As of Thursday, May 20th, 11:25 PM, $1 AUD = $.0.8279 USD
So, since I haven't been updating my blog as of late I decided to put up a post. The main reason I haven't been updating is that I've pretty much not been experiencing anything that out of the ordinary recently, just hunkered down studying and enjoying the good life. This post is a little different though. This post is a comparison of the U.S. of A., land of the free, home of the brave, versus Australia. I've come to find a great many differences in the two countries, and when you read this you'll probably come to appreciate the United States more than ever.
Soda
United States: Three 12 Packs of Coke for $10 (Harris Teeter)
Australia: One 12 Pack of Coke = $24... One time I saw a really good deal! $13.99 for One whole pack!
Alcohol
United States: Fifth of cheap gin = $9
Australia: Fifth of cheapest gin possible = $40
United States: 24 Case of cheap beer = $15
Australia: 24 Case of cheapest beer = $50
Water
United States: Water is cheap (unless you live in Arlington, VA), there is no limit to how much you can use.
Australia: We get to use 200L per day. Now, this may see like a lot but, it is really only 50 gallons. This also may seem like a lot of water but, considering the average shower head pours out 6 gallons of water every minute means showers are short. Also, don't forget flushing the toilet, washing your hands, washing your dishes, brushing your teeth, and drinking during the day. If you go over the 200L mark, well let's just say you'll be receiving a nice bill in the mail with more than one '0' on the end of it.
Internet
United States: We get unlimited Internet to do whatever we want, whenever we want for the low monthly price of around $50.
Australia: We get 3GB for $40/month and then $10 for every GB over that. To give you an idea of what a GB means: The average person around the world uses 12GB per month (which means Americans probably use at least twice as much). But, we'll continue to use the 12GB as an example. This means to use 12GB of Internet you would have to pay about $130 per month. Yeah, this pretty much means you can only download/upload so many pictures per month, no YouTube, no streaming music, no online games, limited file download capacities.
Freedom of Speech
United States: Say whatever you want whenever you want. Except for 'Fire!' in a crowded theater, unless of course that theater is actually on fire... I think?
Australia: Well as a few Australians have said to me, "Yeah, you guys take that free speech thing too far." Hmm, yes, we have to much freedom!
Well, the end of my vacation.. err.. study abroad is fast approaching. I have a little over 5 weeks left until I come back to the States. Am I ready to leave Australia? No. Am I ready to see family and friends in the U.S. and be able to suckle on the teat of Lady Liberty's 24/7 convenient and unlimited lifestyle? Absolutely! Life is so hard, is it not?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Finally, I'm Back
Yes, I know, I haven't updated in a while. But, I do have good reason. I've been swamped with school work and I had to cut down over 600 photos I've taken since my last post. There are far too many pictures to put in here so I'll give you my Flickr URL so you can see them there. As for my trip, I'll give you a short Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive in Melbourne. It was the first time I ever stayed in a hostel. It was the last time I'll ever stay in a hostel. When I walked in the first thing I asked was where the complementary toiletries were. Yes, I was out of my league.
Day 2-?: Wandering around Melbourne. We went up into the Eureka tower (which is the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere) and I did something called the "Edge." You get into an all glass box and they push you out over the edge. It was awesome. It was like standing on air. We also went to an Art Museum and on a boat tour of the city.
Next: We get off on our trip to the Great Ocean Road. It started at around 6am -- so I wasn't in the best mood ever -- and we went to a national park that had Kangaroos (which I was so glad to see because I hadn't seen any kangaroos yet) and Emu, and an Aboriginal Learning Center.
Next: We arrive at the cabins we are supposedly staying at which are quite nice. They have a TV, clean kitchen, nice furniture, I was pleased because they didn't have the feel of a hostel. Well it turned out we had been dropped off at the wrong place and had to wait about 4 or 5 hours for our tour guide to find us and pick us up to take to the other place we were staying. This place was a cold hostel, but at least it had hot water.
Next: We are on the road again to a national park. Here we had to do a 2 mile hike up to the top of what I consider to be a mountain. I barely made it, and my lungs were on fire when I got to the top, but It was a pretty sweet view.
Next: We get on the great ocean road. We saw some amazing sights, which you can all see in the Flickr gallery. Stayed in a decent hostel. Finished Great Ocean Road, and then went back to Melbourne. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I took a helicopter ride up and down the coast of the GOR, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done.
Back to Melbourne: We spent some more time in Melbourne and went to the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens. Then it was time to go home.
That was the very abridged version of my trip. It was great, and I'm still having an awesome time in Australia. I can't believe I have less than seven weeks left. I don't think I'm ready for the real world. Although, I am ready for 24-hour stores, conveinience, cheaper crap, and having a car.
I also came to the awful realization that I'll be a Graduate in less than a year. UT had graduations last week, so, the real world is fast approaching.
Here is the link for my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47131936@N02/
I'll try and get on a few more times before I head back to the good ole' US of A.
Cheers.
Day 1: Arrive in Melbourne. It was the first time I ever stayed in a hostel. It was the last time I'll ever stay in a hostel. When I walked in the first thing I asked was where the complementary toiletries were. Yes, I was out of my league.
Day 2-?: Wandering around Melbourne. We went up into the Eureka tower (which is the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere) and I did something called the "Edge." You get into an all glass box and they push you out over the edge. It was awesome. It was like standing on air. We also went to an Art Museum and on a boat tour of the city.
Next: We get off on our trip to the Great Ocean Road. It started at around 6am -- so I wasn't in the best mood ever -- and we went to a national park that had Kangaroos (which I was so glad to see because I hadn't seen any kangaroos yet) and Emu, and an Aboriginal Learning Center.
Next: We arrive at the cabins we are supposedly staying at which are quite nice. They have a TV, clean kitchen, nice furniture, I was pleased because they didn't have the feel of a hostel. Well it turned out we had been dropped off at the wrong place and had to wait about 4 or 5 hours for our tour guide to find us and pick us up to take to the other place we were staying. This place was a cold hostel, but at least it had hot water.
Next: We are on the road again to a national park. Here we had to do a 2 mile hike up to the top of what I consider to be a mountain. I barely made it, and my lungs were on fire when I got to the top, but It was a pretty sweet view.
Next: We get on the great ocean road. We saw some amazing sights, which you can all see in the Flickr gallery. Stayed in a decent hostel. Finished Great Ocean Road, and then went back to Melbourne. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I took a helicopter ride up and down the coast of the GOR, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done.
Back to Melbourne: We spent some more time in Melbourne and went to the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens. Then it was time to go home.
That was the very abridged version of my trip. It was great, and I'm still having an awesome time in Australia. I can't believe I have less than seven weeks left. I don't think I'm ready for the real world. Although, I am ready for 24-hour stores, conveinience, cheaper crap, and having a car.
I also came to the awful realization that I'll be a Graduate in less than a year. UT had graduations last week, so, the real world is fast approaching.
Here is the link for my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47131936@N02/
I'll try and get on a few more times before I head back to the good ole' US of A.
Cheers.
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