Snippets from Down Under!

Its been exactly 3 months since I landed in Brisbane for this all too short one semester exchange program to the University of Queensland. Lifes been certainly a whole lot different here… By now I’ve become used to a lot of previously ‘alien’ things… Even become accustomed to the cool and at times chilly climate… I’ve certainly learned a lot academically and – in a very different context to the normal narrow-minded usage of the word – spiritually… What once was the yearning to go back asap has slowly and desperately turned into the unwillingness to leave… Its not because Australia is a great country, at least not greater than my very own India… Its not because Australian’s are mostly – excluding those radical elements present in any civilization – extremely friendly and easy going… Its not even because of the relative ‘cheapness’ of good quality booze… It is definitely because for once in my life I feel as though my life is going somewhere… Somewhere good… Just because surprisingly here I work!… Work hard!… For academics!… There I said it… I STUDY!!!… That one thing that is taboo for a respectable high school or college going youth in India to do!…

There’s a lot to say about the last 3 months in Brisbane… Here’s just a few random snippets straight off the top of my head…

DRUNKEN Performance!

Ram, Ramyaa (a friend we met here at UQ) and I were wandering around the City this last Friday night… Reached the Cultural Centre… Sat on a bench by the riverside… Chatting… A random Aussie couple stop in front of us… DRUNK… “Do you happen to have a couple of ciggies mate?”… None of us smoke… “Oh sorry to disturb you mates… Having a good night?… Off to the Valley?… Party hard!…”… Sure mate… “What’s your name”… Ramyaa… “I’m -forgot name-”… Handshake… “Anyway since we disturbed you I’ll entertain you… Wanna see me do a one handed hand stand?… Watch its awesome!…”… Proceeds to jump onto his hand in an attempt to do it… Reminder: DRUNK… Attempt 1… Fails… “Oh w8 a second mate”… Attempt 2… Fails… “I’l get it this time”… Attempt 3… Attempt 4… Well you get the idea… Change of tactic… “I’l do 1 hand push-ups for you”… 1 push up… Grinds out a second… Half completes a third… “Woooohooooo…”… No prizes for guessing – the girl!… “Oh… how was that mate… Had fun???… We’ll cya around ya… Take care… Grab a couple of beers mate!… Cya”… Hi5’s… Walk off!… “Ah lets go from here”… Ramyaa JI!… Ram and I follow rather reluctantly!…

Temple of FOOD!

The next day… Ramyaa JI now nick-named ‘MOMMY’ by me because of her very ‘motherly’ and ‘apt’ behaviour meets us at Indooropilly to take us to a ISKCON temple in Graceville… We go… Free Indian Food!… Of course we’ll go!… Chat chat all the way… Temple… More a house!… A BIG house… India means overpopulation… Even in Brisbane we stick to our roots!… I couldn’t even get into the large room where the idol was… Not that I cared much anyway… Still… Inside… Singing, dancing… Full on… We call pentacostals mad!… Check your premises son… We wait outside… Patiently… Something’s smelling bad… Socks!… But outside something’s smelling awesome… The food!… An uncle tells two guys around my age something… Points at Ram and me… They come to us and say something… With all the noise and my rumbling stomach I hear only one word… “Khana”… Alright lets go!… Ram walks off with them… I ask Mommy to come along… “I wanna just see the idol once before eating”… “Alright… look a few people are coming out… You’ll be able to go in”… “Oh ok… I’l be back in 1 sec ok?”… Right on!… We go out… We see… This…

Ram will get his ‘punya’… He served food at a temple!… Mommy n I… Feel bad for all the ‘punya’ Ram is getting!… We wait… We hungry… We wait… We hungry… We wait… Wait too much… We eat… Rice, dal, aloo mutter (?), chutney, sweet, pakoraish type thing, ‘traditional’ drink… All yummy!… Seconds… Eat eat eat… Ram joins us after all the ‘punya’… Eats… We have a laugh… We leave… Busstop… Wanna drink!… Ram goes home gets Jack Daniels pre-mixed drinks… Brings it to Mommy’s place… Ram n I drink… Chat… Watch Aussies struggle early on vs Windies… Go out… Hot Chocolate from Wild Beans… Deserted Busstop…11 PM… Chat… 12 30… Leave for home… Chris Gayle thrashes 27 off Brett Lee… Celebrate!… Sleep!…

Everything Goes Wrong followed by HC at 3 AM!

A few hours back… 7 PM Sunday… Bored… Out to Pig n’ Whistle… Alkira Busstop… W8 10 minutes… Long discussion about Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent and Anarcho-Unionism… Bus passes by!… W8 15 more minutes… Pig and Whistle… 1 Jack Daniels… 7 80… 1 Jim Beam… 7 70… Too costly!… Sunday!… Both of us stop at 1 drink!… Think we’ll get drinks from the Beer, Wine, Spirits shop and head home… Midway through decide to get a pizza, go home and watch Good Fellas… Walk back… Indroopilly busstop… W8 4 bus… Ram decides to take a leak… 2 busses come and go… Ram gets back… W8 15 minutes… Bus… Wrong route… Get out at Toowong… Wait for return bus that passes through Taringa… Bus due at 8 50… 5 minute w8… We w8… 8 50 changes to 9… 9 to 9 12… 9 12… disappears… Next bus 9 20… Hop on… Get down at Taringa… Dominoes… Decide on Pizza… W8ing to order… Counter guy… “You’ll all have to wait for 30 minutes. The Oven just broke down”… Great… Hungry Jacks it is… Walk… Its open!… Yeah!… Whooper Burger, Large Fries and Regular Cappuchino… Sumptuous for 8 dollars… Walk back up the hill… 5 minute w8 for bus… Back at Indro busstop… W8 another 10-15 minutes… Ah the lovely 444 Moggil Bus!… Get home… Watch delayed telecast of F1 Turkish GP… Button wins… Federer wins French Open… Online… 2 50 am… Bored… Ramyaa JI online… “Heh watsup”… “Bored”… “Lets grab a coffee?”… Ok… 3 am… Walk… ‘Enter Sandman’… “Sleep with 1 eye open, Grippin your pillow tight!’… Wild Beans Hot Chocolate… Pics session… 5 am… Walk home… ‘Dirty Little Secret’… “I go around the time I choose… Just to waste my time…”… Turn into the driveway… Frog croaks… Loud… Races forward from 120 to 200 – Heart beat!… Get home… Online… Blog… 6 57 am… Awake… Peace.

- Bibinhio