This past week has been pretty crazy in Melbourne. The city has been hosting the Australia Open AND it was Australia Day yesterday. Aussies are VERY patriotic. They also like to drink... a lot.
This man on the right is David Moore, Australia's most famous export to Dominican University and my personal deliverer of awesomeness here in Oz. He got me a ticket to the Open on Super Saturday, during which I spent my time with his friends in the Heineken Beer Garden and watched zero tennis. I also went again on Monday, where I watched a bit more tennis...
But the big deal that day was Hewitt (top, Australian underdog in his own country, who I was cheering for) vs Federer (bottom, Swiss tennis god). Needless to say, Federer buried Hewitt. As you can see, I got a nice view from the massive screen... I SHOULD have snuck in.
(Above) This is a view from Federation Square (a big concrete monstrosity in the heart of the city that no actual Aussie seems to like). However, every night passionate spectators cram into the outdoor plaza and watch the matches live on the screen. There is no such thing as a dull crowd here. Anytime the crowd becomes too composed, someone will always start a raucous cheer, often another round of "Aussie Aussie Aussie, OI OI OI!". And the best part is that it ALWAYS works! And no one cares about the amplified volume or comments on the unique style of the instigator (often including a draped flag or jean cut-offs, t-shirt or singlet, and mismatched colorful accessories), which is what would probably happen back home.
This zeal carried over in heaps for Australia Day, although supposedly their Memorial Day is a bigger celebration. We spent the day at the beach, from noon to 8pm, eating, drinking and swimming ( or face planting into a good nap, in Sean's case) and idled away the evening watching fireworks and playing drinking games on the rooftop of our hostel. You can't really see it, but that's the Australian flag on my shorts.
Dear Australia Day,
We love you.
Love,
Malinda, Molly and Meaghan
I love those monuments or things in major cities that the locals hate-- its so controversial, brings about some great reactions, and it brings out a lot of city pride... I wonder what people hate in SF?... hmmm...
ReplyDeleteOz sounds fun!
Sounds like so much fun! I was waiting to see you at the beach, and the Open! Whoa! I don't blame you for missing the tennis though, it's pretty boring when there's other stuff going on :) yay! Jen's following too! Now you have more than just me. MUAH!
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