Yesterday was another good day. But first, check me out on YouTube for videos. www.youtube.com/danielernce
I didn't do much during the day. It was cold and overcast all day. I went into town briefly to take care of some banking business and spent a few hours reading and working on Black Tar. I'm really enjoying writing again and I'm especially enjoying working on Black Tar.
One of the big events on campus today was signing up for clubs and activities. All the clubs and organizations set up booths on the quad and there was a free barbecue for lunch. I signed up for a club called Stonecutters and bought tickets to the two main social events this week. Stonecutters is the "social club." It was that booth that had a bunch of big muscly guys in tank tops or polos with their collar's popped, wearing sunglasses when it was dark out. Immediately after signing up I wondered, "what did I just get myself into?" But then I remembered what every RA and Res Life representative had been drilling into our heads for the past week: take every opportunity, make the most of everything, don't pass up anything, go out of your comfort zone, and get amongst it.
Go out of your comfort zone.
The main event for the evening was something called "Kryal Castle," which is, well, a castle. Buses ran heaps of students every half hour to a venue about 20 minutes away. Upon arriving, there it was, a castle. But not in the traditional Disney sort of way. It was really only a stone wall with a few turrets and a moat.
Once inside (which was still outside, the venue was outdoors), there were several different areas set up. Live music played with different bands and DJs and there were a couple places to purchase overpriced alcohol. And what sort of festival would it be without a silent disco? A silent disco (a new concept to me) is basically the same thing as any other dance club except, when you walk in, you trade your ID for a pair of wireless headphones. Slip the headphones on and you've got a disco in your ears. Take the headphones off, and it looks like everyone is awkwardly dancing and singing to nothing. Here's the catch, there are three different channels of music playing. You could be dancing to one beat, but the person next to you is dancing to something totally different. Now the trick becomes finding the other people that have the same beat in their ears, and congregating. Heaps of fun! Now, if you know me, you know I don't dance and that I am far too white to dance. But was I going to pass up the chance to say I've been to a silent disco, was I going to see any of those people again? No. Was I in Australia, thousands of miles away from my friends who might have seen it and laughed? Yes. So I went for it, got in line with a cute girl named Emma who I had met during "speed dating" a few days before on Res (turns out those childish games were good for something). Also, turns out, I had a blast. But the night was still young.
After meeting up with Mauro and the girls from NY, chatting up a cute girl from Lithuania, the general consensus from nearly everyone at the castle was "we're going to Blue Stone." So on the bus we went and headed off to Blue Stone. Blue Stone is (as far as I know) the only club in Ballarat or, at least, the only one worth going to. Again, more dancing. After a few minutes (which was probably more like an hour) of wandering around and trying to look like I was doing something and/or trying to find a cute girl to talk to, I gave up on it, checked my inhibitions at the door, found my mates, and kept dancing. Turns out, I had a lot of fun. Again.
Around 1:30, we (mates from my unit/sister unit: Alex, Teish, Ash, Berry, Will, and myself) all left and caught a taxi home and I told everyone I would cook for them when we got back, of course. Having a few drinks in them, they all started calling me "America" which I was totally fine with. Once we got back (around 2), I worked up a "boss" meal that was "top shelf" and got "heaps" of compliments on it. Throughout the cooking process, Ash and I had to keep reminding the girls that it was 2 a.m. and to be quiet and, at the end, I had to tell Teish to go to bed so she wouldn't keep being loud and get us all in trouble. I then sent everyone else off to bed, did dishes, and went to bed myself and dreamed of being back home with my brother getting tattoos. This morning, Alex thanked me for making her pasta last night. "Thanks for making me food last night, apparently you made me pasta and it was really delicious."
I had a hugely successful night and had heaps of fun and new experiences and met lots of new people. It was a night of firsts: first time to a silent disco, first time dancing, first time clubbing, first time in a taxi. And I'm glad it all happened here, in Ballarat.
Thanks for reading
~Daniel
No comments:
Post a Comment