Happy Anzac Day!

This past Wednesday, April 25 was Anzac Day. This is a national holiday Australia has much pride in. All offices and schools are closed, but the bars remain open as people wake up at the butt-crack of dawn to begin their drinking festivities and participate in games of two up. But before I get into that, let me explain what exactly Anzac Day is.

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 Anzac Day celebrates the landing of the Australian troops on Gallipoli in 1915. Australians celebrate the spirit of Anzac Day as marking Australia's sense of national identity. The day is in honour of all Australians who served and died in war, and the day focuses on the Aussie's valued characteristics of courage, sacrifice, and most importantly, mateship! Services are held all across Australia, and lucky for us Newcastle students, we had the opportunity to attend the Anzac Dawn Service held at Nobby's Beach.

So at 4 am, we walked our sleepy heads to the bus stop and headed to Nobby's Beach. However, Danielle, Tori, and I found it completely unnecessary to even sleep. Maybe if we weren't scheduled to leave until 5am, it would have been worth getting a few hours of shuteye, but since we were leaving at 4am, we stayed up watching movies. After a nutritious brekky of movie theatre popcorn at 3am, we bundled up, but not enough, and got an EARLY start to our day.

Photo credit: Danielle

As we huddled together for warmth, since it is no longer warm here (very, very sad), we waited for the service to begin. Special board members came out and lit a torch that illuminated the stage area. Then we waited in silence as Australian troops made their march to Nobby's Beach. We listened to the chorus sing certain celebratory songs traditional to Anzac Day, and finally they sang the National Anthem. Different speakers gave memorial speeches and read certain poems in remembrance of the day. Finally, flowers were laid by various soldiers in honour of family members who were killed in the line of duty. After all of the speeches were given, prayers were said and moments of silence were held, the sun was beginning to rise. I am clearly not Australian, but it gave me chills knowing the history of the day. Just as the sun was almost up, the ceremony concluded with four gunshots from a distant hill. I am not exactly sure what they were in honour of, but it was very moving.

Photo credit: Danielle

Photo credit: Danielle

We then made our way back to the bus at around 6am and were looking forward to finally getting to sleep. However, true Australians did not have the same idea. As we were on the bus passing the apartment villas, we saw numerous residents out on their balconies at 6:15am with beers in their hands. They were clearly getting an early start to Anzac Day.  Traditionally, everyone spends the day at various pubs celebrating with mates, and participating in two up. Two up is a traditional Australian gambling game that is only legal on Anzac Day. Coins are thrown into the air, and betters basically gamble on whether the coins will both land heads up, tails up, or one heads up and one tails up. That is the basic gist of the game, and the extent of my knowledge on it, but it sounds pretty fun and is supposedly a big hit in the pubs!

I am extremely happy that Anzac Day fell within the dates I am here. It was definitely a true Australian experience that I was lucky to have. I really enjoyed being immersed in an event that holds so much meaning to such a wonderful country. I kept relating it to a foreigner getting to spend the Fourth of July in America. I still cannot believe I am in a completely different world and culture and that my time here is almost up, which leads me to more news.

I officially changed my flight home to June 9th! My last final exam is June 7th, so I will be coming home two weeks sooner. I am having the time of my life here, but one can only go so long before they really begin to miss their family and friends. I have definitely hit a point of homesickness, but am extremely thankful to have friends here to share all of these wonderful experiences with!

Oh, and before I forget, there are these wonderful Anzac Biscuits (aka cookies for my American readers) that are delicious. Here is a recipe from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/21104/anzac+biscuits.

 Ingredients

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons golden syrup

150 grams unsalted butter (or about 10 tbsp)

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (about 325 F)

2. Place the flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl and stir to combine

3. In a small saucepan place the golden syrup and butter and stir over low heat until the butter has fully melted

4. Mix the bicarb soda with 1 1/2 tablespoons water and add to the golden syrup mixture. It will bubble whilst you are stirring together so remove from the heat

5. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix together until fully combined

6. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on baking trays lined with non stick baking paper, pressing down on the tops to flatten slightly

7. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown

 

Hope you enjoy and if anyone makes them, let me know what you think! 

 

Cheers and G'day!