Day 3: AFL Game

 Today was a big action-packed day for our group!

Since most of us went to bed pretty early the night before, we all woke up and got our breakfasts and then met in the hotel lobby around 9am. Many of us (myself included) got Schmucks; a Polski bagel shop right around the corner from our hotel. 

Our group then started our walk to Victoria University where we met with Dr. Matthew Klugman, who was kind enough to come into work on a Saturday to teach us about the history and rules of Aussie Rules Football as well as the social impact of the game. Dr. Klugman educated our class on aboriginal culture and explained the history of the tribes within Australia. After a captivating lecture our group got lunch and headed to flag staff gardens park with Damian Hecker (“Damo”) to try out Aussie Rules Football! We started out with drills and then played a scrimmage game. The game was very indicative of Australian culture because of how much Australians value their play and leisure time. I even surprised myself and scored a goal. After a very exciting match in the park we headed over to the Victoria Markets where we shopped for souvenirs and afternoon snacks. We then went back to the hotel and got ready to watch St. Kilda vs Fremantle Dockers at Marvel Stadium. We all got dinner at the stadium and many tried the famous Australian meat pies and kangaroo meat! Our group was able to understand the game much better after getting the chance to play it ourselves in the park earlier. Unfortunately St. Kilda (Professor Burton’s favorite team ) didn’t pull off the win but the game was so fun to watch nonetheless. After a very active day we headed to bed to prepare for our free day.