A Footy Game

Today I was able to experience a Footy game. Footy is Australian rules football. This is a very cool game that I can only describe as a mixinng of elements of American football, rugby, and basketball. Here's a few pics from the game.















The game was at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. This is a view from the clubhouse of people coming in. This stadium is huge by American Standards. It seats over 100,000.




The ball is shaped pretty much like an American football. The ball is kicked from one player to another, or it's passed using a volleyball serve like move. The ball is in play at all times, so even when it hits the ground it's still in play. This game moves pretty quickly.




The goal is to get the ball through a set of two different goal posts. If they get the ball through the outer-most goal posts, it's worth 1 point. Getting it through the inner-most posts is worth 6 points.







And once the game is over....


Everyone sings the winning team's fight song.

The Airport and Customs

Once off the plane, it was off to get my luggage and meet the driver who was to take me to the apartment in Melbourne.
Just before the flight landed, we were handed a card required by Australian immigration. The basic information requested was info from my passport, as well as where I would be staying in Australia.
Before proceeding to baggage claim, I had to pass through immigration, where I handed my passport and the immigration card to the immigration official. A quick once over, a stamp on my passport, and I was clear.
I proceeded to baggage claim and retrieved my luggage. Customs officers were hanging around, and a K-9 officer was having his dog take a pass at pretty much every bag, including mine. No worries, nothing to hide here.
Then it was off to customs. This was pretty straight forward, just put all of my baggage (carry ons included) through an X-Ray machine. Once out the doors, I located the driver there to pick me up. The driver took my bags, and we walked to the car. Being American, I proceeded to the right side of the car, threw my laptop case in the back seat, and started to open the door. That's when I realized I was definitely in another country, for there was the steering wheel. Oops. While I knew that cars were made that way in Australia, it's just habit to proceed to the right side of a car when you're a passenger. So, around to the left side, and into the car.
The drive was interesting, my first experience driving on the opposite side of the road.
Once we arrived at the apartment, the driver unloaded my baggage, and left. This was another culture shock - no tipping. I almost felt guilty not giving the guy a tip for handling my baggage, but tipping is not a custom here.
So, it was up to the apartment. I had arrived in Australia.

The Trip

The trip is finally here. 90 days in Australia. I headed down under on Wednesday April 9. First I needed to get from Phoenix to Los Angeles. The flight left Phoenix at 8:00PM and Arrived at 9:30PM. Since that was a domestic flight, I needed to get off the flight, go get my baggage from baggage claim and head to the international terminal.
The international terminal was an experience. It was extremely busy with people. After finding my airline's ticket desk among the many ticket counters, I was able to check in. Once checked in, it was back through security and to the gate. This whole processes took me about an hour and a half, so by the time I got to the gate, they were already boarding.
The flight was on Qantas Airlines, direct from Los Angeles to Melbourne. The plane was very nice, with each seat having it's own video monitor, and remote control. Upon arriving at my seat (which was unfortunately a middle seat.) I found a pillow, blanket, and a set of headphones.
The flight took off and we were served dinner with a choice of meals. I took Chicken with Pasta, Peas, and Carrots, a salad, and a brownie.
Fortunately, I was able to sleep for several hours, waking to find a bag with snacks in it like cookeis, M&M's and a bottle of water.
A little more sleep, and then a hot breakfast. Within a few hours we were on the ground in Melbourne.