If I were to be asked to describe Australia in only one word, it would be "sports". While "Outback" would be a close contender, Australia's fascination with sports reaches back to even before the Outback was settled. Unknown to many, Australia is actually one of the world's great sporting nations. For evidence of this, one only has to look at its Olympic medal performance. Australia currently sits in the top 5 in total medals accumulated but at first glance appears to be eclipsed by nations like China and the US. However, consider then Australia's total population, about 20 million. When you consider the medals per capita, Australia is far and away the leader. I once read a statistic that when counted in this way, Australia is number 1 and roughly 3 times better than the number 2 nation, the US. And as if that weren't enough, Canada has a connection to this. Following the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Australians were so disappointed with their medal tally that they instituted the Australian Institute for Sport and poured huge sums of money into development. Australia hasn't looked back since.
2008 is a big year in Australian domestic sports as it is the 100th anniversary of the rugby league (NRL) and the 150th Anniversary of Aussie rules. When I saw the game in Gosford some months back, that was the 100th birthday. August 7th was the 150th birthday of Aussie rules and was designated as "Kick Around Australia Day" where people were supposed to go out and kick the football around or wear their team colours. I wore a Sydney Swans scarf to university that day. Aussie rules and rugby league are the 2 dominant sporting codes in the country and it is somehow fitting that they should be celebrated together.
The weeks at university are drifting by again at what seems to be an ever-increasing pace. Although nothing is due immediately, I am conscious that assignments are coming up and so I've been doing some research and thinking. An international law assignment looks particularly interesting.
Work at Cafe Pronto is just as the name suggests, at time very hectic. Friday was a particularly busy day with many orders, some quite complex. Luckily, I have 2 floormates who also work at the Cafe so we form a pretty good team. I've even picked up the Aussie tradition of a quick drink after work, though for me, a soft drink is a suitable replacement for alcohol.
No comments:
Post a Comment