July 31st: The Room

Today was the second day of classes and they went well. I had my first physiology class which dove right into the information in the course. I have been debating about dropping ecology if I can take Animal Behavior here instead and have it count for something at home. Ecology consists of a lot of statistical work and a field trip during break that lasts 5 days. Its good experience, but it doesn't really interest me. Animal Behavior would be so much better. I hung out with Jenny (from England) and Vivian (from Cali) at lunch and bought my dissection kit for lab. I'm a bit confused why it doesn't come with a scalpel but we shall see. After taking a nap to warm me up, I made dinner and hung out with the boys. Danielle and I walked all the way to the opposite side of campus to hang out with Danny and Ashley (two English boys we met on the cruise). We hung out in the flat below them with a group of Aussis and watched "The Room." This movie was seriously THE worst movie I had ever scene. But it was a funny laugh with new friends. On the way home Danielle and I had to hop a fence because we were lost. It's been a fun day.... now time for a warm shower and bed before I become a Popsicle.

July 30th: First Day of Classes

Today was the first day of classes. It was a lot of fun, I had a lecture in marine birds and mammals (going to be my favorite class) and ecology. There were booths set up around campus to promote clubs and organizations. I signed up for a few and joined Club EX which is a club for the foreign exchange students to allow them to experience things around the area while they are here. Through them, I bought a ticket for the Hunter Valley Wine Tour which will happen in August. I also bought my ticket to Conception Day which is on the 14th of September.

http://mq.edu.au/on_campus/get_involved/conception_day/

I have had a good day. Kray and I just watched the Olympics at the end of the day and I went to bed early because it was so cold here.

July 29th: Shopping

Today I woke up feeling very sick but over the course of the day it has seemed to clear up. I still have been sneezing a lot…. The boys brought me and Danielle to the mall and we bought stuff to all cook quesadillas for dinner. Then Danielle and I stayed and shopped for the rest of the day, I bought some clothing that I need to stay warm. It’s been pretty cold here and really windy. We spent a few hours at the mall. The boys were making fun of me because no one here says “going to the mall,” and plenty of people at the mall were asking me where my accent is from. Something that left me very confused is the pant sizes. I’m not even close to being a 7 at home and I am here on a lucky find instead of looking through all the high waisted, low crotched pants. But I seemed to figure it out and leave with a pair of pants, sweater, and boots. We are getting warm now and going to make dinner for all of us later. Danielle is from Michigan and she keeps telling me I’m “very CT.” I’m not sure what that means but I find it funny I fit a stereotype for her. Getting ready for classes to start tomorrow morning :)

July 28th: Soccer and Olympics

Today the Olympics started. I wish I had woken up at 5 am to watch the opening ceremonies but I was feeling so sick and feverish that I slept in for a very long time. After I finally got my act together and cleaned up, the boys (I live with) wanted to play football (soccer). So I went to go watch them. It was fun to watch because I actually like the game and understand it, unlike American football. Afterwards we all came back home and the boys went to Anthony’s while I watched the Olympic games. Here, the games start at 6:30 every day and go through the night due to the time change. I enjoyed watching the games from a different country, it’s hard to catch a glimpse of the American teams though when the coverage is mainly focused on the Australians. I was almost falling asleep and then the boys came back with food for me to eat and then we got ready to go to a house party to meet the other foreign students in the neighborhood.

Below is my favorite Olympic Ad ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd8sFivSpys

July 27th : Tour of Sydney

Just got back from an awesome tour of the city of Sydney. First we stopped at the look out to the Opera house and were able to take pictures with the scenic background. Next we drove around to different viewpoints and saw the ocean and harbor. We stopped for lunch at Bondi Beach which is apparently the home of the Speedo…. And you could tell. One of the last places that we stopped was a cliff that is apparently Australia’s biggest suicide spot because people jump off of it. Then we went to Sydney harbor and got complimentary drinks while watching the people and boats. It’s been a cold day, feels like October but it’s not as bad to me as it is to the Australians. Off to take a nap and go to the market and hang out for the rest of the night. I also think I got a cold from all the others in the group who its passing among…..

July 26th: Cruise on the Harbor

Today was a day off. I moved most of my stuff in, posted photos on my walls in my bed room and cleaned that kitchen of our spotless because it was gross. Tonight Danielle and I took the hour long train ride into the heart of Sydney and walked around for a bit before. Then we met on the Man of War steps (right outside the Opera House) and all of the 300 or so foreign students boarded the party boat. We left the harbor around 7 and didn’t return till 10. It was a long trip but the view was amazing. We could see the whole harbor and on the way back we were able to see fireworks being set off at the Olympic stadium. The theme of the cruise was Olympics and people were dressed up for their country…. mostly the Americans. I met people from France, Lithuania, Denmark, England, Mexico and America. The group of American students here this semester dominates all the other groups; there are a lot of us. It’s really cool to talk to others and learn about their culture even though we are both in a completely different culture. Tonight was a fun night.

July 25th: Orientation

 from left to right: Anthony, Kray, Mal and me

We had orientation today to the whole set up of Macquarie classes and the city of Sydney and what to expect. It was a lot of sitting and listening but they did a good job. I felt a bit overwhelmed after but we got a free lunch and got our schedules for classes next week. Here, they have large lectures and then tutorials where the class is broken down into smaller groups, like a work shop. I’m curious what I’ll think of that. After orientation a group of us went back to the mall and I went grocery shopping. I’ve never had to think about meals so much before. I’ve been trying to get food that can be used for multiple purposes. I bought rice for stir fry and a lot of pasta too. Went back and made my meal and met my roommates and their friends. We hung out and got to know each other and then went out to the bar that all the orientation group and their Ausi roommates were at. It was a good first real night in Ausi.

July 24th: Arrival in Australia

This morning I woke up at 6:15 and got all my stuff together and got ready to go to the airport for my 9:30 flight from Fiji. The process of checking out bags was very frustrating. In the United States passengers are allowed a checked bag under 50 lbs and a carry on and a backpack. In Fiji they allow checked items to be a total of 50lbs or under total. So because I had a carry on that was about 15 lbs (USA standards) I had to pay $75FJ which was unexpected and frustrating. One of the girls in our group had to pay $240FJ for her carry on. Luckily I only bought one thing in Fiji the whole time. The flight took around 4 hours and when we arrived in Australia we had gained 2 hours. When we got here it was raining and pretty chilly. We all met our advisor Amanda and she surprised us with like 12 pizzas from pizza hut, it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. Then we were told about the living and all our cards and the internet. And then I moved in! Kelsey is my roommate who lives in the bedroom next door from the 19 of our AIFS group. I’m in love with my room, and my very own bathroom. After I moved my stuff in I went to the mall with the others and we all got our Australian phones set up and working. I also bought some groceries to start me off for the next day. I headed back and went to bed early, it was a long day.

July 23rd: Leaving Suva

Today we had to say goodbye to our host families. They made me and Audrey an awesome, big breakfast that we ate on the porch and talked to them before we left with Offa and his girlfriend to go to USP to depart as a group. We left soon after saying goodbye to our host families and all the artists at the University. The bus ride back to Nadi took about 4 hours and we only stopped once at a Resort one the ocean where we were able to eat lunch. Here, we wandered the beach and picked up lots of shells and coral. Back on the bus I passed out until we were back at the hotel. We moved back into our rooms and all went for a swim we had been craving all week. Once changed, we were served dinner in the bar of the hotel: they gave us French fries! It’s funny how much you can appreciate the simple American fast food when you have been eating roots and leaves for a week. Then we hung out and played pool and danced and went to bed early for the early wake up the next morning for the flight.

July 22nd: Free day

Today we had the day off of any activities and went out with our host families. Audrey and I didn’t have much planned but we packed up and did some laundry. We finished our drawings for Soa’s memory book of the people that his family hosts. Later that night we all watched Pretty Woman with the aunt. Then Audrey and I went out for a bit. It was a relaxing day.