Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Right Cobber Dingo!





I learned a lot of new Australian slang from Lex Fight, and from my exposure on the Army Base in Townsville.
I missed out on many photo opportunities from both our hectic schedule and my forgetting my phone in haste of getting out to practice on time.
The league in Townsville has been going since about last April, and they are fortunate to have a few very seasoned roller skaters, and the benefit of a great attitude. They have a dedicated President, a hockey coach, and access to Lex's coaching and that lady is not just a right cobber dingo but a ferocious blocker and coach.
There was always a beer after practice, some nice chatting, while listening to exotic birds, and avoiding cane toads all under a barrage of rain that was more or less ignored by all locals.
I have often been one of the only women on tour, but the army base was very, very skewed in male to female ratio. Lex handles her situation with great aplomb and she has this natural talent for speech, sounding very eloquent while using more Australian slang than I have ever heard.
Some of my favorites were:
"Ahhh yeah, He is a punish", as in 'That guy is so immature, and brings on so much drama, that being around him is like a punishment'.
"Just gonna have a quick durry", as in 'I am popping out for a cigarette'.
"She's a bloody right cobber dingo, she is", as in 'That girl is a very true and loyal friend'.
"Yeah, Just keeping it real, Mate", as in 'Hi, I am good, but not in the mood for any small talk at the moment'.

On our very last day, the rain subsided a bit, there were some blue patches in the sky and we could see the top of the mountain, and the heat was crushing in! I feel very grateful that there was monsoonal rain because otherwise I would have missed out on some great blocking practice.


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