Sunday Night

...is a night people go out here. Really. Not Friday or Saturday, but Sunday. :/

You know, meeting people constantly is really great and fun and interesting, but it really makes me miss my friends at home.

Last night, I had a really fun time, after sort of a slow start, when I went to Pugg’s, a local bar, with some girls and Olivia and Andrea, the other girl that goes to Oxy. But being with them made me realize why I’m friends with my friends. Some groups I just don’t really get, like I don’t understand their dynamic, and I don’t enjoy being around them. And that’s how it was with the girls last night. They all knew each other because they all go to Holy Cross College in… wherever it is in the US. So we were all American. Except for one girl who sounded European.
I went to dinner earlier with Olivia, Andrea, and Monica and Jackie, two girls Andrea knew. We went to this place on Lygon Street that Olivia and I actually went before. It was very good, so we went again so we could try their delicious looking desserts (and they were totally delicious!) Monica was Mexican, I think, and living in RMIT Village. She said it was like a frat house there, which is funny because Monika who moved out of UniLodge never mentioned that. Jackie was living in another college on campus, I can’t remember which one. They were both very nice, and dinner was fun. We ordered wine with dinner, which was a new experience for me! I felt very classy. ;)
Then we split off from Monica and Jackie, thinking we would meet up again later in the night because we all wanted to go out to a bar or somewhere together. But we didn’t see them again that night.
Then Olivia and I went back to Queens, where she wanted to change before we went out, and Andrea went to Newman, where she lives on campus, to meet up with the other American girls who live there. The Holy Cross girls, I mean. Then Olivia and I went over to Newman to hang out with them before we went to Pugg’s. It was one of the girls’ birthday, Lizzy, so it was like a celebration for her. Seems like they didn’t really do anything special, though. They put a sign up on the wall that said “Happy Birthday Lizzy!” But while we were there, I just got this sense that they had absolutely no interest in getting to know me whatsoever. Which is kind of a feeling that really brings you down. I am much more used to people being polite and asking me where I’m from and what I study, you know the typical questions. They didn’t even do that. Olivia and I spoke about it later, and we thought it was funny that they were saying how they didn’t want to be like a clique and only hang out with people who live in Newman, but I felt like they were doing just that. They were acting extremely exclusive. Maybe I am just not used to people acting like that. I feel like, on the West Coast, people are generally friendly and nice and polite when you first meet them. Maybe they don’t feel a need to be like that, coming from wherever they’re from.
After hanging out there for what seemed like too long, we went to Pugg’s, where Olivia and I ordered drinks (we both tried Southern Comfort with lemonade, on a recommendation. :D) All the girls from Newman, including Andrea, all just went to the bathroom together. It was like, they all had to travel together. If one of them went, all the rest went. That went on for the night. All of them went and got drinks at the same time, and then sat down with us, all together. Then, when one of them met an Australian guy who came and sat with us, he told us about a house party he was going to and invited us. That sounded fine to me and Olivia, we had no plans for anything specific that night, so we were going to go with them. Then this guy sitting at a table across from ours came over and started talking to us, so Olivia and I just chatted with him while it seemed like we were waiting to go to the house party with this guy. But suddenly, everyone but Olivia was gone, and we were just talking to this guy, Jason. Those girls had left us! Including Andrea! I expected a little better from her. Seriously. Even when people are drinking a lot, they know to wait for the whole group when they leave, unless some of the group lets them know they want to stay behind.
And they walked off down the street, without us. It’s a good thing Olivia realized that they were actually leaving, or else I would have thought that they were just waiting outside for us or something. So we ran off, quickly saying goodbye to Jason, and went outside to try to follow them. Now, I couldn’t tell one group of people from the rest, because everyone seems to wear a black winter coat here, but Olivia spotted the group so we ran after them. They didn’t wait, they didn’t look back to see if we were behind. Olivia called Andrea a couple times, but she didn’t pick up. We caught up to them just as they were reaching the “house” where the “party” was.
HOW EXTRAORDINARILY RUDE of them to just leave us. No warning, no telling us where exactly they were going. I couldn't believe it. I would NEVER do that. Even to someone I just met. When I went to Turf, I went with Phillipa, who I had just met. But Monika and I made sure she wanted to stay later and was okay to get home on her own. Because you don't just leave two girls you came with.

I believe, though I’m not sure, that the one girl that met the Australian guy at the bar, her name was Simone, just wanted to get with the guy, so she would have followed him wherever. And then of course the rest of the girls would just go with her. They also might have thought the “house party” would be kind of like a house party at college in the states, with lots of young people and loud music.
…
No, that is not a house party in Australia. At least, that’s what the guy called a house party. We walked in, into an apartment building, into a small apartment, where there were 3 guys hanging out, and then us, a big group of American girls, and the guy leading us. Olivia looked at me and said, “They were playing video games before we got here.” And they were. Their tv was still paused on a game, and they were all in the living room, they had just gotten up off the couches. One guy was very nice and introduced himself to us right away, but I was automatically like, let’s get out of here. Now. I had been in situations like this before, at Oxy. You go to a party, thinking it’s going to be fun because this guy trying to impress people talked it up, but really it’s a couple guys playing video games and maybe a couple girls standing awkwardly in the kitchen. So, Olivia and I left. Easy peezy lemon squeezy. I wasn't going to stay just because some girls we came with who later ditched us were staying. Screw that.
And then the night got better. Olivia said she wouldn’t last much more of the night unless she got some food, so we went to this pizza place to get her a slice. The pizza guy was really funny and friendly. When he heard our accents, he asked where we were from, what we were doing in Australia, the usual. Then Olivia and I went back to Pugg’s. I felt kind of bad for leaving Jason so suddenly, and I also felt the night shouldn’t end with a piece of pizza. Though those kinds of nights can be good too. ;)
Back at Pugg’s, we sat at the table we were at before, because I didn’t actually know where Jason was sitting before he came to talk to us, but he came right over. When he came over the first time, he said he had to come talk to us because we were “being creepy.” Hahaha! I think that was my fault. (I kept staring at everyone in the bar, trying to scope out any cute Aussies…. Oops. I don’t want to get into the “creepy” zone when I am trying to meet people… haha.) So Jason came back over, then another friend of his came over. His name was Phil, though we didn’t figure that out until much later. We all talked about a lot of things, because Phil was actually born in New York, and then moved to Melbourne, and Jason had visited the States a little while ago and actually knew St. Mary’s College, where a couple of my high school friends go! REPRESENT!!! That was a funny coincidence.
So the night ended with me, talking to Jason in Pugg’s, and Olivia kissing Phil outside of Pugg’s. Haha! He was cute, I don’t blame her. Not anything serious happening in the night, just meeting more and more Australians. Which is a good thing. Maybe I shouldn’t have started my night out with a bunch of American girls. Maybe that was my problem. Anyway, it ended well. I gave Jason my number, though I am not that interested in him, he’s just a nice guy, and Olivia had a good time with Phil, and we got a ride home, because Phil had a car and was a designated driver that night (as was Jason).

So, to sum up the night, Australian guys are still easy to meet and are very kind and friendly, and maybe I shouldn’t go out with American girls, because they can be very catty and judgmental and clique-ish, and I hope they aren’t feeding into some American stereotype, but I will have to try my best to oppose that. I mean, I’m in Australia, why should I go out with a bunch of Americans? I should go out with Australians! Pschhh. Oh, and I am so very grateful for my friends back home. When I saw how all those girls acted together, and I thought of how I act with my friends, I was so grateful for my girls back home! These girls just try to one up each other, and they act kind crude, and their jokes can be mean. That’s not real friendship.

Oh, and update on housing: I emailed the really nice woman at Queens about moving in this week, before my room at UniLodge is filled. Because really, I won’t be living there anymore, so why wait for someone to fill my room? I might at well just leave. I just have to figure out the payments. Hooray! Life is good. I spent some time there with Olivia today and I just like it more and more. We went to a footie game, Queens College versus Trinity College, and it was really fun until it started raining. Everyone is so friendly! I know I keep saying that, but they truly are. We talked to this one cute guy who didn’t even know Olivia yet, but that didn’t matter. :) And then Olivia and I were just hanging out in her room and like, 4 people came in to just hang out with us. So nice.

So I am going to go to bed tonight, dreaming about the magical place called Queens, where I will soon live and make a bajillion Australian friends, and have meals cooked for me, where I will actually talk to the people I live with. Siggghhhh. I just can’t wait. :)

Goodnight! Well, good morning, to the West Coast! I love and miss everyone! xxxooo