie who had gone to a french themed party. Cool guy. First impressions are not always what they seem. But come on, a french outfit?

This past weekend i went to Brisbane for "river festival" which is 30 minutes of fireworks along the river. Not too shabby. Since i missed 4th of July, this kind of took its place. so many people there. The news said over 3 million people come to city for the event. I find that a little hard to believe since there are 20ish million people in australia. but what do i know? i went down in a car with 3 french girls and a german guy. we met up with more people and it turned into a group of around 20. thats a lot of people to try and fit into a bar.

two weeks ago i was playing soccer, tripped, fell, and landed with all of my weight on three of my fingers. Bent them all the way back to my wrist. very painful. i did end up going to see a doctor... three days later. For those of you who dont know, i watch the TV show "Scrubs" constantly. i absolutely love it. unfortunately, it has warped my vision of what a hospital should be. it is not a happy place filled with pithy dialogue and meaningful diatribes. It is filled with sickness and sterility. I went with my friend Luke, an aussie. He and I made the waiting room a lot more fun for everyone else. We got bored after about an hour and starting playing stupid games. We also took great interest in any olympic event that was on at the moment. After a good 2.5 hour wait, i finally get shown into a room. And a 3rd year med student comes out to check on me. After explaining what happened, he looks at my hand and says (i kid you not), "it looks fine". let me explain something... my hand was swollen, bruised, and i couldnt bend it well. it was anything except fine. i ask if he is going to examine it or give it an xray or anything. finally the main doctor comes in, looks at my hand, tells me i am stupid for not coming in earlier, and sends me off for an xray.
so i get xray taken by one of the meanest radiologists i have ever met (then again, i have only met a handful). i get sent back to the room. and for the next 30 minutes i am constantly asked by random hospital staff where i put my Xray. I am not kidding. several members of the staff were convinced that i was given my xray and was hiding it from them. Finally the head doctor comes in with my xray and puts it up to the light. I am sitting across the room looking at it, "doc. that isn't my xray". i am not a doctor, i did not go to med school, but i can tell the difference btwn a left and right hand. Doc looks at it for a little bit, agrees with me, and spends the next 10 minutes still trying to find my xray. It is eventually found, i have a small part of bone that chipped off. No big deal.
My fingers are still pretty swollen, i cant bend them all of the way, and i cant lift weights with them.

Soccer. oh soccer. oh coach. Just in case i havent set up this background before, let me explain. I have "joined" the soccer team. A team is being formed by the University to compete in a national tournament called "The Uni Games". Well our coach, Otto, a german grouch of a man is a horrible coach and isn’t organized. When he "coaches", he just tells people to play a big game, then leaves, comes back after 45 minutes, calls halftime, and then does it all over again. He didnt register our team in time, only wants to fly and stay in a nice hotel, and doesnt know much regarding the tournament. So i took it upon myself to research travel/accommodation prices, our options for registering a team, scheduling practices for the guys interested, recruiting people for the team, and anything else needed for the Games. Instead of being supportive, Otto yells at the guys interested and tells us every reason why we cannot go the Games (everything he said was false).
The Uni staff is 100% supportive of the team, and is happy to see someone doing something. I just dont see why a soccer coach is trying to take the fun out of soccer.
I have been practicing with him for over 6 weeks now. and sunday was the first time he even asked my name. he finally realized that he should probably try and suck up to me since the team is more loyal to me than him right now. 1 good day does not make up for 6 weeks of being a curmudgeon.

Classes:
still enjoying them for the most part.
I had a midterm last week and one this week. Its so weird knowing that my friends back home just started classes and i am halfway through mine.

random stuff:
The nights have finally gotten warm! According to locals, this has been their coldest winter in a very long time. But it looks like it is over. The days were always fine for me (thank you Michigan), but the nights would require pants or a sweatshirt. I was in shorts and a tshirt last night and was a little warm. Yay! its almost summer.

with all of the european girls i have gotten used to doing the whole two cheek air kiss thing. but damn is it confusing when some of the girls only do one air kiss. how am i supposed to know when its one or two? if you only do one when its supposed to be two, you look like a silly foreigner. but if you do two when you are supposed to do one, you look like a creeper.

still seen a kangaroo every day. its kind of sad how little it phases me now. they are like squireles to people from michigan.

australia is home to some giant bats. i mean bats the size of crows. and its great when you are walking home on a dark street and disturb some of them and they swoop towards you when you werent ready for it and it scares you. hypothetically of course.

its sad having to 'watch" college football via scores at espn.com

new pictures that i can show you!
Noosa, koala, and the french guy
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230670&l=9e172&id=22412632

from River Festival. its just a bunch of pictures of fireworks.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230674&l=86e66&id=22412632

thanks for reading.
hope all is well back home.

thanks much,
malcolm

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