Busy Bee

I've been such a busy bee these last few weeks, but things have finally settled down.

Classes are great. I think I went into detail about this before but if not heres a quick explanation. They don't have classes MWF or TT like we do, they are usually just one day for lecture (about an hour) and then a tut (lab) and the times vary but most are an hour. In the tuts you have a presentation and have to pretty much teach the class for 15 minutes about that weeks topic. I've done one of my presentations already and it went very well!

We went to Cairns last weekend and I was able to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef! It was wonderful! Since it's their rainy season the town was a little gloomy but we found our own fun and had a blast. One of the days we were in Cairns we went on an all day tour around the city and were able to see (and play with) tons of kangaroos at a wildlife reserve.

The weekend before our Cairns trip we went to a parade down Oxford street called "Mardi Gras" We didn't know that you have to get there 5 hours early and we weren't able to see any of the parade! Regardless it was fun to be in the city with everyone and we met some great friends!

When we aren't attending crazy events we go to the beach, hang out on campus or watch movies.

I haven't really hit a snag yet or found something I didn't like here. It makes me nervous because I'm already dreading leaving!

I found the YoungLife here and got involved with their club! On Friday I went to club and this Thursday I'm planning on doing contact work at the school so that will be a lot of fun!

Other then that, nothing else seems to be new. I'll update more when more stuff happens!

Much love.

So far, so great!

I have so much to update!

So on the 16th I went to my academic orientation and found out I was enrolled in a class that has a very high percentage of students failing out! No good. Other then that my schedule is pretty solid. The way class works here in Australia is very advanced from the states, yet VERY simple. For example, you only have a lecture 1 time a week (usually) and you don't have to come. After class they put the audio from the lecture online for anyone to listen to that missed the lecture and since attendance isn't mandatory you could pretty much skip all your lectures and just listen to them on your own time. Then you (usually) have a lab type class with a group of kids from your lecture where you go in depth and apply it. It's such a great idea. I went to my advisor and switched classes so now I'm in a Cultual Studies class. Woo! After Orientation most of the study abroad students went to a bar called "The Ranch". It was alright. It looked like a bowling alley and the guys were so creepy. When we finally decided to leave we had to catch a bus back to our townhouses and it took for ever.

Thursday all the study abroad students attending Macquarie Uni got to go on a cruise around the Harbor. Incredible. Words can not describe it. Sydney is beautiful. We hung out on the Cruise from 7-10 and once we got back we decided to walk around and find something to eat. We got a little lost, and by a little I mean a lot lost. We were in a good part of Sydney and then all of a sudden we were in a bad part of Sydney and had no clue how we got there! Yikes! When we finally found a train station we hopped on the wrong train and had to be directed to the right train. I absolutely love Australia but Aussies are horrible with directions. I think it might be because they don't really care about being on time and they are just too relaxed to be worried. It gets frustrated but, it's all a part of the culture! "No worries!". Once our train stopped we got off to wait for the right train and we found out that the next train wouldn't be back for 30 minutes! Waiting was fun, how could you be mad in a place like this?! Finally got on the right train and made it hope safe and sound!

Friday was a GREAT adventure of a day. It started with a "City to Surf Tour". We were picked up on campus and taken to this historical landmark called "Mrs. Macquarie Chair". Basically Mr. Macquarie (who was in government) created this chair for his wife to sit and see the harbor. We took some awesome pictures and it was an incredible sight to see the harbor bridge and the opera house. Definitely going back! Then we went to Bondi Beach (Sydney's most famous beach), it was pretty neat! We were able to eat lunch in Bondi and I went to this vegetarian restaurant! My card wasn't working because Bank of America put a hold on my account (even though I told them I'd be in Australia twice!) so I spent most of lunch on hold with Bank of America which made me even more mad since I was paying international calling fees. They finally activated my card and I got some food, I apologized to the workers for being so angry and explained it wasn't them. They told me "no worries" and then after making me a smoothie they told me they made it with love so I'd have a better day. I'm telling you, this place is incredible. I almost started crying! After hanging out at Bondi for a while we left and went to this cool cliff. It had a reputation in the 80's for being a famous place to commit suicide, but we didn't understand why since there was a perfect view of Sydney right behind the main rocky area! Soon after we drove around Sydney more, ended up at a bar where we all got a free drink! Oh and our tour guide was wicked sweet! Loved this day.

Saturday a few of my friends and I ended up going to a beach called Manly Beach. It was about 20 times better then Bondi, and the weather was perfect! They were having a sand volleyball tournament where every team had to dress up in a theme. Just like YoungLife camp!!! It reminded me of home, and was awesome to see all the differed costumes! We stayed at Manly for about 5 hours, I got a little burnt but all in all, awesome day. We had originally planned on going out that night but after being in the sun we were so pooped!

The days just keep getting better and better. Sunday we went down to Sydney and walked around all day. All in all we decided we walked between 8-10 miles! Somehow ended up in Chinatown at one point but eventually made it to our original destination, Tropfest! Tropfest is THE largest short film festival in the world! There were about 100,000 people hanging out and it was such a cool sight to see. Since it was free we just found a nice spot in the grass and watched short films for hours! We started a massage train and these 3 German people asked to join and ended up giving us their bottle of wine as a "thank you"!

Monday we had to start school (sometimes I forget that's why I'm here). I loved the way the classes are set up! I was really tired for my 1st two lectures but I went to O-Week (Orientation Week) and got a bunch of free stuff/food. Yum. Hillsong was there so I met them and finally found out how to get involved! Looking forward to that email. I then had my first "Practice" where I was the ONLY american student! It was pretty cool, a lot of people wanted to teach me about Rugby and I thought it was so neat how welcoming everyone was! After class one of my roommates and I spent about 5 hours cleaning our kitchen since they have this weird custom of leaving food when they move out and EVERYTHING had spoiled.

Today is Tuesday! Finally up to date! I went to class, ordered pizza and went to Sydney! We went to this club called "world bar" and had a blast. They serve drinks in teapots and then you can share with whoever you want! We tried getting a bus back to Uni but the busses take a break from 2am-5am so (as sketchy as it sounds) we had one of the guys we just met drive us back! He was more then willing! (And don't worry he didn't try anything!) We had "a laugh" the whole back back to our townhouses about the american accent vs. the australian accent. All in all it was a great night!

I wish I could articulate this better but this place is just out of this world. I love it so much, I miss my family and friends a lot but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to move here after I graduate college.

Tomorrow we're going to the beach and I'll be sure to give yall an update soon!

To the land of Oz

I’m here. I arrived yesterday after a 4 hour long plane ride and let me tell you it was worth it. It is incredible. We landed at about noon and then it took 45 minutes to get through security, get our bags and go through customs. I didn’t want to “declare” anything when entering the country because then I’d have to go through quarantine but when I walked up to get my passport stamped the worker saw the bracelet I made in the village and made me go through quarantine anyways because it was plant. Outrageous. When I got to quarantine and told them why I was there they just laughed. Not the way I wanted to start a relationship with Australia but it made up for that extra time it took when I walked outside and realized I was in Australia.

I love it here. I was getting a little homesick but since Australia is so similar to the states it definitely helped. They have Target, Ben & Jerry’s and Borders bookstore. The people are so friendly, and have a great sense of humor. The “Macquarie Village Center” is across campus (about a 15-20 minute walk) and the best way I can describe it is a mall mixed with Grocery Stores on acid. There are 4 levels, but each level has a ½ level. There is a Target on the bottom floor, a “BigW” (Australia’s version of walmart) on the 2nd floor, a Woolworth’s (like Albertsons) on the 3rd floor and a movie theater on the 4th floor. Or something like that. Then there are tons of department stores. TONS of food places. Regular mall stores. Kid stores. Dollar stores. Book stores. Electronic stores. Literally anything you would need is in this center. I wish they had that in America. I’ve only been here for about 30 hours and it’s already Australia-1 United States-0. This center would put Mall of America to shame. The only negative thing is the fact that pretty much everything closes at 5:30 except on Thursdays and everything closes at 9.

We walked to the mall yesterday but I didn’t buy sheets because we ran out of town and I thought it’d be easier to just buy them from the Villages I’m staying in. When I went in to buy the sheets I found out they are poor quality and WAY over priced. I tried to go back to the center but it was pasted 5:30 so everything was closed! I ended up sleeping on top of the skirt I had to wear in Fiji, with a small throw I bought just incase, and I filled one of my purses with dirty clothes and used it as a pillow. Nothing something I ever want to do again. Pictures will be up soon.

I was able to sign up for internet last night but it’s based off how much you use, not monthly so I can’t upload tons of pictures because it will drain my usage. I’m pretty bummed about that but there is free wifi on campus I’ll be able to upload pictures whenever I go on campus (5 minute walk). I can’t really look at facebook because that drains the usage too. I literally only get online if I need to see something and not just to waste time. I guess that will be good for school and my social life. Even when I write blogs I have to do it in word and then transfer it over to my blog website so it doesn’t use up my time. That’s a little frustrating, but I’m just going to need to set up a schedule to skype with people so I’m not just sitting on skype.

Besides all that, the village I live in is great! It’s huge and I get my own bathroom! Lots of fun. I wish I could decorate it but the only option I have is hanging up sheets or posters that I’ll be able to bring back to the states! Today during orientation I was already thinking about how I could pitch it to all my family and friends that we all need to move here. It is truly a love place. Not only that but it has a great vibe going around. All of the other villages have parties all the time that people just walk right in to. Everyone leaves their door open and people will just walk in and start talking to you. Love it. I had to have a serious brainstorming session and I decided I at least need to go back to the states to finish school. Haha, I’m sure if I could I would just stay here forever. It’s crazy to admit that because I love Texas so much, but Australia is just so incredible.

We finally got cell phones today! The only numbers in my phone are the numbers of the people in the AIFS program, it’s sort of comical. We’re almost like a cult! They ran out of the $29 phones so I had to buy the $79 one! So expensive! But worth it. It has a walking GPS on it so if I get lost (which will happen daily) I’ll be able to find my way back. Also, I’ll have this phone for 5 months so I’d like to be able to check my email and get the most out of it. Most of the people that got the $29 phones are regretting it because it literally only calls and texts. I’d consider it a win-win. There will be a meeting on Thursday about finding a job and I’m definitely going to that since EVERYTHING is so much more expensive here. Although, I did find a bike for $98 and I know I could sell it to someone on Craigslist when I leave so I’d love it if I could do that!

So that’s pretty much my life in Australia so far. Pictures are posted here Album 1, Album 2, Album 3 & Album 4