Classes & Food

This has been the first week of classes, and I’m pooped. The classes have run every day from 9am to 5pm. This is before my official awake time (which is 10am), and after my designated nap time (the noble 2pm). Hence, pooped. I can even feel a stress cold creeping into my nasal cavity.

The people in my program are great. They are all caring, interesting yet interested people. We come from all walks of life – Australia to Zambia – and I’m really looking forward to learning from everyone over the next year. We've had a real blast getting to know each other through joking, fun conversations (like my evangelizing about toilets), and storytelling. For example;  I tried to explain to some ladies about funerary food traditions from Ireland a few centuries ago. I was grateful that, while they seemed mildly disturbed, they feigned interest and asked me about some food cultures in the US (more on that in a bit).

But I’m still exhausted. I always forget how much learning can tired out the brain. It is as if my brain has been training for some big triathlon with new, fascinating material. I guess that’s kind of the point of starting a new graduate program, right?

So, food. I was explaining to some of the Aussies here about the popular funeral casseroles in the Midwest (particularly with Mormon communities). That led to a discussion of what are casseroles; here I thought everyone in the world had the joy of knowing a good old casserole when apparently that is not the case! They then explained to me their fairy bread (which is sliced bread slathered in butter and topped with sugar sprinkles…??), and someone pulled out a hot cross bun for a snack. This blew my mind - I do not think I’ve ever seen a hot cross bun before. Hot cross buns are a thing! I didn't even fully realize that they ever were a thing, outside of the song played on recorders for 3^rd grade music class. Other assorted rolls were discussed, as well, but I don’t recall much else about them other than the fact they were buns. I think I could happily trade a casserole tradition for a bun tradition, guys. At least, as long as there is a gluten free option. Midwesterners – get on that, please.

On the way to class this morning, I saw a wild cockatoo flying around the trees. Because cockatoos exist in the wild in Australia. All I can do is wonder whether or not wild cockatoos imitate the conversations of passerby folk.

I made a new friend from the gentlemen who helped me illegally cross the street over the weekend (No, he’s not the one who asked me to ice skate, but the other one who was more forgiving of my overall confusion). Photosynthesis Drew came and hung out with a bunch of us yesterday, and he’s a really interesting human with great stories (and we all know how much I love a good story) and pretty impressive accent skills. He finished his PhD at UQ on photosynthesis as a potential tool for renewable energy. I don’t understand it fully, but it sounds pretty cool! We had fun chatting about trees and water last night, and I am glad I am finally meeting proper Australians who can vouch that I have, in fact, been in Australia for the last few weeks.

On a less upbeat note, finding a job here has been pretty difficult. I had the impression that Australia was in a labor deficit and in desperate need of workers…but I am finding that no matter how many receptionist-waiter-tutor-teacher-hostess jobs to which I apply, I am left with burger joints even politely rejecting me via email. It has blown some of the wind out of my sails.

Apparently it has also left me a bit “too available” to the workforce lately – last night I got an email responding to an application I had sent via SEEK. I was confused why they were asking for a full-body photo and my real age. I did some more research to find out that I had supposedly applied to be a stripper at a strip club?! I had thought the name “Love and Rockets” was going to bring me to work at a burger joint.

And no, I’m not going to strip at a club. I’m not that needy…yet.

My last thought is that the preliminary readings have really gotten me to question my personal values and practices. Some of the statistics I've read on our planet’s water situation over the next twenty years are pretty bleak. Increased populations are creating more demand for food/drinks/energy/stuff that require increased water usage…and yet we’re already over consuming what little water we have available on Earth (because despite the fact the world is covered with water, only 10% of all water in the world is consumable).

I am someone who likes to think that I practice what I preach, and now I’m asking myself if I should practice my preaching even more. Should I become a vegetarian, since it’s less water intensive? Should I live in a rural area so I don’t require as much water (though that’s not necessarily always the case)? I am even reconsidering my wanting to have children in a few years; the population increase is only making it less sustainable for our future generations. I’m not sure I’m willing to bring children into a world that cannot promise the essentials needed to survive. Perhaps I could adopt. Maybe I should just have puppy kids. I don’t know. I was gently reminded that I just started my program, and maybe these huge life decisions should take some more thinking before I make them.