A Mass Bike Ride and the Melbourne Cup

I'm writing amidst finals studies. This coming Thursday marks my last exam at Melbourne Uni. I've turned in my final essays (Australians don't like the term 'paper') and now I have only one more written exam to take - a biomedical ethics exam. Just the other day I finished an unusual style of assessment for my history of the scientific revolution course. Instead of assigning a paper to test our writing abilities, our ability to assemble an argument, or our in-depth knowledge on a singular aspect of the course, the lecturer held a 20 minute oral exam. I've never taken an oral exam before and in theory it sounded great. You go in, sit down and have a conversation about various topics of the course and see how your understanding of the details pans out. In practice, however, it was a little more cumbersome. The 'conversation' was a bit forced at times, and giving a lucid reply to the questions posed isn't so easy. I guess that's the point, though, isn't it?

A couple of highlights from this past month or so:

Near the end of October, I participated in a mass bike ride through the city of Melbourne organized to raise awareness about climate change. It was part of a large international movement supported by 350.org that is trying to spread awareness about what a suitable amount of carbon emissions into the air would be. The name comes from the assertion that 350 parts per million of carbon emissions in the atmosphere is the acceptable amount for a sustainable environment that will not change earth's overall climate. Right now the number stands at around 390, I think. I'm not a die hard advocate for climate change, but I do support the cause. Plus, I thought it'd be fun to ride my bike with around 2,000 other people through the city center of Melbourne.

I rode towards the front of the group so I could get some good glimpses of the enormous bike train that was chugging it's way through the city behind me. The group was led by 'Bikezilla', a huge bike-like contraption that seven people could all ride and pedal. The front of the pack had megaphones and were leading chants like, 'Do what's right. Get on your bike,' and 'What do we want? Climate Action! When do we want it? Now!' Near me was a guy who'd taped his boom box (ha, remember those?) to his back wheel and was playing 60's music mostly. He started off with Bob Dylan's, 'The Times They Are A-Changin'. Another fella rode the whole thing with his green parrot perched on his shoulder. It was a quintessential Melburnian crowd. I enjoyed the ride.

Australians, especially younger Australians, are mighty involved in the climate change debate. They are somewhat forced into bearing the brunt of the consequences of huge global carbon emissions; the largest hole in the ozone layer hovers atop Australia, but the country is also one of the largest carbon emitters per capita in the world. As Australians are doing fine with no major wars to finance, no huge unemployment or underemployment problems, and smaller damages from the global financial crisis, you could argue they have the time and freedom to prioritize such an important issue (given you believe it's an issue). Swine flu isn't dominating the news as I've heard is the case in the U.S., so climate change seems to be the issue of the day for many younger Australians.

Leaving somewhat controversial issues... At the beginning of November, I went to the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse to catch the biggest and most exciting horse race this side of the equator. Being from Kentucky, I had to visit at least one horse race while here and the Cup is the most famous race in Australia. It's a national holiday and the nation stops everything and takes the day off. The Cup is like the Kentucky Derby in many ways, but the race is longer (around two miles) and the prize is bigger (AUD 6 million). Besides the minor exception of no mint juleps floating around, the crowd would have fit right in with the Derby or any Keeneland race I've ever seen. Hats were galore among the ladies, and nearly everyone was dressed to impress. I went along with a Kenyan friend from indoor soccer, and we joined a group of his friends on the grass just beside the race track. We picnicked all day, watching what we could see of the various races on the big screen and then seeing the real thing pass us by up close and personal. I placed a few bets at a nearby bookie, and went for a long-shot in the actual Cup race, but came up short as is so often the case. The Cup went to a horse named Shocking (how appropriate) and my horse, Alcopop, didn't make the top six even. I think the saying is, "You lose some and you lose some." Still a good time was had by all, and I'll get to check off another signature Australian experience.