You Ate What?

3/1/2012-3/2/2012

Thursday was rather uneventful. I had more class and came to the conclusion that I was going to drop my Graphic Design History class because it is just too much to handle in my already busy schedule. I want to be able to focus on my other classes and not spread myself too thin. Plus, I’m in AUSTRAILA! And I want to have some free time to be able to go out and see the world. So get off my back already, Mom! (I only say that because I know you won't like hearing that I'm dropping a class. I got it all figured out. So stop worrying.)

Other than that, I am going to skip right to Friday. I had class all day, which was interesting.

We played this game called “Bafa Bafa”. It is a game about different cultures and how uncomfortable it can be both when visiting a culture you don’t know and when other cultures enter your own. The class was split up into two ‘cultures’ and put in two separate rooms.

The group I was in was ‘Alpha’ (as if I could be in any other). We were a very physically touchy culture (lots of hugging), and a very male dominant culture. When we would talk to each other, there was a certain sequence that the conversation should take. We had to begin by talking about male members of our family, then after a while, we would play a little card game (that’s too confusing to explain in the blog), and then we would wrap up the conversation by talking more about our male family members. We had all sorts of cultural rules, such as, when you walk up to a conversation, it is typical for those talking to wait about 30 seconds before acknowledging you, as to give you enough time to gather what the topic of conversation is. When you are touched on the shoulder, it is then that you are invited into the conversation. To simply approach people and start talking is considered very rude.

The other group was the ‘Beta’ culture. They had all of their own culture quarks, some that were quite different than the ‘Alpha’ culture. We had to take turns visiting each others cultures and trying to be accepted. Afterward we had a large discussion about how culture is so hard to define because there are so many rules that no one has taught you, but that you simply adapt to because that’s what everyone else does. The conversation was much broader than that, but that is the general topic.

After class got out, I went out with a group of friends to a place called “Moo Gourmet Burgers”. It is here that I tried the very tender, lean meat of a Kangaroo. That is right. I ate a Roo Burger. 

Left to Right: Carly (Roommate), Sarah (Friend), Megan (Roommate), Me.

Let me tell you, it was delicious! It was much softer than a beef burger, and there is hardly any fat in kangaroo meat. I'm glad I ate it this week because I'm pretty sure we're going to Featherdale wildlife park soon, where I will more than likely feed and/or pet kangaroos. After that I'm pretty sure my Kangaroo eating days will be over.

 

Anyway, after that, we had a small group of people come over to our granny flat. We ate some “Hokey Pokey” Ice cream (vanilla with honey comb and toffee bits in it) and watched a movie (Wedding Date to be more specific. It was a long day but an interesting one.