THINGS AUSSIES LOVE....(Part 1)

Ok, so I have been dying to start this series since the day I touched down in Australia. So this series is exactly as it appears in the title above, no gimmicky song titles here. This is merely a collection of some of the things I've observed to be a part of the Australian culture.
DISCLAIMER: I understand that not EVERY Aussie may actually love or hardly like and in fact may HATE these things, but I'm reporting these by a general consensus. Thanks!

1. VEGEMITE.

 Ok, so you may be wondering what Vegemite is...
 I'll be honest, when I first saw the tube of Vegemite, I got really excited because I thought it was the    Aussie's response to Nutella- some sort of creamy chocoloatey spread.
 WRONG. OH. SO. WRONG.
Vegemite is actually a yeast-based spread, sort of with the same properities as Nutella. You spread it on crackers, bread- pretty much any and everything.

  Have I actually tried Vegemite?
   Not yet, but I'll be sure to update you all when I do. Quite frankly, I'm a little nervous because I've heard it's an acquired taste and it's also the best thing since white sliced bread.
Hmmmmmmmm.


2. (MEDIA) SCANDALS (involving old farts and underage girls)

Hahahahahahaahah. I guess they aren't all that different from Americans, huh? Well, honestly, I think their obsession  for scandals may be a little worse.
So let me explain here in Oz, there are 3 major television networks, "Seven," "Nine," and "Ten." Seriously-this is about as good as t.v. gets if you don't have digital t.v. (i.e. "me.") So for the first few days I ventured here the breaking news was:
a)     Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi's scandal with underage Morrocan prostitute nicknamed, "Ruby the Heartbreaker."
For more info on this story- simply do a quick google search on either of the two names I've presented-pretty juicy.
Oh and for the creep factor might I add that Berlusconi was born in 1936, which makes him 75 whereas Ruby is now 18? Turns out he would throw these elaborate orgy-filled, prostitution parties (can any say Charlie Sheen?) full of other underage girls. Tsk, tsk. Dirty Ol' B*******. But then again- some blame must be placed upon these girls as well. He's being pressured to step down- which of course he refuses to.... which brings me to the next scandal

b)    Ricky Nixon. If you are a non-Aussie, this face:

means diddly-squat to you. Unfortunately for me-this is a face I wake up to and fall asleep to on the news. Yes, how unfortunate- not EVEN Hugh Jackman....
Ok so in all seriousness- this man is Ricky Nixon. He is a high profile sports agent (former Australian Rules football player) and has been accused with having sexual relations (thanks Mr. Clinton- in fact in a media conference-he quoted the old chap- ahahahahahaahahahahahah,) with an underage 17 year old girl. THERE GOES THAT MAGIC NUMBER AGAIN...."17." One more year and I doubt any of these scandals would be making the press. These men must be kicking themselves- can you say, a huge fall from grace? Ouch. That has got to hurt. So the 17 year old St. Kilda girl is at the center of a nude photo controversy and to make matters worse-this girl actually has PROOF. OMG. As in video proof.
Ok-that really makes me think. She obviously knew what she was doing-right? She actually videotaped on her camera phone a hotel encounter the two had and went as far as to delve into Nixon's belongings obtaining his photo id, credit cards and a whole lot more. Crazy huh? He has been asked to step down like Mr. Italia above....and this one in his "innocent" cowardice fled the country, reports say he's now in Ireland! Not helping your case Nixon, at all....

c) At last- Charlie Sheen. Ugh. Enough said. And to think this man is STILL the highest paid tv actor, raking in 1.25 million dollars-PER EPISODE of his show 2 and 1/2 Men. (<---which is another thing Aussies love. 2 and 1/2 Men, as well as many other U.S. t.v. programs.) Where are our priorities people? Rewarding atrocious behavior with fame, power, and money? C'mon- obviously this man needs help. His issues stem from past decades- what is going on?! I mean Robert Downey Jr. wasn't given the same treatment, in fact-he was shunned from the entertainment world and his comeback was glorious. Let's learn from the past, hmmm? Honestly, he has his children to answer to in the future- I would hope he would at least think of them...


Alright so why do these scandals upset me? Because I personally don't like seeing people fall from grace, of course the truth must be exposed- but to this degree?
Let's get some REAL news on the news for a change!

BREAKING NEWS- "D.O.B took a breath."
BREAKING NEWS- "D.O.B walked to the corner store."
BREAKING NEWS- "D.O.B fled the country."
Ok, maybe except for the last one....
;)


-Akua

<3

"LOSING MY MIND:" THE DAY OF DEPARTURE (Mike Posner)

So I've said before, there are song lyrics to describe every situation in life, and I firmly believe this is true. This is a mini disclaimer for my corny blog titles, hehehe. :D

(2.12.2011)
Let's start at the beginning of the journey- Saturday (2.12.2011) morning- the morning of my long anticipated flight. So I couldn't sleep- which is nothing new (I am a horrible-yet brilliantly productive insomniac,) but this morning was different. I woke up in with a startle thinking I had missed my flight. Sad, yes, I know. It's funny-I had started my countdown at 35 days til departure and somehow got caught up in all I had to do to get ready for this flight, that my countdown somehow propelled itself down to Day ZERO.
I'd been training myself to tire myself out so I could pass out on the flight-but adrenaline kicked in as I looked down at my last minute to-do list.
(If you know me- you know how heavily I rely on lists to pretty much run my life- I have a horrible memory, so if I don't put it down-it most likely won't get done. I have random lists scribbled on random scraps of paper in my purse, as memos on my blackberry and ipod-everywhere.)
So the previous days had been productive.
I hosted my Sayonara party for my peeps at the Crimson and Gold Bar/Grille near the DU campus. Where I had my 1st drink (take 2) for my 21st.
YES-I am straight edge, no smokey or drinky- for multiple reasons,  but I'd always promised myself a glass of wine for my 21st since I was 11? Yeah- one thing became apparent that night. My strong dislike for the taste of alcohol-hey if you like it, knock yourself out. I hate the aftertaste, reminds me of bitters, a medicine that I used to drink when I was a child- bitters had me near vomiting. Not good.
Anyways- I also realized I have a high alcohol tolerance that night as well. I contained my drinking to the bar. I was convinced to go to Tracks that night (my first time-ever), a club to live up my last night in America. Little be known- that night was a HOTMESS. Fun, yes, but a mess altogether. Not good.  (I might blog about it later.)

So I hadn't packed much, I had everything laid out and organized, the issue was that nothing had actually made it into any suitcases. :O This was Saturday morning-the day of my flight. Yeah, procrastination much? I excel in that. So I began my frantic packing. My mom who helped-being the master packer she is made sure I was set for my time there. WE AFRICANS DON'T PACK LIGHT-WE PACK TO SURVIVE. That should've given me an indication at how much my bags weighed.... fast forward- my errands took longer than anticipated and I kept getting calls from my mom saying, "everyone's waiting for you." I was  to leave for the airport around 4:30 in the evening, my flight was scheduled to leave around 20 to eight that evening.

I had the surprise of my life as I walked in our apartment. Sitting somberly on the vintage brocaded pea sofas were The Chavez family, my mother, and 2/3 of the 3 musketeers: Sabine and Brandon. I was overcome by happiness to know they actually came to see me off. Brandon esp-because he had just gotten off from work and I had been talking to him while running errands and I had no idea he was waiting for me at my apartment. So we began transporting the luggage to the Chavez's giant SUV. :D
He even made the same comment I had earlier, "these bags feel more like 100 lbs than 50."
Cough. cough. looked at my mother. who told me to hush and vamos.

Life is funny, yeah. As in comically hilarious. While in the parking lot, loading the car. We met a woman who was also Ghanaian and lived in the same apartment complex as us. Her two daughters who had been visiting from Australia were scheduled to leave the same day as me. I was so excited, until I found out they were heading to Sydney.  Coincidence? Nah, I don't believe in them- I believe in a higher being. Who acts as a puppetmaster, holding firmly to our strings. As the strings jolt us to the ground, we feel vulnerable, plagued with uncertainty, destitution, fear -we become human. As we are jolted upward, we feel peace as we are closer to something, someone we don't know-and for once our worries disintegrate as we hear a whisper, that for this once, we are going to be OK if we patiently wait. Call me crazy-that's how I live my life. Too many times have I felt plagued by this downward jolt followed by the jolt upward- so coincidence-I think not. It has led me to this point. Serendipity.

 I almost had us turn the car around because I thought I had forgotten my wallet with my passport. Sabine and Brandon quickly gave me the HOTMESS CROWN (shifty eyes) and Jana gave me a list of books (I had always had on my to-read list) to choose for my long flight.

Ok- I seriously became a [study]-a-broad-zilla....like a bridezilla- get it? Very punny, but no joke. Days without sleep and frustrations of leaving made me crazy- this only worsened as we reached the airport.

Stay tuned for the airport diaries.

<3

"Oh take me back to the start:" WELCOME! (COLDPLAY)

Ete sen/bonjour/hola/marhaban/ni hao/namaste/aloha/etc.....(in every language of the world)
HELLO!!!
YOU!
Yes- YOU!
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your life to fit me in yours- it means alot. :)
This is the first entry of my first ever blog!
I'm coming at you all LIVE IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA!
In many ways this journey has marked the beginning of my life as I have known it. I've been physically detached from the comforts of my life in America in an attempt to start living-finally. I'm learning to break old habits, [re]discovering myself, and living life in general.
Stay tuned for posts of not only my study abroad journey (Melbourne, AU,) however my journey in life. I'll be blogging about things I love like food, fashion, music, traveling-pretty much everything and nothing at the same time.
Stay tuned for more.

<3