Rugby Game- South Africa vs. Australia

Friday was my friend's 21st birthday, so we went out to eat, took a limo around perth, and then went out clubbing. It was really fun to get driven around in a nice limo and we all had a lot of fun. Then on Saturday evening I went to a rugby game! I went with some friends from Africa, so it really made the game exciting. The game was part of this tournament called Tri-Nations, between Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. There were so many people there, and people were supporting both teams which made it seem more competitive. I supported South Africa because my friends were cheering for them and because they were winning haha I had never seen a rugby game before, so seeing one in Australia, where rugby is super popular, was a lot of fun. South Africa won, so the next game will be between New Zealand and SA. I'm guessing South Africa will win the tournament because New Zealand barely beat Australia earlier in the tournament. 

Here is a video of South Africa (the green team) scoring on Australia.

AFL- Australian Football League

Australia has it's own sport- Australian Rules Football. It is basically a mix of American Football, Rugby, Basketball, Soccer, and probably some other sports as well and it is played on an oval field. Today my friend Stacey and I went to see a game and it was so cool! It started off a little rough though... We got there and people were sitting in our seats so we sat in some empty seats. A little into the game a mom comes with her kids and I look at her and I say, "Oh sorry, someone was in our seats," obviously meaning we will move. Well apparently she didn't think we were going to move and she goes "Well I don't f***ing care if someone is in your seat, I paid for these and you guys need to get out." Woahh!! right? so then we got up and went to our seats and asked the people if they could move because they were in our seats and they said no! so we went and had a pow-wow about what to do and decided that we both were pretty upset with all these rude australians and we wanted our seats! so i took control and went and almost yelled at these people, telling them it was our only game in Australia, and we just wanted our seats. They told us to go sit in some empty seats and I told them that we paid for those seats and we didn't want to be kicked out of our seats again. They all wanted to sit together cuz they had a big group, but they gave us our seats and we sat down, but the whole game there was a lot of tension. At first they kept making comments to each other that they obviously wanted us to hear. I couldn't believe how rude they were to us! Anyway, we got over it and the game was so fun! It's a great sport, they sprint and jump and tackle and they are always moving, even the referees are constantly sprinting around. I took some videos to show you guys :)

Pics from Perth as a Tourist

Wheel of Perth

Yummy Hot Chocolate!

Indian Ocean, Cottesloe Beach

Aboriginal War Memorial in Kings Park, I learned about it in my Aboriginal History class.

Kangaroo Paw, but I thought it looked like a swan

Perth as a Tourist

This weekend my friend, Jules, from UCSB, who is studying in Canberra, visited me in Perth! She only had a few days to explore, and it was her only visit to the West Coast, so we had to fit as much in as possible. She flew in late Wednesday night, and got in right after my friends and I got back from celebrating my friend's 21st birthday. The next day it was raining all day and I had class, so she explored the campus and we walked along the river in the rain. Then we went out for a nice dinner at a cozy little restaurant. That night all of the Americans at Currie Hall gave a presentation on life in the US and we served them Oreo's, milk, donuts, and popcorn- "american food." They don't have graham crackers here, and we want to show them s'mores! The next day Jules and I went on a run through Kings Park, which was beautiful. Then we went to Cottesloe, a great beach town, and she went swimming in the Indian Ocean (I didn't because it was cold and I already had/will again). Then we went to Fremantle, another cute beach town, and wandered the shops. We went into one and met this very attractive law student, that I plan on marrying while I'm here, so keep an eye out for the invite haha They have some great markets, so we went into one and I had to resist the urge to buy everything, except some yummy banana chips. I had heard about this great chocolate place with amazing hot chocolate, so naturally we went there and ordered hot chocolate. It was AMAZING. Thick, rich, and simply delicious. Then we headed back and got ready to go to a birthday party for my friend's 21st birthday. Her friends threw her a really nice party in this house they are house sitting for half a year! I'm so jealous. Then on saturday we went into Perth city. We went shopping, then to the saturday market (which is surprisingly small), and finally to all the art and history museums. We saw some great art, but I especially liked this one guy who takes these amazing pictures of Western Australia's landscape, but they look like abstract art. Check him out: http://www.richardwoldendorp.com/exhibition/     After the museums and art galleries we walked through London Court, which looks sort of like Diagon Alley, from Harry Potter, and then down to the river. At the river we rode the Wheel of Perth, which is a huge ferris wheel for sightseeing. Then we walked back to UWA, and along the way we saw 2 dolphins, a beautiful rainbow, and a rainbow colored parrot. That night we went out to a local pizza place before she left. It was fun being a tourist here! 

Riverboat Cruise

So on Friday night the college I live at had a riverboat cruise on Perth's river, called Swan River. The theme was gangsters and flappers. I dressed up as a gangster because I am cheap and I didn't want to spend money on a costume (especially since I already have a flapper costume at home). Before we left they gave us champagne, and then they bused us over to the boat! Apparently there was some bad traffic because there had been a bad accident, so naturally I introduced myself and my friend to all the people around us and I took lots of pictures. There is one that is super awkward of these two guys I don't remember their names. Also, my friend got sick... I don't think the bus driver liked us too much. Then we got to the boat and basically we danced for the rest of the night! I met a lot of people who I didn't even realize lived here, but I don't remember their names :( It's hard to remember everyone you meet here! Too many people at once. But hopefully I will get to know them better as the semester goes on. I've met people from all over- Zimbabwe, France, Italy, Germany, England, Singapore (sooo many kids from Singapore here), China, India... just about everywhere! Then yesterday my friends and I went and saw the Ugly Truth, which was cool because it takes place in Sacramento! And they went on a trip up by Auburn, so I got to see the Auburn bridge in Australia! Pretty cool to think that people all over the world have seen where we live. Thats the cool thing about being from cali haha