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!
