Exodus

Well, the lacrosse season is over.

We made it to the semi-final and on a rain-soaked pitch covered with areas of nearly 10 square yards where the thought of dodging is a complete joke, the Footscray Bulldogs lost to Surrey Park 9-8. We were down by 3 with five minutes to go. Eventually we tied it up with a minute to go and had ALL the momentum. That is, until we got a minute slash called on us. They manged to get a one on one and score with 20 seconds left and won the ensuing face-off. It was a rough loss, but it was the best season in team history, so there was much cause for celebration. And celebrate we did.

Apart from mandatory post game beers, the import players (yanks, as we are so graciously called) are invited (read: forced) to participate in the age-old tradition of "Pole to Pole."

The Footscray Lacrosse club is situated on about an acre of land with the capability to make 4-6 full fields. The Pole to Pole tradition is a test of endurance, stomach capacity, confidence, and, perhaps most importantly, showmanship.

To begin, each import (3 yanks and 1 Japanese goalkeeper who takes about an hour to drink half a beer) is given a pitcher of beer. As I have surely mentioned, the concept of light beer is STRONGLY frowned upon by Australian males. It is akin to drinking a Mike's Hard Lemonade with a straw in the states. That being said, our pitchers were filled with Victoria Bitter, the Budweiser of Australia. After being about 5-6 beers deep at this point, chugging and entire pitcher in front of a hundred or so rabid players and fans expecting a serious performance is quite a daunting task. Well at least I can take down Tai, our lightweight friend from the Orient. Wrong.

As we started the debauchery, we Americans are somewhat pacing ourselves to get past the foam, but still holding our own. By the time we are about halfway finished, Tai is celebrating his much deserved victory. What a snake in the grass! He absolutely dominated us while various members of the crowd were shouting "Pearl Harbor!!" Whatever, we dropped da bomb. Twice. That settles that.

After we finish the pitchers (I got third place, miserable performance), we are instructed to go into the locker room and "get our kit off" because we are running to the end of the field and back in the nude. In the cold. With a hundred or so watching and filming.

Now, I am a decorated veteran in the art of streaking (Women's Highschool Lacrosse Semi-Final (whoops, that was the baseball team, right?), Mary Markly Cafeteria during Sunday Brunch, Law Quad countless times, etc. etc.), but there has never been a significant presence of filming equipment. Oh, well, we thought. Lets put on a show. After the initial run to the other end, all four of us linked shoulders and skipped back, then proceeded to slide on our stomachs through the patches of mud. Classic. Riley had to do this a few months ago with a bum knee, which is impressive, but ours was voted the "best pole to pole ever."

The madness continued through the night capping off a great experience playing lacrosse in Australia.

In other news, my room mate Jack is leaving Australia in a few short hours. Having him leaving is really making me excited to get home. I have a few things to look forward to in the next few weeks, but as much fun as I have had in OZ, it is time to get home and start a real life. The experience of living in utter poverty has been quite eye-opening and taught me some great lessons. I still think welfare is bullshit even though I could qualify for it here in a heartbeat. Won't stoop to the level of a societal leech anytime soon.

My last day of work is on Friday and I will then have about two weeks to tie up all of the loose ends and say my good-byes/see you laters. The great thing about traveling, especially in a place like Australia, is that fact that you meet and become close friends SO MANY people from all over the place because you are all in the same boat. Many of these people are compulsive travelers and are making plans to visit the US. I let them know how much our girls will melt like butter when presented with an Aussie accent. They book flights immediately. Girls, don't let me down!

I'll probably do a few more posts when I am off work as I will have plenty of down time so keep checking in!

TaTa for now and whatever you do, don't read Anthony's blog. He told me that he doesn't have to do it for class. Rather, he has been so moved by WesDownUnder that he wanted to copy me. He begged for me not to tell anyone because he is really embarrassed. He frequently is asking me for advice on humor and wit. Clearly, my advice has not set in as his blog is completely devoid of anything remotely funny. Just kidding...but seriously.

AREEEBA DARE-CHEE