Mispronunciations and Want-To-Do Lists

The Aussie accent is adorable. I absolutely love it! Being here makes me feel like I am in an episode of Home & Away. I've never actually watched the show, but some friends in Norway were hooked on it (cough, Trine Lise, cough). Australians shorten their words a lot, and are big fans of abbreviations. I looked it up, and figuring out why they do this has even been the focus of research. One suggestion as to why they shorten their words is to "sound less pretentious, more casual, and more friendly than they would by using the full words". Regardless of the reason, I like it. Some of the abbreviations make more sense than others, like Wooly's for Woolworth's, Maccas for McDonalds, brekkie for breakfast. Others, like "arvo" for afternoon and "sanga" for sandwich, still don't quite make sense to me. 

In my relatively short time in Australia, the mispronunciations have been plentiful. Luckily I don't think we've offended anyone by our mispronunciations (yet) like this poor Italian: 
My fellow international students and I quickly realized we were saying the name of our university a little wrong. Aussies are quick to correct pronunciation errors (as they should be). You'd think it be a simple thing to pronounce Macquarie, right? Nope, not the case. It's Mac-kwARR-ee, not Mac-kwAIR-ee. I feel like a pirate every time I say Macquarie correctly now. 

We've also been pronouncing some city names incorrectly. Evidently Brisbane is not Bris-bAYn, but Briz-ben. Melbourne is not pronounced Mel-bORRRN, but rather Mel-ben. Mind blown! On a side note, I will be heading to both of these destinations later this month. Going to Melbourne to do a Great Ocean Road tour, and visiting my friend/previous advisor/colleague in Brisbane. Hurray! 

I'm not the only one that has trouble pronouncing things and names. Others mispronounce things, too! My last name is a splendid example: Bjerke. No, it's not quite Bee-Jerk-Ee. Not Beef Jerky either. I had forgotten how many people mispronounce my last name. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why they mispronounce it. The confused look they get on their face once I start spelling is pretty entertaining. “There’s a J after the B?” Why, yes, there is. Just to throw you off for a second! My last name stems from the fabulous Birch tree (bjerk/bjørk means Birch in Norwegian). My name is kind of being a Birch in Australia (Haha. Get it?) 

Forgive me for my poor sense of humor. I didn't get much sleep last night, and woke up early to try to be productive. And here I am, writing a blog post instead of writing my term paper or reading chapters in my textbooks… Ooops. I keep having to remind myself that I am here to actually go to school and study. Finding the motivation to sit inside and read/write papers when the weather is amazing is difficult. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing! 

Yesterday, Isabelle and I went to Bondi Beach and tried to read there. The sun was out, bikinis were on, and I figured it was a great day for multitasking. What could be better than soaking up the rays while reading Psychopathology? Well, just soaking up the sun and hanging out with friends was a better option. Ended up only reading  chapter… But I got some color! Not a total waste of time, in other words. 

The only downside of reading at the beach is that that the textbook gets all sandy and full on sunscreen marks… Oh well. 

Today I tried a different approach. I went to campus by myself and found a nice bench and table. It was actually really nice; lots of trees, a little bit of sun, a slight breeze, and there were even power outlets right next to the benches. Sweet! I figured I would sit there all day. You know, enjoy some fresh air while starting and finishing my 20-page term paper in a mere number of hours. Oh, what a fabulous Saturday it would be! 

Well… That didn't quite happen (what a shocker!). Though I did do some research for my term paper and skimmed through an article, it wasn't long before I started looking at totally different things… Far more interesting things, like travel destinations, excursions, and activities. After the realization that the great outdoors wouldn't magically enhance my productivity level, I headed to the library for some bland and dull surroundings. This helped, and I was far more productive. The library at Macquarie Uni is actually quite nice! Also, the people there are super helpful when it comes to article searches and finding books. I borrowed a book that I think will be a perfect reference point for my term paper. Yes! One step closer. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get very far on the paper today, and it has yet to be completed. It will be soon though... Very soon! And by "soon" I mean before the end of April. It's due in May, so no immediate rush yet.  As the great Mark Twain said: "Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well".

There are so many things on my want-to-do list, and time is running out. Only four months and two days until I head back to Norway, but who's counting? I managed to hit two birds with one stone last Sunday (March 9th); I saw something at the Sydney Opera House and saw someone famous! Ruthie, my Aussie roommate from Mel-ben, and I went to "Four Thought: Your Brain and the Future". It was a panel discussion on how the discoveries of neuroscience can affect daily life, exploring the future brain, the drives of desire, the operation of free will, and the psychological tools that shape creativity and imagination. Ruthie also studies psychology, so that was perfect. The key speaker was Professor Martin Seligman, who is famous for his contributions to positive psychology. The other speakers were people I hadn't heard of, but still had very interesting contributions: Chandra Sripada, Peter Railton, and Roy Baumeister. Interesting Sunday, indeed! So glad I randomly searched the Sydney Opera House website on Saturday afternoon. 

Relatively good view from our seats in the Concert Hall 

Beautiful day to visit the Opera 

You see those flags are at the top of the bridge? I've been there! 

After the show Ruthie and I just walked around for a while. We had dinner at The Rocks, and visited the street market there. Sydney is such a vibrant and energetic city. I could walk around the city for hours on end. Always something going on, something to do, or something to see. Take this sculpture for instance; it's not every day you see such a colorful rhino in the middle of the street at Darling Harbour… AND a cute blonde, too! 

With two rhinos being lost to poaching everyday, rhinos are facing the threat of extinction. The colorful rhino sculptures are all around the city, and they are part of a mass public art exhibition. The goal is to create awareness and funds for Taronga's world leading Black Rhino breeding program and in-situ conservation projects. They are sponsored by businesses and painted by local artists. We've seen quite a few while walking around Sydney. 

When my friend, Pernille, and I were on our last Interrail trip in Eastern Europe, we saw something similar. In Pristina in Kosovo there were lots of colorful star sculptures in one of the main walking streets. I forget the message/purpose behind these was, but they were by UNICEF. I wonder how much money businesses have to put out in order to get their own sculpture. Also, I wonder if they have any say in what the sculpture will look like? Hm. Interesting concept.

I definitely miss this sweet face

Tomorrow I will be crossing off another thing on my want-to-do list: wine tasting in Hunter Valley! I will be going with Isabelle, Devan, and Sydney (great name, huh?). We were originally going to go today, but because of a little mishap, we are going tomorrow. I managed to make reservations for Friday instead of Saturday, and was abruptly woken up by a call Friday morning asking where we were. Luckily, the company was extremely nice and understanding, and let us rebook for Sunday. The girls took the news and change of date well, but needless to say, my booking rights have been revoked for an extended period of time.

Love, 
Suzy