Ready, AIME, Fire

This weekend we took a break from grand adventures and hung around good ol' Wollongong. We spent some time at the beach, tried to study, and celebrated a friend's birthday. On Sunday I went to an all-day training session for a mentoring program called AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience). Australia has a very ancient indigenous population which is said to be the oldest cultural group in the world. These aboriginals face a lot of the same problems that Native Americans face in the US. They are lagging far behind other Australians in regards to health, education, and income. Although they only make up around 2% of the population, they account for about 20% of incacerated people. The reasons for these short-fallings are a source of much debate and disagreement. However, what is indisputable is that indigenous students need help so that they can get the education they need to be successful. That's where AIME comes in. It's a program in which Uni students volunteer to mentor, tutor, and build relationships with indigenous middle and high school students. I thought it seemed like a valuable program and a good way to spend 1 hour a week, so I signed up. I was disappointed to learn that the program doesn't start until May 1st and therefore I won't be able to spend much time tutoring, but I am still very excited for the program.

After the 6 hour training session I was pretty burned out, but it was one of my good friend's. . .so I headed to the grocery store to buy some cake. We went to a local Thai restaurant for dinner (there are about 1 million Thai restaurants within a 2 mile radius of our dorm) called Coconut Thai. I ordered Tofu Pad Thai and it was delicious. Lots of my friends ordered their meals with kangaroo. . .I tried a little bit and it actually wasn't that bad! People described it as a "gamey" meat similar to elk. It is quite strange because the Australians celebrate their native animals, like kangaroos and emus, but they also eat them. However, my Aussie friends inform me that it's really only tourists who actually eat things like kangaroo. After a very satisfying dinner we went to one of the local pubs and listened to the live band that was performing there. All in all, it was a very nice evening.

Today the sun is shining, but I have to catch up on some of the homework that I put off all weekend. I have my first presentation this week, which I would be freaking out about back home, but presentations here are pretty laid back. I'm not too worried about it, but I still need to do some work on it!

I hope all is well and that everyone is enjoying the milder weather!