A Theoretical Analysis of Australia's Elevated Cost of Living

Disclaimer: In a departure from the content of our typical blog posts, I figured I'd incorporate one of my other passions aside from IT: Economics. I realize that economic policy, international trade, and the Weak Axiom of Revealed Consumer Preference doesn't light everyone's fire as much as it does mine, but this post is intended to apply what I've learned and read to our experience here in Australia, particularly in regards to international trade and public finance. If you're sock drawer is in urgent need of sorting, I would not at all be offended if you skip this post, as this isn't the most engaging or entertaining content you can find on the blog. Otherwise, please enjoy :-)

Picture courtesy of Macro Business Superblog

In some of our past posts, we haven't been shy in remarking how expensive Australia is relative to the US, particularly for common household goods (food, clothing, beer... the essentials). Most, if not the vast majority, of Aussies are well-aware of the [nominal] cost differential between Australia and the US. Most Australians I know and work with employ the practice of arbitrage, or buying goods abroad and either A.) shipping them to Australia, or B.) traveling abroad and purchasing their goods overseas, thereby maximizing their consumer surplus.  It is well-known here that for tailored suits, one is better off flying to Thailand than to purchasing them within Australia, as the total cost (flight included) can sometimes be less than purchasing an equiavalent product here in Australia (depending on the quality and quantity of suits purchased).

Already Lydia and I have endured the elevated costs of certain goods, that cost less to purchase and ship from the US than to purchase here.  One such example is our recent purchase of climbing shoes- the pair of Scarpa Thunder climbing shoes that I recently purchased at Paddy Pallin cost me AUD$143 (and that was with 20% off), as opposed to the exact same shoes at REI (not on sale) costing US$130 (so roughly AUD$131), which included international shipping.  We ended up opting to purchase the shoes here so we could climb same-day, however under other circumstances, it may be well worth waiting the two-weeks, and just shipping goods from overseas.

As evident in the above example, it is often not enough to simply look at market exchange rates to determine the differing costs of living (which until relatively recently weren't themselves at all useful- the US didn't switch to a floating-rate exchange rate until 1971, and China still persists in using pegged-rates for their Yuan- hence the infrequent squaking objections of US Dept. of Treasury Secretary Timoth Geitner that China is artificially devaluing its currency to improve its terms of trade, to which China typically replies, "We own your ass").  Nominal values are prices we see when we go to the grocery store, which include not only the value of the good, but also fluctuations in currency, particularly in regards to inflation and monetary supply.  Real values, in contrast, factor out currency fluctuations to determine the actual value of a particular good, or it's "real value".  Real values over time measure purchasing power.  It is nominal prices that result in the primary differences of prices between countries, such as the US and Australia, and what exchange rates intend to offset.



Picture courtesy of AES Wealth

 There exists a fundamental economic law, the Law of One Price, that states, excluding transcation costs (best illustrated by the cost of shipping from the US to Australia) and barriers to trade (best illustrated by import tariffs, customs tax, etc), that identical goods will have the same price in different markets, when expressed in real terms (or in the same currency).  From the Law of One Price, the Purchasing Power Parity principal is derived, which states that exchange rates should move to make the price of a basket of goods the same in each country.  Economists use the CPI (Consumer Price Index) to measure intra- and inter-country changes in price, often characterized as the "cost of living." The difficulty with this measure is finding an equivalent "basket of goods" that is of identical quality and components across the world, as different cultures consume different goods of varying quality and price.  Enter the famed "Big Mac Index" which identifies the price of a McDonald's Big Mac - a product that is comprised of identical or near-identical components and requires the same amount of labor to assemble worldwide- and compares this price across the world, taking into account exchange rates.  Effectively, the Big Mac Index measures the accuracy of currency exchange rates.  The exchange rate that leaves a Big Mac costing the same in dollars everywhere is the fair-value yardstick.  So how close is the Australian dollar to it's "fair value?"  Unfortunately, not that close:

Price (USD):	4.07
Price (AUD):	4.56
Implied PPP	1.12
Actual Exchange Rate	0.92
Margin of Error	21.74%

So why is this figure so far off from what economic theory predicts?  The Economist "beefed-up" (their bad pun, not mine - oh the humor of economists...) the Big Mac index to account for different country's GDP per capita, as average prices should be lower in poor countries than in rich ones because labor costs are lower.  After controlling for GDP per capita ($46,860 in the States, $39,764 in Australia [both in USD]), we find that the Aussie dollar is "overvalued" by 12%- closer than our 22% calculation, but still a good ways off.  So why is the adjusted value still off?  A myriad of reasons explains this discrepancy to the PPP theory, but here are a few that seem to be the most obvious:

1. Costs of non-tradeable goods - There is no theoretical reason why non-tradable goods and services such as property costs should be equal in different countries.  As it is, Australia's property costs generally far exceed that of the States.  These elevated property costs are capitalized in the price of goods.
2. Policy climate - Although controlling for GDP per capita partially offsets this in the above example, the minimum wage laws still impact this figure.  Labor is considerably more expensive in Australia, particularly for the segment of workers that would be working in the fast food industry.  The minimum wage in Australia is $AUD15.51, whereas it is $7.25 in the States, which results in higher inflation, ceteris paribus.  Aside from minimum wage, a number of other Australian federal laws impact the price of goods (particularly agricultural).  In the case of bananas, Australia severely restricts their importation out of concerns for biosecurity and the Queensland flooding effectively destroyed this year's crop, the supply of bananas in the market as been severely diminished, thereby significantly increasing the price of bananas.
3. Economies of Scale - Australia has less than 8% of the population of the US (although nearly comparable in land size, though much of it uninhabitable), thus McDonalds in Australia likely can't exploit the benefits of the downward sloping average cost curve as well as McDonalds in the States.  This applies to the general manufacture and production of must goods, as the Australian market as a whole is much smaller than the comparable market in the States.
4. Taxes- Although my preliminary calculations indicate that Australian Income Effective Tax Rates are lower than those in the US (unlike the States, Australia doesn't charge state income tax, just federal), their equivalent consumption tax (10%) is included in the price of all goods.  Although sales tax varies in the States, it's on average lower (7.25%) than the GST here (10%).  Note that the GST is a Value Added Tax (VAT) and not a sales tax as it is levied in the States.  The significance of this is that a VAT is a much more efficient tax than a sales tax, though the difference is indeterminable to the end-consumer.  It may be relevant to note that Australia also heavily taxes alcohol on top of the GST, resulting in combined tax rates that may exceed $32%.  In-line with many of its socialist policies (in the literal sense, not in the "Obama is a socialist!" way), the alcohol taxes are pursuaint to a "sin-tax." 
5. Transactions costs - Although less likely a factor for Big Macs, the transaction costs of moving goods in and around the country are a contributing factor to the higher price of goods.  Australia must import much of its consumer goods.  Many of Australia's top 25 imports are finished goods, which means a lot of cost is incurred in shipping and transporting these goods from overseas to local markets.  In contrast, Australia's top 25 exports include a majority of commodity goods.  The country's heavy reliance on commodity goods also leads to a higher volatility of its currency due to Australia often depending upon foreign capital investment.  As a result global economic pressures, the Aussie dollar is particularly subject to international credit market volatility (hence why the Aussie dollar dropped so much earlier this month in response to the European sovereign debt crisis).

For the above reasons and more, Australia is an expensive place to live, at least comparatively, but probably not as much as the media would lead many to believe.  Despite some of the populist tidings, it is not as simple as comparing prices here to prices abroad, or even just accounting for differing exchange rates.

One persistent theory, to which more than a handful of Australians subscribe (or at least grant some merit), is that the elevated prices are the result of tacit and explicit price collusion among Australian retailers that began with the 2000 Sydney Olympic games and subsequently were kept elevated after the games concluded.  Fundamental economic theory notwithstanding, I guess it makes for good tea conversation.

The fact of the matter is that each and every economy is very different, in terms of political climate, geographic implications, and population considerations.  Despite all of this, it would seem that Australia still is considered one of the best places to live in the world.

Tim Tam Slams

I'd like to share an Australian treat with all of you called a Tim Tam Slam.

First of all, what is a Tim Tam? You may remember Matt mentioning these chocolate cookie treats in his previous posts, as he discovered them while studying in Australia during his college years. Before we arrived in Melbourne, I had been advised to look forward to their awesomeness.





Screen shots of TimTams taken of http://arnotts.com/our-products/products/arnotts-tim-tam.aspx







After being in Melbourne for just a few weeks, we learned two more things about Tim Tams. Their variety is is more than we you could ever imagine....and when combined with milk they reach a whole new pinnacle of deliciousness.


You may be thinking... "Um, we in the States have Oreos. Dipped in milk. And, they are pretty awesome. I bet you can't top that with some Ting Tang thingy." Ah, but this would be false. Tim Tam slams move from the casual arts of "dipping cookies in milk" to the complex culinary world of "using cookies as a straw."

And so, I bring you the steps for a Tim Tam Slam:

Step 1:
 Heat milk in the microwave.



\

Step 2:
Stir in either Ovaltine (which by the way is not as sweet here so I add in a little sugar too)
or Milo (another malty but not as sweet as ovaltine mix).  When using Milo, water can work in place of milk.





Step 3:
Take a bite of corner of the Tim Tam, turn 180 degrees, and take a bite of the opposing corner.

Step 4:
Dunk the Tim Tam in the heated beverage.
Using the Tim Tam like a straw, suck the beverage through the Tim Tam for a bit.
Then, remove the Tim Tam from the mug.

Step 5:
Now the Tim Tam will be melted and warm all the way through (a.k.a amazingly delicious)!

If you are confused, watch this video of lead Snow Patrol singer attempting a Tim Tam Slam:

You may be wondering, "But, how do I make a Tim Tam Slam without Australian Tim Tams?" Lucky for all our readers in the states, as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Tam....

....you will be able to stock up on Tim Tams from October to March! I'm envisioning stocks of these alongside boxes of trusty Girl Scout Cookies.

I've also been told (though can't personally substantiate the claim), that when in dire straights, a "Twix Slam" will satiate Tim Tam Slam cravings...

I will leave you all with a song, written by a Melbourne band, all about the gloriousness that is a Tim Tam Slam:



5 Minutes or Less: Breaking Into Aussie Music

Since being here, Lydia and I haven't really had an opportunity to be exposed to a lot of Australian music; what little music we do hear is either on buses or when passing restaurants, much of which is mainstream top 40 anyways. At the suggestion of one of our good friends, Gabs, I've started listening to a bit of Eskimo Joe. Out of Western Australia, Eskimo Joe is an "Alternative Rock Band" (whatever that means these days) with considerable notoriety here in Australia. I've just started to poke through some of their albums, here's one of their singles, "Foreign Land," from their 2009 album Inshalla:



That's my favorite so far (I've only just started listening), though I have a good bit more listening to do as they have 5 albums released, starting with the first from 2001.

5 Minutes or Less: Brewing Beer

This subject deserves  much more real estate on this blog than this post has granted, but I haven't posted too much about it up to this point as I fear once I get started, I'll never finish... so for now, we'll keep it confined to "5 Minute or Less" posts.

Thus far our beer adventures have turned up rather disappointing.  While we've only scratched the surface of the Australian Microbrew market, there is no doubt that it includes far less diversity than that of what it is in the States.  While we've discovered a few gems (though nothing on the magnitude of Terrapin Rye), we're still only just beginning our quest; after all, these things take time.  As both a means of furthering our own interest, as well as fulfilling a need not currently met by what we can find in stores, we've started to brew our own beer here in our apartment.  Our first brew is none other than a classic American Pale Ale (from a brew kit- no all-grain brewing yet...).  In our corner stands a 30L fermenter currently filled with 23L of fermenting golden deliciousness:

As part of the home-brewing process, we've had to start collecting empty crown-top beer bottles in which we will bottle our final product on Tuesday to bottle-condition and ferment.  We've enlisted the help of the Internet Cafe pizza bar downstairs, who have graciously provided us with their otherwise discarded empties- in return we've foolishly promised a bottle or two of the final brew, but failed to consider the potential that the beer turns out in a state that isn't consumable... only time will tell.

We'll keep our loyal readers posted as to how the Seppo Ale turns out!

Sharing Culture

Over that past month and a half, Lydia and I have been soaking up as much Aussie culture as possible, poking around town, attending footy games, eating Kangaroo and Tim Tams, and visiting Koala Sanctuaries.  It was high-time to share some of our cutlure with Australia, and what better time than at my birthday party last weekend.  Given our limited time and resources, we wanted to focus on one effort that is indubitably and quintessentially American- Apple Pie? Baseball? Obesity? Nay- Beer Pong!

Having spent a considerable amount of my college career partaking in the art of beer pong, and witnessing it's ability to bridge cultural, gender, and age gaps, we knew it was the perfect activity to which we should devote ourselves to share with our friends.  Unfortunately, we came to this realization rather late in the game and thus only had a week to tap into our creative inspirations, gather materials, and actually build our dream.  After careful planning, analyzing, and brainstorming, we determined the most appropriate way to decorate our masterpiece- in the traditional red and black livery of the fine institution that I attended and the football field where dreams are realized (or in the case of this season so far- crushed).  We briefly considered splitting the table in half- having one side of the table in UGA colors and the other in William & Mary. Lydia decided that given our limited time, the added complexity of integrating two different football fields into one, and William & Mary's nearly all-together lacking football program (I was surprised to hear that they had one at all... to which Lydia was quick to cite W&M outstanding academics), that the UGA table alone would suffice.

The weekend of September 3rd was devoted in part to obtaining these materials- the board, paint, tape, and plastic painters' shields.  Our immediate challenge was locating the above materials in a public-transportation accessible location.  One of the ongoing (although relative minor) challenges we face here in Australia is knowing where to find things that we need... there are no Home Depots, Best Buys, or [affordable] Targets here, so we're often left to our own devices (although aided by modern technology).  We recalled seeing a substantial hardware store up in Clifton Hill, having visited some of Lydia's family friends' friends that live there a few weeks ago.  We set out on our mission via the tram on Saturday the 4th and sure enough found the hardware store, which had a small selection of lumber and materials, tools, and equipment (roughly 1/20 of what the typical Home Depot stocks).  Unfortunately unlike the large hardware retailers back in the States, this hardware store did not offer cutting services.  Lacking the necessary power tools to do so ourselves, and determining the impracticality of purchasing our own (Lydia was particularly adept at this, while I devoted most of my cognitive efforts to what all I could accomplish around the house with a mitre saw), we opted to look elsewhere to find an establishment that could cut our beer pong table to official dimensions (as determined by the International Beer Pong Means and Standards Organization that I made up for this post):

Length	1800mm
Width	900mm
Thickness	12mm

Sure enough, around the corner and a block or two over, we found a proper lumber wharehouse (closer to a lumber yard) where we were able to find a particle board (or a "chip board" as it is known in Australia) that met our exact dimensions; no cutting necessary. When picking up the lumber, a very helpful gentleman, whom few would mistake for working in a trade other than lumber, lended us a hand in retrieving the board and attempted to make friendly conversation.

Since Lydia and I have been here in Australia, we haven't had too hard of a time understanding the Australians around us; spare a few colloquialisms, slang, and minor pronunciation differences, we've been able to communicate effectively so far. Furthermore, we have become acquainted with the endearing though slightly derogatory term of "tradies." Tradies, is short for "tradesmen;" think electricians, car mechanics, plumbers, etc. You can drink a "trady coffee," which is the ubiquitious term of coffee that has a disproportionately higher volume of cream and sugar than to coffee, or if your pants fit too liberally in the back, you may be wearing "trady" pants. Nevertheless, Lydia and I hadn't yet really met with a Trady or could confirm any of these stereotypes. Then we walked into an Australian lumber yard... While it was obvious that the gentleman was very friendly (he went out of his way to ensure our needs were met, and was more than willing to lend a hand), communication proved... difficult. We had carefully navigated around any extended converstation and nearly made it out clear of any awkwardness or "faux pas," until the last exchange:

Trady: "Du yah 'avawayas t'geau?"
[Lydia and Matt exchange a bewildered look]
Matt: "um, sorry, what was that?"
Trady: "Du yah 'avawayas t'geau!?"
[awkward silence while fumbling for a response]
Matt: "Oh, no, thank you though"
Trady [half tempo]: "Nuou! Du-yah-'av-awayas t-geau wth'at?"
Matt [piecing together the syllabyls]: "Oh! No, not too far, just down to Victoria Parade. Thanks for your help
[Matt and Lydia leave before another question is asked, exit stage left]

After getting back to the entrance of the lumber yard, we were both surprised to find a more-than-adequate hardware store, spread in deceptively small buildings on either side of the entrance way. Lydia, enthused and enlivened with the promise of getting all of the necessary materials in one place asked the clerk for spray paint, which included the communication issue we experienced in our last exchange, although this time roles reversed:

Lydia: "Doyouhavespraypaint?"
Clerk: "I'm sorry?"
Lydia [More assertively]: "Doyouhavespraypaint?"
Clerk [bewildered]: "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you."
[Lydia turns around to Matt with a look of desperation]
Matt: "Do you stock spray paint?"
Clerk: "Yes, right over this way..."

After a thirty minute lesson from the more-than-helpful store clerks, and two summarized explanations of the rules of beer pong to bewildered Australians, we were on our way home, with wood board, red, green, white, and black spray paint, masking tape, and two plastic painters' shields. Not having the luxury of a car or ute, we decided to walk the journey home; after all, it was a straight shot.  Lydia entertained the idea of taking the tram home, but I dismissed it, as we'd have to walk one block West, wait on a tram, have to awkwardly board the tram with the large wood board, then have to get off at the nearest stop to our apartment and walk three additional blocks home.  So we set out on foot.

And that was a mistake.  Not having walked to the store from our apartment (we took the tram), I had misjudged the distance we had traveled by about half a mile, give or take.  The distance, coupled with the aerodynamics of a large flat surface and strong gusts of wind, made the journey less than enjoyable.  At first I insisted that I could walk the board home myself, so long as Lydia carry the other supplies.  That approach lasted about two blocks; after nearly taking off twice, I conceded that Lydia was right and we should have taken the tram.  Admitting defeat, I dejectedly took one side of the board, Lydia the other, and we set out the rest of the way home:

After walking what seemed like hours, enduring some perplexed and musing glances of passing pedestrians and traffic, and only some mild bickering, we happened upon a great discovery: adjacent to the public housing building halfway between the hardware store and and our apartment lay the next best thing to a flatbed truck - an abandoned shopping cart.  Leveraging the convenience of our new found transport device, we no longer had to walk our supplies home - we could roll it:

The shopping cart proved an asset, as we could double our pace and both walk forward, although it was still a two-person job.  While one of us powered the cart, the other had to ensure the board did not slide off, coupled with continually having to check over our shoulders to ensure an enraged vagrant was not in hot pursuit, it was easier said than done.  Nonetheless, we endured and made it the rest of the way home with our supplies, after toppling the configuration twice and drawing a minutia of blood only once.  All in all, we walked the 6ft x 3ft board 2.1km home, or 1.3 miles:



View Larger Map
With all of our supplies at home, we now faced the challenge of setting up an adequate space to actually paint the table.  Without a garage, basement, or other suitable construction area, we had to fabricate our own.  We briefly considered conducting our painting in the common court yard or in our designated parking space, however we decided against it both out of inconvenience and in consideration of apartment building guidelines.  Although we doubt any provision exists against the painting of drinking paraphanalia in common spaces, we didn't want to be the precedent for it to be amended.

This left our porch area as the only other suitable alternative, although the area was only slightly larger than the wood board itself, and we had to be extraordinarily careful not to inadvertently and permanently accent the surrounding area in GA colors.  Armed with our painters' masking plastic and masking tape, we delicately fabricated our studio, being sure to cover every exposed inch.  After finishing, our porch resembled something similar to the plastic "clean room" assembled to extract Elliot et al in E.T., or the "business room" in the popular TV series Dexter.

We systematically painted each layer of the table, starting with the green base layer, followed by the yard lines (which employed a good deal of measurements, computations, and taping), the external border and endzone letters, the red border, the characteristic "G" and the waterproof sealant.  At a drying time of 1 hour, precise measuring and remeasuring, and the cutting of stencils (required for the endzone letters and Georgia "G"), the table took disciplined devotion of pre- and post-work efforts every day of the week.  Lydia actually paid for a cab one day during lunch to come home and apply an additional coat of paint.  In short, the table was not thrown together in haste:

I would be remiss if I failed to mention my slight "oversight."  At the risk of being the butt of many jokes, I cannot withhold information from our readers...  When determining the placement of the G emblem, or more specifically the first coat of the white oval background behind the G, I painfully measured and remeasured, to the millimeter, the precise place where the G should be applied vertically on the table.  All told, it took me around 25 minutes to be comfortable that the oval was centered and could be painted.  After carefully taping down the mask, setting up our makeshift paint shield (derived from a derelict box found in the recycle room at the base of the building) I applied the first coat of white, which applied quite nicely on top of the green- to the point where no additional coats need be applied.  After letting the oval dry for an hour, Lydia and I evaluated our strategy for applying the thin red outline, when it struck me, as subtle as a punch to the gut; although I had painstakingly centered the oval vertically on the table, I had failed to consider doing the same horizontally.  After all, I just needed to center the 50-yard line within the stencil, and that was that.  Enter in Einstein's theory of relativity, or so how it applies to beer pong tables.  In my devotion to centering the oval perfectly vertically, I chose not the 50-yard line as my horizontal center, but one of the 40-yard lines.  Up close measuring on the table with our posterboard paint masks covering the rest of the table and thus obscuring the other yard lines, I was none the wiser; after all, the 40-yard line looks identical to the 50-yard line.

After some earnest self-discipline and reproach, as well as some choice words not fit for publication, we had no other choice but to paint over the misplaced oval in green and re-paint the segment of the 40-yard line to redo the Georgia G emblem.  All told, this pushed back our timeline about 3 hours- mostly as a result of having to wait for paint to dry.

Despite this, we managed to finish the table in time (although sans yard-line marker numbers as we cut our stencils too large) and were able to enjoy the table for the party.  And it was a hit- nearly everyone in attendance was able to play a game of beer pong on the table, followed by a untold number of games of flipcup:

Erica and Jay defending their cups

The finished table, pre-party

Bradley and Tom mid-game

Post-flipcup Discussion

The table endured and served its purpose- we were able to share our cultural tradition with our new-found Aussie friends and bring a little bit of home to Australia.  The table remains proudly displayed leaning against the wall in the apartment, as an esteemed piece of both art and utility.

Melbourne in Pictures

At the risk of devaluing the literary stature of this blog (as it is obviously quite high), I've resolved to post more frequently, if only short posts with little content or just pictures... this is one of those posts :-)  Below are a handful of photos taken out and about in Melbourne over the past two weeks or so.

Fitzroy Gardens, near our apartment

Flinders Street Station- Iconic Melbourne

Flinders St station and Eureka tower (tallest building in Melbourne)

Spooky Possum

Different, bolder Possum 

5 Minutes or less: Likes and Dislikes

Note: I started this list a few weeks ago but never actually published it... better late than never, I guess...

A quick and dirty list of likes and dislikes of Melbourne thus far (in no particular order):

Likes:

1. Variety and quality of restaurants.  Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japense, Korean, Indonesian, Greek, Vegan, etc, they're all available and all are authentic (except for maybe Mexican...)
2. Proximity to mountains, ocean, and forests, all accessible via public transportation
3. Public transportation.  We can pretty much get to anywhere we want to go in greater Melbourne via tram, metro, or bus
4. The people.  Aussies are in general incredibly easy going and friendly, not to mention non-Aussies
5. The weather.  The day can start grey, wet, and gross and end sunny, warm, and bright
6. Melbourne is distinctly Australian, and as Americans we're "special" (in both senses of the word).
7. Aussie Rules Football.  Still figuring out the rules, but its definitely entertaining and everyone has an opinion about which team to barrack for.  In general, Collingwood fans are bogans.
8. City planning.  Upon first arriving in Melbourne, it is quite obvious that a lot of thought was put into the planning of Melbourne.  The streets are in a grid pattern, the trams run down every other major street, and the CBD is quite manageable and walkable
9. Regional pride.  Similar as in the US, but perhaps more widespread, Aussies are very proud of their respective cities and have little reservation in asserting that their city is the best
10. Animals.  Aussie animals include some of the most exotic and interesting animals on the planet.  We don't have an opportunity to see a ton of animals given that we're in cooler Melbourne, and we're in the city, but when we do see them, they're pretty awesome.  Although many locals consider them a nuisance, the possums are ADORABLE

Dislikes:

1. Absence of abundant and good mexican food.  Trippy Taco is the best so far, which is nice since its a 5 minute walk from our apartment up in Collingwood.  Other than that, Taco Bill can satiate an appetite if in dire need...
2. Public transporation.  While the public transportation is amazing, it is nonetheless public transportation.  Waiting for a bus/tram/train sucks, compounded with the fact that there exists no easy way to determine where tram routes go, and the routes aren't outlined on Google Maps like in NYC or London, getting around can prove difficult
3. The weather.  As mentioned above under "Likes," although the weather can start out cold, wet, and ugly and transition to warm, sunny, and pretty, the inverse is true as well... We'll see as summer approaches, but leaving the apartment this time of year without rain protection and a spare layer of warmth is a risky endeavor
4. The cost of EVERYTHING.  Nothing is comparatively cheap here... well except for wine.  Some standard price indicies:
1. Half-gallon of milk: $4.50
2. 24-case of mediocre beer: $45
3. Can of Coke: $2.00
5. Notable lack of robust and diverse microbrews (nitpicky I know, but I'd kill for a Terrapin Rye right now...)
6. Time difference between Melbourne and the States.  It's just part of moving so geographically distant from your home town, but it has proven a bit of nuiscance in a number of key areas; calling friends and family, watching sports, and catching up on news.  Lydia and I agree that the time difference is more significant of a factor than the geographical distance.

That's the quick list, I'm sure I'm omitting many others from both categories, but I've hit my "5 minute" mark.  In an effort to post more on the blog, I'm going to try to include more "5 Minute or less" posts

A Weekend of Foot{y,ball}

The weekend of September 3rd was a weekend of sports spectating- with the Australian Rules Football season coming to a close and the college football season just kicking off, we were excited to watch both sports, attending a St. Kilda/Carlton game Saturday evening and watching the UGA/Boise St game Sunday morning.

Even before leaving for Oz, I started reading up on Aussie Rules Football (AFL), as I knew that it's a big deal in Australia, particularly in Melbourne.  I had the opportunity to watch an Aussie Rules game on TV while out in Binna Burra in 2007 during my study abroad.  While fun to watch, figuring out the rules in one game proved to daunting a task.  Watching the game on television amongst dedicated AFL fans was both exciting and amusing; a big play or contention would occur, and inevitably one of us Americans would ignorantly ask, "what just happened?" or "can you explain why that was a foul?" or "will you kindly put me back on the floor, I am asphyxiating as a result of this celebratory gesture?"  AFL is a sport unto its own, with elements vaguely similar to American football, soccer, and most closely, Rugby.  Its has a complex set of rules as a result, and even after researching the game here and there via Wikipedia, AFL.com.au, and watching the games online, it was due time that we actually attended a game.  This weekend was really our last opportunity as it is the last weekend of the regular season, after which point, tickets prices raise substantially and are harder to come by.  Lydia and I chose to attend the St. Kilda vs Carlton game because it was Saturday evening, tickets would be available at the gate and both teams were nearly evenly matched (ranked 6th and 5th respectively out of 17).

We opted to support St. Kilda because they were the underdogs, we've been told that Carlton supporters are "bogans," and St. Kilda's colors are red, black, and white- colors with which we are well-equipped (not to be confused with Essendon, who are just red and black, and another potential option for us to barrack for).  Having UGA games my only point of reference, and knowing that if you show up any less than an hour in advance, you're lucky if you find a seat, we arrived at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ("MCG") an hour early in hopes of getting tickets not in the nose-bleeds.

A little background about the MCG- it is one of two multipurpose cricket grounds in Melbourne (the other being the smaller Ethiad stadium) that seats 100,018 footy fans.  It is merely one kilometer away (15 minutes) from our apartment, although we are never able to hear the games (probably because it's down hill).  Needless to say, if you're on level 4 (the top level), you'd likely need binoculars to make out how many players are on the field, let alone where the ball is.  To Lydia's and my mutual surprise, when we arrived, there were plenty of tickets and general admission seats on level one still available.  We promptly went inside to find some prime seats, which we were instructed that if we hurry, we could find good seats in sections M25-M27... unfortunately we entered at M57 so we had to walk nearly 180 degrees around the stadium to get to the sections.

After 10 minutes of brisk walking, we came to section M16, which was gated and manned by what we could only assume were geriatric ward patients granted temporary leave.  We showed one of the aged gentlemen our tickets who promptly responded that we were not permitted to enter the section as it is reserved for "AFL members."  Suppressing our frustrations, we patiently explained that we had been directed there by another staff member and kindly asked how we could reach our seats.  The gentleman, almost automatically, replied, "this section is reserved for AFL members and you have general admission tickets, so you cannot enter, you must be AFL members.  Only AFL members may enter this section"  Lydia and I exchanged a knowing look, sensing that this wasn't going to be an easy answer and that we may be there for a while.  We explained that we understood that we could not enter, but needed to know what section we could enter with our tickets.  Sparing you the agonizing details, this exchange continued for another four hours, give or take, when we realized that the information we were seeking was not among the wisdom this kind, although unhelpful, gentleman had to offer.  Exercising the highest degree of restraint from a sarcastic quip, we politely thanked him for his help and promptly turned around to find another staff member.  In approximately 12 seconds, we learned that the sections we needed to find were not M25-M27, but M29-M32 and that we could obtain a "pass out," exit the stadium to continue walking around, and enter again on the other side of the members' section to find our seats.

We made it to the general admission section, where we found a plenitude of vacant seats, and chose our seats a handful of rows from the front.  After having secured our seats, and another thirty minutes remaining before the game started, we decided to check out the concessions to get some fries and drinks.  I reserved the seats (which likely wasn't required, given the abundance of open seating), and Lydia set off for the concessions.  She returned in a remarkably reasonable amount of time with a cup of steaming fries, a beer for me, and a cider for herself (note: a testament to the efficiency of the concession areas, not to the fact that Lydia is usually slow..).  I didn't have high expectations for the beer (tragically, as I feared, the Australian beer market is lacking the variety and quality with which I am familiar with in the States), but the beer was surprisingly refreshing, complementing the fries and quite appropriate for a game of footy.  The fries were delicious and we admired the ingenuity in their condiment packaging- their condiments come in small packs that when bent if half, create a squirt-bottle effect, making it easier for tableless eating.  I promptly tested this clever engineering marvel on my jeans, learning quickly that the amount of pressure required to extract the contents is indirectly proportional to the consistency of said contents.

Shortly after finishing our pre-game snack, the game began and the fans around us started oohing and aahing corresponding to plays on the field, although to exactly what Lydia and I did not know.  A quick break down of what we figured out follows:

• There are 18 players on each team on the field at any one time, with four substitutes on each bench
• The game consists of four quarters, 25 minutes each, with injury time included in at the end of each quarter
• Players can run in any direction with the ball, but must bounce it on the ground every 15 meters
• Although we are sure there are defined positions on the field (forwards, wings, mid-fielders, etc), any player can move anywhere on the field and there does not appear to be any regular pattern of routes/plays like in American football
• Players can pass the ball by either a handpass or by a kick, and it can be in any direction.  There is no throwing of the ball
• If a player kicks the ball and another player catches it without the ball hitting the ground, it's called a mark.  Play stops until the player who marked the ball kicks it (typically forward) to either his team mate or through the uprights.  Generally, the idea is to get mark right in front of the goal so the player can then kick it through the goal.
• To score, there are four uprights; two tall ones in the middle, and two shorter ones marking the outside.  A kick between the two tall uprights is a goal, which is six points, and through either side of the "goal" uprights (and between the tall and shorter post) is a "behind" which is one point

After the half, we went and got a traditional footy meal, where we each got a meat pie and a drink; I opted for a peppered meat pie and another VB Gold, whereas Lydia went with the original meat pie and a Jim Beam and cola- a common practice here is that they'll often served pre-mixed whiskey and cola drinks in cans:

The verdict was that the pepper meat pie was better, but Lydia's drink was surprisingly better than expected.  Admittedly, one of the highlights for me was this commercial, which they showed on the big screen at the game:

Hilarious.

All in all, we really enjoyed the game, partly because of the athleticism and skill involved in the game, and partly because it was fun to try to figure out when to cheer- (Lydia often inadvertently cheered on Carlton, I'm sure to the chagrin to the Saints fans around us).  St. Kilda was down most of the game, but made a fourth quarter comeback to win the game.  The final score was St. Kilda 13.8.86 (that's 13 goals, 8 behinds, for a total of 86) and Carlton 9.12.66:

The game finished up before ten, but Lydia and I hurried home to have a quiet evening and prepare for Sunday's UGA season opener against Boise State, which was at 10:00am local time.

I'm not entirely sure why- perhaps it's because we have the potential to be a decent team this year- or maybe because we're just so far away, but I've been much more dedicated to UGA football this year than in the past few.  As a result, I've been getting psyched up for big season opener, and have in the past few weeks been reading and watching all publications regarding the Dawgs- oh Athens, how I miss thee.

We woke up early around 9:30 this morning to get ready for the game. I made my best effort to "tailgate," which involved me putting on my UGA sweatpants and a red shirt, and cracking a Carlton Draught before kickoff, thus introducing Lydia to time-honored college football tradition of "Kegs and Eggs."  To watch the game, we were able to use espn3.com.  We can't use our Australian internet connection, as ESPN3 requires  a subscription to a participating cable provider, which we don't have here (we don't own a TV yet).  But fortunately enough, my parents use AT&T Uverse which does have an agreement with ESPN3 (thanks Mom and Dad!), so we're able to VPN to the server back in the States to access the site; no login required.

All in all, the quality is pretty good via the internet, we're able to watch full screen and the site throttles the quality of the video dependent upon the connection, however it did pause several times, one of which was rather untimely as it occurred during kickoff.  As it turns out, given Georgia's performance, we almost had wished that it would've paused more often, skipping over parts of the game.  Without sulking in my sorrow, I must admit that I was rather disappointed with the level of play.  While having some rather choice words during the game, I believe I was able to quell my frustration enough to not make Lydia want to move back to the States.  We did watch the entire game (no fair-weather fans here), but the last quarter was not a fun one.  Oh well, the Dawgs took a risk with playing the #5 pre-season ranked team and it didn't pan out.  Regardless, we still have a full season ahead of us, perhaps next week they can have a better showing (uhm, Aaron Murray and O-line) when it really counts in the SEC East.  Despite the loss, it was nice feeling part of the Bulldog Nation, even across the world and 14 hours ahead.  We are planning on having a proper tailgate with our Australian friends, although we'll have to either hope for another night game, or watch a recorded version of the game.

All in all, we had a great weekend and are looking forward to watching both the AFL Grand Finals and the rest of the Dawg's schedule.  Ironically, to watch AFL online live, we have to use ESPN3.com via the VPN server in the US, as the games televised here are delayed an hour, so as to not discourage people from actually attending the games.  Given that Georgia's next matchup against USC is a 3:30pm (ET) game, it'll be a 5:30am game here the Sunday morning after my birthday party, so watching that game live may prove a little more challenging.