Trivia Night

Friday had come and gone and I had yet to get out of bed. 

At what point, I wonder, can I no longer classify myself as jet lagged and instead conclude that I am simply lazy? I began the day with full intentions to set off for Sydney and embark on the spectacular Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach walk, but as I attempted to become ready I discovered that I simply didn't have the energy. I figure it's best to listen to my body and take the cultural immersion at a slower pace, rather than try to push my limits and risk over-doing it.

As a consequence, the day had surpassed me with no notable events occurring. Eventually my housemates arrived home from work, and I wandered downstairs to say hello. I learned that one was headed off to a barbecue. (It didn't take long to learn that barbecuing is everything in Australia. One of the first questions I was asked upon arrival, in fact, was if I was a vegetarian. The response to my negative answer was, "THANK GOD!") 

My other housemate and her boyfriend, I discovered, were headed off to a trivia night fundraiser the local high school was throwing. Realizing this meant I would be spending Friday night home alone (an idea which sounded excellent to me; I was actually perking up at the idea of going back to sleep), they took pity on me and extended an invitation. And so begins my year as a third wheel.

We arrived at the event and my housemate, a teacher, gave us a tour of the school. The Australian school system offers students two campuses: K-6 and 7-12; we were touring the latter. A new school, built only six or so years ago, I was surprised to learn that it did not provide air conditioning. I pondered this for a minute. I am arriving at the very end of summer when the temperature is said to be dropping, and the past week alone has been in the high 80s and low 90s, and quite humid. To learn that children and teachers spend all day in even higher temperatures without the simple luxury of air conditioning further solidifies my hunch that Australians are the strongest bunch of people I have ever encountered. 

We then entered the woodshop room, the subject of which my housemate is an instructor. I was told that woodshop is an integral part of the Aussie curriculum; they learn how to build and repair things from an early age. I thought of the thousands of dollars my parents have spent on their handyman in the past year alone and realized what a spectacular idea it is to offer students practical skills they can actually apply in real life. I attempted to recall if my high school offered any similar courses and concluded that it, to my knowledge, did not. I did, however, learn to find invisible numbers in mathematical equations - a whole lot of good that's doing me. 

We entered the room where the event was being held and I eagerly scanned the hallway for coffee. It was, after all, my accustomed 1 a.m. I was surprised and dismayed to discover that there was no beverage table. In the States, it would be rare to find an event without, at the very least, pitchers of water, and more commonly, coffee and snacks as well. This doesn't seem to be the case in Australia, and locals started trickling in with stocked coolers and lunch boxes, unpacking plastic wine glasses and filling them to the top, cracking open beers and tossing bottle openers across tables to the various blokes who forgot theirs, spreading out cheese and crackers, peanut m&ms, and gummy snacks for communal enjoyment. I felt ill-prepared arriving empty-handed, but no one seemed to notice or care. (I did spend $3 to contribute to my team entering the "Double points" round, so hopefully that made up for it. Hey, that's a lot of money for an unemployed Sheila with bills to pay!)

The game progressed, and of the ten questions per ten rounds, I knew all of two answers - I was able to name the songs "So what," by Pink, and "Pump it," by the Black Eyed Peas. The Istanbul skyline, on the other hand, I was not able to identify. Nor was I able to conclude who the Greek God of music is (Athena). Eventually I began to tune out - especially as my native time zone began to creep into the 4 a.m. range - and I simply watched as the teachers somehow knew the answers to these unimaginable questions. I did prove to be a disappointment to my team once, as opposed to being viewed as simply an empty chair, when a question was asked regarding the name of the ice skating champ who was involved in the "Skate-gate" scandal, and was stripped of her title after failing to report knowledge of a plot to physically harm a competitor. When my entire team looked at me and I abashedly stated I had never heard of the event, one woman exclaimed in a competitive fury, "But the ice skater is American!" (I later learned the answer is Tonya Harding. I was two years old when the scandal occurred in 1994.) 

Later rather than sooner the games had concluded and it was time for prizes to be distributed. First they announced the winner of the random drawing (the prize was, not surprisingly, a barbecue). Next the trivia winners were announced. Out of, let's say, 20 teams, they named those who placed 19th-5th. Then they announced the "Wooden Spoon." This captured my attention, and I felt compelled to inquire about this category. The "Wooden Spoon," I learned, is an Australian tradition where the loser of an event is awarded - you guessed it - a wooden spoon. Even professional sporting teams are awarded the prize upon losing. "What do they do with them?" I asked, baffled.

"Throw them away." 

So the wooden spoon was awarded, and then teams 5th-2nd were announced. I realized my team hadn't been called yet; sure enough, no thanks to me, we had emerged victorious. 

(Being neither a teacher nor an Aussie, I didn't make it into the picture.) 

Our prizes: a bottle of wine paired with either a movie or a box of chocolates. 

Which brings me to another topic I am gathering: alcohol seems to be as common as water here, if not more so. 

Things I learned today: Aussies are tough, smart, and like to have a good time. (And, if I ever attend a trivia event again, I should bring lots of snacks because that is the only contribution I'll be able to make.)