anzac day

Picture this: you're at a Sydney bar at 4:30 in the afternoon with more people than you've ever seen there on a Saturday night. Everyone is standing shoulder to shoulder around a fenced off area, holding 5, 10, 20, and sometimes even 50 dollar bills in the air. People are shouting, hollering, clapping, speaking in accents from all across the globe, using slang words that you don't understand, and of course, trying to get you to gamble with them (everyone is friendly, don't worry). This event only happens once a year. They're all betting on a coin flipping game known as Two-Up, which is incredibly simple, but very entertaining. You win some bets, lose some bets, have a blast, and miraculously leave the bar with more money than you showed up with.

This is what happens all across Australia and New Zealand only one day of the year, April 25th, ANZAC Day, which celebrates the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). It's similar to Memorial Day or Veteran's Day back in the USA, but the attitude is more of a combination between the 4th of July and St. Patrick's day, everyone is looking to have a good time. It was definitely one of the best cultural experiences I've had so far in Australia.

To make the weekend even better, I woke up this morning to solid 8 foot surf right out front at Bondi. The wind was on-shore, meaning it was a bit choppy out there, but there were still some great waves rolling through. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded because of the size of the waves and the strength of the currents. People were also probably recovering from Anzac Day. I had a great session this afternoon and am now relaxing on the couch, reflecting back on one of the best weekends I've had so far in Australia. Hard to believe I've been here for three months and only have two more left before I head back.

In terms of school (yes, I do in fact go to school here in case you were wondering), I had my most strenuous week of work last week, so it was great to be able to have an authentic Australian weekend in order to celebrate. Two presentations and a paper all crammed into one week was difficult to manage considering I live right next to the beach. When I come home from class all I want to do is surf, so I usually save my school work for later on when it's dark outside. I wrote a paper about Australian surfing legend Mark Occhilupo for my Sport, Law, and Society in Australia class, which was pretty interesting. The paper basically hailed him as the most significant Australian surfer of the modern era. It outlined his impact on the sport and his legendary comeback from obscurity to win his first and only World Championship in 1999 at age 33, one of the greatest feats in sports history. It's great to know that I'm becoming a student of the sport.

In terms of what's next for me, I'm looking into making some travel plans for our time off either before or after exams in June. Jordan and I are exploring a few options right now. It could be quite epic. I'll have more information at a later date. Until then, hang loose.