DBI (Drinking Beer In) Australia
Benjamin Clay
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Voices
Upon arrival at Australia's only selective graduate business school, I was delighted to discover that my room had a huge terrace adjoining it. The Terrazzo, as it became known, was the base for most of the serious academic study pursued in Melbourne - study of the Australian wine and beer industries of course! Our first night's revelry began with a barbeque (that consisted of a disappointing amount of low alcohol beer and some disturbingly equine sausages). Upon returning to the Terrazzo, duty free whisky appeared and the world seemed rosy once more. 'Cookie' was the bar of choice that evening and several Carlton Lagers later, 'Wall Street' emerged from his 3 semester slumber to wreak havoc on unsuspecting locals and fellow students alike - - Ryan had a new hero.
Fast forward a few hours later, promptly at 9am, everybody was in their seats, wearing 'business casual' attire and ready to be immersed in the economic history of Australia. The class learnt that Australia was colonized by the British and constituted as a penal colony; then I fell asleep for a short while before waking up in time to give a presentation later that day on a vital topic that maybe involved sports. Nonetheless, it was critical to learn some of the local tongue and one particular phrase continued to appear. "Piss off mate" became as natural to us as "What's up?" or "Hi." and in Australia is considered neither rude nor offensive; merely as a jovial greeting or parting phrase. A few of us insisted upon using the expression to thank every single cab driver in Melbourne for their services. "No worries mate." was often the response, which pretty much typifies the Aussie way of looking at life.
Our rigorous schedule featured blocks of 3 hour lectures with Wednesdays free (so that we could work on our projects….) so every Tuesday was another party upstairs at the dorms…. I mean an alfresco party back at the Terrazzo, generally followed by a trip to the St Kilda Strip where the alcohol flowed freely because the bars don't close till 7am.
Fast forward a few hours later, promptly at 9am, everybody was in their seats, wearing 'business casual' attire and ready to be immersed in the economic history of Australia. The class learnt that Australia was colonized by the British and constituted as a penal colony; then I fell asleep for a short while before waking up in time to give a presentation later that day on a vital topic that maybe involved sports. Nonetheless, it was critical to learn some of the local tongue and one particular phrase continued to appear. "Piss off mate" became as natural to us as "What's up?" or "Hi." and in Australia is considered neither rude nor offensive; merely as a jovial greeting or parting phrase. A few of us insisted upon using the expression to thank every single cab driver in Melbourne for their services. "No worries mate." was often the response, which pretty much typifies the Aussie way of looking at life.
Our rigorous schedule featured blocks of 3 hour lectures with Wednesdays free (so that we could work on our projects….) so every Tuesday was another party upstairs at the dorms…. I mean an alfresco party back at the Terrazzo, generally followed by a trip to the St Kilda Strip where the alcohol flowed freely because the bars don't close till 7am.
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