Hey everyone! We hope you’ve been having a good few weeks. It’s definitely a busy time of the semester (if you’re not busy maybe check iLearn because this is peak first sem assessment time) and it goes quickly! There’s also a ton of college events coming up, we’ve been very busy making sure we attend them all!
It’s been great to see everyone having lots of fun at the events and we’re sure this will continue throughout the semester. College events are always a good study break and good for stress relief so don’t forget to give yourself some time off!
INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
Celebrating all international cultures is an important part of living here at college!
Although this includes other events, International Night is the most beautiful display of national pride and stunning cultural dress.
The food was cooked by many of the residents at college and was enjoyed by everyone!
The winning recipes are listed on the next few pages and if you missed out don’t forget to give them a try and see how yummy they were for yourself!
From musical numbers and Indian dancing, the night was full of cultural celebrations and lots of laughter and food!
Traditional Creole Chicken Curry - Martine’s Dish
Ingredients:
• 1.2 kg chicken thighs
• 5 potatoes cut in cubes
• 5 big onions, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 10 g fresh ginger, crushed
• 4 stems of curry leaves (you can use dried curry leaves)
• 100 ml cooking oil
• 100 ml water
• 1 tin peeled tomatoes
• a bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
• 3 tbsp Creole curry powder (see note below)
Cut the chicken into chunky pieces, leaving the bones in. Marinate the chicken with salt and pepper, half of the crushed garlic and ginger. Leave in the fridge for at least two hours. (Ideally marinate the chicken the night before you cook it).
To cook the curry, heat the oil in a large flat pan, add the chicken and fry until well browned all over. Take the chicken out of the pan and put aside.
Fry the potatoes until its browned and half-cooked. Take out of the pan and put aside.
In the pan, stir-fry the onions until lightly browned and add the remaining garlic, ginger and thyme. Turn down the heat and cook for a further ten minutes. Turn up the heat a bit, add the tin of tomatoes, and then cover and allow to cook for five minutes. Add the curry powder, half of the chopped coriander (leaving a few for the garnish), and the water and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the chicken pieces and potatoes back in. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken is tender. Sprinkle the chopped coriander over before serving.In Mauritius, this kind of curry is traditionally served with rice, lentils and vegetable pickles (atchar or achard).
Curry powder
If you can’t get your hands on Mauritian curry powder you can use a mild curry powder, or make your own using a mixture of turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, cinnamon powder, ground cumin, ground fenugreek and ground cardamom.
Spaetzle Recipe - Julian’s dish
Ingredients
Batter :
• 1 cup of flour
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 eggs
• Pinch of black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
To fry:
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• Parmesan cheese
Making the spaetzle
1. Combine flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a mixing bowl
2. Add the eggs and milk while mixing
3. Mix until the mixture is free from flour lumps. Mixture should be relatively thick so the dumplings form properly when passing through spaetzle maker (alternatively use a large holed sieve).
4. Once the mixture is complete boil water in pot and place spaetzle maker on top of pot.
5. Ladle mixture (2 ladles at a time) into spaetzle maker and slide back and forth until all has dripped into the pot.
6. Sieve spaetzle from the pot and rinse with cold water and store in separate bowl. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all mixture is used.
Frying
1. Melt butter in a pan and lightly fry garlic
2. Add spaetzle, parsley and parmesan cheese.
3. Fry for as long as desired
4. Garnish with more parsley, cheese, and salt or pepper if appropriate.
Alternatively, skip the frying step and serve with beef stroganoff.
Brigadeiro - Tom’s Dish
Ingredients:
1x Can of sweetened condensed milk
1 Tablespoon of butter
3 GENEROUS tablespoons of Milo
1/4 cup of cream
THAT’S IT!
Literally just pour all these ingredients in a pre-heated pot and mix the concoction with a wooden spoon, not a whisk, for about 10 minutes on a medium heat. You cannot stop mixing otherwise it will get burnt on the bottom.
Where in the are our residents from?
the World
RMC has always been a community of many many cultures from all areas of the world. Here at college almost 50% of our residents are not from Australia with over 30 different cultural backgrounds! Meaning there are many different cultures for you to learn about!
Netball
After trekking over to the gym on Sunday, RMC competed against DLC and the Village in our annual netball competition!
The other teams put up a strong challenge but luckily our girls team managed to beat the Village team! With lots of enthusiasm and team support, everyone competed beautifully and made RMC proud!
To finish off the day, our boys and girls team played a friendly match.
College Table TEnnis Finals
After weeks of table tennis (ping pong) games, the grand finals concluded the elite members of RMC’s table tennis playing residents! With a final between Carly and Tyla and Jack and Ben, it was an intense grand final with a big crowd turn out! Ben and Tyla won out in the end and went home with some delicious Easter chocolate prizes!
Things to do in Sydney over the break!
Whether you are new to Sydney and want to go sightseeing or you are getting a bit sick of the Macquarie triangle (college, uni and the Mac centre), Sydney has some great things to do!
1. Beaches!
Sydney has some great beaches around and it is best to go and see them before uni starts to get too busy and winter arrives. Bondi is Sydney’s iconic beach and while it can be a bit of a trek to get there it is well worth it. Keep an eye out for some good looking lifeguards!
Manly is another great beach, take the ferry there from Circular Quay and make sure you enjoy some fish and chips while you are there.
2. The aquarium and zoo
If you want to see our native animals or any animals for that fact then you can take a trip to Taronga Zoo or to the Sea Life Sydney aquarium (or both if you are keen). Be sure to check out the feeding times at the Zoo and have a walk through the Shark walk at the Aquarium for an amazing view of these mysterious creatures. Try buying your tickets online for discounts and make sure you have your student ID to prove that you are a student.
3. Blue Mountains
Head out for a day trip or weekend trip to the Blue Mountains if you need some peace and quiet away from the city or just want to explore this beautiful area. There are lots of beautiful landscapes to see and lots of adventure trekking, making it the perfect getaway from the city!
4. Art galleries/museums
Get out and explore some art or go and learn a few things. Top recommendations would be the Museum of Contemporary Art with its quirky collections (makes a great place for artsy photos) and the best news is that is is free.
The Powerhouse Museum has a variety of cool and interactive things to see and do with a science basis. Bring your student ID and get in for $8.
5. Some fun little spots
Go and check out the Carriageworks farmers markets, on every Saturday from 8am – 1pm to grab some local fresh produce. If night life is what you are looking for, make sure to check out Holey Moley in Newtown which combines mini golf and drinking; a combination guaranteed to produce some great memories (we can promise you that!).
If having fun while being active is more your thing, go head over to Sky High Indoor Trampoline Park for lots of laughs.
A-Block Movie Night
Notorious for gathering members of other blocks at their events, A block held a movie night and welcomed a whole range of residents to watch Thor Ragnarok with them. Accompanied by snacks and excessive chairs and pillows, everyone had a relaxing night watching the movie!
B Block
Pyjama Night
On Sunday B-Block enjoyed a relaxed night in with pyjamas, food and games! Avoiding thinking of all their study and assignments during the week, the block members hung out and enjoyed each others company while they snacked instead!
GamesC-BlockNight
C Block’s event night was comprised of two Family Feud rounds and a series of Minute to Win It tasks, which proved to be fiercely competitive. Andrew’s twerking helped bring the Angry Reacts Only team to a solid win in the Minute to Win It section, whilst Team Sable’s strategic plays brought their team to victory during Family Feud. All in all, it was a great night, props to Pasi and Zoe!
- Anna Fry (C-Block Resident)
How Can Councelling Help Me?
A column by Meredith
Some people might not know much about the benefits of counselling or what to expect, and might be missing out on a great opportunity to make positive changes. Counselling with an experienced professional can help you in so many ways and it is provided for free, right here at RMC.
Counsellors:
- provide a safe, non judgemental and confidential space to listen to your concerns with respect for you, your values and beliefs, your uniqueness (age, development, (dis) ability, religion, cultural identity, Indigenous identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality and gender) and right to self-determination - work as a team with you to develop a “plan of attack” to work out where you might be “stuck”, and to make changes in your life - help resolve the impacts of difficult experiences or relationships, or problematic behaviours, beliefs, thoughts, feelings and sometimes related physical symptoms, using evidence based psychological interventions - can help in a crisis, or over the long term - help foster a sense of wellbeing and vitality
Types of issues: everything! There is nothing too big, small, embarrassing, or weird. Sometimes, we refer you to others who might have more experience or expertise in a particular area to give you the best support.
What you can expect:
- a warm and friendly approach in comfortable, private surrounds - clarity around expectations and therapy goals - sessions usually around 50 minutes.
Email me for an appointment, or drop around on a Tuesday for a chat 10am-6pm in Room 103, next to Study 101.
In a competition to give the most blood, RMC and DLC are donating blood as a way to give back to the community and help out those in need. It’s a really great cause to get involved with (even without the added benefit of beating DLC) so make sure to get involved and talk to Caitlin Bell about how you can donate and if you’re eligable!
Join Robert Menzies College in saving lives this semester. For more info on how to join our team, see Caitlin Bell (CG07). You can donate from anywhere in Australia and anyone is welcome to be a part of our team. Call 13 14 95 or visit donateblood.com.au/tertiary-challenge
#Red25challenge
Brothers of RMC
Human #7 / Brother #1 Jake Beattie
Whats a funny fact about your sibling?
He likes to fight kangaroos. Back in high school, we were in Australia for the U.S. summer break (Winter here). We were walking down to a friend’s house which was past this open block of land. There just so happened to be a big male Kangaroo hopping around, and Josh proceeded to taunt him. Anyways the kangaroo responds by running straight at him and launching itself up in the air so as to kick Josh. Luckily, Josh ducked just in time and ran off. It wasn’t much of a fight, but I’d pay money to see a rematch.
What is your favourite memory of RMC so far?
My favourite memory of RMC had to be in my first year during O-week. I didn’t really know anyone, but was keen to make some friends. So I went down to the main common room and everyone was hanging out playing pool. So I went over to the pool table and just saw Long (now D Block RA) sinking balls and screaming “THAT’S HOW SOCIETY WORKS”. It was very random, but that’s also how I met Long.
What has it been like having your sibling live at RMC with you? Goods and bads?
It has been really good. It’s not everyday that you find someone that knows you so well that you can be 100% comfortable around. For the good, I would say one of the best things about being in college together are those moments where, because we’re quite similar people, we can bounce off each other and have these hilarious conversations. The only drawback I would say is that whenever I tell someone where I’m from, they’ve probably already heard the story from Josh.
What do you study? And what is your favourite part of your degree?
I’m in my third year of a double degree in Applied Finance and CommerceProfessional Accounting. I know it seems like it’s all numbers (don’t get me wrong, a lot of it is) but my favourite part is the practical implications of it all. I get to look at a bunch of numbers on a page and be able to tell how a business is doing. And I get to make decisions about money, which is something that affects all of us no matter what job we have.
What has been your favourite college event to go to with your brother?
I loved being a station leader for scavenger hunt, because when Josh turned up I got to tie his legs to that of his teammates and make him run up the Opera House stairs purely for my amusement.
What’s an interesting fact about you?
I used to be a trained singer when I was younger, even competing in a couple of competitions.
Human #8 / Brother #2 Josh Beattie
What’s a funny fact about your sibling?
He’s pretty good at snowboarding, we used to race down the slopes all the time. And of course, he would always win.
What is your favourite memory of RMC so far?
My favourite memory of RMC so far, would have to be Scav Hunt during O-Week. I was quite shy at first, and meeting so many new faces at once was a lot to take in. But by the time my team and I got into the city, we were laughing, and having so much fun. I made so many friends that day, and it’s something I will remember for my entire life.
What’s has it been like having your sibling live at RMC with you? Goods and bads?
Having a sibling here at RMC is a blessing. And when he is in his third year of Uni and also an RA, it has been the best help I could ever have. When you are able to talk to someone so comfortably and so easily about anything is so great. I look up to Jake every day, and when he is so close, it’s makes me feel like I’m home.
Where are you and Jake from? Does it differ a lot to Sydney/Australia?
Jake and I were both born in Armidale, NSW and have lived there for most of our lives. We first grew up on a small farm but moved into Armidale to be closer to school. Our lives began to get crazy when
one day our parents told us that we were not just going to visit The United States of America, but to actually live there. We lived in a beautiful place called Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Which is up north near the Canadian border in the Rocky Mountains. Life in the US, Armidale, and Sydney are all different, but all so amazing.
What do you study? And what is your favourite part of your degree?
I’m in my first year of a double degree in Business Analytics and Security Studies. There is definitely the “cool factor” of it all, but the best part of my degree is learning about so many different important events and movements that are happening around the world, and the influence of technology everywhere today.
What has been your favorite college event to go to with your brother?
with my brother so far. We had so much fun throwing handfuls of dye at each other. I definitely would do it again.
What’s an Interesting fact about you?
I’m a massive geek. I love technology and computers. I literally could talk about anything tech related for hours.
Holi Festival has been my favourite event
Don’t forget! If you want to be a Human of RMC all you have to do is contact one of the editors and we’ll happily send you the questions and feature you in our next issue!
Dot to Dot #1 THE VOICE
This week’s edition has our first ever dot to dot.
International Night is such a great event held at college every year and as a challenge we’ve created a dot to dot of the outline of a country!
It may or may not be the outline of a country that you recognise, so have a go at trying to guess!
Make dot to dot puzzles at picturedots.com
Josh: “My room is so cool” Kaanchie: “Mine’s better! Mine’s litter!”
Wang: “People ask me why I do accounting and they’re like ‘it’s so boring!’, so I just tell them that I’m a boring person!”
Annonymous: “I wish the double chin was part of the snapchat filter...”
Jake *watching the Commonwealth Games*: Woah, someone made fire with a stick”
Sara S *puts coat hanger down the back of her shirt*: “Wow, this is a back scratcher”
Amy T: “Why is the hole so small?”
Mar 26 - ApRIL 9
Cindy: “Wow look at the sky, it’s like daytime but at night!”
Danke: “They were going to make Armidale the capital of Australia because it’s halfway between Sydney and Melbourne.”
Sara S: “You need a new hobby” Soph: “I’m good at snapchat”
Amy T: “That’s a big hole!”
Amy T: “What’s nicodemus? It sounds like a drug”
Sara S: “He’s from the Bible”
Soph: “I love mothering drunk Zoe, she’s always so funny”
Darian: “He’s a potato and I’m a tomato. Tomatoes are juicy and better!”
Raman: “Can you order fish online?”
Cindy *ordering Uber Eats Maccas*: “Small fries are $2.35...how much is shipping?”
Emily: “FArmidale”
Pat: “Isn’t that an app?..Oh wait that’s farmville!”
Bill *in reference to his tamagotchi*: “Mine ate its apples so fast!”
Carly: “Where have you been”
Matt: “My Chinese tutorial”
Carly: “Ah, konichiwa!”
THE Wiretap
Shannon W: “Hey guys, I found a really good source for my essay!”
Zoe S: “You’re not the only one that found a good sauce” *referring to Keely liking the sauce at nene chicken*
Tami: “So what kind of porn do you like?”
Muhil *refering to a meme*: “So you know spongebob and squidward...”
Amy J: “You wanna know a joke?”
Rachel: “Sure”
Amy J: “My life”
Caitlin G: “I thought NAAUC was spelt NORK”
Darian: “Listen Linda! Things that are small can still be hard!”
Raman: “Do they have makeup brands like Nike?”
Rachel: “Stop hitting my bits!”
Amy J to Jake: “You kinda look like you’d make a great nun.”
Share your voice!
Are you a creative soul and want to contribute to The Voice?
Send through your work as a message to our Facebook page or submit it annonymously to one of the editors! Any contributions are accepted - drawings, poems, stories, articles etc. And don’t forget any to send in any funny submissions to the Wiretap. If you want to be featured in the Humans of RMC section, let us know and we will interview you!
Or feel free to talk to one of the editors Zoe Walters (A207) or Jen Good (A203)
