OVERSEAS BRIEFING

Author: JOHN MONTESANTI

AUSTRALIA-Australia tends to be a little more lax on most everything: no shoes required at the grocery store, no leashes on their dogs and no tops on their bikinis. They also like their booze, most of the time.

The interesting part of Coogee is that everyone here seems to be American. For our convenience I suppose the Uni (University) cooks all the U.S. students in one pot. As a result I have met more people from Cornell than from Coogee. Every night for dinner a few of us try to get together on the beach to grill. The city provides free grills with a great view - we just bring a few lamb/beef burgers, maybe some tomato sauce (Australian for ketchup), and a box of cheap wine. All in all it provides a pretty festive environment as well as some tasty, inexpensive food. Since Australians don't have an open container policy we figured it would be chill to pound some brews during our tradition last night … not so much.

As we were finishing our last meal about eight Australian-style Mounties strolled up the path fanning toward us. It seems that drinking on the beach may have posed some problems after all. Apparently not all the college students have as good a relationship with their local authorities as Midd students have with officers Chris and Sandy, because some of them flat-out booked it. However, enough students stood strong, driven mostly by beer-induced bravery, and asked, typically, "Hello officer, is there a problem?"

"No worries mate, just finish your beer. No alcohol in the park after dark."

That wasn't our only interesting run-in with authority figures and alcohol. My first week in Australia was spent in the Great Barrier Reef taking a pre-semester class on ocean biology and currents. Our class flew on eight-passenger planes to a 600-meter-long island made of dead coral and cemented bird poop. The island had no air con, one tele and two bars. Each evening after class our most enthusiastic professor would organize the student social life. So here is our 50-year-old professor sweeping by us yelling, "Sunset drinks at the Lighthouse, 6:30."

This is the same professor that bought a student a beer on his 21st birthday and had him funnel it using half a pop bottle and a snorkel. Since the Australian education system is more "learn on your own," none of the professors cared that he was hungover during their lectures the following morning. Or maybe the reason they didn't care was because they caused the hangover. Either way, I have concluded that one night at the bar with a professor is equivalent to exactly 9.8 office hour visits.

It's a shame that it can't be all fun and games. By the end of the week the MacGyver funneling had to be postponed until after hand-writing 2,000-word essays. But until real classes start on Monday, I'll be grilling on the beach, just enjoying the fact that the Vermont liquor inspector hasn't made it this far south yet.