President's Day

I'm sure that when school starts, there will not be posts everyday. However, in the interim much seems to be going on.

Our big activity yesterday for all 77 of the American students was a trip to Perth to play a game much like the television show The Amazing Race. We started off in Fremantle, and had to take a train into the city, find all of the stops and info that we had to find and return. Fastest time wins, however, each wrong answer would cost you 30 minutes.

Perth is a city of a little over 2 million people. It has been recorded as the most isolated state capital city anywhere in the world. There really are no metropoli remotely close to it in any direction. It has a large central business district much like Chicago, and built around that are a shopping area, eating area, and cafe strip.

The game was cool and we had a pretty good team, and were able to find everything and return in the fastest time. However, a penalty for a missed question dropped us back to third place- just fast enough to get a prize.

As good Americans, we of course took the rest of the day to celebrate the great holiday of President's Day. Of course we celebrated it more like St. Patrick's Day, but we did make sure to be very historic. The Australians at the bar we favored found us quite hilarious as we packed around a lounge area in the back. We were able to name all 44 presidents in order, and give a historical fact about each. Following each name, we clinked glasses in their honor and had a drink to their name.

The Australians found this funny for a few reasons. 1) We were loudly celebrating in the afternoon. 2) We were celebrating a holiday they had never heard of. 3) They were actually very impressed that we could name all 44 presidents in the history of the United States. -- they admitted that they could not name very many prime ministers in Aussie history.

It was a good time, and by the evening we were ready to just lay low and hang out. I am glad that I chose this path, as a few people did go out and went to some new bar. One guy ended up getting punched out in a bar fight. Glad that I missed that.

On a side note, I usually write these blog entries in the mornings when I wake up and reflect on the previous day. Today is no different, but I will add something that occured this morning. The worst thing about sunburn on your face is something I wouldn't have guessed. It's not the pain from the burn itself, but rather shaving that is very painful. It was not a pleasant experience.

Again, pictures are coming soon I promise. Also, don't forget that you can comment on each of these writings and I check for any feedback. If you have any questions, ask them in that way and I will try to answer them in the next writing.