Make-a-plan Monday

Today we made a plan for the rest of the week. We set up meetings with Malcom, other post-grads in his Bible study, and with other leaders in Christian Union. I also set up an academic meeting with a researcher at the Division of Primary Industries. I also got to go to Sandy's women's post-graduate bible study, where we examined Daniel 1, a great study for graduate students.

One of our concerns so far has been getting information about grad student life. Mike gave us a research tool called "Decoding Your Campus" - a guide to finding out all about the geography, demography, social and spiritual landscape of an undergraduate campus. We looked it over and decided that there would be a lot of value in finding out this sort of thing for the post-graduates. However, we recognized that every lab or program would probably differ, at least on the social and spiritual landscape areas.

So yesterday while Ash went back to work on some other stuff, Jared and I walked down to the botanical gardens and the Shrine of Remembrance, then walked back up into town to catch a bite to eat at a cafe with good seating for working. We fashioned a new survey, one that would hopefully tell us what we need to know about post-graduate life and spirituality. We also hope that this survey will get us into some good conversations with post-graduate students. The plan is to set up a table in a central area with a sign that says "Post-Graduate Student Survey." Candy will be provided.

Today we will visit the Queen Victoria Market - a large open-air shopping facility that's been around since 1878.

Lazy Sunday

Sunday we had another relaxing day. We didn't do much, so there isn't much to report. From my side of things, the most blog-worthy thing about Sunday was the public toilet I used near Flinders St. Station.

Think about what "Public Restroom" means in the 'states. When I hear "Public Restroom" I think dark, fetid, costly restrooms not much better than a port-o-let. When I hear "Public Restroom" I think, "better off finding a bush somewhere." Public toilet (they don't use the word restroom here- they call them toilets just like Britain - Australia's a very British place, really) in Melbourne apparently means "palatial personal lavatory and grooming center."

The signs for public toilets in Melbourne look like signs for tiny subway stations, pointing toward a stairway that leads to a large sub-level bathroom. It was impeccably clean, the polished pink terrazzo floors gleaming in the low light. The sink area was spacious, with heaters mounted over the sinks to keep you from catching a chill while washing your hands. A friendly "NO SPITTING" sign was also mounted to the wall near the sinks to remind you to keep your saliva in your mouth while washing your hands, thank you.

Most incredibly, opposite the sinks, a shallow countertop ran around the wall, the mirrors above it providing the most convenient place to check one's makeup or hair. They had even provided little stools for you to sit at the small counter. Though I had no need to adjust my makeup as I wasn't wearing any, I sat on one of the stools and marveled at the quality of the lighting and what a gift this little haven would be to any woman walking around Melbourne.

Best of all, a large sign near the entrance proclaimed "No Charge." In the 'states, often maids will stand at the entrance to public restrooms with a tip jar, or, in the worst-case scenario, they will actually put a price on your use of the restroom. Here anyone, be they homeless or wealthy could take advantage of the sweet asylum offered by the public toilet.

I emerged to the street, bubbling with joy. The boys were saddened. Apparently the men's public toilet wasn't anywhere near as nice.

Aussie Rules Football: Geelong-Collingwood match

A few months ago, when Jared informed us that we would be attending a "footy" match in Melbourne, I didn't know what that meant, though I could have made a bad joke about Aussies flirting under the table. Apparently footy is another Aussie nickname - in this case footy means football, specifically Aussie Rules Football or AFL. (By the way, my checklist of cute Aussie phrases has really grown. Favorites include "brekky" (breakfast) and "bikkie" (biscuit aka cookie))

Jared told us that his friend Paul was going to get us tickets so that we could enjoy this quintessential Victorian (that's from the state of Victoria, not necessarily from the time of the reign of queen Victoria) pastime. It sounded like it would be a cultural experience, but never being much of a sport-lover, I didn't know if I would really be able to get into this so-called footy.

Later, as Paul revealed, Jared had the same thought. "I don't know how excited she'll be about it, but she probably won't bring her knitting," he had said to Paul.

Well, friends, I definitely didn't need my knitting at this event. Aussie rules is a much more fast-paced game than American football (call

ed gridiron here). There's very little stopping for the entire game of 4, 20-minute quarters. The ball is constantly in motion, sailing smoothly from player to player, punted or punched with knuckles. If a kick is caught cleanly, you get to "mark" the ball and essentially take a free kick where the defender cannot pass a certain point to attack you. The object is to kick or push the ball through your opponents goalposts on either end of the field. Getting through the outer goalposts scores you 1 point, the inner goalposts 6. Defenders can tackle you when you have the ball, but instead of everything grinding to a halt when this happens, as in American football, when you are tackled in Aussie rules the goal is to get rid of the ball while you're being crushed by other players. A player goes down in a pile and the ball squirts out like a big yellow egg to be snatched up by another player who keeps the play moving. Simple in its rules, elegant in its execution, AFL is infinitely watchable.

As we climbed to our seats in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG),I noticed that Aussies from all walks of life attended footy. There were tiny boys and girls with their faces painted, many elderly fans, as well as a large number of mid-twenties people like us. I noticed the girls were dressed smartly, as if they were going out to dinner somewhere nice. Girls who watch football in the 'states are by no means inelegant, but usually a football match calls for more masculine attire than a night out on the town. I wondered what drew them to the games.

As the game started and I watched the players begin to run around, I have to admit there was but one question on my mind. Why are their shorts so tiny? I asked Paul, our resident AFL expert. He had no answer. I looked again- weren't they cold? There could be any number of good explanations for the size of their shorts. Perhaps it was so that they didn't lose them when they were tackled. Perhaps it was difficult to punt successfully in longer shorts. But as I watched further, the game seemed to be full of innuendo. Scoring a point was known as a "behind," the official spanking the goalpost enthusiastically when one was scored. The most frequent word shouted by the crowd was "ball," referring to when a player failed to get rid of the ball when they were tackled. Perhaps this explained why so many women were fans of this full-contact sport.

The match was a nail-biter, but in the end the Geelong (pronounced "Jah-LONG") Cats, reigning champions and our team, failed to scratch out the Collingwood Magpies, the number two team this year. Even though we lost, there was an atmosphere of good fun for all. As we filed out of the stadium, some boys started a kick-the-coke-bottle game which followed us all the way down to the riverside. Australia is always up for a good game.

First day of Australia

We arrived in Melbourne this morning, travel-weary and bereft of Tuesday. Mike Shepski, the state director for Student Life (Campus Crusade in Australia) and a Penn State grad, collected us from the airport and took us to his home so we could shower off the stench of 16.5 hours on a plane, nourish ourselves with coffee, and email our loved ones, thus regaining much of our humanity lost on the long journey from LA.

We squeezed back into the car to head to Melbourne University campus. As far as I can tell, Melbourne University is a cross between Hogwart's, Harvard, and Penn State. Later, we headed over to Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to hang out with the Crusade undergrad summer project team doing an outreach in front of the RMIT 'caf' (Cafeteria). Blood sugar levels dangerously near zero, we walked across the street to Melbourne Central, a train station/mall. There we were fortified by delicious Malay cuisine before moving on to our next meeting at University House to meet with Malcom and Sandy who are involved with post-grad (grad student) ministry at Melbourne. University House is a private club for faculty and staff at the university with a fine sitting room where we sipped tea and hot chocolate and felt much like Britons.

(Parenthetically: Ash and I have just determined that we have been awake or engaging in what passes as sleep on a plane for the past 48 hours. Our insanity has begun to thicken and solidify like pudding. If this entry doesn't seem very coherent, that is why.)

Malcom and Sandy were delightful and we really enjoyed meeting with them while the rain began pouring down in earnest outside. Dodging the rain, we met up with our hosts James and Jane, at the train station. As the day closed we found ourselves running on fumes, and used our train ride to learn how to use Aussie phrases like "No Worries" inappropriately to random strangers. Now our kind hosts have fed us and tried their darndest to keep us awake with conversation. However, motor skills and language are beginning to fail me and I must go to bed, even though it's only 8:24pm. Look forward to more interesting/less erratic updates tomorrow.