(Not) Feeling Australian #3 – Drinking

As I’m experiencing the Australian culture in all its length, I decided to take part in some drinking events. I don’t know if I mentioned before, but drinking is a quite important aspect of the Australian social life, as happy hours, friends catch ups and parties in general quite always involve drinking.

In December and January, I took part in 6 drinking events.

Hash run (twice): a run around the city, where you need to follow arrows, help your fellows and arrive in the end of the path. When everybody is there, we form a circle and the Hash Master conducts a very funny, interactive and culturally unique ceremony, where people end up drinking for different reasons. To be honest, it’s quite a nice game.

Power hour: one shot of beer every minute for 1 hour. People get quite drunk.
Skolling night: a night dedicated to skolling as fast as you can, where different AIESEC local committees form their team, cheer, chant and try to take home the Skolling Cup, which exists since the beginning of the 80’s. People really get into it. It’s impressive. And scary. I just watched.

Vodka night: a Sydney pride night, where people toast for great things existing in the city. Just Sydney people are invited.

Century club: one shot of beer every minute for 100 minutes. I just went for 50 minutes, but the winner stood until the 201st shot. It was quite an unpleasant experience, as people got completely smashed and didn’t enjoy the rest of the day.

As referred in the post title, I don’t really feel Australian in this sense. I don’t really care that people drink sometimes, but having alcohol in every social event and in every ceremony doesn’t seem right to me. Besides, it seems to me that educated and smart people get distracted about drinking moments and its effects instead of being healthy, having great conversations and caring about things that matter.