This will be my last Australian blog post for a while- close to a month and a half. I leave for Charlotte at exactly 3:30 AM tomorrow. That's when the poor cabbie has to deal with my sleep-deprived self and drive me to the airport. Then, after about 36 hours, I'll be home. The last time I saw my family for more than 3 days was about 9 months ago. Whoah.
I'm looking forward to going home for obvious reasons, but at the same time (and for just as obvious reasons) I'm not looking forward to leaving Adelaide. This place gave me some really good months, to be sure. And while everyone else here will be having their final awesome adventures and saying their last goodbyes while they pop bottles in Sydney for New Year's, I'll already be back with my family. Which is great, of course. I'm lucky to have this break in my study abroad, but leaving is still bittersweet.
The most difficult goodbyes have already been said, though. And I'm ready to see some familiar faces.
So look out, America! Ready or not, I'm coming back home.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Airlie Beach to Brisbane
Alrighty! Here is part 2 of my East Coast trip!
Town of 1770 was, from what I saw, really really nice. I really wish we could have stayed for longer than one night. We stayed at a hostel called Cool Bananas, and it was pretty much the most perfect hostel I could have wanted. It was so colorful (the walls were various shades of ocean blue) and friendly (the receptionist gave us a nice history of the place that made me want to stay longer in the first place!) and had the most adorable pug. While we were using the computer, he jumped into my lap and started licking everyone, and all the while he was just snorting with contentness.
Aside from the hostel, though, the night was really nice. After the 8 hours of driving turned into 10.5 hours (thanks, Brisbane construction) I was worried that my birthday was going to be ruined. But no! We ended up getting a really nice dinner along the beach and then opening a bottle of champagne for dessert :) We wanted to drink it at the beach, but this place is so far in the middle of nowhere that the beach was pitch black. Nice, but scary.
The next day we headed to Rainbow Beach. Our hostel there was extremely crowded, since most people only stop at Rainbow Beach to go to Fraser Island. Here is where we saw our first jellyfish- little blue things dotted the entire beach. We even saw one in the water....yikes...but we still decided to go surfing. Unlike the monstrous 9 ft, 10 ft boards we had on our lesson at Middleton Beach, the boards we got here were about 7.5 ft and plastic (no foam for us this time!) It was much more difficult to surf on these- you could immediately tell that they were much less stable, and so it took a few tries to even get up. Surfing is a sport of patience; in the morning, we were waiting for about 15-20 minutes without even getting a good swell. But once low tide came it became much easier to catch waves. There was this random guy swimming close to us who was giving me pointers, too. Much appreciated, whoever you are! :)
Our last days were in Brisbane. Brisbane had the crappiest weather, which is almost a good thing because I would rather have crappy weather in a city than on the beach. There isn't much to do in Brisbane per se- in 3 days, we completely covered the city's historical, architectural, and political centers, and we were even able to make a trip to the cultural center to see some art and hang out at the lagoon. Overall, I think Brisbane was the worst part of the trip just because that's where the goodbyes had to be given. Blech.
But now I'm travelling home tomorrow! I'm ready to wrap everything up for the year. Thanks for a good semester, Adelaide!
Town of 1770 was, from what I saw, really really nice. I really wish we could have stayed for longer than one night. We stayed at a hostel called Cool Bananas, and it was pretty much the most perfect hostel I could have wanted. It was so colorful (the walls were various shades of ocean blue) and friendly (the receptionist gave us a nice history of the place that made me want to stay longer in the first place!) and had the most adorable pug. While we were using the computer, he jumped into my lap and started licking everyone, and all the while he was just snorting with contentness.
Aside from the hostel, though, the night was really nice. After the 8 hours of driving turned into 10.5 hours (thanks, Brisbane construction) I was worried that my birthday was going to be ruined. But no! We ended up getting a really nice dinner along the beach and then opening a bottle of champagne for dessert :) We wanted to drink it at the beach, but this place is so far in the middle of nowhere that the beach was pitch black. Nice, but scary.
The next day we headed to Rainbow Beach. Our hostel there was extremely crowded, since most people only stop at Rainbow Beach to go to Fraser Island. Here is where we saw our first jellyfish- little blue things dotted the entire beach. We even saw one in the water....yikes...but we still decided to go surfing. Unlike the monstrous 9 ft, 10 ft boards we had on our lesson at Middleton Beach, the boards we got here were about 7.5 ft and plastic (no foam for us this time!) It was much more difficult to surf on these- you could immediately tell that they were much less stable, and so it took a few tries to even get up. Surfing is a sport of patience; in the morning, we were waiting for about 15-20 minutes without even getting a good swell. But once low tide came it became much easier to catch waves. There was this random guy swimming close to us who was giving me pointers, too. Much appreciated, whoever you are! :)
Our last days were in Brisbane. Brisbane had the crappiest weather, which is almost a good thing because I would rather have crappy weather in a city than on the beach. There isn't much to do in Brisbane per se- in 3 days, we completely covered the city's historical, architectural, and political centers, and we were even able to make a trip to the cultural center to see some art and hang out at the lagoon. Overall, I think Brisbane was the worst part of the trip just because that's where the goodbyes had to be given. Blech.
But now I'm travelling home tomorrow! I'm ready to wrap everything up for the year. Thanks for a good semester, Adelaide!
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Halfway Point- Cairns to Airlie Beach
HOWDY! I am currently halfway through my Australian summer excursion. Please ignore possible misspellings and grammar errors. This is a German keyboard I am using (I never realised how many times I use the letter Y before) and my English has gotten worse since I´ve been away from uni and with all the international students. I guess that means that I am in dire need of a trip back to the States :)
I have been travelling for a week so far on the east coast of Australia. Our trip is from Cairns to Brisbane. At Brisbane I will leave the others, but they will continue and reach Sydney by New Years. And then it´s goodbye, travel buddies- within a few weeks they will be on their way back to their home countries. So I really only have a week left with these people, which sucks quite a bit, but a week is better than nothing.
I arrived at Cairns on the 28th of November. Cairns is barely a city. It really only consists of three streets along the ocean. There is no beach, but there is a ton of rainforest. The city has a luscious backdrop of hills covered in all sorts of rainforest flora. While we were there, we stopped at Daintree National Forest a few hours north of the city and Barron Gorge, which was only a few kms away. It being the wet season and everything, the rainforest hike was a bit wet. I like to call it authentic.
Cairns also has a bat problem. By problem, I mean that bats will take to the sky in hoards once the sun drops. They make this awful sound, and they are so big that even when they are a few meters above you, you can see their outline perfectly. They only eat fruit, but that doesn´t mean that they´re not horrifying...I feel like someone should put this as a disclaimer on all their travel brochures.
Next stop was Airlie Beach. The town is so sleepy, even smaller than Cairns, and even with the name, there isn´t an actual beach. Weird. I guess that doesn´t matter much, though, since barely anyone goes to the beach out of fear of a) skin cancer and b) jellyfish. The jellyfish aren´t common on the beaches, but if they sting you, well....just hope that they don´t.
Right outside of Airlie Beach are the Whitsunday Islands. After a few days at the "beach," we took the Atlantic Clipper for a 3 day cruise around the islands. The islands are brilliant. We went to Whitehaven Beach, which has the whitest, purest sand I have ever seen (you can brush your teeth with it!) and the clearest water. We went snorkeling around other islands and saw fabulous fish and coral. One of the girls on our trip took pictures with her fancy underwater camera, and so I will upload them as soon as I get them. But if you ever have a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef, do it. It´s amazing. Just don´t brush your skin against the coral. The bacteria can give you an unpleasant rash like the ones I have on my feet right now. Yuck.
Tomorrow we drive 8 hours to Town of 1770, where we will spend a nice quiet night before driving the rest of the way to Rainbow Beach and then Brisbane. So don´t worry mom and dad, I can´t die from alcohol poisoning tonight or even get drunk these next two days- I will need to be clear-headed enough to drive tomorrow :)
I have been travelling for a week so far on the east coast of Australia. Our trip is from Cairns to Brisbane. At Brisbane I will leave the others, but they will continue and reach Sydney by New Years. And then it´s goodbye, travel buddies- within a few weeks they will be on their way back to their home countries. So I really only have a week left with these people, which sucks quite a bit, but a week is better than nothing.
I arrived at Cairns on the 28th of November. Cairns is barely a city. It really only consists of three streets along the ocean. There is no beach, but there is a ton of rainforest. The city has a luscious backdrop of hills covered in all sorts of rainforest flora. While we were there, we stopped at Daintree National Forest a few hours north of the city and Barron Gorge, which was only a few kms away. It being the wet season and everything, the rainforest hike was a bit wet. I like to call it authentic.
Cairns also has a bat problem. By problem, I mean that bats will take to the sky in hoards once the sun drops. They make this awful sound, and they are so big that even when they are a few meters above you, you can see their outline perfectly. They only eat fruit, but that doesn´t mean that they´re not horrifying...I feel like someone should put this as a disclaimer on all their travel brochures.
Next stop was Airlie Beach. The town is so sleepy, even smaller than Cairns, and even with the name, there isn´t an actual beach. Weird. I guess that doesn´t matter much, though, since barely anyone goes to the beach out of fear of a) skin cancer and b) jellyfish. The jellyfish aren´t common on the beaches, but if they sting you, well....just hope that they don´t.
Right outside of Airlie Beach are the Whitsunday Islands. After a few days at the "beach," we took the Atlantic Clipper for a 3 day cruise around the islands. The islands are brilliant. We went to Whitehaven Beach, which has the whitest, purest sand I have ever seen (you can brush your teeth with it!) and the clearest water. We went snorkeling around other islands and saw fabulous fish and coral. One of the girls on our trip took pictures with her fancy underwater camera, and so I will upload them as soon as I get them. But if you ever have a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef, do it. It´s amazing. Just don´t brush your skin against the coral. The bacteria can give you an unpleasant rash like the ones I have on my feet right now. Yuck.
Tomorrow we drive 8 hours to Town of 1770, where we will spend a nice quiet night before driving the rest of the way to Rainbow Beach and then Brisbane. So don´t worry mom and dad, I can´t die from alcohol poisoning tonight or even get drunk these next two days- I will need to be clear-headed enough to drive tomorrow :)
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Preconceptions/Lessons from this semester
Preconception time! Let's see if I remember most of these...
Warning, they may get a little sappy. I'm definitely reminiscing about the past semester right now.
Second piece of advice to study abroad students- don't freak out about grades. Try your best, but if you don't do as well as you usually do, there are probably reasons for it. Take them, learn from them, but don't let them get you down. In the end, a story about the leadership skills you learned while abroad might even impress an interviewer more than some bragging about how you've gotten all As in college. And, as a (eh, I guess I'll say he's wise) man once said to me, "A 4.0 is failure." Push yourself! And don't look back!
Third piece of advice- meet as many people from as many different places as possible. I know of some groups here who hang out with mostly people from the same nation. Usually, the countries have large groups of students here, which is nice in the beginning but I can imagine that it would hold the students back. You can meet other Texans/Americans/wherever you're from back at your home uni. Take this opportunity to meet people who are different from you, and you might be surprised at what you learn :) And if you are worried that you won't have much in common, don't be! Conversations might be a bit awkward at first, but after a few weeks you'll find your best friends.
This is a long post! But I figure that, since some friends are studying abroad next semester, this might help them out a bit...or confuse them, I don't know.
Warning, they may get a little sappy. I'm definitely reminiscing about the past semester right now.
- I would watch a lot of Aussie Rules Football- Hmmmm, nope. The game is really difficult to follow, and actually quite boring. The compilations you see on YouTube are the best of the best, and have probably come from 100+ games. Plus, the cheap tickets are for Port Adelaide, and that team is not very good, so it's not really worth it to go and watch.
- I'd make friends with mostly Australians- Negatory. Australian students already have their groups of friends. It is the international students who are so keen to go out, meet new people, and explore. It's actually really great, because now instead of just knowing people from 1 country, I know people from dozens. Maybe this means I'll have dozens of beds to sleep on during a round-the-world tour? We can hope :)
- I was going to be super chill with meeting people- I honestly thought I wouldn't make that many close friends here. Considering I wouldn't see anyone after a year (at the latest) it seemed like a smart plan, but emotions have this tricky way of getting to you even if you try to build a wall. Eh, whatever. It's been worth it. I hope some of the people I've met here will be life-long friends, but even if that doesn't happen, I am glad I was able to put my heart out and make some real connections with people
- Australians are super nice- Now, this one is tricky. I've met plenty of lovely Australians, but seeing as I am living in a city, I feel like I am surrounded by the nastiest, most negative people alive. I see so many people swearing at each other at the top of their lungs, making rude hand signs, etc etc. This might be because most of them are drivers, and driving brings out the worst in anyone, but it's still left a bad impression on me. Sorry, Aussies.
- The wildlife would try to kill me- Considering I haven't seen much real wildlife at all, I'd say this myth is a bust. We will see after the surfing trip, though- it's going to be jellyfish AND shark season! Maybe I will have to be careful then.
- I was going to focus really hard on schoolwork- I had originally planned on doing some research in Adelaide. Gosh, was that a mistake. For some reason, I guess I had assumed that I didn't really want to explore much. People, this is false.
- I was going to get HDs all around- Lulz. HDs are extremely rare here, at least that is what I hear from the professors and other students. When they hear my scholarships require an average of 85 in my classes, their jaws drop and they usually say something along the lines of "I'm sorry." I've had the humbling experience of not automatically being the top student in any of my classes. I think it has been really valuable.
Second piece of advice to study abroad students- don't freak out about grades. Try your best, but if you don't do as well as you usually do, there are probably reasons for it. Take them, learn from them, but don't let them get you down. In the end, a story about the leadership skills you learned while abroad might even impress an interviewer more than some bragging about how you've gotten all As in college. And, as a (eh, I guess I'll say he's wise) man once said to me, "A 4.0 is failure." Push yourself! And don't look back!
Third piece of advice- meet as many people from as many different places as possible. I know of some groups here who hang out with mostly people from the same nation. Usually, the countries have large groups of students here, which is nice in the beginning but I can imagine that it would hold the students back. You can meet other Texans/Americans/wherever you're from back at your home uni. Take this opportunity to meet people who are different from you, and you might be surprised at what you learn :) And if you are worried that you won't have much in common, don't be! Conversations might be a bit awkward at first, but after a few weeks you'll find your best friends.
This is a long post! But I figure that, since some friends are studying abroad next semester, this might help them out a bit...or confuse them, I don't know.
Summer Break Pt 1
It feels so good to be free! I know right now most people back home are wrapping up their classes and (starting to? Maybe?) get ready for exams. Here is a picture of me being jealous about their school calendar:
For the past week, I've been travelling- we went to Flinders Ranges this week and hiked at Wilpena Pound, which is a kind of annoying mountain arrangement that looks like it was the result of an asteroid or volcano but really isn't. Dang. One of the trip members got sick right before our excursion, kind of a bummer, but I still had a good time. We got to take this nice hike up the mountain that involved climbing what would probably be a 5.2-5.3, which is nice because it wasn't strenuous going up, but the descent was awful. There is something about not knowing if rocks will stay where they are that freaks me out.
I did take pictures this time! But they were all with my Holga, so I have 8 pictures to go before I get the roll developed. The sun was great during the entire trip, so I am excited to see how all the colours have turned out.
Now, I just need to get everything together before my Gold Coast trip. Guys, I'm so excited. 2 weeks with 3 amazing people, and getting to meet up with other awesome friends along the way? Yes please. Going on a sailboat cruise to the Whitsunday Islands and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef? Sure, why not. Surfing along the coast? Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. Fish and chips? Is that even a question?
Even more exciting is the fact that I get to celebrate my 21st birthday in yet another country! So far, my major birthdays have all been in new locations:
16th: My first year in North Carolina (hey now, it was a big deal for me)
18th: Limoges, France
21st: Town of 1770, Australia
It's kind of sad that there really aren't many other major birthdays; it would have been nice to have the excuse to travel some more :) Travelling is addicting! I really enjoy living in different places- I have met amazing people and done so many things. I hate to think that, once I get older, this might stop, so for now I would like to make travelling a part of my future life. But we all know how planning for the future turns out...
For the past week, I've been travelling- we went to Flinders Ranges this week and hiked at Wilpena Pound, which is a kind of annoying mountain arrangement that looks like it was the result of an asteroid or volcano but really isn't. Dang. One of the trip members got sick right before our excursion, kind of a bummer, but I still had a good time. We got to take this nice hike up the mountain that involved climbing what would probably be a 5.2-5.3, which is nice because it wasn't strenuous going up, but the descent was awful. There is something about not knowing if rocks will stay where they are that freaks me out.
I did take pictures this time! But they were all with my Holga, so I have 8 pictures to go before I get the roll developed. The sun was great during the entire trip, so I am excited to see how all the colours have turned out.
Now, I just need to get everything together before my Gold Coast trip. Guys, I'm so excited. 2 weeks with 3 amazing people, and getting to meet up with other awesome friends along the way? Yes please. Going on a sailboat cruise to the Whitsunday Islands and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef? Sure, why not. Surfing along the coast? Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. Fish and chips? Is that even a question?
Even more exciting is the fact that I get to celebrate my 21st birthday in yet another country! So far, my major birthdays have all been in new locations:
16th: My first year in North Carolina (hey now, it was a big deal for me)
18th: Limoges, France
21st: Town of 1770, Australia
It's kind of sad that there really aren't many other major birthdays; it would have been nice to have the excuse to travel some more :) Travelling is addicting! I really enjoy living in different places- I have met amazing people and done so many things. I hate to think that, once I get older, this might stop, so for now I would like to make travelling a part of my future life. But we all know how planning for the future turns out...
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Almost done! And by that I mean less than halfway through.
I had my first final out of three yesterday. It was honestly one of the more miserable experiences I have had. The room in which every takes their tests is basically a warehouse- concrete walls and tin ceiling. They crank up the air conditioner so that you hear this constant whirring sound, and since there are at least four hundred students in the same room, there is no end to the sound of paper shuffling.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I study or take a final, I need silence. I get angry when the person behind me has a cold or chomps on their Doritos too loudly, so there was no way I could concentrate well with all the noise. But I got through it...for two and a half hours and five essays.
I'm glad my English final is over, but I dread the idea of doing this twice more for Integration and Cryptology. At least the rest of my exams are only two hours long. Right now, I need to study more for Integration, and my Cryptology exam is on Saturday morning. Saturday morning! Who thinks of these things?
These British-style finals are no good for me. I truly think that having one test count for the majority of your grade isn't logical or healthy. I've been so stressed for the past two weeks. My skin is getting bad, I've gotten antsy and unsociable, and my eating habits have gone out the window- right now, I've been eating Wheaties, fruit and salad because those are the only things that don't make me feel miserable. I feel myself getting meaner, too, even to my friends. I don't like what I'm becoming. I know, though, that once Saturday rolls around I will feel much better. I can't wait.
The worst thing about all the stress, though, is that it's so difficult for me to avoid. I need to do well on these tests by American standards, and "doing well" in that way just doesn't happen save for a few super-genius people. I have not been one of those people this semester- blame it on trying to discover a new country or whatever. Yet, if I am not, I stand the chance of losing my scholarships. It wouldn't happen this semester, but the idea of not having any money for school is so frightening...
I don't know about anyone else, but when I study or take a final, I need silence. I get angry when the person behind me has a cold or chomps on their Doritos too loudly, so there was no way I could concentrate well with all the noise. But I got through it...for two and a half hours and five essays.
I'm glad my English final is over, but I dread the idea of doing this twice more for Integration and Cryptology. At least the rest of my exams are only two hours long. Right now, I need to study more for Integration, and my Cryptology exam is on Saturday morning. Saturday morning! Who thinks of these things?
These British-style finals are no good for me. I truly think that having one test count for the majority of your grade isn't logical or healthy. I've been so stressed for the past two weeks. My skin is getting bad, I've gotten antsy and unsociable, and my eating habits have gone out the window- right now, I've been eating Wheaties, fruit and salad because those are the only things that don't make me feel miserable. I feel myself getting meaner, too, even to my friends. I don't like what I'm becoming. I know, though, that once Saturday rolls around I will feel much better. I can't wait.
The worst thing about all the stress, though, is that it's so difficult for me to avoid. I need to do well on these tests by American standards, and "doing well" in that way just doesn't happen save for a few super-genius people. I have not been one of those people this semester- blame it on trying to discover a new country or whatever. Yet, if I am not, I stand the chance of losing my scholarships. It wouldn't happen this semester, but the idea of not having any money for school is so frightening...
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Fear strikes the heart: Halloween and finals
Happy November, everyone! I'm pretty sure I can say that, considering it should be November 1st just about everywhere now.
Yesterday was Halloween. If this comes as no surprise to you, you're probably American. Apparently, Halloween isn't a big thing over here in Australia. It's slowly been picking up as a holiday, but even so, Halloween decorations only come up in stores about 2 weeks before- that is, if they're even put up at all. In comparison, there have been Christmas decorations for over a month (I don't understand how this makes sense). I invited some Australians to come to a Halloween party, and someone actually asked me what day Halloween is. I guess it just takes a while for these things to catch on.
Only 1.5 more weeks until final exams start for me. I have never, ever, ever prepared for tests this far in advance. But when a test is basically worth your entire grade (60-70%!), then yeah, it's necessary. I'm a bit worried- finals definitely aren't like this at all back home. It's going to take some major study time for me to do decently, so hopefully I can pull through.
The weird thing about final exams here (besides the fact that they count for so much) is that they're all off campus-kind of like the old AP tests we took in high school. In its ultimate wisdom, Aussie/British higher educational culture has decided that it is most efficient for the argest universities in Adelaide (Adelaide Uni, Uni SA, and Flinders Uni) to ship all of their students to the same facility for testing during these two weeks. Never mind that there should theoretically be enough space at each uni's own campus, or that it will be a logistical nightmare for any student to catch a bus or a train to the Showgrounds on those days, or that it might be helpful to have the professor of the course actually monitor the final...no, this is obviously the best choice. I don't get it.
It all seems a bit illogical to me. Make the test so heavily weighted so that the courses are off-balance and every student resorts to cramming, and then literally cram hundreds of them into a room to take a test. There's no use fighting the system, but still. Kinda weird.
At least there's heaps of travelling to be done after finals! I'll be going up to Flinders Ranges immediately after, then stay in Adelaide, pack, and then go on a road trip from Cairns to Brisbane. There will be surfing and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. It's amazing to think that I'll be doing all of this, especially when I think that there are so many people who dream of having these experiences. I'm quite lucky. And after all of that, I get to go home. I didn't think I'd be too excited to go back to the states, but it'll be nice to return to some familiarity. That is, of course, assuming that I will still feel familiar with everything. There's apparently something called "reverse culture shock" that a lot of study-abroad students have once they go home. It sounds miserable, so I hope I can avoid it.
And, while we're talking about the States, a note for anyone back home- if you're ever keen on texting people around the world, it's really easy to do so with this thing called Whatsapp. It only uses a bit of data on your phone regardless of the country you are texting, and it's completely free. If you'd ever want to chat, just download it and I can give you my number. It sucks having to wait for good Skype times or Facebook chat times, and so this might be easier. I had no idea about this until I got here, so I figured I'd relay the message :)
Yesterday was Halloween. If this comes as no surprise to you, you're probably American. Apparently, Halloween isn't a big thing over here in Australia. It's slowly been picking up as a holiday, but even so, Halloween decorations only come up in stores about 2 weeks before- that is, if they're even put up at all. In comparison, there have been Christmas decorations for over a month (I don't understand how this makes sense). I invited some Australians to come to a Halloween party, and someone actually asked me what day Halloween is. I guess it just takes a while for these things to catch on.
Only 1.5 more weeks until final exams start for me. I have never, ever, ever prepared for tests this far in advance. But when a test is basically worth your entire grade (60-70%!), then yeah, it's necessary. I'm a bit worried- finals definitely aren't like this at all back home. It's going to take some major study time for me to do decently, so hopefully I can pull through.
The weird thing about final exams here (besides the fact that they count for so much) is that they're all off campus-kind of like the old AP tests we took in high school. In its ultimate wisdom, Aussie/British higher educational culture has decided that it is most efficient for the argest universities in Adelaide (Adelaide Uni, Uni SA, and Flinders Uni) to ship all of their students to the same facility for testing during these two weeks. Never mind that there should theoretically be enough space at each uni's own campus, or that it will be a logistical nightmare for any student to catch a bus or a train to the Showgrounds on those days, or that it might be helpful to have the professor of the course actually monitor the final...no, this is obviously the best choice. I don't get it.
It all seems a bit illogical to me. Make the test so heavily weighted so that the courses are off-balance and every student resorts to cramming, and then literally cram hundreds of them into a room to take a test. There's no use fighting the system, but still. Kinda weird.
At least there's heaps of travelling to be done after finals! I'll be going up to Flinders Ranges immediately after, then stay in Adelaide, pack, and then go on a road trip from Cairns to Brisbane. There will be surfing and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. It's amazing to think that I'll be doing all of this, especially when I think that there are so many people who dream of having these experiences. I'm quite lucky. And after all of that, I get to go home. I didn't think I'd be too excited to go back to the states, but it'll be nice to return to some familiarity. That is, of course, assuming that I will still feel familiar with everything. There's apparently something called "reverse culture shock" that a lot of study-abroad students have once they go home. It sounds miserable, so I hope I can avoid it.
And, while we're talking about the States, a note for anyone back home- if you're ever keen on texting people around the world, it's really easy to do so with this thing called Whatsapp. It only uses a bit of data on your phone regardless of the country you are texting, and it's completely free. If you'd ever want to chat, just download it and I can give you my number. It sucks having to wait for good Skype times or Facebook chat times, and so this might be easier. I had no idea about this until I got here, so I figured I'd relay the message :)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Stereotypical Aussie experience no. 3- Surfing
Lessons learned from yesterday:
1. Planning things is exhausting! We had a big group go surfing- 18 people total. Trying to arrange everything with the people going and the people at the surf place gets chaotic and confusing. I now have a lot more respect for people studying hospitality. They have to multitask so well, and I'm amazed they all don't go crazy.
2. It's a lot easier to get into cold water when you a. have on a wetsuit and b. are actually going to do something in the water. I don't think I've ever walked into 57.2 degree (Fahrenheit!) water so readily.
3. I originally thought that the most difficult part of getting up would be doing the quasi-pushup, but nope. After you push yourself up halfway, you need to bring both your feet underneath you and stand up. It's basically like doing the second half of a burpee, and for all of you who have had to do burpees before (hello, rowers), you know that the first five or eight aren't that bad. Then they become unbearable. Thankfully, the possibility of riding a wave made me more excited to squat over and over, but it still got to be way difficult. We surfed for about 3, 3.5 hours yesterday and I could feel the burn after the first 30 minutes.
4. It's so exciting to catch a wave and ride it to the beach. But as you do that more and more, it gets less and less fun because then you realise you have to walk back 50 meters against the waves. And after doing all those pushups and squats, the water starts to feel really, really strong.
5. Drinking saltwater is inevitable. At least for the girls (or maybe this is just for me), you would hear lots of "Whoo!"s singaling someone was able to stand up successfully. But sometimes you would hear a "Whoo-ahh!-splash," and that was more of a sign that someone had just gotten their weekly intake of sodium. Newsflash- salt water is disgusting.
6. Oh, and surfing. I did learn how to surf yesterday. Can't wait to try it again, either!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
My Christmas List (aka things I miss from home)
I know what you're thinking:
I really need running shoes. Mine have stopped doing anything for my feet (I've worn out the sole....from running so much obviously) and they're a red colour that a) shows I'm super touristy and b) won't go away. Everything else I have has managed to get stained red, too...
Oh man, goldfish. I miss these little guys so much. They have strange flavoured crackers here, too (one of the girls just bought cheese-and-bacon flavoured crackers today) but none of them smile or are in the shape of fish and/or sand dollars. Plus, there's something in these crackers that just makes them too addicting for them not to be missed.
And while we're at it...
We saw a girl with a box of Krispy Kremes the other week and ran up to her to ask where the store was. Turns out, a friend from Melbourne brought them for her. UGH.
Also, they don't have real deodorant here? I feel like this is a real problem. Their "deodorants" are either sprays or roll on things. And, not surprisingly, neither of those help very much with body odour. It might just be because I'm in the engineering building a good bit, though...
Mmmm, peaches. It's almost impossible to find these things here. Jalapenos just don't exist here. Also, tomatoes are ridiculously expensive, and so are red peppers. It doesn't make sense to me- green peppers are super cheap, and I thought red peppers were just ripened green peppers? Maybe I'm wrong.
Also included in my list of things I miss:
Wow, I really miss that girl in Australia with the awesome blog. I wish I could send her some material items to make up for the lack of love she is receiving from me.
Don't worry, I understand. And that is why, as a service to you, I have collected a few things that might be nice for me to have. For some of them, though, you might have to contact a few CEOs or break a few international piracy laws, but I'm worth it....right?
Here is my early Christmas list. Feel free to send me these things whenever. And no, it's not too early to have a Christmas list. Myer's has had its Christmas decorations up since the middle of September, so if anything I am catching the end of this bandwagon.
Oh man, goldfish. I miss these little guys so much. They have strange flavoured crackers here, too (one of the girls just bought cheese-and-bacon flavoured crackers today) but none of them smile or are in the shape of fish and/or sand dollars. Plus, there's something in these crackers that just makes them too addicting for them not to be missed.
And while we're at it...
We saw a girl with a box of Krispy Kremes the other week and ran up to her to ask where the store was. Turns out, a friend from Melbourne brought them for her. UGH.
Also, they don't have real deodorant here? I feel like this is a real problem. Their "deodorants" are either sprays or roll on things. And, not surprisingly, neither of those help very much with body odour. It might just be because I'm in the engineering building a good bit, though...
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| No, not the song. Youtube exists here. |
Also included in my list of things I miss:
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| If only for the good times we always have back in the 704 :) |
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| TACO BELL. What else are you supposed to eat after a hardcore day? Of course, in Australia, they'd probably be out of the chicken, the spicy chicken, the 8 inch tortillas, the 10 inch tortillas, and the caramel apple empanadas... |
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| This would be ok if Arrested Development wasn't coming out exclusively on Netflix this spring... |
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| Really, Australian television just stinks. Maybe that's good for my grades? |
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The end of break
I'm dreading for this Labour Day weekend to be over because, once it is, I have to go back to school. Apparently, the way I deal with this is by doing absolutely nothing, which isn't actually that good because all it means is that I have less time to finish the assignments my lecturers have given for the break.
Dear lecturers everywhere:
Do you really not remember what college is like? In what universe do you think students actually care about school during spring break?
Given, "spring break" is different in Australia than it is back home- I talked to some Aussie students in my classes and they said they usually just catch up on homework during the two weeks. Of course, they probably don't think Australia is as exciting as we international students do, but even in the States we usually find things to do over our spring breaks. Spring break is a time to go to the beach, not a time to work on a paper about elliptic curve cryptography. I mean, as fascinating as that sounds...
I have to say, though- this break was pretty brilliant. The first week was obviously fantastic with the whole road trip, but this week has been really nice too. Unigames has been running all this week, so Adelaide has been filled with other uni students. It's really easy to tell who's not from around here (oh, look at me, speaking like a local) because a) they all wear uniforms from their home schools and b) they're loud and drunk most of the time they're off the field.
Sometimes they play sports, though. I went to watch our boys play lawn tennis one day- bless their hearts, they lost every game, but I think it's less of a big deal when you only have to travel 2 kilometres to the venue rather than 1500. Most of the guys from Uni Adelaide were newbies to the sport, while the guys from Perth and stuff were super into the game. One guy from the other team kept on talking to himself the entire match, which is ok I guess, but he was loud enough that it seemed like he was trying to talk to someone else. Awkward. I think I may have accidentally responded to him once or twice.
Also, fun fact: apparently tennis began as lawn tennis? This is news to a girl who didn't even know lawn tennis even existed, let alone was the covering for Wimbleton. Shows you how much I follow the game.
Dear lecturers everywhere:
Do you really not remember what college is like? In what universe do you think students actually care about school during spring break?
Given, "spring break" is different in Australia than it is back home- I talked to some Aussie students in my classes and they said they usually just catch up on homework during the two weeks. Of course, they probably don't think Australia is as exciting as we international students do, but even in the States we usually find things to do over our spring breaks. Spring break is a time to go to the beach, not a time to work on a paper about elliptic curve cryptography. I mean, as fascinating as that sounds...
I have to say, though- this break was pretty brilliant. The first week was obviously fantastic with the whole road trip, but this week has been really nice too. Unigames has been running all this week, so Adelaide has been filled with other uni students. It's really easy to tell who's not from around here (oh, look at me, speaking like a local) because a) they all wear uniforms from their home schools and b) they're loud and drunk most of the time they're off the field.
Sometimes they play sports, though. I went to watch our boys play lawn tennis one day- bless their hearts, they lost every game, but I think it's less of a big deal when you only have to travel 2 kilometres to the venue rather than 1500. Most of the guys from Uni Adelaide were newbies to the sport, while the guys from Perth and stuff were super into the game. One guy from the other team kept on talking to himself the entire match, which is ok I guess, but he was loud enough that it seemed like he was trying to talk to someone else. Awkward. I think I may have accidentally responded to him once or twice.
Also, fun fact: apparently tennis began as lawn tennis? This is news to a girl who didn't even know lawn tennis even existed, let alone was the covering for Wimbleton. Shows you how much I follow the game.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Basically, I love everything
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| This is just going to be a list of things I love. 1. The outback trip |
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| 2. Everyone who went on the trip 3. Kings' Canyon |
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| 4. Climbing trees |
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| 5. Pyramids on the sides of cliffs 6. Planking on the sides of cliffs |
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| 7. The Julian face 8. How everyone caught onto it by the 2nd day we were on the trip |
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| 9. How we always went swimming 10. Even if the water was green and nasty-looking |
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| 11. Campfires 12. Mallory's great storytelling abilities |
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| 13. All the girls 14. The Ulgas |
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| 15. How the volleyball was always out 16. How we annoyed everyone else during each sunset and sunrise 17. How dirty we all got |
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| 18. Uluru 19. Waking up at 6 am to see a sunrise and being delirious for the next few hours |
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| Things I hate: Pitch Black |
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Outback Photo Album
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| Kings' Canyon. I think we're about 150 m from the ground. Kings' Canyon was our first hiking trip and it was ridiculous. We all just climbed rocks and trees and went swimming. Photo by Katti. |
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| The sunset on our first night out. We slept on the side of the road. The stars are amazing in the Outback. I thought there were lots of stars in Adelaide, but nope. We could see the Milky Way. Sometimes we'd just stop talking for a few minutes to look up. Photo by Amel. |
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| We had two of these bad boys (the camper vans, not the actual boys) that we drove all around. Petrol is so expensive here! Out by Uluru, we were paying about $2.50 a LITRE. That's around $10.00 a gallon. Ridiculous. Photo by Amel. |
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| It got way hot here. During the Uluru walk, it was above 36 C (96.8 F)- I only know this because that was the reason the climb to the top was closed. Of course, there wasn't much shade, and so we were exhausted even in the beginning of the walk. We all drank so much water. These shelters were a Godsend. Photo by Christoph. |
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| We got up around 5:40 am to see the sunrise at Uluru. I have to say Uluru was probably the least exciting part of the trip. Our feet were so sore by the time we got there, and it really is just a rock in the middle of nowhere. I liked Kings' Canyon a lot more. Photo by Flo. |
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| We spent so much time in those dang cars. I couldn't drive, so I mostly ate and slept. And now I wonder why my clothes seem a little tight....hmmm. Photo by Marcel, except he's in the picture so I don't know who's actually taking it. |
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Final Stretch!
Guys, I am so excited about spring break starting tomorrow. You don't even know.
I leave in less than 24 hours. Until then, I am going to be super busy. I've got to pack, get some veggie food (probably just lots and lots of peanut butter), make a ton of cds to entertain everyone for that ridiculously long drive, clean for our apartment inspection, and study for yet another ecology test on marine and freshwater systems. I'm debating whether or not I should even try to do laundry today- part of me thinks that it's the proper thing to do, but the majority of me sees it as a waste of time considering everyone on this trip will be so disgusting after only the first few days.
To be honest, I have no idea what we're doing or where we're going or how anything is being planned out. All I know is that we're driving north and should see some big rocks on our trip. I can't drive since I'm soooo young, so all I have to do is get on a bus and meet everyone at the grocery store. And then we'll be off! Thank goodness I trust the people driving :)
The week after won't be super exciting, but I hope I'll be able to (finally) take a surfing lesson and catch up on those major assignments that every class feels is necessary for the break. Plus, there are a few gatherings already planned, and so it'll be good to just relax and hang out with people.
It feels so weird being more than halfway through school, especially since everyone back home is still in their first month of the semester.
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Not so hot
I've had a barking cough for the past month. I'm pretty sure it's getting on everyone's nerves- my own included. Of course, the university clinic says I'm fine, so that's got to be the case because only the best doctors volunteer to work on college campuses, right?
I really just want to be well by Friday. It'll be a long drive to Uluru if the main soundtrack we're all listening to is my bronchial tubes...
I really just want to be well by Friday. It'll be a long drive to Uluru if the main soundtrack we're all listening to is my bronchial tubes...
Sunday, September 02, 2012
Happy Spring!
September 1st is the "official" first day of spring in Australia. I'm not completely sure why--spring equinox isn't until the 23rd--but my gosh, it's gotten beautiful outside. Lately, it's rained every day. The mornings will be lovely, but by 1 pm it'll rain and be windy and cold. But starting yesterday, the weather has been nothing but pristine. The sun's been out and it's been in the low 20s. It feels like May feels back home :) My only complaint is that I just spent money on proper winter clothing here. Really, Adelaide? Now I need to spend even more money. At least I'll be able to get away with not doing laundry for longer now.
Yesterday the roommate and I cycled to Henley and Glenelg. It was my first time at the beach here. Henley is about 10 km west of the city, and Glenelg is about 3 km south of that. I think in total we biked around 25 km, not too shabby for one day. Henley's beautiful- white sand, not much development, wide beaches...it was a bit windy and the water was way cold, but it was worth it. Glenelg's beach wasn't as great, but there's a decent shopping area around with some awesome kebabs. Overall, we were at the beach for about 4 hours. I'm surprised I didn't burn, to be honest--I thought with the ozone hole I would have fried. The roommate definitely did today, though...guess that's just what happens when you're British.
Now that the weather is (finally) turning around, I am so pumped to go on some adventures. Spring break is 2 weeks away (crazy!) and I'll be going to Ayers Rock with 1 Canadian, 1 Frenchwoman, and 9 Germans. 9! There are so many Germans here, it's ridiculous. You almost think Germany's trying to colonise South Australia. But I really like everyone I know who is going on the trip, so it should be a lot of fun. We're taking these giant RV-type camper vans and staying for a week. No one knows exactly what we'll be doing, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. There's really only so much you can do in the outback.
The Black Keys are coming to Adelaide in the end of October. I really, really want to go--it would be completely sick to have them be my first concert. Trying to find others who want to go might be difficult (not many Europeans go to rock concerts any more, it seems) but eh, I'll deal.
Yesterday the roommate and I cycled to Henley and Glenelg. It was my first time at the beach here. Henley is about 10 km west of the city, and Glenelg is about 3 km south of that. I think in total we biked around 25 km, not too shabby for one day. Henley's beautiful- white sand, not much development, wide beaches...it was a bit windy and the water was way cold, but it was worth it. Glenelg's beach wasn't as great, but there's a decent shopping area around with some awesome kebabs. Overall, we were at the beach for about 4 hours. I'm surprised I didn't burn, to be honest--I thought with the ozone hole I would have fried. The roommate definitely did today, though...guess that's just what happens when you're British.
Now that the weather is (finally) turning around, I am so pumped to go on some adventures. Spring break is 2 weeks away (crazy!) and I'll be going to Ayers Rock with 1 Canadian, 1 Frenchwoman, and 9 Germans. 9! There are so many Germans here, it's ridiculous. You almost think Germany's trying to colonise South Australia. But I really like everyone I know who is going on the trip, so it should be a lot of fun. We're taking these giant RV-type camper vans and staying for a week. No one knows exactly what we'll be doing, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. There's really only so much you can do in the outback.
The Black Keys are coming to Adelaide in the end of October. I really, really want to go--it would be completely sick to have them be my first concert. Trying to find others who want to go might be difficult (not many Europeans go to rock concerts any more, it seems) but eh, I'll deal.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Aussie Foods Pt 2
My last post on Aussie foods and the fail that is Vegemite apparently rubbed one of the actual Aussies I know (there really aren't many of them...) the wrong way. He told me that the real way to eat Vegemite was to put it on a crumpet and alternate bites with a crumpet with honey on it. He was confident that this would change my perception of the food.
I tried it. The taste of soy sauce on a pancake/crumpet is no better (actually, I think it's a bit worse) than the taste of soy sauce on toast, even if there is a sweet bite following. Sorry, Skip.
I tried it. The taste of soy sauce on a pancake/crumpet is no better (actually, I think it's a bit worse) than the taste of soy sauce on toast, even if there is a sweet bite following. Sorry, Skip.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
I use these updates to procrastinate.
The weather here has been so bad lately. I am pretty sure it's rained every day this past week, and I hate rain. I hate how lazy it makes me feel, I hate how it gets my clothes wet and then sticky when I have to sit through class, and I hate how it manages to make life just so miserable. So, when I signed up for a kayaking trip for today, I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. I was prepared for another cold and rainy Adelaide winter day.
Luckily, though, the weather (finally) started to cooperate with us today! WHOOP! We managed to get both blue skies and weather over 15 degrees. You cannot imagine how happy I was about that. Garden Island is not the most scenic of islands (it's the home of Port Adelaide's power plant), but it wasn't bad- the mangroves, even though they totally stank, were pretty, and there were some pretty nifty shipwrecks along the waterside. Plus, thanks to the power plant, the water was a bit warm. That's not super exciting until you realize that dolphins really, really enjoy warm water. In fact, they enjoy it well enough to frolic around kayaks. But the sassy things wouldn't get close enough to let me pet them without having to be afraid about falling over. I wish I could have taken some pictures, but my camera is anything but waterproof, and it's a pretty bad idea to take non-waterproof items and store them in a boat that will capsize. Oh well, maybe next time!
I'm really enjoying these outdoors adventures. I realize that there are probably similar adventures in College Station, and I kind of feel bad that I've been missing out. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions on what I might be able to explore once I get back, please feel free to let me know. And on that note, I should probably work on my Renaissance English paper. If I can write 250 words on kayaking in 10 minutes, I should be able to bust out 1000 words on Wyatt and Spenser easily, right? Right?
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Such Great Heights
Yesterday, I went natural rock climbing for the first time at Morialta Conservation park. There is a mountain club here that goes on kayaking, mountain biking, bushwalking, and climbing trips throughout the year, and I figured that joining it would be a good way to get out of the city and meet some chill people. Yesterday was my first outing with the group, and it was one of the best adventures I've had in Adelaide yet.
I am a little afraid of heights. I honestly don't know why I climb, considering that whenever I am more than 3 m off the ground I get shaky. Here, the cliff we had to walk down (and climb back up) was ~18 m (54 feet) high. Needless to say, I freaked out for the first part of the trip. By the end, though, I was able to sit on the edge without worrying whether I was going to fall to my death- that's an improvement, right?
The climbs here were really nice. The rock at Morialta looks like it could fall apart at any minute, and so it's definitely a good idea to test your hand and foot holds for the first few climbs. After a few routes, though, you get more comfortable with the rock and can work more on your problems. There is a good range of climbs at Boulder Bridge. I was actually able to get a 17, which in the American scale would be about a 5.9- a pretty decent intermediate climb. Of course, completing it took a few tries, but I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment. An outdoor 5.9 is not at all like an indoor 5.9. There's a certain amount of creativity you need outdoors that can't be re-created with taped holds, and a lot of times you can wear yourself out just looking for a new handhold or foothold.
The thing I loved most about the trip was how chill everyone was. The group was a good mix of international and Aussie students, and I knew a couple of people on the trip. But when you have to trust a complete stranger to belay you and not let you die when you fall, you make friends really really quickly. I've always enjoyed being with climbers- people who put themselves in danger willingly usually have a refreshing outlook on life- and this was no exception. I am definitely looking forward to going on more trips with them.
Also, I'm realizing that I probably have to go climbing more often. My hands didn't callus like I had hoped they would (the rock was so cold!) and my grip has definitely gone downhill ever since I stopped climbing a month ago. I guess that's just another thing I have to work on now! I can tell I'm going to be really busy this year :)
I am a little afraid of heights. I honestly don't know why I climb, considering that whenever I am more than 3 m off the ground I get shaky. Here, the cliff we had to walk down (and climb back up) was ~18 m (54 feet) high. Needless to say, I freaked out for the first part of the trip. By the end, though, I was able to sit on the edge without worrying whether I was going to fall to my death- that's an improvement, right?The climbs here were really nice. The rock at Morialta looks like it could fall apart at any minute, and so it's definitely a good idea to test your hand and foot holds for the first few climbs. After a few routes, though, you get more comfortable with the rock and can work more on your problems. There is a good range of climbs at Boulder Bridge. I was actually able to get a 17, which in the American scale would be about a 5.9- a pretty decent intermediate climb. Of course, completing it took a few tries, but I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment. An outdoor 5.9 is not at all like an indoor 5.9. There's a certain amount of creativity you need outdoors that can't be re-created with taped holds, and a lot of times you can wear yourself out just looking for a new handhold or foothold.
Also, I'm realizing that I probably have to go climbing more often. My hands didn't callus like I had hoped they would (the rock was so cold!) and my grip has definitely gone downhill ever since I stopped climbing a month ago. I guess that's just another thing I have to work on now! I can tell I'm going to be really busy this year :)
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Aussie Foods!
This is a good song. The food it references (Vegemite)? Not so good.
In a sentence, it tastes like soy sauce on bread. Vegemite is the product of the stuff that didn't make it into beer- they just ferment it again until it turns into a thick black paste. It's supposed to be totally good for you- full of B vitamins (some of which can help your brain, fun fact of the day!) but I feel like being forced to eat this daily would make me go insane. Yet people here love the stuff! They eat it on toast with lots of butter. I'm getting hypertension just thinking about it.
However, the Aussies save themselves with their version of ambrosia- the Tim Tam. Basically, these things are heavenly:
Chocolate cookie, chocolate creme filling, and chocolate outer coating. HOW CAN THIS GET ANY BETTER? The only way I see them getting better is if they put more than 8 in a box. Buying multiple boxes at a time makes me feel gluttonous.
Apparently some Aussies enjoy using Tim Tams as straws- Wikipedia mentions it here. Pro tip- don't try it with lemon tea. It's not a good time.
Friday, July 27, 2012
An Australian education
My first week of classes has just ended. It's been a difficult week, considering that for the past week and a half all I've had to do was meet people and have a good time. However, I am slowly getting into my classes, and there are some real differences between the way Aussie uni students are taught and how we're taught back in the States. Right now, I'm not too excited about these differences, but I am sure that after a year I will at least get more used to them, if not grow fond of them.
The biggest shock I've gotten so far is how hands-off the teaching style is here. Most students don't go to their classes, and to be honest, there's not much of a reason to: my classes are all recorded and uploaded on the internet within minutes of class ending. My environmental studies class held 200 people on its first day; by the second class, the number of students who showed up to the lecture was cut in half. Since the professors are mostly teaching for students who aren't in attendence, lectures tend to get a bit dry. Students don't ask questions, nor are they asked questions by the professors. I don't think I have ever had a class at A&M where the professor didn't talk to their students at least somewhat often; yet, a few days ago I had a professor who joked about (Heaven forbid) making his classroom "interactive." Oh, the horror of the thought.
If that's not dry enough, most of the classes I am taking have no textbooks. The only text I've had to buy is an English anthology (whoo hoo Norton). The other classes have references, but they're more of a "look at this if you're really bored" sort of reference. It feels weird to have just one point of reference-a lecture- for material that you'll be tested on extensively. I know that there is no way I will be able to feel confident for a final weighted 70% of my grade if I have to go off of what the professor rushingly says/scribbles on the board.
But anyhow, besides those two differences, I am struck by how specific a uni education is here in Australia. There are absolutely no core curriculum requirements. None. When you begin school as an english major or a business major, you start off by taking 100% english courses or business courses. You never take anything else- taking other subjects is almost seen as decreasing the value of your education. In the words of a female maths major I spoke to today, "I'm so glad I didn't study overseas. That's not uni, that's school." I could taste her distain. As a student who has taken (and loved!) my anthropology, chemistry, art, and music classes, I was a bit offended.
I assume it's good for people who want to go into academia or who want to devote an extra six years of their lives into a doctoral thesis, but what happens to everyone else? If I've learned anything about the job market (from what people have told me, mostly), it's that flexibility in learning and connecting ideas from different areas is extremely important to getting things done. I don't know if 3 years of solely working reaction mechanisms or analysing poetry can breed those skills.
Personally, I really appreciate taking classes that fall outside my field of study. I hope I never live in a world that revolves around just mathematics, chemistry, sociology, or art history. If that happens, maybe I will study that one subject alone. Until then, though, I want to make sure that I learn about as many different aspects of the world as I can. I'm going to be here for a while, and so ignoring so many parts of the life I will be experiencing is negligence, plain and simple.
Of course, this rant might just be my reaction to a second wave of culture shock. Just because I am here in Australia does not mean I have to learn by the Australian method. I might just have to put my own spin on things while I'm at school here- if I don't, I think going to school here will become way too tedious for me.
The biggest shock I've gotten so far is how hands-off the teaching style is here. Most students don't go to their classes, and to be honest, there's not much of a reason to: my classes are all recorded and uploaded on the internet within minutes of class ending. My environmental studies class held 200 people on its first day; by the second class, the number of students who showed up to the lecture was cut in half. Since the professors are mostly teaching for students who aren't in attendence, lectures tend to get a bit dry. Students don't ask questions, nor are they asked questions by the professors. I don't think I have ever had a class at A&M where the professor didn't talk to their students at least somewhat often; yet, a few days ago I had a professor who joked about (Heaven forbid) making his classroom "interactive." Oh, the horror of the thought.
If that's not dry enough, most of the classes I am taking have no textbooks. The only text I've had to buy is an English anthology (whoo hoo Norton). The other classes have references, but they're more of a "look at this if you're really bored" sort of reference. It feels weird to have just one point of reference-a lecture- for material that you'll be tested on extensively. I know that there is no way I will be able to feel confident for a final weighted 70% of my grade if I have to go off of what the professor rushingly says/scribbles on the board.
But anyhow, besides those two differences, I am struck by how specific a uni education is here in Australia. There are absolutely no core curriculum requirements. None. When you begin school as an english major or a business major, you start off by taking 100% english courses or business courses. You never take anything else- taking other subjects is almost seen as decreasing the value of your education. In the words of a female maths major I spoke to today, "I'm so glad I didn't study overseas. That's not uni, that's school." I could taste her distain. As a student who has taken (and loved!) my anthropology, chemistry, art, and music classes, I was a bit offended.
I assume it's good for people who want to go into academia or who want to devote an extra six years of their lives into a doctoral thesis, but what happens to everyone else? If I've learned anything about the job market (from what people have told me, mostly), it's that flexibility in learning and connecting ideas from different areas is extremely important to getting things done. I don't know if 3 years of solely working reaction mechanisms or analysing poetry can breed those skills.
Personally, I really appreciate taking classes that fall outside my field of study. I hope I never live in a world that revolves around just mathematics, chemistry, sociology, or art history. If that happens, maybe I will study that one subject alone. Until then, though, I want to make sure that I learn about as many different aspects of the world as I can. I'm going to be here for a while, and so ignoring so many parts of the life I will be experiencing is negligence, plain and simple.
Of course, this rant might just be my reaction to a second wave of culture shock. Just because I am here in Australia does not mean I have to learn by the Australian method. I might just have to put my own spin on things while I'm at school here- if I don't, I think going to school here will become way too tedious for me.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Last Day of Summer :/
I am not as good at this blogging thing as I had originally hoped. I don't know who I was kidding, to be honest- every journal I have ever attempted has failed within the first few weeks. This time, though, I'm going to use the "I've been too busy exploring a new continent" excuse for my tardiness.
This past week, a bunch of international students visited Victor Harbor and a wildlife area right next to it. Even though it's still winter and it barely got past 12 degrees, it was good fun. My group visited some shops, ate some fish and chips (honestly, though, we fed more to the seagulls than we ate ourselves), and then went down to Granite Island. Apparently, there are little penguins on the island, but we weren't able to see any. Robert "saw some penguins" and I got super excited, but it turns out they were just black-and-white birds. Bah.
At the wildlife resort, we saw kangaroos. And by kangaroos, I mean a lot of kangaroos. Kangaroo food was only $1, and so we all got some. My gosh, kangaroos are greedy. You would think they had never been fed in their lives by the way they ran/hopped(?) up to anyone with a bag. They were pushing each other out of the way, and some greedy little buggers even tried to tear through the bag themselves. I can kind of understand why Australians see them as rats.
Besides the kangaroos, there were wallabies, dingos, crocodiles, koalas, lots of reptiles, and chickens. Most of the animals were pretty chill since it was so cold outside (the crocs looked like they were dead), but some of the animals were pretty lively. The echidna was my favorite animal out of all of them. I mean, just look at it:
Isn't it adorable? Its tongue comes out through its nose. It's weird, but endearing.
Speaking of weird but endearing, the people I've met here have been really great. So far I've mostly been meeting international students, but everyone here has been very nice to get to know. I've met people from Germany, Italy, Greece, the UK, Kenya, Malaysia, China, Denmark, Holland, France, Canada, and Sweden (this is probably short of one or two countries, but it's all I can remember right now). It's amazing how many Germans and Malaysians are here in South Australia. They might be able to annex the state for their own if they really wanted :)
School starts tomorrow. Blech. I finally figured out my schedule, so I will definitely receive credit for all of my classes, whew. I only have 4 classes, which ends up being about 14 hours in American credit. It doesn't seem like much now, but I've been told that Australian classes are a bit more difficult than their American equivalents. I really hope I can keep up my GPA, but I figure all I can do is try my best and learn as much as I can while I'm here.
On the bright side, I get to see the Batman movie tomorrow! I have also gotten the go-ahead from my parents to go shopping (thanks, mom and dad) so I will finally be able to have more than 2 weeks' worth of clothes. In a place where the washing machine costs 3 dollars, I am really looking forward to that.
This past week, a bunch of international students visited Victor Harbor and a wildlife area right next to it. Even though it's still winter and it barely got past 12 degrees, it was good fun. My group visited some shops, ate some fish and chips (honestly, though, we fed more to the seagulls than we ate ourselves), and then went down to Granite Island. Apparently, there are little penguins on the island, but we weren't able to see any. Robert "saw some penguins" and I got super excited, but it turns out they were just black-and-white birds. Bah.
At the wildlife resort, we saw kangaroos. And by kangaroos, I mean a lot of kangaroos. Kangaroo food was only $1, and so we all got some. My gosh, kangaroos are greedy. You would think they had never been fed in their lives by the way they ran/hopped(?) up to anyone with a bag. They were pushing each other out of the way, and some greedy little buggers even tried to tear through the bag themselves. I can kind of understand why Australians see them as rats.
Besides the kangaroos, there were wallabies, dingos, crocodiles, koalas, lots of reptiles, and chickens. Most of the animals were pretty chill since it was so cold outside (the crocs looked like they were dead), but some of the animals were pretty lively. The echidna was my favorite animal out of all of them. I mean, just look at it:
Speaking of weird but endearing, the people I've met here have been really great. So far I've mostly been meeting international students, but everyone here has been very nice to get to know. I've met people from Germany, Italy, Greece, the UK, Kenya, Malaysia, China, Denmark, Holland, France, Canada, and Sweden (this is probably short of one or two countries, but it's all I can remember right now). It's amazing how many Germans and Malaysians are here in South Australia. They might be able to annex the state for their own if they really wanted :)
School starts tomorrow. Blech. I finally figured out my schedule, so I will definitely receive credit for all of my classes, whew. I only have 4 classes, which ends up being about 14 hours in American credit. It doesn't seem like much now, but I've been told that Australian classes are a bit more difficult than their American equivalents. I really hope I can keep up my GPA, but I figure all I can do is try my best and learn as much as I can while I'm here.
On the bright side, I get to see the Batman movie tomorrow! I have also gotten the go-ahead from my parents to go shopping (thanks, mom and dad) so I will finally be able to have more than 2 weeks' worth of clothes. In a place where the washing machine costs 3 dollars, I am really looking forward to that.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Aussie Movie Night!
Today the ISC hosted this movie (loosely) based off a true story about a dog named Red Dog. Apparently, Red Dog is famous for travelling all over western Australia.
It's a good movie, if anyone is interested. I was originally worried that I wouldn't be able to understand a lick of dialogue, but it actually wasn't bad at all! Plus Josh Lucas was in it and that helped... because of his American accent of course :)
One thing though- this movie is sad. If you know me, you know how I am with sad movies. They don't even need to be sad overall, but if there is a sad scene I am gone (Finding Forrester?). So, the biggest challenge for me was to keep from crying like a baby. I doubt the other international students would have been fond of that.
It's a good movie, if anyone is interested. I was originally worried that I wouldn't be able to understand a lick of dialogue, but it actually wasn't bad at all! Plus Josh Lucas was in it and that helped... because of his American accent of course :)
One thing though- this movie is sad. If you know me, you know how I am with sad movies. They don't even need to be sad overall, but if there is a sad scene I am gone (Finding Forrester?). So, the biggest challenge for me was to keep from crying like a baby. I doubt the other international students would have been fond of that.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Some quick notes about Australia
- Their paper dimensions are totally different from ours. Apparently the international standard sheet of paper is an A4, which is about 1/4" skinnier and 1/2" longer than the usual 8 1/2 x 11 sheet we've all come to love. You would think it would be easy enough to standardize (standardise?) paper, but apparently it's not. So that means new notebooks, new binders, and less money for me.
- The cost of living is really high here. Our dollar is right on parity with the AUS dollar, but what all the conversion places don't tell you is that minimum wage is $20/hr over here. Thus, all the basics like food and toiletries (don't even get me started on clothes) are loads more expensive here. As an Australian, it's no big deal because I'm pretty sure things balance out. As a student with a very American income, it's a problem.
- Driving on the left side of the road causes more problems for pedestrians than you would think. Trust me on this one.
- I am paying way too much for rent. I will definitely be looking to live elsewhere after this semester.
- Jet lag is horrible! It doesn't help that the sun sets around 6:30 pm here. It's a little after 9 right now but it feels like it's 2 in the morning. Time zones are a bugger. I feel a lot better than I did originally, but it's still rough. I guess it just takes time.
- I think I found a gym, a bank, and a bike. I should be good to go after all that, right? I originally wanted to keep up with Muay Thai here, but the only place in the city charges $110 a month + $110 a year membership fees + $130 for a Muay Thai t-shirt and shorts. I would end up paying more than a thousand dollars for classes, so I think I'm going to go to a place closer to my apartment that offers kickboxing classes. It won't be the same thing, but at least I have the ability to keep up my fitness for whenever I come back to Texas.
- People really aren't vegetarians here. Vegetarianism is apparently a very American thing to do. I scheduled dinner with some distant acquaintances and they were going to prepare lamb. Once I said I didn't eat meat, she replied, "Oh, hm, I don't think I have any recipes for that. We don't really have them over for dinner." It's not much different from Texas, I guess :)
- Living in a city is a bigger shock to me than living in Australia. I have not gotten used to city life yet. I walk a lot (7,8 km a day) and I really enjoy that, but the people watching is completely different. So many people in heels and tights and black clothes- and most of the people wearing these are high schoolers! Transit gets a bit fussy too, and people do not smile to each other. These seem like they're all typical traits of cities, but it still strikes me as really different from anywhere I've ever lived before.
Monday, July 09, 2012
Transit Adventures!
I'm extremely tired. Miserably, excruciatingly, mind-numbingly tired. It's 8:32 pm here in Los Angeles, and I've been up since 3:00 am. Once I board my plane at 10, I have another 4 hours before I am allowing myself to fall asleep- it's my attempt at getting to a somewhat Australian sleep schedule.
I'm not good at arithmetic , but I am pretty sure that this plan involves 23 hours of being awake. BLURGH.
So far, though, the last 17 hours have been pretty eventful. On my flight to LAX, I sat behind a guy who apparantly liked to take a lot of topless pictures of himself. Don't call me a creeper, but he was surfing through his iPhone pictures and they were awkwardly screaming to me the way those Myspace-worthy pictures do. I immediately thought, "What the...? What is this? Who does this guy think he is?"
Well, funny story: once he left the plane, the girl next to me asked, "Wait, isn't that the guy who played the evil husband in Titanic?"
Yup. It was Billy Zane. The guy thinks he's a movie star, apparently.
Then, after a few hours of tearing my hair out in baggage claim, my mom's friend from Grosse Pointe picked me up to show me around the area. We went to the Getty Museum, which is pretty much the most legit museum complex I have seen. I really like LA's architecture. The gardens were beautiful, too. They had these vines encased by an iron frame so that they grew into a tree shape. It was awesome.
On our way back from the museum, we got a flat. I can now say that I can survive a flat tire change on the 405. Booyah. It took about 15 minutes. I think that was pretty beast.
After that debacle, we all ate at this restaurant in the middle of LAX. It was spaceship themed and had the creepiest elevators I have ever encountered- when you pressed the button to go up to the restaurant, a song started playing, and the elevator wouldn't let you go until it stopped. It wasn't smooth jazz, either- it was psychadelic space funk. Freaky. The rest of the place looked like it was right from the 70s, but the mushroom ravioli was really good.
And now I'm waiting in the Virgin lounge/terminal for my flight. 30 minutes until we board. Virgin has a strange style for their terminals. It makes me feel like I'm a jazz lounge. They have bar lights and backlit signs at their check-in counter, and their muzak involves Gaga/Adele mashups. It boggles my mind. Whoever told Richard Branson this would sell is crazy and brilliant.
I will be so happy to get into Adelaide.
I'm not good at arithmetic , but I am pretty sure that this plan involves 23 hours of being awake. BLURGH.
So far, though, the last 17 hours have been pretty eventful. On my flight to LAX, I sat behind a guy who apparantly liked to take a lot of topless pictures of himself. Don't call me a creeper, but he was surfing through his iPhone pictures and they were awkwardly screaming to me the way those Myspace-worthy pictures do. I immediately thought, "What the...? What is this? Who does this guy think he is?"
Well, funny story: once he left the plane, the girl next to me asked, "Wait, isn't that the guy who played the evil husband in Titanic?"
Yup. It was Billy Zane. The guy thinks he's a movie star, apparently.
Then, after a few hours of tearing my hair out in baggage claim, my mom's friend from Grosse Pointe picked me up to show me around the area. We went to the Getty Museum, which is pretty much the most legit museum complex I have seen. I really like LA's architecture. The gardens were beautiful, too. They had these vines encased by an iron frame so that they grew into a tree shape. It was awesome.
On our way back from the museum, we got a flat. I can now say that I can survive a flat tire change on the 405. Booyah. It took about 15 minutes. I think that was pretty beast.
After that debacle, we all ate at this restaurant in the middle of LAX. It was spaceship themed and had the creepiest elevators I have ever encountered- when you pressed the button to go up to the restaurant, a song started playing, and the elevator wouldn't let you go until it stopped. It wasn't smooth jazz, either- it was psychadelic space funk. Freaky. The rest of the place looked like it was right from the 70s, but the mushroom ravioli was really good.
And now I'm waiting in the Virgin lounge/terminal for my flight. 30 minutes until we board. Virgin has a strange style for their terminals. It makes me feel like I'm a jazz lounge. They have bar lights and backlit signs at their check-in counter, and their muzak involves Gaga/Adele mashups. It boggles my mind. Whoever told Richard Branson this would sell is crazy and brilliant.
I will be so happy to get into Adelaide.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?
"Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol!"
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
The final stretch
Hooray! I just gave my final presentation for my internship. For all intents and purposes, I am finished with my summer!
I'm really glad to be going to Australia. I've waited for this for a long time. It's unreal that, in a few days, I'll actually be there. Visiting Australia was always on my bucket list, but I never believed it was actually going to happen. I'm so glad it will.
This upcoming week will involve a lot of packing and goodbyes. Both of those are difficult. But I know it's what I have to do. Anything worth doing comes with obstacles, right? At least, that's what I'm telling myself right now. We'll see if the converse is true this time around :)
Monday, July 02, 2012
Australia vs. Charlotte
(Note- for the graph, I let month 1 be the first month after each city's respective winter solstice.)
Graph time! Can you tell I'm a math major yet?
So, the weather difference between Adelaide and Charlotte is never more than about 9 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a little disappointing, since I was hoping the weather would be hotter in the summer months (I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to getting into bodies of water on days that aren't 90+), but it makes sense. Both cities are at about the same latitude (35 degrees). I was really happy when I found that out because hopefully it means the clothes I have will be good enough :)
Though, this whole thing is kind of a bummer. I'm going to have to be better about going into the ocean when it's not blistering hot, I guess.
7 days until I'm flying somewhere over the Pacific. Eek!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Figuring out a starving student's budget
Ok, well not really starving. But in the money department, I would rather spend less than more. I'm just now finding some sites that could help me with that, which is good.
Plus, the US dollar went above parity today with the AUS dollar, which is super good! Of course, that only lasted for a few hours, but hopefully it'll get back up within the next two weeks and stay there. I'm still not completely sure how this whole currency-exchange thing is going to go. All I know is that I can use my debit card at some ATMs over there without being charged any fees (score!) and that wiring money is really, really expensive. As in, more than $30 in fees expensive. Yikes. That's a week's worth of groceries right there...
As for cheaper options for buying stuff, I've found these websites so far. Australia doesn't have Amazon (WHAT), and so I hope I can find my textbooks cheaply enough....
Stuff for college kids (and tips on saving money!) can be found at http://www.studyadelaide.com/living-in-adelaide/eat-sleep-play.aspx
Craigslist is pretty lame in Australia, but these look like good substitutes: http://www.gumtree.com.au/ and http://www.tradingpost.com.au/
And since I can't drive, I'll probably be using http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/communityprograms/programs/cycle_instead a lot. Once I get a bike, that is. Turns out, my dorm is a 30 minute bike ride to the beach. I bet I can get it down to 25 :)
Now, to figure out what I can afford to put on my Australian bucket list....
Plus, the US dollar went above parity today with the AUS dollar, which is super good! Of course, that only lasted for a few hours, but hopefully it'll get back up within the next two weeks and stay there. I'm still not completely sure how this whole currency-exchange thing is going to go. All I know is that I can use my debit card at some ATMs over there without being charged any fees (score!) and that wiring money is really, really expensive. As in, more than $30 in fees expensive. Yikes. That's a week's worth of groceries right there...
As for cheaper options for buying stuff, I've found these websites so far. Australia doesn't have Amazon (WHAT), and so I hope I can find my textbooks cheaply enough....
Stuff for college kids (and tips on saving money!) can be found at http://www.studyadelaide.com/living-in-adelaide/eat-sleep-play.aspx
Craigslist is pretty lame in Australia, but these look like good substitutes: http://www.gumtree.com.au/ and http://www.tradingpost.com.au/
And since I can't drive, I'll probably be using http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/communityprograms/programs/cycle_instead a lot. Once I get a bike, that is. Turns out, my dorm is a 30 minute bike ride to the beach. I bet I can get it down to 25 :)
Now, to figure out what I can afford to put on my Australian bucket list....
Monday, June 18, 2012
Australian Essays
When I was originally considering going to Australia this year, the adviser warned me that their style of learning was probably very different from ours. I blew off her advice- how can universal subjects be so different in another English-speaking country? I thought.
Well, as it turns out, they can be. I just signed up for a Renaissance Writing class, and so on my student portal there is a link for essay writing. It turns out that the essays I'll be writing are different than any essays I've written in the past 5-ish years (maybe even more)!
Here is a link to such a sample essay. They actually encourage this. My adviser was right!
What kills me is the introduction and the conclusion. All this "I will show," "as I have argued" stuff makes me cringe. All my teachers have forbidden me from writing like this since, what, the 6th grade? And I have to start writing like this now? Blurgh.
Well, as it turns out, they can be. I just signed up for a Renaissance Writing class, and so on my student portal there is a link for essay writing. It turns out that the essays I'll be writing are different than any essays I've written in the past 5-ish years (maybe even more)!
Here is a link to such a sample essay. They actually encourage this. My adviser was right!
What kills me is the introduction and the conclusion. All this "I will show," "as I have argued" stuff makes me cringe. All my teachers have forbidden me from writing like this since, what, the 6th grade? And I have to start writing like this now? Blurgh.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Coincidence? I think not.
So, the other day I was talking to another girl from A&M who is also going to be in Adelaide this year.
Turns out, we're in the same ecology class.
Is this real life????
But seriously. This is way crazy
Thursday, June 14, 2012
I hate the way money works sometimes.
So, the thing about CISI insurance is that they don't have any plans that cover more than 12 months. This is a problem, considering my study abroad is 12 months and 17 days long. I hate how these things work. They also round up months, which I think is a complete scam but whatever. It's my health so I won't be taking any chances, thank you very much.
But it wasn't a big problem. Oh well, I thought, I'll just get two cards. One for an even period of time (in months) and the other for the rest of the time I'll be enrolled in the program. NBD. So I did just that.
FUNNY STORY IS, CISI decided to change their insurance policies effective July 31, 2012. Until then, it was 30.09 a month. After that date, it's 1.28 a day regardless of how long you stay abroad. This comes out to 39.68 a month. I was told this last semester, and it made sense.
However, what I didn't realize is that it's not when your insurance is in place, it's only when your insurance STARTS that this change matters. And this is where I screwed up (I realized this AFTER I bought my first few months, which led to lots of face palming):
By the way, nowhere on the site does it even mention it. NOWHERE. NO FREAKIN WHERE. For shame, CISI. For shame!
My purchases:
July 10 to December 10: $150.45 (30.09 rate, even though most of it is after July 31)
December 11 to July 27, 2013: $291.84
Total: $442.29
What I SHOULD have done:
July 10 2012 to July 10 2013: $361.08
July 11 to July 27: $20.48
Total: $381.56
Money I just got chummed out of: $60.73
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
TL;DR-
TIL that insurance is a scam, and I threw away 61 bucks in the process :(
With this luck, I bet I won't even catch a cold while I'm over there.
But it wasn't a big problem. Oh well, I thought, I'll just get two cards. One for an even period of time (in months) and the other for the rest of the time I'll be enrolled in the program. NBD. So I did just that.
FUNNY STORY IS, CISI decided to change their insurance policies effective July 31, 2012. Until then, it was 30.09 a month. After that date, it's 1.28 a day regardless of how long you stay abroad. This comes out to 39.68 a month. I was told this last semester, and it made sense.
However, what I didn't realize is that it's not when your insurance is in place, it's only when your insurance STARTS that this change matters. And this is where I screwed up (I realized this AFTER I bought my first few months, which led to lots of face palming):
By the way, nowhere on the site does it even mention it. NOWHERE. NO FREAKIN WHERE. For shame, CISI. For shame!
My purchases:
July 10 to December 10: $150.45 (30.09 rate, even though most of it is after July 31)
December 11 to July 27, 2013: $291.84
Total: $442.29
What I SHOULD have done:
July 10 2012 to July 10 2013: $361.08
July 11 to July 27: $20.48
Total: $381.56
Money I just got chummed out of: $60.73
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
TL;DR-
TIL that insurance is a scam, and I threw away 61 bucks in the process :(
With this luck, I bet I won't even catch a cold while I'm over there.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
28 daysssss
Things are getting weird now. I don't know how to explain it, but everything is just...off. I guess this is just part of the whole transition thing.
Not really a fan.
Friday, June 08, 2012
31 days!
I'm not even going to lie. There's something about traveling halfway around the world by myself that is a little scary. Just a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited to see Australia and learn new things (ecology and surfing, can I get a WHOOP) and get a totally different college experience for a year, but let's be real:
In a month, I will be traveling about 10,000 miles, the equivalent of 40% of the Earth's circumference. In the following two weeks I'll have to register for classes, get settled in a dorm, and meet all new people. By myself. In a strange place where kangaroos are considered giant rats and people step on each others' heads to play a sport called "football" which is neither football nor soccer.
(Don't believe me on the last part? Watch this.)
I know I'll love it. But it's still a big change. Even with a lot of new schools under my belt, this is a lot different from any other change I've had to make.
In a month, I will be traveling about 10,000 miles, the equivalent of 40% of the Earth's circumference. In the following two weeks I'll have to register for classes, get settled in a dorm, and meet all new people. By myself. In a strange place where kangaroos are considered giant rats and people step on each others' heads to play a sport called "football" which is neither football nor soccer.
(Don't believe me on the last part? Watch this.)
I know I'll love it. But it's still a big change. Even with a lot of new schools under my belt, this is a lot different from any other change I've had to make.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
33 days to go, and the fate of TV next year
aka how sad it will be that I will only be able to see a month of Dance Moms.
Today, I learned that Lifetime doesn't have a sister network in Australia. Obviously, this is really upsetting because that means that I won't be able to watch any of my classy shows like Dance Moms and, well, Dance Moms.
Which is ok, maybe, considering that the premiere today wasn't great. Abby seems to have lost her spark. Yawn.
But if the show gets better, I'll be the saddest Australian exchange student ever. Hulu won't work for some of my US shows over there, either! It's almost like they want me to be immersed in this new culture or something.
Today, I learned that Lifetime doesn't have a sister network in Australia. Obviously, this is really upsetting because that means that I won't be able to watch any of my classy shows like Dance Moms and, well, Dance Moms.
Which is ok, maybe, considering that the premiere today wasn't great. Abby seems to have lost her spark. Yawn.
But if the show gets better, I'll be the saddest Australian exchange student ever. Hulu won't work for some of my US shows over there, either! It's almost like they want me to be immersed in this new culture or something.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
34 Days
...until I get on that awful plane.
I figure I'd start my blog now so that I can do an official 30-day countdown to my departure or whatever.
So yup, this should be where you guys can get the most up-to-date information about how Australia is. Let's hope I don't abandon this like I have every other journal I've ever tried to keep.
I figure I'd start my blog now so that I can do an official 30-day countdown to my departure or whatever.
So yup, this should be where you guys can get the most up-to-date information about how Australia is. Let's hope I don't abandon this like I have every other journal I've ever tried to keep.
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