"It's ALWAYS been Mackers!"

Last night I had McDonald's even though I prefer almost anything else. Here it's called Mackers.

Me: "No, it's Mickey D's!"
Any Australian: "Mickey D's? What is that? It's ALWAYS been Mackers; you can't change it!"

One thing I do like about the MICKEY D'S here is that they also have a McCafe. It's like a mini Starbucks. I've never seen one in the States, but if you ever pass one, get the strawberry frappe...or the tropical one but it's for a limited time only.

Along the same lines but not really, they also call cops "coppers." Must everything have an alternate ending? I guess we're not much better. They do shorten everything, though. Lazy bums. (Said with the utmost love).

Back to food, I told a couple of people that the first meal I want to have when I get back is a pulled pork barbecue sandwich and then a giant burger with real bacon and no beets. The Australian burger has beets. I mean really, beets? Was that a joke that was taken too far? I ordered a burger on our way back to Bathurst this past weekend and the beets had turned a corner of my bun pink. Ew. I asked for bacon and it was really ham. The patty was thin, too. *Sigh* Where's a Texas Roadhouse when you need one?

Oh yes, and I have a confession to make, but you have to promise not to think I'm an idiot...I mean it...So a bunch of us were discussing the Sydney Opera House and someone said they want to see a show. I said I don't understand opera and then felt unworthy to be here because I honestly didn't know there's more than opera performed there. Hey, no one ever told me, ok? It makes perfect sense, but couldn't they have called it a performance hall or something?

Classes are going OK. The outlines are confusing at first, but I'm figuring them out and I have partners for two upcoming presentations, so I won't be on my own. I'm getting my reading done and it's not that boring. There is a lot of reading involved and a good deal of it is only through the library reserve and not the actual textbook. A couple of my classes are review so far because I've already had similar classes back home, but hopefully they'll pick up. In my second class today, criminal law and process, the professor actually asked, "What is crime?" I wanted to gather my things and walk out. I hate questions like that. Everyone knows the answer, but it's so obvious and elementary that no one bothers to raise their hands.

One of my classes, criminology, is the hardest to stay focused in because our professor has one of those voices (you know what I'm talking about) and I'm pretty sure she draws on her eyebrows, so I can't concentrate.

That class is actually a little difficult because it deals with Australian crime patterns in certain areas and the like, which I know nothing about. That's why I'm in it, but I hate feeling lost. It's funny how often American studies and lifestyles come up in all my lectures, though. We just have a lot of problems :)

Well I'm going to try to get an assignment done now. Some guys are playing cricket outside my window, so we'll see how difficult that will be.

P.S. If you read this, Mamaw, I'm craving cracker candy like you wouldn't believe.

P.P.S. I'm trying not to kill them!